Hi there Autumn Members!
Welcome to our first ever Autumn delivery! As a farm, it’s been our goal to offer year round produce and CSA shares and for the first 4 years we’ve offered Summer and Winter shares giving ourselves a break in between to either harvest or plant. This year we’re attempting to bridge the gap between fall and winter with a late fall share that is meant to highlight veggies that are primo this time of year - a combination of storage and late summer crops. We’re especially lucky this year as the fall has been super mild so we have some surprise summer veggies available.
We’re also highlighting different ways of cooking with fall and winter veggies, hopefully offering a little inspiration and adventure into cooking with Maine’s seasonal produce. This week, we’re highlighting stirfrying! We know that some winter and late fall veggies can be a little intimidating so hopefully this makes some of the less familiar veggies a little more appealing!
A little about our CSA if you are new: Our shares are customizable, meaning that if there is an item slotted to be in your box that doesn’t work for you, then you can swap in another item that is available. You can see what will be in your box and what swap options you have in your customization email. You have to make swaps in the customization window (also in the email) so that we have enough time to harvest and prepare your order. **If you swap in an item of a higher value than the one you swap out, you may be charged to cover the difference. If you have any trouble swapping items, email us before the cutoff time and we can take care of it for you, or walk you through it.
On the farm this time of year things are slowing down. Partially because the craziness of the summer has past, partially because everyone is tired, and some days, a little cold and wet. Gone are the days of feeling warm and sweaty and lithe in the summer sun, the colder days, more limited sun, and the often cold breeze can be very tiring on the body, especially after a long summer. It can take a lot of energy this time of year to keep up a pace that matches the speed with which frost and snow are headed our way. We'll get there, but we've still got thousands of lbs of carrots ahead of us....maybe we'll have an (optional) member carrot pulling day..... :)
Stirfrying!
A traditionally Chinese way of cooking veggies - stirfrying can be a great way to cook more winter and fall veggies. Most commonly, fresh veggies like snow peas, and summer squash are used in stirfries, but I’ve found that there is lots of room for winter and fall veggies too. In this week’s share, we’ve included broccoli and cauliflower and bok choy (fall veggies) and turnips and kohlrabi and carrots (available all winter!) all of which are great in a stirfry.
Veggies that lend themselves to stirfry in this week’s share:
-Napa cabbage -scallions -broccoli - cauliflower -peppers -kohlrabi -hakurei turnips
-Bokchoy -brussels sprouts -carrots -garlic -kohlrabi
(Later in the winter daikon radishes also work great! I’m often asked what to do with these and stirfrying is my favorite answer)
Hakurei Turnips look just like white radishes:
The best part of it all is that if you aren’t interested you can configure your box however you like, no need to focus on stirfrying at all if you don’t care too. Enjoy!
The method
Stirfrying is cooking small bite sized pieces of food quickly in a small amount of oil very hot in a wok (or large pan). It works great with veggies that can also be enjoyed raw (carrots, kohlrabi), especially if they are cut thin as they maintain their fresh crunch, while also getting hot and cooked. When stirfrying, I get all the ingredients together, cut prepped and grouped by the order they will go in the pan. This includes pre-mixing the sauce I plan to use for the dish when the veggies are finished cooking. Then I heat the pan to a very hot heat and THEN add a bit of oil. Then I add items in this order:
1)Onions/shallots
2)Meats
3)Longer cooking veggies (broccoli, carrots, etc)
4)Shorter cooking veggies (scallions, garlic, zucchini etc)
5)Greens (bok choy, napa cabbage, spinach)
6)Sauce
This ensures that more tender veggies and greens don't get over-cooked, while less tender veggies get cooked enough to not be too raw. Each item cooks for a few minutes, and the more you add the more water from the veggies moistens the mixture (it can make it soggy) so I try to work in small amounts rather than make a giant stirfry with tons of different items. 1-3 veggie types is plenty.
Mastering the sauce is what can make it really great!
Everyone’s kitchen staples are a little different, but for a stirfry you’ll do best to have some soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice wine or sherry on hand to land the sauce. Corn starch is a helpful thickener too. If these items are not usually found in your kitchen, no worries - they last forever, so if you only stirfry when you get bored with soups in the winter - they won’t go bad. Fresh ginger is another item that will make your stirfry sing!
Here’s the easiest recipe for a basic stirfry sauce that I’ve found:
https://buildyourbite.com/3-ingredient-homemade-stir-fry-sauce-recipe/
If you enjoy spicy food and perhaps a more thai inspired sauce this one is my favorite:
https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a20064275/crack-noodles-recipe/
Chili garlic paste is amazing <3
Here are a few more recipes using items from your box this week to give you a little nudge! Give kohlrabi a chance!
A not-so Asian stirfry with bacon:
https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/stir-fried-kohlrabi-with-bacon-and-scallions
A good way to use that Napa cabbage:
https://www.gatheranddine.com/sirloin-and-napa-stir-fry/
