Well, maybe not quite *all* the roots, but lots of them. Molti rooty? One of our fridge’s crisper drawers has been out of commission for way too long, which means our capacity to store the big roots that dominate winter CSA share boxes is inadequate. So with single-digit windchills predicted for the next few days, it…
Tomato-Garlic Confit
Each year, as the summer winds down and the flow of Brandywines and Zebras and Cherokee Purples dwindles to one or two scruffy fruits a week, I seem to struggle with how to keep up with the pints and pints of cherry and grape tomatoes that pick up the slack. I’ve whirred them into compound…
I’d Like to Propose a Toast
Well, it’s been over a year since my last Boxing Day post. Lots of excuses reasons, I suppose, from the physical fatigue of working straight through COVIDtimes to the mental fatigue of, nine years into this CSA-focused project, fighting to find something fresh to say about, say, kale. But last week at the shop, a…
Mustard Greens and Mustered Beans
Mustard greens are one of those early-season (and late-season) CSA stalwarts that used to give me fits. Frittatas were the aspirational default, but if I’m honest, mushstuck to the crisper drawer was too often the reality. Since last May, though, my work schedule has had me home in the days following CSA Day, so I’ve…
Romano a Mano
Romano beans are just big, flat, broad beans that you could, in fact, snap the ends off and trim by hand. Or even eat by hand, once they cool down. Sweet and juicy—especially braised—this summer they’ve become my favorite CSA bean. Braised Romano Beans with Garlic and Tomatoes Use this same technique for waxed beans,…
Kohlrabi Picklesticks
As a change of pace from slaws and salady shaves this week, I got back in the pickle lab, quick-curing matchsticks of raw kohlrabi in both cider- and rice-vinegar brine. Both worked beautifully, with the cider version yielding rounder, sweeter flavors than the brighter, lighter rice vinegar. Let your own mood—and pantry—be your guide. Quickled…
Rhubarb Crumb Cake
She ain’t much to look at—come on, aren’t we all a little shaggy these days?—but she makes up for any deficits in plate appeal with undeniable belly appeal. This is a moist cake—lightly sweet with tiny, jammy pockets of Tart thanks to baked-in hunks of diced fresh rhubarb—that you’ll enjoy as a breakfast or brunch…
Slow-Roasted Fennel and Oregano Chicken
Here’s a one-pot, set-it-and-mostly-forget-it dish that’ll make the whole house cozy. It’s adapted only slightly from Alison Roman, whose new cookbook, Nothing Fancy: Unfussy Food for Having People Over, was recently featured in the New York Times Food Section—and is definitely going on my Christmas list. Just note that this is a low-and-slow dish, with a…
Penne with Butternut, Sausage, and Sage
If you get a CSA this time of year—and if you’re in a northern climate—you’re likely awash in squash. Beyond roasting and mashing (maybe with a little butter and maple or brown sugar or honey), beyond soup, and beyond Yotam Ottolenghi’s squash with red onions and tehina, what can you do to keep up with…
Swap-Box Hero: Quickled Shishitos
Shishitos are hot. Not hot hot (only one in ten have enough capsaicin to read as spicy). But hot trendy, I guess. Over the past six or seven years, they’ve shown up in our sharebox just three or four times—total. But if last night’s “predicted contents” email from LFFC holds, tomorrow will be at least the third…
Boxing Day 