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Connection to food can be found through many avenues: Culture. Politics. Anthropology. Art. Health. Environment. Sovereignty. For me, it's been an entaglement of all, but it started with Family.
As Italian and Irish diaspora, I've always felt that my family has a food culture. Some of my core memories center in the kitchen, being taught how to make and how to truly taste dishes by my aunts and nana and mom. My favorite foods were created by my great grandmother Florence, who I'm named after, and who I get to know through her food despite never having met her. Food allows us to communicate Iike that.
Food provides us with a language to experience culture.
Culture provides us with a sense of place.
A sense of place gives us purpose.
Purpose provides dignity in good stewardship.
Good stewardship teaches us responsibility for our world and our actions, rooted in reciprocity.
At least, that's what food means to me.
I cherish that my family could come together on the farm last week to celebrate nana's 80th birthday in the best way - around food.
Fresh tomato sauce simmered all day with slow cooked meat. Hand made gnocchi.
I'm so grateful for my family, who instilled this love for food and culture in me. They know best how disillusioned with the world I was before finding a purpose in farming.
The season's last tomatoes became so much more special when turned into sauce, into a meal shared around the table with family. Food, and the act of cooking, is magic like that.
I hope that your weekly deliveries of veggies provide your family with an opportunity to gather around the table together and eat. Thanks for sharing in the magic of food with me 💘
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Veggie Boxes this week:
Arugula, Baby Kale, Sweet Peppers OR Shishito Peppers, Salad Turnips, Radishes
All non-certified organic grown from Smallholding Farm, R-Farm and Encompass Farm!
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My family surprised me with a recipe book, where everyone transcribed a recipe inside. I love the mix of family recipes and new meals, but most of all, I love that each recipe is in someone's handwriting. This Shishito pepper recipe comes from my cousin Wray - who you may have met last Friday at the East Asheville Market - and I can't wait to make it with this week's harvest.
https://dishingouthealth.com/shishito-corn-salad/
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All the rain this week, although much needed, made yesterday's harvest a muddy, sopping wet one. I washed all of our fresh cut arugula and did my best to dry it through the misting rain, but it did go into bags slightly damp. My advice - stick a few paper towels in the bag before putting it in the fridge. They'll help soak up the excess moisture! And lastly, eat your arugula sooner rather than later, especially in this epic arugula pesto recipe! This meal works so well with salmon or chicken too, and cucumbers can be subbed for turnips.https://sunbasket.com/recipe/pan-seared-steak-with-arugula-pesto?srsltid=AU7gw4X8y9Jgb02WrXo-lMqJ6fccNeLq-A8eETXZv6DdFiYQx1sNd0Tg
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At last! The seasonal return of salad turnips means that one of my favorite recipes is back in rotation: Turnips With Whipped Feta
The recipe calls for pistachios in the feta, but i've never had them on hand and regularly make this meal without. If your turnips have tops, reserve them to use in this salad. Turnip greens are mild and crisp, similar in taste to bok choy, and can also be stir-fried, so never throw them away.
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1027342-turnips-with-whipped-pistachio-feta
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When thinking about recipes for this week's gorgeous turnips and radish tops, I kept trying to describe the kind of person in my head who would readily eat the uncommon, leafy tops of root vegetables. Frugal? Zero waste? Adventurous?
Whether you describe yourself this way or not, I hope that you give radish and turnip tops a try this week. Not only are they free value to your box, but they are especially tasty. My plan for this evening is a veggie-loaded stir fry with radish and turnip greens steamed in at the end.
https://www.thesophisticatedcaveman.com/how-to-eat-radish-greens/ |
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Radish and Turnip Greens Risotto with Confit Tomatoes - perfect for any of last week's lingering tomatoes! Roasted radishes would sub well here too.
https://thefeedfeed.com/isabella.akshay/radish-and-turnip-greens-risotto-with-confit-tomatoes
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Tender and juicy hakurei turnips, sometimes known as Japanese or salad turnips, always feel like a treat. With a crisp flesh that is reminiscent of apples, they can be eaten raw, sliced thinly and adding a nice crunch to salads, or cooked, which coaxes out a buttery flavor. Pan-frying turns turnips juicy, tender and extremely easy to eat.
No recipe needed, simply saute until tender and add the turnip greens at the end to steam! This method also works well with radishes, creating a colorful and flavorful medley in minutes. |
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My favorite seasonal vegetarian pasta dish: sweet baby Hakurei turnips with soy sauce, garlic and butter.
Steam-sear the turnips (and this week's radishes) in a covered cast iron pan. Sauté the turnip greens in the same pan when the turnips are almost tender. Lower the heat and in the same pan, stir in butter, soy sauce, and crushed garlic; toss to coat everything in the sauce. Pile the turnips, greens and sauce on top of noodles, sprinkle on scallion, toasted sesame, shichimi togarashi, and Thai chili peppers if you want that extra heat.
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Lemon Arugula Pasta with Baby Turnips - A satisfying vegetarian pasta dinner featuring chewy noodles, mellow arugula pesto, and tender baby turnips. Bright, balanced, and perfect for a plant-based meal.
https://www.butteredveg.com/chewy-pasta-arugula-pesto-baby-turnips-greens/
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Braised Chicken Legs with Hakurei Turnips and Radishes. With a side salad of this week's arugula and kale, this meal is perfection!
https://brooklynsupper.com/braised-chicken-legs-with-turnips-and-radishes/
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I love to eat radishes and salad turnips raw and dipped in hummus. This week's sweet peppers make an excellent red pepper hummus!
https://rachaelsgoodeats.com/roasted-red-pepper-hummus/
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We made this dish with Hakurei turnips–one of our most anticipated root vegetables to harvest in the spring and fall! Crisp, sweet, and absolutely delicious. Hakurei turnips are great eaten raw with a dip or salad, in a roasted medley, or in this yummy gratin. For this Cheesy Hakurei Turnip Gratin, we combined the strong, rich flavors of Gruyere cheese, garlic, and heavy cream to create a filling side dish for those cool fall days.https://sowthetable.com/cheesy-hakurei-turnip-gratin/
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Crispy rice, toasted sesame seeds, and an out-of-this-world tuna salad filling. This Spicy Tuna Salad Onigiri (Japanese Rice Ball) is seriously one of my guilty pleasures for a quick lunch. I love all the textures you get from such simple ingredients. The outer layer of rice gets brown and crispy from the butter, while the rice on the inside remains soft and pillowy.
Paired with this week's Shishito peppers quickly blistered in the pan, this meal is a gem.
https://sowthetable.com/spicy-tuna-salad-onigiri-japanese-rice-ball/
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This zesty arugula salad is a bold beginning to a meal. Use a sharp knife or mandoline to cut the radish and turnip so they’re just shy of paper thin. When dressing the salad, try to bring some of those bright, colorful slices to the top for an especially attractive result.
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1026569-arugula-salad-with-radish-fennel-and-mustard
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Made with wild rice, radishes and covered in a lemon-garlic dressing, this wild rice salad is filled with texture, colors, and flavor, and works well as light vegetarian lunch or simple side dish to any grilled meat. Add this week's turnips and arugula for crunch and flavor to sub the other, out of season ingredients!https://kaynutrition.com/wild-rice-salad/
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Radishes, Salad Turnips, Shishito Peppers and more. Browse the directory of all my favorite recipes for these seasonal staples:
https://encompassfarm.com/pages/recipes
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Made to Make Cooking Easy:
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Farm Grown Goods
- Use your Farm Member discount to add our line of pantry staples onto your Veggie Box order here
- Ship Farm Grown Goods Nationwide for the perfect gift here
- Order online and pickup from your WNC neighborhood here
- Browse our recipe archive and get inspired to use your Farm Grown Goods here
Farm Grown Goods + Seasonal Recipes + The Veggie Box
= Farm to Table made easy
Enjoy! - Farmer Vannah
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