Recipe: Pickled Radishes

Crunchy, spicy radishes are one of my favorite spring veggies. Mostly I eat them raw in salads or just grab a handful from the fridge to munch. To explore some of the softer flavours in radishes you can try them butter braised or pickled. This quick and easy pickle mellows their peppery bite and is delicious in sandwiches or salads. Try setting out a jar at lunch or dinner and let everyone heap a spoonful of pickled radishes onto their plates - they are a great accompaniment to just about any savory meal.

Ingredients:

- 6-8 radishes, trimmed
- 3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 2 tsp. salt
- 3 tbsp. honey

Steps:

1. Use a sharp knife or a mandoline (carefully!) to slice radishes into thin discs.

2. Mix brine ingredients (vinegar, water, salt and honey) in saucepan and set on medium-low heat. Stir while heating until just dissolved, about 1-2 minutes.

3. Put garlic in the bottom of a clean 1 L jar and pack all the radishes in on top.

4. Pour brine in over the radishes. Make sure it's not too hot, you don't want to cook the radishes. They should be completely covered by the brine so add extra water if needed.

5. Let cool until room temperature and then refrigerate for 24 hours before eating. Expect to see a lovely pink hue within an hour or so as the brine starts to work its magic on the radishes.

This pickle will last 3-4 weeks in the fridge, assuming you don't devour it first.

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Recipe: Kohlrabi Slaw

Kohlrabi is a crunchy veggie with a delicate flavour that can be eaten raw or lightly cooked (steamed or fried). Being a brassica, it's in the same family as cabbage and broccoli and its taste is reminiscent of both. In this spring version of coleslaw, mild kohlrabi pairs with the slight bite of raw radishes in a vinegary dressing enhanced by honey, sesame and ginger flavours.

Ingredients:

Slaw:
2 kohlrabi, peeled and either julienned or coarsely grated
5 small-to-medium radishes, either julienned or coarsely grated
3/4 cup crushed unsalted peanuts
(optional) 1 bunch scallions, chopped

Dressing:
2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp honey
1 tsp minced ginger

Steps:

1) Peel and then grate kohlrabi with coarsest setting. You can also cut into matchsticks with a sharp knife or a mandoline.

2) Grate (or cut) radishes in the same way and add to the kohlrabi.

3) Mix dressing ingredients together thoroughly and pour onto salad.

4) Mix in peanuts and serve immediately.

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Recipe: Spinach Raita

This quick-to-make yogurt salad is delicious and very versatile. Pair it with a warm rice dish or something hot off the grill. In North America yogurt has unfortunately been relegated to the sweet snack or dessert category, and while I do love mixing it with jam, maple syrup or honey, there's so much more that yogurt can do. Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and South Asian cuisines have a wealth of savory uses for yogurt that are nothing short of amazing. It was a mind expanding experience for me the first time I mixed raw garlic with lightly salted yogurt and I guarantee once you've tried it you'll never limit yourself to "fruit on the bottom" yogurt cups again.

Here spinach adds a fresh taste of spring and is one of many veggies that can be combined with yogurt in this way. Raita is South Asian in origin and can be either sweet or savory depending on the ingredients. It's a delicious way to cool the tongue when eating a spicy Indian dish, and you may want to add cumin or mint to the raita if you're pairing it this way.

Ingredients:

- 1 bunch spinach, washed with stems trimmed off
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/4-1/2 tsp salt

Steps:

1. Lightly wilt spinach in boiling water or steam. Set aside to cool.

2. Drain spinach and squeeze with your hands to remove all excess water. Chop finely.

3. Mix yogurt with garlic, salt and lemon juice.

4. Add spinach and stir until completely mixed. Serve with a hot main dish.

Raita can be made with many different veggies (diced cucumber probably being the most popular), so if you like this dish you can experiment with other versions as the season progresses and more fresh Eva Mae Farm veggies make it to your kitchen counter. Enjoy!

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Recipe: Rutabaga Mash

This is our final recipe for the 2014 CSA season. It's been an exciting and exhausting 22 weeks and we couldn't be prouder of how things have gone. We hope our members ate well this season and felt a closer connection to where their food came from. Thanks for supporting the farm!

For more information about our program, check out our CSA page.

Rutabaga Mash:

Pure comfort food. Sweet and earthy rutabaga is cooked in milk and flavoured with cardamom before being served up like mashed potatoes. The simplest form of this dish is just rutabaga alone, but feel free to mix in other hearty fall veggies like carrots, parsnips, potatoes or butternut squash. Any or all of them can be cooked in the same way before pureeing.

Ingredients:

- 1 large rutabaga
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 cup milk

Steps:

1. To peel rutabagas, first slice in half. Then slice off top and roots. Place each half cut side down and slice peel off from the top downwards.

2. Chop rutabaga in roughly 1 inch cubes.

3. Melt butter on medium heat and add rutabagas. Stir until coated.

4. Add milk, salt and cardamom and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until rutabagas are soft.

5. Take off the heat. Drain off the little bit of liquid at the bottom of the pot.

6. Puree with an immersion blender, a standard counter-top blender or a stand mixer. The mash can be served immediately or made in advance and reheated.

Thanks for checking out our recipes! Each of the recipes I've posted over the past 22 weeks highlights one or more of the delicious and seasonal veggies found in our CSA boxes. Look for weekly recipes to return in late spring 2015 when our next CSA season kicks off!

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Recipe: Beet and Feta Salad

Roasted beets are paired with feta and their rich flavours contrast nicely with the tartness of lemon vinaigrette. This salad makes for a delicious accompaniment to the heavier meals of the fall. The oven roasting technique used here is a great all-purpose way to prepare beets for a wide array of dishes.

Ingredients:

Salad:
- 6 beets
- 6-8 large lettuce leaves
- 3 oz feta, crumbled

Vinaigrette dressing:
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- juice and grated peel of 1 medium lemon (about 2 tbsp of peel and 3 tbsp of juice)
- 2 tsp Dijon
- 1 tsp honey
- 1/2 tsp salt

Steps:

1. Trim beet stems but leave peels on for now. Drizzle olive oil over beets and then wrap individually in aluminum foil.

2. Roast beets at 400F for 45-60 minutes or until soft.

3. While beets are cooking, whisk vinaigrette ingredients together. Leftover vinaigrette will keep for several days in the fridge.

4. Remove beets from the oven and unwrap. Allow to cool 10-20 minutes.

5. If beets are sufficiently cooked and cool enough to handle, you should be able to slide their peels off without much effort. Coarsely chop peeled beets.

6. Lay chopped beets over a bed of lettuce and then sprinkle with feta. Serve with vinaigrette dressing.

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Recipe: Rainbow Coleslaw

When cabbage starts coming in from the garden I always make coleslaw. This recipe throws in some other seasonal veggies for a deliciously colourful result. You can use regular store bought mayo but I promise that when you try homemade mayo - easier to make than it might seem - you'll never want to buy it premade again. Once you get the hang of the basic mix of egg, vinegar, salt and oil you can experiment with different vegetable oils (try
swapping half of the oil for something more strong tasting like olive, avocado or walnut oil), different acids (ie, lemon juice in place of vinegar), and different flavourings to add in. Garlic is perhaps my favorite but I've had yummy results with additions like saffron, tarragon and rosemary.

Ingredients:

Garlic Mayo:
- 1 egg
- 2 cups mild flavoured vegetable oil (such as grapeseed oil)
- 4 tsp white vinegar
- 1 clove of garlic - 1/2 tsp salt

Coleslaw:
- 1 beet
- 1 small green cabbage
- 1 turnip
- 2 large carrots
- 1 large apple
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp lemon juice

Steps:

1. Place the egg, vinegar and salt in a stand mixer or food processor. Set to medium speed and run for 1 minute.

2. Slowly drizzle the oil into the mixture as your mixer or processor is running. This should take several minutes. It's helpful to pause every half cup or so and wait 30-60 seconds before starting to pour oil again (while letting the machine continue running). You should see the mayo start to thicken by the time half of the oil is in and continue thickening as you add more oil.

3. Add minced garlic and run for another 1-2 minutes.

4. Finely slice or grate the veggies and mix together into a large bowl. I used a mandoline for all but the cabbage but that's up to you.

5. Add the mayo, Dijon mustard and lemon juice to the veggies and mix thoroughly. Serve immediately or refrigerate. As is typical with coleslaw the flavour will improve after 24 hrs of resting in the fridge.

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