Coo coo for Kuku

The following meal idea comes to us from our CSA member, Jean Quillen.

Have you ever heard of kuku, a Persian omelet, sometimes called eggah? Basically you lightly cook and season some vegetables with or without onion, garlic, herbs, then add some beaten eggs and cook all together either in a non stick frying pan or in the oven. It's best to cover whilst cooking, then when the eggs are set you can turn it over or brown under the broiler. It's not wet or soft like an omelet but firm like a cake. It can be served in wedges either hot or cold. (When it's cooked with just potatoes it's called Tortilla Espanole!) The recipe is not unique to any particular culture, but it is always delicious.

Jean recommends Claudia Roden’s recipe for Spinach Eggah, which can be found in New Book of Middle Eastern Food.
There are lots of other recipes for kukus and eggahs using cauliflower, meat, chicken and noodles, herbs, etc. An eggah could be served as a main dish, appetizer (cut up in small pieces) or cold as part of a picnic.

I’ll also add that this week Jean shared with me a copy of Riverford Farm Cookbook: Tales from the fields, recipes from the kitchen by Guy Watson and Jane Baxter. I didn’t get a chance to put any of the recipes to use this week, but I did enjoy browsing the gorgeous photos and learning LOTS about many different varieties – seasonality, storage and preparation. As I type this, my mouth is watering over the description and photo of Salad of French Beans and Grilled Leeks with Tapenade Dressing! Thanks, Jean!

Not Vegan maybe healthy absolutely tasty

Last night I took those beets, and funny looking carrots (the ones that are not Orange) and the turnips and roasted them on my grill, just did the Israeli Olive Oil, salt, pepper and some balsamic vinegar. I added on a Flank Steak and made some pop overs to complete the meal. Family ate everything in sight. Should remember to take pictures next time.

Victor

What we made our first week after getting veggies from Sandhill Farms

Samantha and I picked up a "trial" basket of veggies. My first impressions on choosing which basket to take home is that each one is more beautiful than the next. As usual it took longer to get out of B'nai that planned - too much chatting ;->

At home I started unpacking. First thing I noticed was a small bag of snap peas, the kind that are totally edible - needless to say that between Izzy, Samantha, and I they were gone very quickly - so sweet & juicy!

That first night I made a salad with the greens and cooked some chicken breasts in wine, adding the small packet of fresh herbs - looked like chives, dill, marjoram, and I'm not sure what else, BUT, it tasted delicious.

Then I looked at the cooking greens (they'll get cooked a few days later with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and maybe a little chicken broth). Next were the multiple colors of carrots, beets & turnips (we had them tonight - sliced, drizzled with olive oil, salt & pepper then roasted on the grill along with the flank steak. Vic is certainly getting to be quite the master of his Big Green Egg!

Salad greens!!! Including edible flowers for a beautiful spot of color. The lettuce was gorgeous! Absolutely no waste - the outside tough very dirty leaves had already been trimmed away. The leaves needed a bit of a rinse to get the rest of the sand/soil off, but a quick spin in our salad spinner dried them off. I tend to only was the lettuce I plan to use for salad that day.

The fermented okra pickle - YUMMY!!! Similar to a real sour pickle from the pickle barrel - crunchy and delicious.

There was also a small bag of "young" spinach which I included in a quinoa pilaf with onions, mushrooms, and sweet potatoes which I brought over to some friends for dinner.

It is Tuesday - we still have some lettuce & the cooking greens. Maybe tomorrow will be greens with chicken sausage & pasta.

Happy Eating!

Alicia

A Week in the Life of a New CSA Member

What beautiful baskets of produce we took home during the first and second weeks of the CSA! While everything was gorgeous, I must say that I especially love the aesthetic of the edible flowers mixed into our bag of salad greens and the “Cosmic Purple Carrots” (the name alone is fabulous). Another highlight is the lovely and interesting “extras” that are included in our baskets– a rotation of fermented products and other prepared items such as salad dressing, pesto or jam. So far, all of these treats have been absolutely delicious!

For me, this project is as much about creativity as it is about nutrition, environmentally-sound farming practices, building community and supporting the local economy. Thus, I was determined to incorporate all of my first week items into meals (rather than enjoy them as stand alone snacks) and to make these meals art. Here’s what I did:

Swiss chard (stalky part as well as the leaves) sautéed with garlic and olive oil, and a touch of salt and pepper, served over a bed of angel hair pasta and topped with shaved manchego cheese. Loved the bitter, earthy flavor against the neutral pasta and just a bit of sharpness from the cheese.

Super Fresh Salad: Mixed greens with grated raw carrots and beets, tossed with the CSA Wild Orange Salad Dressing and slivered almonds. Great textures and flavors.

Grown-up Grilled Cheese: Tons of sautéed spinach on left-over toasted challah with some melted baby swiss cheese. Fun and flavorful.

Broccoli sautéed with garlic and olive oil and tossed with angel hair pasta. I added a handful of toasted walnuts for crunch, flavor and protein and sprinkled the tossed pasta with a few feta cheese crumbles. Simply sublime.

Greek Salad: Red romaine lettuce, balsamic vinaigrette (so easy – balsamic, good quality extra virgin olive oil or walnut oil, a touch of honey, salt and pepper mixed at the bottom of the salad bowl) diced red pepper, kalamata olives, fresh basil and dill, feta cheese. The bites with big pieces of basil were unbelievably refreshing and flavorful!

Roasted Root vegetables: A mix of beets, carrots, turnips, sweet potato, vidalia onion and a few whole garlic cloves lightly coated with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper went into a 375 degree oven. Meanwhile, I sautéed the beet and turnip tops in olive oil with garlic. When the roasted veggies were done, I added a blend of fresh herbs from our lovely little sachet of herbs, and then topped the roasted veggies with the sautéed greens. Delicious and diverse flavors – every bite was a little bit different.

Tempeh Reuben-inspired Sandwich: I was confident that Isa Chandra Moskowitz's “Vegan With a Vengeance” would include a good recipe for Tempeh Reuben, and sure enough, I found the recipe on page 102. I marinated the tempeh per her recipe. Because I don’t like mayo, Russian dressing was out of the question, but I found that slices of ripe avocado added a similar creamy quality. In the end, my sandwich was comprised of leftover slices of challah, baby swiss cheese, marinated and grilled tempeh, sliced avocado and Sandhill Farm kraut. I served it with a nice salad – butter lettuce and mixed greens, balsamic/walnut oil vinaigrette, fresh dill and parsley, edible flower petals, almonds and dried cranberries. I should give the disclaimer that as a life-long vegetarian, I have never actually eaten a reuben. I realize that my version with the wrong bread, no Russian dressing, and tempeh in the place of corned beef could offend some deli connoisseurs. Please forgive me!

A week into the CSA experience, here are some of my reflections:
1. My cooking and cleanup this week was far more quick and simple than usual. Why? Because I used just a few simple ingredients, focusing on the fresh and natural qualities of the produce.
2. I made just one trip to the grocery store to get the staples and “support ingredients” I needed – what a relief, as it is not unusual for me to run to the store nearly every evening to pick up ingredients for dinner.
3. I tried lots of new things. For example: I had never before purchased and prepared turnips (they weren’t my favorite, but I’ll keep trying to cultivate an appreciation for them). And, although I frequently roast beets, I’ve always discarded the beet greens. This week, though, I discovered that the greens are as tasty (tastier?!) than the roasted beets. Finally, there’s the sauerkraut (something I would never think of buying or making) and the tempeh (another item I rarely cook/order).
4. I had bursts of creativity regarding the flavor combinations and aesthetics of my meals.
5. I was mindful of every food I consumed during the week. I really tasted the flavors and focused on the experience of eating.
6. I called my mother more than usual – to ask her food-related questions or to report to her on my culinary experiences.
7. I found myself thinking a lot about my grandmother’s kitchen – I think it was the Russian dressing issue that sent my mind there – a lot of what my Ama made included Russian dressing!
8. Enjoying the CSA produce prompted me to take an increased interest in my own (new) veggie and herb garden.

A note on recipes:
I rarely use recipes, unless it’s the first or second time I’m making something (or any time I’m baking). I found that simple roasting and sautéing techniques dominated my cooking this week. From there, I mostly mixed and matched flavors and ingredients. But, I realize that I might be a bit more comfortable with improvisational cooking than others. If you feel you need a bit more direction, consult one of the classics, such as The Joy of Cooking or The Moosewood Cookbook for tips and recipes for preparing some of the veggies you might find in your CSA basket. You might also want to check out the recipes page at www.hogtownhomegrown.com. And of course, I hope that we’ll all start sharing recipes and ideas on this site. Please check back often and post some of your favorite recipes.

In the Beginning...

Welcome to the B’nai Israel CSA Blog! We’re very excited to have partnered with Sandhill Family Farm of Micanopy, FL to offer a congregation-based Community Supported Agriculture program.

Together as a sacred community, we'll be experiencing locally-grown seasonal food. Our CSA program is at the heart of the Jewish food movement in North Central Florida, and it is my hope that our CSA will be a springboard for related programs including Shabbat potlucks, hands-on cooking/pickling/baking classes, food justice work and more.

I invite you to join me in sharing recipes, food memories, photos of particularly gorgeous culinary art, and stories of success/struggle as you embark on kitchen adventures.

I hope that my voice will be joined by others – please comment or submit your own posts. I’d like to suggest that we approach this blog as a metaphorical dining room table – a place where we gather to create community, exchange ideas and receive nourishment.

Here’s to the beginning of something very special!