In Your Indian Summer Share
Date: October 19th 2009
In Your Share
Carrots
Potatoes
Onions
Jerusalem Artichokes
Daikon
Winter Squash / Pumpkins
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Just got back from a book-signing at “I Know You Like a Book” – where we actually ran out of books -- 40 books in 40 minutes! Thanks so much to everyone who came, and to Clare Howard, who wrote a wonderful review in the Peoria Journal Star on Sunday.
For anyone in the Peoria-area who missed it, there will be more books, and me signing them, at the Peoria Barnes and Noble this Sat. starting at 1 p.m.
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Last week was November, and now we’re back to September. I knew we’d get an Indian Summer sooner or later! Indian summer seems to mean different things in different parts of the country, but ‘round these parts, it means the summer-like days that come after a frost. Meaning days exactly like today, with maples ablaze, and even the hickories more golden than brown. It is certainly peak viewing season along the banks of the Mackinaw.
And also peak viewing season for the Orionoids. It seems more people know about August’s Perseid showers (seeming to originate from Perseus), than October’s Orionoids (seeming to radiate from Orion the Hunter). But if you can find somewhere far from city (and gas station) lights, you can see 15-20 meteors an hour at the shower’s peak, which is this Tues, Wed, and Thursday from midnight to dawn.
I heard on “Earth Sky” that the Orionid meteors are debris left behind by Halley’s Comet, which last visited Earth in 1986. This comet leaves debris in its wake that strikes Earth’s atmosphere most fully around October 20-22, when Earth intersects the comet’s orbit, as it does every year at this time.
And at this time every year, subscribers start asking questions. Like “When does the CSA end?” And “When can I sign up for next year?” The answers: There are still 6 more weeks in this CSA season – tomorrow and 5 more Tuesdays, clear up until Nov. 24, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. And we will start telling you about renewing in November. Stay tuned!
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FOOD NOTES – Jerusalem Artichokes, Daikon
At this time every year, we generally have lots and lots of fall greens. You may have noticed that they are lacking this year, and that is due to the very wet summer, which prevented Henry from planting many things, including fall greens. So this week your share will be root-heavy. And delicious.
DAIKON is a root vegetable that can be eaten raw, but which I like best cooked – either boiled in a soup or stew, or roasted with other root vegetables. One of my favorite things to do as the weather gets colder is cut up a bunch of different roots and roast them with olive oil, salt and pepper, and a few herbs such as rosemary or winter savory.
Roasted Daikon and other Root Vegetables
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Use any combination of roots (or all of the kinds you have in your share this week), cut into similar sized chunks. Toss with enough olive oil to coat the vegetables and season with salt and pepper and your favorite herbs. Roast in a large glass or ceramic baking dish, or a heavy roasting pan, uncovered, until browned and tender, 20 to 30 or even 40 or 50 minutes, depending on the size of your vegetable chunks. Stir every 10-15 minutes so that they cook and brown evenly. They are done when you can insert a fork easily.
And for an uncommon cure to the common cold, try Mrs. Takayasu’s wonderful Daikon with Lemon: Thinly slice half moons of equal amounts of lemon and daikon. Add sugar to taste. Let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours. Eat the lemon and daikon and drink the liquid – they’ll cure whatever ails you!
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SUNCHOKES (Jerusalem Artichokes) are the underground tuber of a Native American plant in the Sunflower family, and so have nothing to do with Jerusalem, and are unrelated to artichokes. But they are delicious, and can be roasted, sauteed, fried, even mashed
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But the big nutrition story about sunchokes these days is that they contain very high levels of inulin. Not to be confused with insulin, the protein hormone that controls glucose absorption, inulin is a carbohydrate that breaks down to fructose. Fructose is not used to treat diabetes directly, but it is considered a better sugar for most diabetics because it must be converted to glucose before being absorbed by cells.
Roasted Sunchokes
2 pounds sunchokes, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Toss together the sunchokes and oil in a large bowl. Season generously with salt and pepper. Spread on a baking tray and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until tender and golden brown. Transfer to a bowl and serve immediately.
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Toss together the sunchokes and oil in a large bowl. Season generously with salt and pepper. Spread on a baking tray and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until tender and golden brown. Transfer to a bowl and serve immediately.
Sautéed Sunchokes
1 pound sunchokes
salt to taste
3 Tb olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
freshly ground black pepper
1 Tb parsley, finely chopped
1. Scrub or peel the sunchokes as you bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Add salt and then the sunchokes. Allow the water to return to a rolling boil and then take out the sunchokes. When they are cool enough to handle, slice thinly.
2. Put the olive oil and garlic in a skillet and cook until the garlic just begins to color. Add the sunchokes, coating them with oil. Add the salt, pepper and parsley and stir to coat well. Cook until the sunchokes feel very tender. Serve.
Wine-Glazed Jerusalem Artichokes with Rosemary
2 Tb olive oil
1 pound Jerusalem artichokes, sliced into rounds
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
2 tsp chopped rosemary
1/2 cup dry white wine
Heat the oil in a wide skillet. Add the Jerusalem artichokes and garlic and saute for about 1 - 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the rosemary and wine, and continue to cook over high heat until the wine is reduced to a few table-spoons. Add 1 Tb water, cover, and cook for a minute more or until tender-crisp. Boil the excess liquid, if any, down to a glaze. Serve.
Winter Squashes.The word on the street is that the Nobel Committee is considering awarding Henry a prize on the grounds that his Acorns, Butternuts, Delicata, and Kabocha have altered people’s world view, and been known to bring about good will and conviviality through their extraordinarily deep, rich tastes. This week you may see a few new varieties – all different sizes, shapes, and colors – and all delicious.
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