Week 2: 9/10 - 9/13
Thursday 3pm - till Sunday Night | SELF SERVE 13197 10TH St. South. Afton, MN. 55001 | 612.770.7194
What we're up to:
This week are working on a new winter project! We have been looking at how to get more growing room for the winter months that would produce a lot of produce and give us some diversity and BOOM, we are going to use our old greenhouse as a deep winter greenhouse! (if you don't know what a deep winter greenhouse is, start googling, they are very cool). Currently we are curing onions and winter squash in there but as soon as they are done, we will pull all the tables and 'junk' out, install 4 raised beds and hang 50 gutter trays from the rafters on the south side (growing vertically to utilize as much space and heat as possible). Then we are making a heat sink-80 black buckets filled with water to capture the heat during the day and release it night; this should help cut back on heating costs. If this works out this winter we can then invest in that structure next year to resemble the outside design of a deep winter greenhouse to capture more sunlight. We are supper excited!!! (Ill post pictures on our blog when we get it done)
In Your Bag This Week
Arugula: crisp and peppery, add to salads, sandwiches, make pesto or use in the recipe below! Store in your fridge. Purple skinned Potatoes: These are fantastic! smooth and buttery yellow potato with a bright purple skin. Perfect for baking, mashing or roasting. Store in a cool dry place for up to 3 months. (we do not wash these so they store better, they will need a good scrubbing before cooking) Fennel: bright flavor and beautiful to look at, I love these chopped and baked al gratin but you can also shave them thin to add to salad. Store in a bag in your fridge. Bib Romaine: great in salads, wraps or sandwiches! Store in a bag in the fridge. Kale: Curly or dino, easy to add to any cooked dish as well as lightly massaging it and eating as a salad. Store in a bag in your fridge. Green Beans: delicious in almost anything! Pickle them, steam, boil or eat raw! Store in your fridge in a bag. Sweet Peppers: all sweet peppers this week-stuff and bake, chop for salad or dips, chop and sauté, however you eat them, you will love them! Store on your counter for 3 days or in your fridge in a bag for up to 2 weeks.
Veggie Stuffed Purple Potatoes with Spicy Peanut Sauce | Serves: 4 | total time: 1h 40 mins
Ingredients
3-4 potatoes, scrubbed clean
2-3 tablespoons cooking oil, divided (I like avocado or coconut oil)
1 lb. boneless/skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size strips (about 2 or 3 breasts) Omit for vegan/vegetarian version.
1 small red bell pepper, sliced
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
½ small head red or green cabbage, sliced thin (about 1-1.5 cups)
1 small red onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon ginger, finely minced
2 cups fresh spinach leaves, washed and dried
1 cup cooked edamame, shelled
juice of ½ lime
salt and pepper, to taste
¼ cup chopped cilantro, optional garnish
chopped green onion, optional garnish
Spicy Peanut Sauce:
½ cup natural peanut butter
⅓ cup low sodium soy sauce (use tamari or coconut aminos if gluten-free)
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup canned, full-fat coconut milk, more may be needed if you want it thinner
2-4 tablespoons honey, to taste
½-2 tablespoons sriracha sauce, more or less to taste (can also use a few pinches of crushed red pepper instead)
2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon ginger, finely grated
Instructions
To Bake Sweet Potatoes:
Preheat oven to 325ºF. Coat the skin of the potatoes with a little oil or butter before baking. Pierce a few times with a fork or knife and wrap in foil. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 90 minutes, or until fork-tender. Alternatively, you can microwave potatoes in a covered microwave safe glass dish with a splash of water at the bottom to help steam. Cook on medium or medium-high power between 7-10 minutes per potato. Check every few minutes and remove when fork-tender. Don't overcook.
To Make Stir-Fry:
In a large pan or wok add 1 tablespoon cooking oil and sauté chicken over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes, until center is no longer pink. Season with salt and pepper and remove to a covered dish.
Return the pan to the heat and add an additional drizzle of oil, if needed. Add bell pepper, carrots, cabbage, and onions to the pan and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Stir in garlic, ginger and cook a few more minutes until carrots are almost tender. Mix in spinach, edamame, and return cooked chicken to the pan. Squeeze lime juice over the veggies, sprinkle with salt & pepper, and stir to coat. Continue to cook until spinach is wilted, about 1-2 minutes.
To Make Peanut Sauce:
In a medium bowl or blender, mix together all listed sauce ingredients from peanut butter to ginger. Add additional coconut milk to thin and adjust seasonings to taste after blending (extra spice, honey, etc.)
Putting It Together:
Cut a slit lengthwise down each potato, open and fluff the inside with a fork. Drizzle some peanut sauce into each potato and top with a generous serving of the stir-fry. Drizzle additional peanut sauce onto each stuffed potato and serve.
Grilled Fennel Salad with Herbs & Parm | Serves: 4 | total time: 20 mins
Ingredients
fennel bulbs, sliced
olive oil
fresh herbs like basil, parsley and thyme and some fennel fronds
lemon juice and zest
Parmigiano Reggiano shavings
Instructions
If your fennel bulbs have stalks and fronds on them, then you'll want to trim them off.
Cut off any hard and inedible outer parts.
Trim a tiny bit off the bottom, the core helps to keep your slices in tact.
Holding your fennel bulb upright cut ¼ inch slices vertically from top to bottom.
Brush each side with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper.
Place slices on a medium hot grill turning until you get a nice char on each side and fennel is tender to the touch.
Whisk together the lemon, olive oil, herbs and zest adding salt and pepper to taste, then drizzle all over.
Garnish with the shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano.
Delicious slightly warm or at room temperature.
cite: https://www.prouditaliancook.com/2013/06/grilled-fennel-salad-with-fresh-herbs-and-parmesan.html
Garlic Butter Rice with Kale | Serves: 6 | total time: 45 mins
Ingredients
MARINATED KALE:
7 cups kale sliced leaves , tightly packed (1cm / 2/5" slices) (Note 1)
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
GARLIC BUTTER RICE:
2 tbsp (30g) unsalted butter
3 - 4 large garlic cloves , minced
1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice (Note 2)
2 1/4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable)
FINISHING:
1 - 2 tbsp (15 - 30g) butter
1/3 cup chopped almonds (or other nuts / seeds of choice)
Instructions
Place kale in a large bowl. Drizzle over oil, sprinkle with a small pinch of salt and pepper. Scrunch with hands for 30 seconds, set aside while rice cooks.
Melt butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Add garlic and stir for 1 minute until just starting to turn golden and is incredibly fragrant.
Add rice, stir for 10 seconds.
Add broth, stir, then cover.
Turn heat down to medium or medium low so the liquid is simmering very gently. Cook for 12 - 15 minutes until all liquid is absorbed (tilt pot to check).
Quickly toss all the kale on top of the rice, put the lid back on then remove from heat.
Rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Fluff rice with fork, stirring kale through.
Lastly, stir through extra butter and add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve and sprinkle over nuts (or stir nuts through rice).
We wash everything in your bag but we wash them in bulk so some things may need an extra rinse at home.
Please bring your bag back next week so we can re-use them!
thanks!