Fall Food - A Share from Friends

We were recently lucky to "inherit" a CSA share from our friends Josh and Virginia who were going on a fantastic trip to Peru. They needed someone to pick up their share of fresh fruits and vegetables for the week. Felipe stopped by and picked up a bounty of veggies and a peck of fruit. Here's what we got (I'm sorry...without exact measurements):

1 Bunch Kale
1 Large Zucchini
1 Fennel Bulb
A handful of green beans (not sure what variety)
4 small tomatoes
5 small peppers
4 small radishes
1/2 peck of Bosc Pears
1/2 peck of Gala Apples

So the first thing I wanted to use was the Kale, as it was large and leafy...and prone to wilting if left too long! In all honesty, I've never used or eaten Kale in anything, so my first major task was find out what I could do with it. Unfortunately my bevy of cookbooks weren't much help - hardly any of them had recipes using kale. Even when I checked my How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman, no luck. A friend of mine at work gave me what looked to be a delicious recipe for soup using kale and a bunch of other yummy ingredients. The benefit of this recipe is that I already had everything on hand to make it (who doesn't love that!?).


Sorry...soup doesn't photo well (at least for me!)

Kale, White Bean, and Potato Soup

Serves 4
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time 25 Minutes

Ingredients
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Medium Red Onion, thinly sliced (I used shallot instead)
1 clove Garlic, chopped
4 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup canned white beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup diced carrots
2 cups all purpose potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups Kale, tough stems removed, cut into thin ribbons
4 lemon wedges

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan and saute the onion/shallot and garlic for 5 minutes, or until translucent.

Add vegetable broth, vinegar, salt, and red pepper flakes. Bring the mixture to a boil and add the white beans, carrots, potatoes and kale.

Return to a boil, then reduce to medium heat. Cook for 15 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

Ladle into individual soup bowls. Squeeze juice from lemon wedges into each.

The soup was delicious, and entirely vegetarian friendly. The potatoes, canellini beans and carrots were filling, and the shallot and lemon gives it a nice flavor. I also really enjoyed the hint of heat from the red pepper flakes. I think that this soup will replace my chicken noodle soup when I get sick - it's packed full of vitamin C which we all know is good for our immune systems, and the heat from the red pepper flakes is good for opening up a congested head. Something to keep in mind with the chilly and rainy autumn weather we have upon us.

Next, what possibly could we do with all this fruit!? I know they say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but that's a lot of apples for two people to eat. and the pears as well. So again I went to my cookbooks to see what I could find (as I've never been good at creating recipes from scratch). I found a great recipe for a Pear Butter from Martha Stewart.



Pear Butter

Ingredients
Makes about 2 cups

* 12 Bosc pears, very ripe, cored, peeled, and cut into large chunks
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 1 vanilla bean
* 3 strips lemon rind, about 2 inches in length

Directions

1. Place all ingredients and 1/4 cup water in a heavy-bottomed pan. Cook over a low flame 2 to 3 hours, until the fruit is soft.

2. Remove the vanilla bean, and put the fruit through a food mill on the smallest setting. Pour into canning jars, filling them within a half inch of top. Tap filled jars on table, and run a knife around sides to remove air bubbles. Make sure the top of the jar is clean; seal.

3. Refrigerate immediately. The butter will keep for two to four weeks.


The pear butter turned out well, but had a less "buttery" texture. In the end it kind of has more of a sauce texture. Felipe has decided it goes perfectly on waffles and pancakes.


As for the apples, I was decidedly less adventurous, and just sliced them up to make apple chips. This was super simple and went like this: slice the apples, with skin on and without removing the core (leaves a nice star pattern on the apples). As you slice, place slices in a bowl of water with a touch of lemon juice to prevent browning. When all apples are sliced, line two baking sheets with parchment paper and place on layer of apple slices on the cookie sheets. Bake in a 225 degree oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.




MMmmmmmm....yum! Let's just say that these apple chips did not last long on this plate....

Thanks to Josh and Virginia for sharing their CSA share with us, we really enjoyed it!