Hey everyone - check out our new blog at http://csanovascotia.blogspot.com/. We'll be tracking how we use up the Taproot food box every week!

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To all of you faithful contributors to the recipes blog I am sad to annouce that we will have to reassign you to a new blog. Thanks for all of your contributions to date - you have really inspired me. The detail and care taken with your entries has made me feel wonderful inside. Thanks!
I will get things sorted out so you can continue to post on the new site.

www.taprootfarms.ca

Thanks so very, very Much!!!

Tomato Plants

At our farm in Canard we have extra tomatoes. They are ready to plant.
The variety is Big Beef.
$1 each

Let me know if you want one, two or 20.

Chard Crostini variation 1

Our version of the Kale Crostini. We used swiss chard and followed the recipe below except we added some black forest ham, fried mushrooms and smoked gouda. All veggies from Taproot and gouda from Foxhill.
Enjoy!!!

Garlic Scape Pesto

http://www.whatgeekseat.com/wordpress/2007/06/16/garlic-scape-pesto/

KALE CROSTINI

KALE CROSTINI



washed & dried kale leaves

1 TBS. olive oil

one medium yellow onion, halved and sliced

two cloves chopped garlic

garlic butter

loaf of French bread or ciabatta

sliced Havarti (regular or lite)



remove stems from kale

cut kale into 1" strips

saute onions & garlic in olive oil until soft

add kale strips and cook until tender

cut bread into serving sizes

spread garlic butter on the bread and broil until light brown

top with cooked kale

top each piece with sliced Havarti

change oven setting from broil to 400

bake for about 15 minutes



This recipe would probably work for beet greens too but I haven't tried it yet.

Cooked spinach is too soft for this recipe.

Rhubarb Chocolate Chip Loaf

While it is still rhubarb season and we don't have any local strawberries yet, we decided to try something new.


For the rhubarb purée, we cooked 6 small to medium stalks of chopped rhubarb with 1 TBSP each of water, brown sugar & butter. Let cool. We ended up with 1 2/3 cups of purée.

Now for the loaf(s), this makes 2.

We need:
3/4 C milk
1/2 C rolled oats
1 C butter
2 1/2 C brown sugar
4 eggs
1 2/3 C rhubarb purée
3 1/2 C flour (Speerville organic unbleached)
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2 tsp salt

4 tsp Spice mix (pumpkin pie can be used)
we used;
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground allspice
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 1/2 C dark chocolate chips

First, soak oats in milk.
Cream butter & sugar.
Add eggs to sugar mixture, beat well.
Add rhubarb & oat/milk to egg/sugar mixture, beat more.
Add dry ingredients, except chocolate chips and beat gently until all is mixed.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Pour into 2 9x5x2 pans.
Cook in a 320°F oven for about 1 hour 20 minutes, until done.


Enjoy !!!

Romain Wraps & Tzatziki

Since we got some great romaine & cucumbers in our box this past week, we thought of something a little different, no carbohydrates. So we had a few marinated turkey breasts and an idea for wraps without pita.



Lets make the tzatziki ...

1/2 a container of plain yogurt (Foxhill if possible)
1-2 cloves of minced garlic (depending how garlicky you like it)
1/2 English cucumber, grated
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill
1/2 tsp ground cumin (optional)
squeeze of lemon juice to taste
salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

A good Tzatziki requires that you use strained yogurt. Take your plain yogurt and dump in a metal strainer, lined with cheesecloth with a pot underneath to catch the draining liquid. You’ll need at least 3-4 or 12 hours for the final thick result.

Next step is to take your cucumber and seed it then box grate it into the strainer. Sprinkle some salt to help draw out the moisture. Give the cucumber 30 minutes and use a cheese cloth or your hands (in batches) to squeeze out the water.

Add your grated cucumber to the yogurt and now add 1-2 cloves of minced garlic, your chopped dill, season with salt to taste, squeeze of lemon juice, the olive oil and the ground cumin. I find the cumin gives your Tzatziki that “je ne sais quoi”!



Once you have you tzatziki mixed, time to prepare the wrap's wrappings (toppings?). We had a few marinated turkey breasts that we did on the BBQ. You can add anything you like, make it vegetarian or raw if you want. We sliced tomatoes, cucumber, radishes and spring turnip. Add the hot sauce of your choice, or not.



Now prepare romaine, we took some of the stalk out and pressed the remaining stalk down to crack, so it rolls nice. Place ingredients on leaf end and roll up. Enjoy!!!

Gratin dauphinoise

Recipe by the insanely inspiring Keith Floyd (RIP)
This is in the French Provencal recipes on his site, sorry, he never gives quantities, we just experiment until it feels right and we did it in a 9 x 9 pan and bake at 325 F.
Emily LOVES it.

Gratin dauphinoise

(Sliced potatoes baked with cream and garlic) Do not try this recipe if you are already having a hard time fitting into your pants.



Ingredients

Slightly waxy potatoes

Crushed garlic (we put 7 or 8 large cloves!!!)

Double cream (this would be whipping cream)

Salt/Pepper

Butter


Method

* Finely slice the potatoes on a mandolin or food processor
* Rinse well about 3 times to remove much of the starch
* Pat dry thoroughly and place a layer in a shallow, well buttered dish
* On top of that layer, sprinkle finely chopped garlic and dot with butter
* Season with salt and pepper
* Add another layer of potato, garlic, salt and pepper and dot with butter
* Repeat the process until the dish is full; the final layer is just potato
* Pour over some double cream – be generous
* Leave to stand for about 15 minutes
* Cover with tin foil, place in the oven at about 160 Celsius/325 Fahrenheit for about an hour
* Remove the foil from the dish and allow to brown

Nettles in the Kettle

For anyone still mulling over what to do with those nettles, a simple and tasty solution is to pop them in your teapot. We've been treating ourselves to a nice cup of nettle tea in the morning. This suggestion was listed in last year's newsletter, but I thought I would just put out a little reminder in case you had not found your way there. I do recommend that soup recipe Patricia provided. I just put it in the blender as opposed to straining the leaves and it turned out great.

Batman enjoyed his steaming cup to recharge his super powers. It just might do the same for you!

Parsnips

I used my parsnips 2 delicious ways this week. I apologize as I cook without measuring & go by taste & looks. FYI I use a cast iron frying pan, which in my opinion makes every recipe better.

Parsnip & Bean Curry

heat Olive Oil - a good glug on med/high stove
when oil is hot add several Parsnips (mine were cut up quite small to please certain people I live with) along with several portobella mushrooms (sliced)
and a bit of crushed garlic, salt, pepper and some red pepper flakes to taste
this should be stirred to ensure even browning of the veggies, for around 5 minutes or until the veg are close to cooked
then add 1 cup pre-cooked Aduki Beans and a heaping spoon of curry powder
stir to blend flavours, then once the curry starts to smell really warm add about a cup of water or broth, lower heat and simmer for at least 15 minutes,
the longer you simmer the better the flavour,
continue to add small amounts of water as the beans tend to absorb a fair bit.


Parsnip Kale Galette

Stir Fry in olive oil several parsnips cut up fine with about 1 cup of kale cut in strips, a few mushrooms & crushed garlic for about 5 minutes - remove from pan & set aside to cool slightly
toast gently over med heat half a cup of walnuts with a handful of fresh sage leaves
meanwhile - beat 2-3 eggs with 1 Tbsp flour, some salt & a handful of grated cheese
add some more oil or better - butter, to your pan
mix nuts with veggies then quickly add egg mix and put the whole mess back in the frying pan over med. heat but don't stir
cook for 3/4 minutes then flip the entire contents of the pan onto a plate then slide it back into the pan to brown the other side
when cooked through turn out onto a serving plate, cool slightly and slice into wedges

Dandelion greens idea

Mary Beth's Rapini with pine nuts and garlic should work really well with dandelion greens too. They have the nice clean bitter that rapini has.
I am looking forward to the recipe!

Mashed Turnip

Hey Patricia, Just wanted to share tonight's mashed turnip from last week's box with you. I think my turnip trick is worth sharing: steam them instead of boiling, then purée with butter or cream. This will avoid the watery fibrous mash we so often end up with. Hope this excites you half as much as it excites me!

Parsnip Pecan Cake & Parsnip Pie

Parsnip-Pecan Cake
http://www.justvegetablerecipes.com/veg-0093444.html

1 1/4 c Salad oil
1 1/4 c Sugar
2 c Flour
1 tb Baking powder
1 tb Baking soda
2 ts Cinnamon
1/4 ts Salt
4 Eggs
3 c Grated raw parsnips
1 1/2 c Finely chopped pecans

1 10" Tube pan/Preheat oven to 325 degrees F



Thoroughly combine oil and sugar. Sift together dry ingredients and add to oil and sugar, alternating with eggs. Beat well after each addition. Mix in parsnips and then pecans. Pour into buttered tube pan. Bake in preheated 325 degree oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing.

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I also found this recipe on the same website, but didn't yet get a chance to try it:


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Parsnip Pie
http://www.justvegetablerecipes.com/veg-0016948.html

1 c Cooked parsnips
1 c Milk
2 Eggs
2 tb Butter
1/2 ts Nutmeg
3/4 c Sugar
1/4 ts Salt


Cook parsnips mashed fine and strain. While still warm, add the butter and salt. Beat the eggs, add sugar and nutmeg. Add milk and the parsnip mixture and mix well. Line a 9-inch pie pan with pastry and pour in the mixture. Sprinkle with nutmeg and bake in 400 degrees oven about 30 minutes or until the custard is thick and nicely browned.
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Nettle Filo pastry

Nettle Filo pastry

Nettles aren’t the first thing to come to mind when I think of “food” – I encountered them in England when I was nine and my classmates told me they felt really soft if I just brushed my hand over them gently. I was surprised when they showed up in the box last year - I didn’t even know they grew in Canada! But I managed to get over my painful memories and re-create a dish I had eaten in Ireland under the impression that it was spinach.

Make sure you clean the nettles well by dumping them out of a bag into a strainer or collander, rinsing them thoroughly and dumping the strainer into the pot without ever touching the raw nettles!

(serves 4-6)

4 cups or so of nettles

2 eggs

¾ cup of feta cheese

2 T Parmesan

Melted butter

¼ tsp pepper

10 sheets of filo pastry

Boil the nettles in a large pot of water for 10 minutes; drain. (You can save the nettle water for an apparently-really-healthy soup stock.) Beat the eggs; mix with the feta and parmesan. Chop the nettles and mix into the feta; add pepper. Coat the inside of a small oven-proof dish with butter, and line with ½ of the filo sheets. Brush with butter. Spoon in the cheese mixture and cover with the rest of the filo. Seal the edges and brush the top with butter. Make a few slits in the top of the package for the steam to escape. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes or until filo is golden and crispy.

This would also work with ricotta.

Fiddlehead Soup

I grew up in Tide Head, New Brunswick - the self-proclaimed fiddle head capital of the world. The bag of fiddle heads in this week's share brings me on a trip down memory lane. As a child growing up in Northern New Brunswick, a visit to our secret picking spot was always part of the spring ritual. I love mine boiled with a dab of butter. Hubby isn't quite so fond of these greens. This soup recipe from my mom is a great alternative. You can adjust the recipe depending on the amount of fiddleheads you have on hand. I think we posted this last year, but I thought it couldn't hurt to post again (:

4 cups fiddleheads
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, chopped - about 1 cup
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon flour
3 or 4 cups chicken broth
1 potato, peeled and diced
1 cup light cream or milk (I usually just use chicken broth and no milk)

Cook fiddleheads in boiling salted water until just tender, then drain and reserve

Melt the butter in the pot you are making the soup in
Saute the onions until softened
Sprinkle flour in pan, mix in and cook for 1 minute
Gradually stir in the chicken stock and bring to a boil
Add diced potato, reduce heat and cook covered for 5 minutes or till softened
Add the fiddleheads and continue to simmer until the vegetables are soft.

Working in batches in a blender, pure the mixture
Return to pot and add milk if desired.

Note: To add a decorative touch, save a few whole fiddleheads for a garnish. Put a little swirl of cream or plain yogurt on top of the individual bowl of soup and place a fiddlehead on top of the swirl.

Use-up zucchini bread

I can't remember if I posted this recipe last summer or not, but given the frozen zucchini coming in the box this week, I thought I'd re-post.

Most zucchini bread recipes call for far more sugar and oil than is healthy, and only a cup or so of grated zucchini – which is about half a large zucchini, if that. So I’ve adapted this from my favourite banana bread recipe. Look mom, no fat!

2 cups grated zucchini

¾ cups white sugar

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in sugar. Add zucchini and milk. Mix thoroughly. Grease or spray a loaf pan; cook for one hour or until a toothpick inserted into the thickest part comes out dry.

Spinach & Basil Pesto

After enjoying the last of our Parsnip & Apple soup, the beautiful bag of Taproot spinach was calling my name! Usually we use spinach in salads, smoothies, or on sandwiches, but Saturday morning at the Farmer's Market we stumbled upon some lovely basil. I thought pairing it with the spinach and a few other yummies would make a divine pesto!

This pesto is a bit un-traditional in that it uses miso instead of salt. Miso is a great source of beneficial enzymes. It also makes use of rice vinegar rather than lemon juice and nutritional yeast (an inactive yeast) rather than parmesan cheese. Nutritional Yeast is a great source of B Vitamins! Combined with the amazing Taproot spinach - this is the superhero of pesto's!

Spinach & Basil Pesto

5 oz. spinach
1.5 oz basil
3 oz. pinenuts
2-4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. Rice Vinegar
2 tsp. Light Miso ("light" refers to the colour and the bean/grain which the miso is made from)
1/3 Cup nutritional yeast

Start by toasting the pine nuts a little bit in a pan on the stove.

It really does make a difference in the flavour. They should be just a wee bit darker and you'll be able to smell the nutty-goodness.

Into your food processor, add the spinach (you may need to pulse it a few times to get the spinach volume to go down to make room for the other ingredients).

Then add the basil (again you may need to process a bit).

Then add the pine nuts, miso, rice vinegar, and nutritional yeast. Pulse a few times until everything looks more cohesive. Then, with the processor running, go ahead and add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream. You may not need all 4 Tablespoons.

You will probably have to stop and scrape down the sides of the processor a few times. When it is a beautiful Spring green, and everything is combined, you're ready! We love it on pizza, it's also great with pasta, grains, and you can even combine a few Tablespoons with some soy yogurt (or dairy yogurt for those who eat dairy) and have a lovely dip for vegetables and crudites! Enjoy!

Parsnip & Apple Soup with Cilantro

I thought I would share my first Taproot experience with you. Ascenta rejoiced when we discovered that our boxes had arrived yesterday!!!

Parsnip& Apple Soup with Cilantro
Step 1: Shamelessly photographing new vegetable loves.
Step 2: Simmering away on the stove, filling the house with the sweetest scent!
Step 3: Pureed a’la VitaMix (oh so silky smooth!) and posing alongside cousin roots.

Thanks for box #1 – we’re already dreaming of next week!

Parsnip & Apple Soup with Cilantro



1 Tbsp Coconut Oil

1 ½ lbs apples (weight before peeling & coring), peeled, cored and cut into chuncks

1 ½ lbs parsnips (weight before trimming), trimmed, cleaned and cut into chuncks

1 medium sized onion, chopped

1 Tbsp cilantro, chopped

2 Cups organic vegetable broth (prefereably homemade)

2 Cups water

1 Tbsp White Wine

Melt oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add apples, parsnips, onion, cilantro and wine and sauté until slightly softened, about 12 minutes. Add broth & water and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until apples and parsnips are tender, about 35-40 minutes.

Puree soup in blender in batches. Return puree to pot. Thin with more broth if desired. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Re-warm over medium heat before continuing.) Season soup with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls. Garnish with more cilantro or sautéed apple slices. Serve! Be nourished!

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