Organically Grown Company

Since the end of farmers market season we ChildRoots need to find a new way to access, good quality, organic, local(ish) produce. Our old produce company wasn't much help so we switched to Organically Grown Company. They are a local distributor with a strong focus on organics and sustainability. They are also the people behind the Ladybug truck you see all over town.

Blue Ballet Squash
Spaghetti SquashChiogga Beets
Carvival Squash
Celery Root
Sugar Pie Pumpkins
Acorn Squash
Crenshaw Melons - These were tremendously popular.
Mangoes - Now is the time.

Produce of Late.

It's been a while since I've done a produce round up. Now that we're getting into the winter, produce is going to become a bit familiar. We just have to make it through to spring.

With the farms winding down for the season, I've had to rely more on a distributor. Soon I'll have everything set up with a new distributor which focuses on local(ish) seasonal produce, and they'll have all the information about the farms. These following veggies are all from California farms.

Brussel Sprouts

Galia Melons - a honey/cantaloupe hybrid

Ruby Garnet Yams

These are from Gee Creek Farm

Butterball Potatoes
German Giant Radishes - they were sent instead of the French Breakfast Radishes, which were wiped out in a frost.

And from Winter Green Farm.

Lacinato Kale
Acorn Squash
Purple Topped Turnips
Romanesco (recipe coming soon)

How to Prepare...Kale.

This batch of Redbor Kale came to us from Gee Creek Farm. As Lyle the farmer said "they have been frost kissed to make them nice and sweet." I believe that the various kales are the most successful of the greens, the kids seem to gobble it up. I know the Christina and Teacher Beth especially love the kale days. Loaded with vitamins A, C, and K, and packed with fiber, calcium and potassium, kale should be staple of everyone's winter diet.

There are so many ways to cook kale; braising, steaming, stirfry, or it can just be eaten raw. At ChildRoots I've found that roasting is the way go. I love the effect that roasting has on kale, it gives it a little more sweetness and you don't lose so much of the texture.

After soaking the kale in cold water, let it drain for a few minutes.
Then lay it flat on a large cutting board. Notice how I pulled the twisty tie ends toward the end of the stems.
Then slice the kale in a width the you like, being aware of the twisty tie. We feed the stem ends to the guinea pig, rats, and Bunny FuFu.
Toss the kale strips with olive oil, thyme and salt.
Find a sheet pan that makes the kale looks crowded. Then place in a hot oven, I use a 450 oven at CR.
Roast until the top layer is brownish, and you can start to smell the kale. It take about 15-20 minutes.
At CR the kale then gets moved to the steam table until service. At home I would turn the oven off and leave it in there until you're ready.
When bowling up for service I toss in some more olive oil and salt.
I can't reccommend enough that roasted kale goes fantastically well with roasted sweet potatoes or squash.

How To Prepare...SweetMeat Squash

Winter basically means squash in the produce world. They grow well in the cold weather and actually get better with a little storage. The storage give the flavor and sweetness time to develop. I was excited to use this SweetMeat Squash from Gee Creek Farm. SweetMeat is an heirloom variety that grows really well in the Pacific Northwest. They can grow to be quite large and are usually sold in chunks.

It's a little hard to find the nutritional facts about SweetMeat Squash. It's safe to assume that like most squash it is loaded with vitamins and minerals. Particularly vitamins A and C, folate, potassium and calcium.

This was the first time I worked with SweetMeat Squash, I was excited to use it and see the how the kids recieved it. When choosing squash don't let any growths or discoloring worry you too much, lookout for soft spots and mushy stems, those are bad signs to me. I decided to roast it, that really is the best way to serve squash in my opinion. This process can be used for almost any variety of squash.
Wash the squash and dry it off with a clean towel.
Break off the stem and us that spot as your point of entry. Be care doing this, make sure the blade of the knife is not facing you. You may want to use a folded dish towel in your other hand to protect it against slips. If your comfortable using a band saw or a hacksaw, you may want use one of those.
Slowly bring the knife down one side, then rotate the squash and cut down the other side. This really is the hardest step, so be very careful.
Hopefully yours will turn out something like this.
Then flip the squash flat side down, and cut into quarters.
This is when the seeds get scooped out. I recently discovered that all squash seeds, not just pumpking, can be cleaned, roasted and eaten. Some of them contain good amounts of omega fatty acids, protein and vitamin K.
Then choose the largest flat side and put it face down and cut the peice in half.
Place all the peices on a sheet pan. Coat them lightly with oil, and sprinkle liberally with salt. Then place in a 400 degree oven.
Pull the tray out when a butter knife pierces easily, and they have a delicious looking color to them. This will take about an hour.
Let them cool until you can handle them without burning yourself. Using a large spoon, scoop the flesh out of the skin. At ChildRoots I scoop them into the steam table, but at home i would recommend using a oven safe pan. Now would be the time to add some additional oil or butter, use your discrestion.
Then using a potato masher, mash the squash and taste for seasoning. Then put the pan back in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
Right before serving I like to garnish with parsley.
All the squashes have been loved by the kids at CR, and with winter setting in they'll be getting them once or twice a week until spring.

Noris Dairy

A very welcome addition to the ChildRoots Family is Noris Dairy. We have started recieving weekly deliveries from this organic dairy out of Crabtree Or. We will be using their milk, cheese, butter and yogurt. If you are a ChildRoots Family then you can join our dairy co-op and take advantage of the wholesales prices, for organic dairy it is an incredible deal. Look for me (Chef Joseph) at CR and ask me about it.

How to prepare...Bok Choy

Bok Choy and I have a spotty history. Growing up I would always pick it out of the Chinese food take-out, I found it unappealing. When I moved to Seattle 10 years ago my first job was in the kitchen at PCC Natural Market, there I learned to appreciate Bok Choy. The trick is to not over cook it, that's when it gets that slimy texture. Some people like it that way, I'm just not one of them.

Our Bok Choy is from Gee Creek Farm and is still in the Baby phase, so it was sweet and not too "green" tasting. Bok Choy is a good veggie to be eating at the onset of winter. High in vitamins A, B6, C, and packed with beta-caroten, calcium, dietary fiber and antioxidants that will help fight off the cold.

You may notice some holes in the leaves, don't be turned off by them. The wholes are proof that its organic, and means that it is probably really tasty. This batch cames with some slugs, one of which became our breakroom mascot. Sluggers spent the day in the breakroom with us before being set free outside.
As you may have noticed, I like to soak my veggies in cold water for about ten minutes. This helps get the greens crisp and the stalk crunchy. Also soaking helps loosen any large clumps of dirt that may be hiding inside the "bulb".
After the soaking shake out the extra water and lay flat on a large cutting board.
Trim off about 1/8 of an inch off the root end and slice through the middle, on bigger bulbs you may want to roll it and slice it again.
Then roll the leaves an slice down starting at the leaves. On some of them i like to leave the leaves whole for variety.
After they are chopped they go back into the sink, which has been filled with clean cold water. This is mainly to get the rest of the hiding dirt out.
At home I would recommend using a salad spinner after the second soaking, then they can be placed into whatever you steam in. I use a false bottom hotel pan.
I then wrap the top tightly with foil and place in the steam table, where it steams for 15-20 minutes. When doing a smaller quantity it takes a lot less time.
After steaming the bok choy gets the olive oil and salt treatment.

Another suggestion as to how to prepare Bok Choy is grilled or broiled quickly. Slice the blubs in have oil the cut side and place down on the grilled or cut side up under the broiler (middle rack) until the leaves get limp. Then sprinkle with salt or drizzle with soy sauce.