Greetings CSA Members,

Thunder and Lightning surprised us Sunday evening, bringing strong winds that scared poor Ruby (our sweet dog) half to death. The storms were at least five miles away (as we counted one Mississippi, two Mississippi….), but the booming thunder rattled our windows and caused lights to flicker. Much needed rain fell and how different the mood feels today from the weekend when we were biting our fingernails, anticipating a bad frost. We discovered patches of frost scattered about the fields Saturday morning, but we managed to avoid iced pepper plants and frozen summer squash. The Kale and Brussels Sprouts were singing: Bring it on! But we know that those hearty vegetables just get sweeter with a few 32-degree nights. In fact, I think that the spinach is more delicious in the Fall than at any other time of year. And so with that in mind and thanks to Rebeca, I am offering several recipes for Beets. I used to think that beets were absolutely the worst idea for a vegetable. Just give me those wonderful salad mixes or creamy butternut squash. But one evening when Brian roasted beets, onions, butternut squash, and potatoes for dinner, what stood out without a doubt were the beets. I now think that the very best way to win over the disparaging and sneering beet critic is to serve him or her beets roasted with olive oil and sprinkled with salt. In fact, we provided vegetables to a group of freshmen students from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in August for an iron chef competition. And the group with beets won hands down with their feta and beet crostini. So, if you have not yet developed a taste for beets, give them a try!

Enjoy your share this week – Justine

This week in your share, you will most likely receive: Swiss Chard, a bag with Beets, Carrots, and Radish, Lettuce, Onions, Tomatoes, Rosemary, Cilantro, or Thyme, and some combination of the following: Green Beans, Corn, Cauliflower, Broccoli, and Sweet Peppers.

***Pot-luck is this Sunday October 4th from 3-6:00***

Vegetable Curry (submitted by Julie Niles, longtime CSA Member)

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch chunks

1 small (or 1/2 large) head of cauliflower, cut into bite sized pieces

1 onion, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 Tbsp canola oil

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp grated ginger

2-3 Tbsp chopped cilantro

2 Tbsp curry powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup diced tomatoes

1/2 cup peas (optional)

Toss the sweet potato, cauliflower and onion with the oil and salt, and then spread in a single layer in a shallow roasting pan. Roast for 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes.

Whisk together the ginger, cilantro, curry, salt and milk until smooth. Stir in the tomatoes and peas. After the vegetables are roasted, pour the liquid mixture evenly over the veggies. Roast for about 5 minutes more. Serve with rice, raisins, cashews and plain yogurt.

Basic Roasted Beets

1. To prepare the beets, wash but do not peel them or cut off the root. Cover with water in a large pot and boil for 15-20 minutes until the skin loosens. Remove from pot and let them cool enough that they can be handled. Rub the skin off with rubber gloves or, if the skin doesn’t slip off easily, scrape it off with a butter knife or spoon.

2. Small beets can be roasted whole. Cut larger beets in halves or quarters. Toss in a bowl with olive oil to coat, add salt and pepper. Roast in oven at 350 F, for 30-45 minutes, turning occasionally so that they do not burn.

3. Alternatively, beets that have been half-cooked in boiling water and skinned can be cut into thick slices and pan roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper, in a cast iron skillet on low heat for 10 or 15 minutes.

4. Roasted beets can be eaten hot out of the pan or oven, either by themselves or tossed with beet greens that have been quickly stir-fried with olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar. They are even better stored in the refrigerator for several days and used in salads or on an antipasto platter.

NOTE: Beets can be roasted with the skin on and then peeled. But I prefer to peel them first so that they caramelize on the outside as they cook.


Beet and Apple Sauté

6 medium beets, boiled or roasted until tender

3 tablespoons butter

3 shallots, minced

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tart green apples, peeled, thinly sliced

Salt and pepper

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

½cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped

1. Cook the minced shallots in the butter in a skillet for 2 minutes. Add apple, sugar, salt and pepper and vinegar. Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes or until apples are tender.

2. Slice cooked beets ¼ inch thick and add to skillet, cooking for about 3 more minutes. Sprinkle with walnuts and serve.

Roasted Beet Salad

1 pound baby beets, stems trimmed to 1 inch

1 tablespoon minced shallot

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest

½teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 head Bibb (Boston) lettuce, leaves separated

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse beets. Wrap beets in foil, making a single layer, and roast in middle of oven 30-45 minutes, or until tender. Cool. Cut off stem and root and peel beets. Halve lengthwise.

2. Whisk together shallot, juices, zest, and mustard. Whisk in oil until emulsified and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle lettuce with 3/4 of dressing. Sprinkle with beets and drizzle with remaining dressing.


Roasted Beet Raita

1 cup yogurt

1 medium-sized beet, roasted

¼cup toasted walnuts

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Cut beet into slivers or small cubes, mix with yoghurt and chopped walnuts. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Red Beet Relish

2 cooked red beets, peeled and chopped

¼Golden Delicious apple, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon mayonnaise

Pinch ground allspice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a food processor, combine the beets, apple, vinegar and sugar and pulse until the apples and beets are finely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and combine with the mayonnaise and allspice. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Chocolate Beet Brownies

Vegetable Oil

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 cup boiling water

1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour

½cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½teaspoon baking soda

¾cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

½cup unsweetened applesauce

3 tablespoons canola oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 egg white

1 whole egg

6 oz. yogurt

¼teaspoon salt

1 cup peeled raw beets, shredded in food processor

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13-inch pan with oil. Dust pan with flour and shake off excess. In small bowl, whisk cocoa and boiling water until smooth. Set aside to cool. In medium bowl, combine flours, baking powder, soda and salt. In large bowl, combine sugar, applesauce, oil, butter and vanilla. Beat with electric mixer at medium speed 1 minute. Beat in eggs, then yogurt. On high speed, beat until fluffy, 2 minutes, scraping bowl with rubber spatula.

2. On low speed, beat in half of dry ingredients. Increase speed to medium and beat for 1 minute. Reduce speed to low and beat in half of cocoa mixture. Add remaining dry ingredients, and then add remaining cocoa mixture, beating until smooth. With large spoon, gently fold beets into mixture evenly.

3. Add batter to pan, spreading evenly. Bake for 30 minutes, until skewer inserted in center comes out clean, but brownies are still moist. Let cool in pan and then cut into squares.