Red Wagon Farm

Lemon Garlic Bok Choy

Posted on December 6, 2023 by mo

Bok Choy! It’s not just for stir fries and Asian dishes!

Bok Choy is a brassica and is related to broccoli, cabbage, kale and Brussels sprouts so when life gives me Bok Choy and I don’t want a stir fry, I cook Bok Choy like broccoli or kale or, prepare it raw like cabbage in a slaw.

Probably everyone has prepared kale or Brussels sprouts by heating olive oil in a pan, add garlic, salt and pepper-add vegetables and sauté until done to your liking-squirt some lemon on it and you’re done. Super happy right?

Let’s cook our Bok Choy like that, sort of channeling sauteed lemon garlic broccoli, (except I didn’t have any garlic how do I not have garlic? :-/ I used a shallot).

I wanted my Bok Choy to be reminiscent of broccoli so I left the stalks long and chopped the shallot like I would garlic.

Heat a pan to medium high add some olive oil and the shallot (or garlic).

Then I added the Bok Choy and some salt and pepper. It looks like a lot but it cooks down.

Let that sear for 3 or 4 minutes, don’t mess with them, then turn them with some tongs.

Let them sear on that side for another 3 or 4 minutes (don’t fuss with them) and turn again until they are done to your liking. If some of the pieces get done before the others move them to a plate until the rest are done.

When they are all cooked through plate them and give them a squeeze of lemon and little more salt and pepper and voila. Lovely side dish.

The different textures of the stalk and the leaf of the Bok Choy are really nicely contrasted in this method of cooking. It really is very reminiscent of broccoli prepared this way.

One of the challenges of being a CSA member is thinking outside the box with your weekly bounty, when you do, the reward is the joy and satisfaction of a simple delightful satisfying dish.

Have a great week.

Posted in 2023, Bok Choy, Recipes | Comments Off

Honeynut Squash

Posted on November 28, 2023 by mo

This week we have a fun novel offering, Honeynut squash!

Below is a photo of some Honeynuts with their bigger cousins, a couple of Butternut squash.

Honeynuts are not small butternuts they are hybrids developed from butternut and buttercup squash. They are about the size of a medium/large sweet potato (about one pound) and much sweeter and more creamy and dense than a butternut. You don’t need to peel Honeynuts the skins are edible. If you don’t like to eat squash skin, still leave the skin on, it serves as a handy ‘bowl’ so you can easily scoop the tasty flesh out.

When roasted, Honeynuts have a caramel malty rich flavor. The flesh is smooth and tender without any of the stringiness you get from larger squashes. They’re the perfect personal or two person-size squash and are absolutely delicious.

Roast these much like any winter squash; Preheat your oven to 425F, Wash the Honeynut and cut them in half and remove the seeds, rub them all over with olive oil, salt and pepper.

I roasted some of these cut side up and some cut side down to see if I liked one way more then the other. Up and down were both great. I have no preference other than if you want to put something in the cavity like syrup (the cut side up ones I put a little maple syrup in the cavity) or nuts or cheese-roast them up.

Cook these for 30-40 minutes, start checking to see if they are done at 30 minutes by sticking a sharp knife into one. If they aren’t tender, check again ever 10 minutes until they are done.

Have fun with these little treats. They are one of my favorite crops we have had this year.

Posted in 2023, Recipes, Winter Squash | Comments Off

Melted Leeks

Posted on November 16, 2023 by mo

Melted leeks are a delicious side dish and a great addition to big holiday meals. A small portion of leeks packs a big flavor punch when added to heavier dishes like mashed potatoes and dressing.

Melted leeks are super simple to make (recipe at the bottom) and can be made ahead and reheated or served at room temperature, so perfect for holiday meals! You can serve them alone, as a side dish, with your turkey or ham, macaroni and cheese, lasagna. Just a spoonful will add a nice pop to your holiday dishes, kind of how cranberry sauce adds a little zing.

I topped some mashed potatoes with melted leeks and sage brown butter, it really elevated plain mashed potatoes. You could do the same with dressing. I didn’t mix the leeks in because some people/kids might not want leeks but you could mix them in if you like. Plus, I kind of like how it looks.

Below photo is a simple appetizer-melted leeks and cheese on small bite size pieces of buttered toast. Sort of a deconstructed French onion soup. This would travel really well if you need to bring an snack or appetizer to a friends house.

Melted leeks are simple and fast to make. You’ll need;

3 or 4 large leeks
3 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons of olive oil
a splash of water, broth or white wine
salt and pepper to taste

Clean your leeks and slice them into rounds.

Add the leeks and the rest of the ingredients to a pan and cook on a medium low heat with the lid on for 20-30 minutes.

You don’t want them to brown, just collapse and ‘melt’.

Taste the leeks and see if you want them softer or if they need more salt or pepper. Depending on what you are eating these with you dress them up further and add a splash of cream or some parmesan cheese, maybe lemon zest?

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I can’t wait to use some of my CSA bounty in our Thanksgiving Feast. Leeks will be somewhere on our menu. Hope they make it on yours too.

Have a great week.

Posted in 2023, Onions and Leeks, Recipes | Comments Off

Citrus Glazed Hakurei Turnips

Posted on November 8, 2023 by mo

One of the most cooked and loved recipes on the Red Wagon blog is Miso Maple Turnips. Here is very similar dish but this has an easy to make sauce that is has a bright citrus essence rather than a deep warm miso note of the older recipe. Try both!

So fast and simple. You need.

1 bunch of turnips washed and I cut mine into 1/8ths.
3 tablespoons of butter
about 1/2 cup of orange juice. I had ‘cutie’ mandarins and used three and didn’t quite have a half cup. I went with that. As always adjust as needed.
Olive oil and salt, pepper for roasting the turnips (and delicata).
Optional toppings like red pepper flakes, nuts or peel from the citrus.

To roast the turnips preheat the oven to 400F, mine took about 25 minutes to roast. I had extra room on my baking tray so I roasted a delicata squash on the other half of the tray because you can never had too many roasted vegetables in your life!

Juice the citrus and put that and the butter into a pan to melt and reduce the liquid to thicken while the turnips are roasting.

Check the turnips after 25 minutes, they are done when they are turning brown and tender when you poke them with a fork or sharp knife. Take them out of the oven and add them to the pan with the citrus butter and let all that simmer together until the sauce thickens.

It looks like I’m making candy. Don’t worry. It’s not too sweet it just sticks to the turnips as it gets thick.

That is it. A lovely dish to go with just about anything. This time of year I think about the holidays and food, a lot. This would be a really nice dish to go with any holiday food. It is light and bright and you could easily make it ahead and warm it up before serving or even serve it at room temperature.

What are you doing with your turnips? Let us know in the comments.

Have a great week.

Posted in 2023, Recipes, Turnips | Comments Off

2 Winter Squash Recipes; Queso and a Smoothie

Posted on November 2, 2023 by mo

One thing is certain when you join a Winter CSA; You will be getting (eating!) lots of winter squash.

Often times when you roast a squash for a dish at home you will have leftovers, sometimes LOTS of leftover, like I did last week. I had about 2 1/2 quarts roasted squash and no plan for using any. Not a problem! I really love to have cooked squash and vegetables at the ready so I can easily make vegetable forward dishes by just grabbing a few ingredients that are already cooked and throwing them together. Soup and chili are two of my go-to’s.

We had friends over this weekend and I wanted a quick snack and I really wanted something decadent and cheesy. I looked in the refrigerator and saw the pumpkin puree I made earlier and remembered this macaroni and cheese recipe. I made that recipe and left out the sage and pasta and added some roasted poblano chilis I had in the freezer. I’ll post the recipe modifications at the end of this post.

This was good and so quick and easy because I had the roasted squash and poblanos all cooked and ready. We had leftover queso and ate it the next day with roasted potatoes, sausage and eggs for another easy delicious meal.

Another use for the extra squash is making smoothies. Squash/pumpkin smoothies feel healthier to me than fruit heavy smoothies and homemade roasted squash is soooooo much less expensive than buying fruit.

I usually double this and save the second portion for the next day.

1 ripe banana, frozen , if not frozen you might want to add a handful of ice cubes to the smoothie
1 cup squash or pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon spice like cinnamon, ginger or mix spice
1 cup milk of choice
2 pitted dates, or more, depending on how sweet you want it. optional
1/4 teaspoon vanilla, optional
handful of nuts, optional

Throw it in a blender and let it rip. I like to top it with granola. Creamylicious.

Here is the Queso recipe with the modifications.

1 cup of cooked pumpkin/squash. If you don’t have any cooked pumpkin or squash here is a ‘how to’ post from a few years ago.
salt and pepper
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour gluten free is fine
2 cups milk any kind
1 to 1 1/2 cups cheese, shredded – I used cheddar
roasted poblano chilies, optional
squeeze of one or two limes to taste

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium cook until the butter is bubbling and it has turned golden brown.
Mix in the flour and let simmer until it returns to a light golden brown.
Add the milk and simmer until it thickens and add cheese to melt.
Add roasted poblanos if using.

I hope you enjoy the abundant squash we have as much as I do. Have a great week.

PS I also made a couple little pumpkin pies. Winter Luxury Pumpkins ROCK. I LOVE that they taste like pumpkin and aren’t very sweet. I think some squash are too sweet for pie, which sounds counter intuitive I know.

Posted in 2023, Recipes, Winter Squash | Comments Off

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