Week 20

Drum roll please...

Where does the season go?

A customer mentioned they were making a cabbage soup out of the Joy of Cooking.  We talked a little about it and I decided I would make it this past week.  She told me it was in the 75th anniversary edition, but I looked in my two older editions (yeah, I have a little cookbook problem, but there are worst vices) just for the fun of it as well.  They had a different version.  I love comparing different editions.  It is fun to see how the way we eat/what we want to eat has changed over the years.  We enjoyed it and it wouldn't surprise me if some of you still had the cabbage we gave you a few weeks ago so I will post the recipe at the end.

While making the chicken stock for the cabbage soup on Friday night something clicked in my brain and I realized that there was another soup recipe I meant to make this summer.  It is a Thai soup with pork stuffed cucumbers cooked in chicken broth.  Since we are pretty much done with cucumbers I went into a small panic, raced over to the farm and grabbed several cucumbers off of some essentially dead plants that I think were hit with a light frost.  They feel firm and the one I tasted was fine so I am going for it tonight.

One of the worst things about being too stubborn to buy produce is that I get a little crazed this time of year, trying to cook things "one last time" or in the case of the cucumber soup "one first time", before the autumn chill takes all the summer goodness away.  Not that I don't enjoy winter veggies.  I love them, but the thought of summer veggies not being available much longer makes them that much more desirable.

Today I did the Olympia market for part of the day so Kelly could get the garlic field ready for planting.  A customer told me that he likes to grill whole delicatas over a charcoal fire and then scoop out the seeds and puree it.  He compared it to babaganouj.  He didn't mention garlic, tahini or lemon but I think it might be delicious.  Now, I have a dish for my winter list!  There is always good food to be had and while I mourn the loss of summer it is fun to think about cooking new stuff as well.

I hope that you all had a chance to make all your summer favorites and also try a new thing or two.  I know that it can be hard to try new things when you are busy, but I also think it is a lot of fun and usually worth the stress.  Here we go, your last box.

Carrots
Leeks
Rutabagas or Turnips
Purple Potatoes
Head Lettuce 
Winter Squash - Spaghetti or Butternut, your choice
Garlic
Parsley - Large Only
Shallots - Large Only

Cabbage Soup, adapted slightly - Saute 2 small chopped leeks, 2 diced small onions, 2 tablespoons garlic in a soup pot until tender.  Add 6 cups mild broth, 2 sliced carrots, 1 teaspoon caraway seed, 2 small diced potatoes and bring to a boil.  Simmer until the potatoes are almost cooked.  Add 4 cups shredded green cabbage and simmer until cabbage is cooked.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir in 1/4 cup chopped parsley and top with crumbled blue cheese.