Versatile Vegetables

Autumn is upon us! If you couldn’t tell from the cool mornings, crisp air and changing colors…perhaps your CSA box or local farmers market has made it clear: fall vegetables have arrived! I know I am ready for some hearty, warming dishes after a chilly morning’s work. So, I’ve been turning to root vegetables, and I hope our CSA members are too, since they’ve been getting quite a few in their share…

One particularly rainy day, I decided to make potato-leek soup. Why? Well, potatoes are a good source of vitamin C, vitamin B6, copper, potassium, manganese, and dietary fiber. And leeks contain sulfur, vitamins A, K, C and B6, as well as magnesium, calcium and polyphenols. But also because they are in season, they taste great together, we have them in abundance!

So the night before I was serving lunch, I cooked it up – soup always seems to taste better the next day…

Creamy Potato-Leek Soup
5 leeks
1 head celery
7 medium carrots
5 cloves garlic
11 medium potatoes
Vegetable broth
Thyme
Salt & Pepper
Cashew milk

1) Soak 1 c. cashews in 2 c. water for 4 hours. Blend, and use like milk. Substitute most nuts or seeds.
2) Finely chop your leeks. Saute the dark green part – the whole darn thing – in a bit of oil in a large pan. Add the white parts, then finely chopped celery and carrots. Put a lid on the pan, saute on low until the veggies start to become translucent.
3) Add in some finely chopped garlic, and some thyme. Cook until fragrant.
4) Add in roughly chopped potatoes, and vegetable broth to cover. Bring to a low boil, then simmer until potatoes are tender.
5) Puree the soup with an immersion blender, add salt & pepper to taste, and cashew milk to creaminess preference.

Serve with a few drops of cashew milk, freshly ground pepper and some parsley, or go for a lunch worthy of a hungry farm crew…

First, I threw together a braised cabbage & apple salad. Red onion, green cabbage, tart apples, apple cider vinegar and parsley – simple, sweet accompaniment to any fall meal.

Root veggies galore! Meanwhile, I chopped some beets, turnips, sweet potatoes and parsley root into thin strips, and roasted ’em at 375 for about a half hour. They were very lightly tossed in some coconut oil, salt and pepper. I recommended mixing them into the soup for added texture. You could also serve them as fries with ketchup.

With my oven already hot, I decided to pop some shishito peppers in there and give ’em a nice roast too. Five minutes later, they were blistering and perfect. I sprinkled them with a pinch of sea salt, and they were finger-licking good. Not too spicy, perfectly thin skinned, smoky deliciousness.

Once you go farm, you’ll never go back!!!