We hope everyone will join us for our first market in November,
this Thursday, November 5, from 1 to 5 p.m. We cheerfully accept all
types of payment for your purchases, and we have the freshest produce around!
***
The
following is a guest blog by Martha Spiegel, Development Assistant at
Pathfinder Village:
Summer
produce has come and gone, and soup season is here. Despite the change in
seasons, there are still many wonderful fresh vegetables available during fall.
One which I recently discovered is celeriac, or celery root.
When
I pulled the celeriac bulb out of my farm share box, I could not fathom what
that hairy orb was or what it was used for. A quick sniff let me know it
was related to celery, and a short time on the internet gave me some wonderful
results.
According to the website
Eat The Seasons,
celeriac is derived from wild celery and has been used in Europe for centuries.
In fact, it is mentioned as selinon in Homer’s Odyssey. Nutrition and You states
that celeriac is an excellent source of dietary fiber, essential minerals, and
vitamin K, which is good for bones and may limit neuronal damage in the brains
of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. It also contains B-complex vitamins,
antioxidants, and some vitamin C. All that for just 42 calories per 100g of
root!
Give
the root a good scrubbing under water and peel it with a good peeler or paring
knife to prepare it for cooking. NPR’s website article The
Vegetable World's Ugly Duckling gives recipes for mashed, boiled and even
French fried celeriac. You can also eat it raw in salads.
I
decided to use mine in a soup, as I had a fair amount of white beans which were
soaked and ready to go. I can’t give you the exact recipe, as it was sort of my
own adaptation of several I found on-line, but here are the basics and you can
customize your souop according to taste and what you have in your kitchen.
1.
In one pot, cook 2-3 cups of pre-soaked white
beans in 32 oz. of chicken stock.
2.
In another pot, cook some thinly sliced leeks
(or onions) in a tablespoon or so of olive oil until they are translucent.
3.
Add to the leeks one peeled, cubed celeriac bulb
and a couple of stalks of chopped broccoli (peel the thick stems). Add to that
pot another 32 oz. of chicken stock, some thyme, and any other herbs which you
think would be tasty (I think I threw in some savory leaves).
4.
When the vegetables in both pots are tender,
combine the two into one large pot and use an immersion blender to make it
smooth and creamy. (If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can blend it in
small batches in standard blender, but just make sure to vent the lid to avoid
steam build-up which can cause burns.)
The
soup can be quite thick, depending on the amount of beans you used. You can
blend it less for a thinner, chunkier soup, or add more stock to thin it out if
desired. We loved the thick consistency, and only wished for bread bowls to eat
it from.
So,
as we hunker down for cooler evenings, and are looking for different meals to
enjoy, experiment with soups. You can find lots of fresh ingredients,
along with bread to go with it, at our weekly Produce Market every Thursday
afternoon.
Have
a souper November!
Martha
(and Lori)
