[Week 21] The Sweeter Side of the Farm Share Veg

Sweet Potato Cornbread, Beet Brownies? & More

I have a whole file of recipes dedicated to farm-share baking. Think: sweet potato pie, parsnip cake, zucchini bread, beet brownies, pumpkin loaf, ube cookies, and more.

During cleaning fits and downsizing spells, this file, which is stuffed with newspaper clippings, torn-out magazine pages, printed email newsletters, and more, has nearly landed in the trash many times.

If I’m going to bake, I always think, why not just make the real thing? I mean: What do beets really bring to the brownie table?

But over the weekend I made Cook’s Country’s sweet potato cornbread and now I’m thinking: Maybe a lot?

This recipe not only put to great use the 1.5 lbs. of sweet potatoes I had on hand but also received rave reviews from everyone. Cornbread so often is dry and crumbly, but this one is exceptionally moist. I was expecting the children to say something like: It’s good, but different, and then push their plates away but instead they inhaled their pieces and asked for seconds.

Moreove, it came together relatively easily, calling for microwaving the sweet potatoes for 15 minutes, then mashing and mixing the flesh with all basic ingredients — cornmeal, eggs, milk, etc. Interestingly, the flavor of the sweet potato is indiscernible, but its presence is undeniable thanks to its brilliant orange hue.

Friends, the stash of beets and carrots is growing in my vegetable bins, and I’m feeling inspired. Have you explored the sweeter side of the farm share vegetables? I’d love to hear if you have. Beet brownies, I feel, are in my near future.

Here are two more veggie-loaded treats I love:

Favorite Carrot Cake:

Butternut Squash Pie (a Thanksgiving favorite)

---

Week 21 Vegetables

This week I’ll shoot to use the broccoli and kale first. I’ll store the sweet potatoes, popcorn, butternut squash, and onions at room temperature. Everything else will go in the fridge and will keep just fine for the week.

Notes from Roxbury Farm:

Popcorn: Place it in a paper bag in a dry spot in your home for a week so it can completely dry out. This will give you better results when you pop it.

• popcorn → See above.

• onions → Onion Recipes

• broccoli → Broccoli Recipes

• kale → Kale Recipes

• sweet potatoes → Sweet Potato Recipes

• butternut squash → Butternut Squash Recipes

• carrots → Carrot Recipes

• daikon radish → Radish Recipes

• turnips → 33 Turnip Recipes via Epicurious

Find recipes for all the vegetables here → Farm Share Vegetables

---

8 Recipes to Make This Week

This week, with the turnips and daikon radish, I’ll make a variation of this salad:

For the kale and other hardy greens that may arrive in the weeks ahead, this large-batch tahini dressing is a favorite.

I also love the spicy cashew dressing in this Charred Broccoli Chopped Salad Recipe:

Favorite Kale Salad

For the butternut squash, this quinoa bake is an old favorite

For this week’s carrots and last week’s ginger: Carrot-Ginger Soup

Sichuan Noodles with Chillies, Cabbage, and Scallions

Quick-Pickled Carrots & Daikon (for a grain bowl or salad).

Sweet Potato Cornbread

Source: Cook’s Country

Find a Printable Version Here

• 1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes, unpeeled

• ½ cup whole milk (I used buttermilk)

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (I use dsalted)

• 4 large eggs

• 1 ½ cups (7 1/2 ounces) yellow cornmeal

• ½ cup (2 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour

• ¼ cup packed (1 3/4 ounces) brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• 1 ¾ teaspoons salt (seems like a lot, but honestly, I could have added more — I used Diamond Crystal kosher salt

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 ºF. Prick potatoes all over with fork. Microwave on large plate until potatoes are very soft and surfaces are slightly wet, 10 to 15 minutes, flipping every 5 minutes. Immediately slice potatoes in half to release steam.

2. When potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop flesh into bowl and mash until smooth (you should have about 1 3/4 cups); discard skins. Whisk in milk, melted butter, and eggs. Whisk cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in separate large bowl. Stir sweet potato mixture into cornmeal mixture until combined.

3. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in 10-inch ovensafe nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until bubbling, about 3 minutes. Swirl butter to coat bottom and sides. Pour batter into hot skillet and smooth top with rubber spatula. Bake until cornbread is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes — do check at the 25 minute mark… mine was done.

4. Let cornbread cool in skillet on wire rack for 1 hour (… I did not wait 1 hour.) Loosen edges of cornbread from skillet with spatula and slide out onto cutting board. Cut into wedges and serve.

---

Fellow Farm Sharers: Please share in the comments links to recipes you are loving for your farm share vegetables! Tips, questions, and suggestions are always welcome, too. Enjoy your vegetables! 🥦🥬🥒🌶🌽🥕 See you next week :)