[Week 24] Food Processor: Yea or Nay?

Plus: ALL the Farm Share Veg on Your Thanksgiving Table

Hello Farm Share Friends,

In Week 6 we discussed the merits of the mandoline, which I find to be essential tool not only for transforming vegetables into thin, appetizing wisps or discs, but also for making them more palatable without any cooking.

I reach for my madonline for small jobs — when I want to toss a single fennel bulb or a few carrots or radishes into a salad.

But when faced with pounds of carrots, potatoes, watermelon radishes, turnips and other root vegetables as we have these past few weeks, a mandoline won’t — excuse the pun — cut it. For these larger jobs, I don’t think there is a better tool than the shredder attachment of a food processor.

In seconds, pounds of hard roots (unpeeled but with ends trimmed) sent down the food chute of a food processor will transform into shreds, perfect for throwing into a slaw or salad or for making a quick sauté or hash.

Last night I shredded many of the carrots and daikon radishes from previous weeks in my food processor, combined them with shredded cabbage, and tossed them with this ginger-peanut dressing. It yielded a huge amount of slaw, which, due to the hardiness of the roots, will hold up well in the fridge for days.

You can use the shredder attachment for raw beets, too, which I love in this salad):

And when I have a lot of cheese to grate, it’s also my tool of choice:

Friends, do you find yourself reaching for the food processor and its various attachments frequently this time of year? From making pie dough to chopping nuts to tackling the farm share roots, I think I’d be lost without it.

PS: My sister, who does not like to cook, always makes two quiches (roughly this recipe) when she is expecting guests for the holidays. It is such a smart thing to have on hand — appropriate to break out really any time of the day whenever anyone is hungry — and I find it irresistible. I made one recently (photo above) and was reminded of its many virtues, including that it tastes even better on day 2, which is great if you are looking to make meals ahead of time.

Below you’ll find some more Thanksgiving recipes featuring the farm share vegetables. Please share your favorites as well.

Finally, for some of you, this week marks the last of the Roxbury Farm CSA deliveries. Fellow Capital District subscribers, we have one more week, next Tuesday, but rather than post on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I’ll save the last email of the season for the following Tuesday. See you in two weeks! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving 🥧🥧🥧

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Week 24 Vegetables

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

• kale → Kale Recipes

• potatoes → Potato Recipes

• rutabaga → Rutabaga Recipes via Bon Appetit

• winter squash → Squash Recipes

• onions → Onion Recipes

• watermelon radish → Radish Recipes

• sweet potatoes → Sweet Potato Recipes

• Brussels Sprouts → Brussels Sprout Recipes

• carrots → Carrot Recipes

Find recipes for all the vegetables here → Farm Share Vegetables

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10 Holiday-Themed Recipes to Make this Week (or next)

If Thanksgiving menu planning is on your brain, here are 10 ideas. And if you’d like even more guidance, I’ve compiled all of my Thanksgiving Day recipes here (printable timelines included 🎉).

Classic Sweet Potato Casserole: an old family recipe, in sum: an orange-scented, brandy-spiked sweet potato purée buried under a blanket of brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon-spiced pecans.

Here's another holiday recipe that will make good use of your farm share vegetables: Alice Waters's Potato Gratin.​ It comes from Chez Panisse Vegetables and it’s been a family favorite for as long as I can remember.

Cheesy Hasselback Potato Gratin I discovered this one from Serious Eats via The New York Times last year, and it was a huge hit.

Kale & Onion Stuffing  An old favorite.

Roasted Green Beans with Caramelized Shallots: Making its debut on the holiday table this Thanksgiving.

 Butternut Squash Lasagna  A show-stopping vegetarian entree.

Ina Garten’s Balsamic-Roasted Brussels Sprouts A classic.

This Simply Recipes recipe for mashed rutabaga with sour cream and dill looks wonderful:

Photo via Simply Recipes

My friend Deb is urging me to make this creamed spinach, and I am very tempted — those crispy onions look too good:

Butternut Squash Pie From Kristin Kimball’s The Dirty Life, in which she writes: “Pumpkin shmumpkin, winter squash has more flavor and better texture.” Truth!

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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 in two weeks :)