What do you need to know? Just ask. Post your comment and I’ll get back to you. I also have stories to share about my plans for preparing the produce and other groceries that arrive in my kitchen every week. Today I’m going to take a pause from talking about processed food and what not to eat, to talk about what to eat, and to share what I’ve learned about squash and pumpkins.
This past year I learned a lot of new things about food. I learned it would be a shame to waste the root of a parsley plant when it adds so much flavor to a pot of soup. I learned the hard way that it works like a bay leaf, which is to say that it needs to be removed before you serve the soup. I learned to stir fry the leafy tops of beets, parsnips, and turnips with garlic and olive oil instead of tossing them into the compost. And I learned that butternut squash has the longest storage life of any squash. So there is no need to despair over the large number that have collected on my kitchen counter in recent weeks. It turns out that’s exactly where they belong now.
Squash and pumpkins need to “cure” (or harden) for a couple of weeks so that they keep better after being transferred to a cool place, like my perennially chilly laundry room. In the wintertime, that’s the coldest spot inside my house, but other places, like entryways, unheated spare rooms, or attics, work equally well, not to mention sheds, porches, and a corner of the garage. Root vegetables are extremely tolerant, so you can experiment and see what works best. Unlike potatoes, carrots, turnips, cabbages, leeks, endive, and brussels sprouts, which store best at 30-40 F, squash and onions don’t really need serious cold storage. They can just be kept in any cool spot in the house.
We’re all experts at cold food storage. We call it “refrigeration.” If you have the space, you can store all your pumpkins and squash in a refrigerator. But mine isn’t big enough to store all the produce I’ve carried home lately, so I’m spending the end of this year’s growing season learning about storage. Here’s what I’ve learned:
1) Never wash vegetables being readied for storage because it significantly shortens storage life. So just brush off the excess dirt.
2) When you store produce in a plastic bag in the refrigerator, suck out as much air as possible from the bag before you close it.
3) If the outer leaves of a cabbage in a plastic bag turn soft and gray, strip them off to find perfect leaves inside.
4) If a white substance appears on carrots, peel it off. As long as the carrots are bright orange underneath, they will be delicious. Many root vegetables actually gain sweetness when stored, as starches convert to sugar. Just don’t let them freeze completely.
A while ago I moved all the potatoes, white and sweet, to a dark place in a kitchen cabinet. The dark prevents sprouting, and it also protects the skin of organic white potatoes from developing the green color that signifies the presence of a toxin. I have noticed that the potatoes really do keep better in the dark. One of these days, I’ll find a cabinet for the onions and garlic, too.
This week I thought I’d also include a recipe for a really fabulous Cream of Broccoli Soup. This recipe is inspired by Julia Child and her Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which I’ve been reading this week. The use of heavy cream to enrich the soup (and to offset the bite of the spicy jalapeno) reminds me of her. Toss into a large soup pot with 2 tablespoons of very hot olive oil: 1 broccoli, 1/2 cauliflower, 1/2 jalapeno pepper (with seeds if you like the heat), 1 medium onion peeled, 3 garlic cloves peeled, and 1 apple (cored but not peeled). Cut the large veggies into more manageable chunks first. Fry for a few minutes until everything gets a slightly brown outer coloring. Add 4 cups water or stock, and cook on medium for 40 minutes until everything is soft. Add 1 teaspoon of salt. Now scoop out the soft veggies into a conventional blender and spin until smooth before returning them to the liquid, or use an immersion blender right in the pot. Stop here if you aren’t going to eat the soup right away. When ready to eat, heat the soup almost but not quite to boiling, then gently stir 1/2 c. cream into the soup until it is incorporated. Serve immediately with grated parmesan cheese to taste. Truly sublime.