Holiday Pickled Beets
BEETS:

1 lb beets

1 tbsp olive oil

2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary

1 garlic clove, smashed

salt, pepper to taste

aluminum foil

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut the tops off beets and wash beets thoroughly. Place in large mixing bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper, rosemary and garlic . Toss well and place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. (If desired, beets can be wrapped in aluminum foil as well.) Place in oven on middle rack and roast for 1-1 ½ hours or until a skewer can be inserted into beets without resistance. Once beets are done, let cool. Remove skins with a pairing knife. Do not run under water. Cut beets into ¼ inch round slices.

Pickling liquid:

3 cups water

2 cups sugar

1 cup white wine vinegar

1 carrot, peeled and sliced

1 onion, sliced

1 ginger root peeled and sliced

5 black peppercorns

2 bay leaves

2 allspice berries

Combine water and vinegar and bring to a boil. Whisk in sugar and remaining ingredients. Remove from heat and let cool.

Pour the liquid solution and beets into a jar. Seal and store in the refrigerator.

Yields 1 quart.

Spiced Pumpkin Soup

We had another successful Farmer's Choice vegetable selection in the cafeteria last week. A big thank you goes to Mark and Sunny Gandara for making another delicious recipe with our kids. I also wanted to mention again that the Hudson Valley Fresh Dairy Cooperative generously donated all the milk for this recipe. On a personal note, I was thrilled to go up to one of the nine farms in the coop and pick up the milk myself. The director of Hudson Valley Fresh, Sam Simon showed me around his farm and introduced me to the cows. It was a meaningful experience seeing first hand where our milk comes from. I hope we can put together a field trip for Haldane students to visit the farm and see first hand where their milk would be coming from if the cafeteria switched over to local milk.

                                       Spiced Pumpkin soup

Serves 6

One- 3 lb cooking pumpkin
ground cinnamon-1tablespoon
ground ginger-1tablespoon
ground allspice-1 teaspoon
curry powder- 1teaspoon
olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
milk- ½ gallon
brown sugar- ¼ cup

Method-

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all spices and add into a dry sauté pan and toast over medium heat till fragrant, remove from heat. Line a cookie sheet with foil. With a sharp knife, carefully cut the pumpkin in half lengthwise. Discard seeds (or save to make roasted pumpkin seeds).
place pumpkin on foil lined cookie sheet cut side up and rub cavity with olive oil, season with salt & pepper and toasted spices(you will not use all of the spice mix). Place in oven and roast for 45 min to an hour or till pumpkin is soft to touch. While pumpkin is roasting place milk in saucepot along with 1 teaspoon of spice mix and bring to just under a boil. Remove from heat. Once pumpkin is done remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 min. using a kitchen spoon scoop the cooked pumpkin flesh into the cup of a blender and add warm milk to blend until smooth and until you reach the consistency and thickness you want. Repeat process until all pumpkin is pureed. Add sugar and season with salt & pepper.

Butternut Squash Puree & Broccoli Surprise

Mark Gandara, our "Chef in the Classroom" has given us the recipes for the first two Farmer's Choice vegetables this year. We hope you will enjoy making these recipes at home!

ROAST BUTTERNUT SQUASH PUREE

Serves 4

1 Butternut Squash

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt and pepper to taste

2 sprigs of rosemary

4 leaves of sage

Maple syrup to taste

Dash of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees. Cut butternut squash lengthwise in half. Clean out the seeds using a large kitchen spoon. Take each half and lay them on a baking sheet, cut side up. Sprinkle olive oil salt and pepper on the squash, stuff cavity with the fresh herbs. Turn Squash cut side down and place into oven. Roast for 45 minutes to an hour, until Squash is soft to the touch.

Remove from oven, let cool enough to handle. Scoop flesh out of skins into a big bowl, season with salt, pepper, cinnamon and maple syrup to taste. You can either use a potato masher or a blender to turn squash into a smooth puree. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.

BROCCOLI SURPRISE

SERVES 4

1 lb broccoli

1 carrot, peeled and grated on a box grater

1 tbsp cilantro, chopped

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp dark sesame oil

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 orange, zested and juiced

1/4 tsp each of ground cumin and ground coriander, toasted

Combine orange juice, zest, soy sauce and spices together in a blender. Slowly add oils to emulsify mixture.

Rinse broccoli and trim if needed. Place a pot filled with salted water over high heat, bring to a boil, add broccoli and boil gently for 3-4 minutes or until vibrant green.

Drain broccoli, toss with grated carrots and chopped cilantro. Add sesame-orange dressing to taste. Season with salt and Pepper.