Member Diary #19 — Kristin & Co.

My apartment is on the Domino plan: full veg. and orchard, and 1/2 eggs. My two roommates and I share our weekly pickup. We take turns going to distribution on Mondays, sometimes we all cook together, sometimes we cook separately. Here’s what I made for the house this past week. I haven’t seen many desserts in the member diaries, so I made a pie with apples from the share. It’s the perfect thing for the chilly fall weather, plus, my roommates were dropping some loud hints about how pie would be a great use for our bumper crop of apples. The recipe I made will suit just about everyone: it’s gluten-free, vegan, low in sugar, and high in delicious.

Our full share for the week: 1 bunch kale, 1 bunch collards, 1 bunch radishes, 1 bunch carrots, 1 bunch scallions, 1 bunch spinach, jalapeño peppers, 1 lb. red potatoes, 1 lb. yellow potatoes, 1 fortune apple, 1 lb. jonagold apples, 1 lb. jonamac apples, 1 lb. golden delicious (?) apples, 12 eggs

Roasted butternut squash & sautéed collards for the Rooftop Farms potluck
Used: Butternut squash (previous week), collards, dried rosemary and thyme (previous week)

Squash:

• 1 butternut squash
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• olive oil
• rosemary
• thyme

Cut the squash in half, scoop out the innards, peel it, and cut into small chunks. Put it in a bowl and add several tbs. of olive oil, the minced garlic, some crushed rosemary and thyme, salt, pepper and a little bit of Bragg’s aminos or light soy sauce. Stir to coat all the bits, then put them in an even layer in a large roasting pan and cook for 40 – 60 minutes at 425º. Stir once about halfway through so everything browns evenly.

Collards (I forgot to take pictures!):

• 3-5 collard leaves
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• salted butter/ Earth Balance
• vermouth (or cooking sherry)
• olive oil
• lemon

Remove the toughest parts of the stems from the collards, roll the leaves up together and cut into thin slices. Mince the garlic. Turn the burner to medium-high heat, and melt one tbs of butter in a wok or other thin-bottomed frying pan, and cook the garlic. When it’s soft, add a splash of vermouth, then the collards, and cook for about 10 minutes – until they’re bright green, but not too wilted. Add a tbs or two of water about halfway through if the pan gets too dry. Add salt and pepper, and a squeeze of lemon.

Tortilla Española and salad:
Used: Eggs, potatoes, scallions, spinach, carrots, radish, beets (previous week)

Tortilla:

• 5 eggs
• 3 potatoes
• 3-4 scallions
• 3/4 cup olive oil

This recipe traditionally uses white onion, but I used scallions and it turned out really well. It works best with a very olive-y, flavorful oil. Peel the potatoes, halve them and cut into thin slices. Trim and mince the scallions. Heat oil in a smallish, nonstick skillet over moderate heat until hot, but not smoking, and add the potatoes, scallion, and 1/4 tbs of salt. Cook over medium heat stirring occasionally, until everything is tender but not too browned, 10 – 12 minutes. Drain the potatoes and scallions over a bowl to save the oil, and cool them for a few minutes. Lightly beat the eggs, then mix them with the potatoes, 1 tbs of the oil, salt, and pepper to taste.

Return 1 tbs of oil (2 if you’re using cast iron) to skillet and add the mixture, making sure the surface is even. Cover and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes, or until almost set. As the sides start to set, use a spatula to make sure they separate from the pan. Turn off heat and let stand, covered, 5-10 minutes. Shake the skillet gently to make sure the tortilla isn’t sticking. Invert it onto a large flat plate and slide back into skillet, bottom side up. (Or, if the top is still loose, slide it onto the plate first, cover it with the skillet and flip the tortilla back into the skillet.) Cook covered, 5-10 minutes more. Slide onto a serving plate and serve warm or at room temperature. Drizzle some of the remaining oil on top and add salt and pepper to taste.

Salad:
Wash and chop some spinach leaves and mince some radish and scallions. Mix together and grate some carrots and beets on top. Dress with a mixture of rice vinegar, sesame oil, sesame seeds and a little Bragg’s or light soy.

Tacos with spinach and rajas
Used: spinach, radish, scallion, cabbage (previous week), chilaca and poblano peppers (previous week)

• spinach
• chilaca, poblano or other mild peppers
• canola oil
• chile powder
• cumin
• coriander
• lime
• corn tortillas
• garnishes

Seed the peppers and remove the ribs, and cut into thin strips. Finely slice the spinach. Heat 2 tbs of oil in a frying pan over medium heat and add dashes of each of the spices. When the oil is to temperature, cook the peppers until tender. When they are almost done add a squeeze of lime. Remove the peppers and quickly wilt the spinach in the same pan, add salt to taste at the end. Serve on corn tortillas with whatever garnishes you like. I used chopped raw cabbage, scallions, radish, some cotija cheese, and Tapatío.

Gluten-free Apple-Maple Pie
Used: apples
The pie in the photo was both gluten-free and vegan (I’m GF, another roommate is vegan). The recipes for both versions are below, as GF/Vegan baking can be a bit tricky – eggs are a good substitute for the missing gluten. Xanthan gum really helps bind everything together and makes for springier, lofttier baked goods. It’s expensive, around $12 for a bag, but it lasts forever, since you only use tiny amounts.

Filling:

• 3-5 apples depending on size (I used 3, including a giant fortune apple)
• ½ cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup tapioca flour (or cornstarch)
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• juice of 1/2 a small lemon
• 1 tbs butter

Peel and core the apples, and thinly slice them, then mix with other filling ingredients and set aside. I added a dash of Grand Marnier for extra flavor.

Gluten-free crust:

• 1 cup corn flour (not meal, Bob’s Red Mill makes this)
• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour (or cornstarch)
• ½ tsp xanthan gum
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 12 tbs cold butter
• 2 eggs
• Cold water as needed

Vegan version, as above with these changes:

• 3/4 cup brown rice flour
• 6 tbs Earth Balance + 6 tbs non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tbs canola or safflower oil
• extra flour as needed if the dough is too sticky.

Mix together dry ingredients. Grate butter into flour mixture and mix by hand until it makes pea-sized clumps. Stir in eggs, or oil and vinegar. Mix by hand and form into a ball, add water if it seems too dry. Roll out the crust on a corn- or rice-floured surface. Line a  9” pie pan with the crust and pierce the sides and bottom with a fork. Add filling and dot with butter. Top with basic crust or lattice. If you want a sweeter crust, sprinkle some sugar over the top. Bake 35-45 minutes at 400º.

*If you don’t have xanthan gum, it can be omitted in the GF recipe – the eggs will bind the crust sufficiently, but it may not be as pliable. The same is true for the vegan crust; it can be a bit fragile, but works just fine if you form the bottom crust in the pan and build a lattice on the pie. Transfer lattice strips to the top of the pie with a big spatula or the blade of a long knife to keep them from breaking in transit.