December 10th, 2011

Surfin’ Chef Box The first chef to ever write meal plans for Out of the Box was Erik Stenberg AKA the Surfin’ Chef, and since the group was so small when we first started, we thought it was time to do a Surfin’ Chef revival, using some of the recipes he created for us last year at this time. Winner of the 2010 Sol Food Festival Iron Chef competition, and personal chef to a very lucky family in Santa Barbara, Erik is not only a gifted chef, but also a farmer, and a farmer’s market aficionado, having led Fairview Garden’s market presence at Santa Monica Farmer’s Market for over a year. He is at home with our local ingredients and always finds innovative ways to put them together. Enjoy his simple but delicious recipes!

Verjus: Of note in the boxes this week is the Regional Specialty from the Monahan Family Farm: Verjus is basically the juice of unripe wine grapes. Tart and fruity, yet less acidic than vinegar, verjus has been used by cooks in Europe and the Middle East for hundreds of years. It makes a wonderful salad dressing, and also can be used as a marinade or a deglazing liquid. In this box we have suggested it for a recipe with red cabbage (in the place of cider vinegar), and with the catch of the week, as a deglazing liquid. Equally, you can drink it straight or mix win cocktails, as you would a slightly tart, refreshing juice. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dailydish/2011/09/sour-grape-juice-the-french-call-it-verjus.html EGGS: NB: we ordered eggs from Lily’s Eggs this week as they are the only local supplier big enough to supply us at the moment. Chickens don’t produce so many eggs when the days are short (and we are almost to the Winter Solstice!) so Dare to Dream and some of our other smaller egg producers just don’t have enough to supply us. They are all growing more chicks though as the demand is so high, so we should have them again soon!

“ERIK’S IT’S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR AGAIN BOX” | DECEMBER 107H, 2011

Roots Vegetables Fruit • White Onions (Tutti Frutti) • Garlic (Chris Milliken)* • Yukon Potatoes (Tutti Frutti) • Carrots (Givens) • Yams (Garcia Family Farm)

• Brussel Sprouts (Two Peas in a Pod) • Cauliflower (Givens) • Tomatoes (Givens) • Red Cabbage (Rancho Cortez)

• Satsuma Mandarins (Regier) • Fuji Apples (Fair Hills Farm) • Fuyu Persimmons (Garcia) • Avocados (Hilltop & Canyon)* • Strawberries (Rancho Cortez)*

Leafy Greens Extra Fruit ** Meat & Eggs • Salad Mix (Shepherd) • Arugula (Earthtrine)

• Grapes (Garcia) • Pluots (Garcia) • Extra strawberries, kiwi, persimmons

• Chicken Legs (Dey deys) • New York Sirloin Steak (Dey Deys) • Beef Sausage (Dey Deys) • 1 dozen Eggs* (Lily’s Eggs)

Herbs Dairy Regional Specialty • Thyme & Rosemary (Earthtrine) • Ginger (Anthony Chan)

• Butter (Organic Valley) • Sierra Jack(Sierra Nevada)

• Verjus (Mill Rd)

Juice Grain/ Pulse Nuts, Seeds or Dried Fruit • Orange Juice – Friends Ranch • Basmati Rice (Lundberg)

• Raisins (Avila)

Fair Trade Catch of the Week ** New Customer/ Referral Gift Light Brown Sugar (Wholesome

Sweetener) • Rock Cod (Kanaloa) Chutney - Sqirl

* Not included in the Couple’s Box ** This category is an ‘Add-on’ option. Please go to www.outoftheboxcollective.com if you are interested

THIS WEEK’S RECIPES! STIR-FRIED BEEF SAUSAGE AND BRUSSEL SPROUTS NEW YORK SIRLOIN STEAK, SWEET POTATO PUREE, BRAISED PURPLE CABBAGE CHICKEN AND RICE EGGS YOUR WAY PASTA LOCO ROCK COD WITH VERJUS

STIR-FRIED BEEF SAUSAGE AND BRUSSEL SPROUTS

Ingredients: • ½ onion, chopped • 1 clove garlic, chopped • 2 carrots, sliced • 1 lb. brussel sprouts, quartered, center removed • Soy, oyster or hoisin Sauce • Steamed rice Directions: Chop onions and garlic, then slice some carrots and start a pan warming up on the stove. Cut the brussel sprouts into quarters, removing the core center. It is ok if they start to fall apart. Slice sausages into pieces. When the pan is hot, saute the sausage, onions, garlic and carrots, so they caramelize together. After a few minutes, add the brussel sprouts and continue to saute. Then put a lid on it all and steam. Finish the stir fry with soy or oyster or hoison sauce to give it an Asian flavour. Serve it up with the good rice and away you go.

NEW YORK SIRLOIN STEAK, SWEET POTATO PUREE, BRAISED PURPLE CABBAGE

Ingredients:

• Red Cabbage, shaved • Small handful of Raisins • A couple splashes of Verjus • A couple TBS Brown Sugar • About ½ onion, chopped • 2 – 3 cloves of garlic, chopped • ginger, chopped • cinnamon and clove • New York Sirloin Steak • Onions • Thyme & Rosemary • Sweet Potatoes • Cream or Milk • Butter

Directions:  First off, carefully shave the cabbage (watch your fingers!) as thinly as possible. Place shaved cabbage in a pot with raisins, verjus, brown sugar, water, onions, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, clove. There is no specific measurement on any of these ingredients. I always just add the amount that feels right at the time. Bring it all to a boil, then turn it down to a simmer. Simmer low with the lid on until most of the liquid is gone and you are left with a sauce like consistency. 1.5-2 hours is your normal cook time. Next, poke a few tiny holes in the sweet potatoes (to let the steam out) and roast whole in the oven. After about an hour and a half at 375'F, they should be squishy soft and delicious. Let them cool off a bit so you can handle them and then cut in half and scoop out the inside and put in a pan. Mix some fresh cream and butter with the potatoes and you have love. For the Sirloin Steak, season with salt and pepper, and sauté in a pan on medium/high heat, with olive oil, then add garlic, rosemary or thyme, and butter, turn down to a medium heat, and finish cooking the steak to desired temperature.

CHICKEN AND RICE Ingredients:

• Chicken Legs, patted dry and seasoned well with salt and pepper • Leftover veggies: carrots, tomatoes etc • ½ Onion, chopped • 2 Garlic, chopped • Rice

Directions: This dish comes from my days of working in Wales. This was an employee meal that I used to make all the time. The deal with family meals was that you could only spend an hour preparing them and you had to use all leftovers. Pat dry the juicy chicken pieces and season well with salt and pepper. Chop up some veg that needs using: carrots, tomato, etc. Fry chicken in olive oil, skin side down. When chicken pieces are golden brown drop a handful of onion and garlic into the pan. Careful, they may want to burn, so stir quickly. After a minute or two with the onion mix in the pan, add the load of veg with salt and pepper, and put a lid on it. The lid will force the veg to steam and release all their natural juices. Next, add a measured amount of rice and liquid, and cook everything in the pot together. When the rice is finished cooking the chicken will be ready freddy.

PASTA LOCO Ingredients: I head of Cauliflower ½ onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 egg pasta Directions: For the pasta this week we’ll be roasting a cauliflower. Cut the florets into smallish pieces, season with salt and pepper, and roast at 375'F for about 30-40 minutes. Next, caramelize some onions in a pan, add a bit-o-garlic, and saute for a while. Once the onions and garlic are beautifully tender, add your roasted cauliflower to the mix. Saute these together for a bit and then add your cooked pasta and season it all with salt and pepper. For a sauce, use a little water from pasta pot. What really makes this pasta loco is the fried egg served sunny side up on top of your pasta, soft yolk delightful.

EGGS YOUR WAY Ingredients:

• 2 Yams, diced • 2 Potatoes, diced • 1 – 2 Tomatoes, diced • Avocado (opt) • 1 – 2 Carrots, sliced • handful Mixed Lettuce Greens • Salad Dressing

Preparation: My suggestion here is to roast some yams and regular potatoes. Prepare the eggs in the way you enjoy the most (poached, scrambled, fried, basted, raw). Personally I love a poached egg more than anything else. The soft yolk of a poached egg is a natural sauce for any dish. Then slice some tomatoes, avocado and carrots, and toss all this with salad and dressing.

ROCK COD WITH VERJUS This is about as simple as it gets. Pan fry the cod in olive oil. When the fish will flake with a fork, remove it from the pan, deglaze with verjus, and pour the mixture over the fish. Serve with salad and steamed Basmati rice. Easy 10-15 minute meal.