2011 CSA Week 8

It is possible that my most notable accomplishment between the ages of 6 and 10 was precocious use of the word "crepuscular." It is also possible that while using it during those years to describe animals such as crocodiles with which it has a relationship more alliterative than factual I was fully unaware of the loveliness of the hour it denotes. I mention it now because it is at this time of year that my waking hours most closely correspond to the hours of daylight, and I find myself rising each morning and later preparing for sleep in the same degree of crepuscular twilight. These mid-July days are long and hot, but I feel eased through them by their bookends, the hour when the sky grows light and the hour when the sky grows dark. And I feel grateful for the opportunity to work in a way that allows me to feel attuned to the full progress of each day, to know that the cool air of a hot day's early morning is a refreshment that will return to us at day's end, and to know that the gradations of color between dark and blue in a brightening sky will be repeated in reverse as the same sky dims. And that's all. At this time of year I like to wake up early and go to bed early: A short thought for a warm season.

The share this week:

Rainbow Chard

Green Curly Kale

Red or Chioggia Beets

Summer Squash / Zucchini

Cucumbers

Fennel

Spring Onions

Cilantro

Dill

You-Pick Sugar Snap Peas

You-Pick Raspberries

Notes about the food:

* With apologies to those whose appreciation of these summertime staples is more nuanced than my own, I use summer squash and zucchini interchangeably. We will occasionally offer them as separate items, but more often they will be grouped together in the share and you will have your choice of the three varieties we grow. Pictured left to right: The zucchini is dark green-skinned and will usually be harvested when it is the largest of the three; the zephyr squash is a variety of yellow crookneck notable for its dual coloration; and the magda is a mid-eastern variety of squash, shorter and less slender than the other two. All can be eaten cooked or raw, and I've noticed when reading seed catalogues and other such resources that their flavor is often described as "nutty," an adjective I'd like to think is synonymous with "zany," but which in this case probably refers to flavors too subtle for my palate. If I enjoy these summer foods thoughtlessly, it's because I'm hot. I certainly appreciate their abundance, though, and their versatility. Try an easy raw salad, or consider marinating and adding them to whatever else you have on the grill this July (From the June 2011 Bon Apetit and The Food Network, respectively):

Shaved Summer Squash Salad

3 tablespoons whole almonds

1 pound summer squash

2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 minced garlic clove

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

arugula

Roast almonds and coarsely crush. Meanwhile, trim the ends off summer squash. Using a vegetable peeler, thinly slice the squash lengthwise into strips and transfer to a large bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together extra-virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, minced garlic clove, and kosher salt to taste. Pour dressing over squash. Let stand for a few minutes and then add handfuls of arugula. Shave a little Pecorino over the squash and toss. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish with the almonds.

Marinated Zucchini and Summer Squash

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons fresh chopped thyme leaves

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound zucchini, trimmed and sliced diagonally about 1/4-inch thick

1 pound yellow squash, trimmed and sliced diagonally about 1/4-inch thick

Whisk the vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, and thyme in a large bowl to blend. Season with salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in the oil. Spoon 3 tablespoons of the marinade into a small bowl. Cover and set aside. Add the zucchini and yellow squash to the remaining marinade in the large bowl and toss to coat. Transfer the mixture to a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Cover and marinate at room temperature at least 3 hours or cover and refrigerate up to 1 day.

Prepare the barbecue for medium-high heat. Grill the vegetables until they are crisp-tender and brown, turning occasionally, about 8 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to a platter. Drizzle with the reserved marinade and serve hot or at room temperature.

We are lucky to have friends who are not only CSA members but also enthusiastic volunteers on the farm. And we are even luckier that of those some are not only enthusiastic volunteers on the farm but also excellent cooks who bring us samples of the things they make with our vegetables. Thanks to Kathy Warburton for the weekly help, the company, and for sharing her ongoing hummus experiments with us. Here is one of her recipes, apropos of the ingredient at hand:

Zucchini Hummus

1 large or 2 medium zucchini

1/2 cup tahini

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon cumin

1-2 cloves garlic

sprinkle of cayenne

sprinkle of paprika

Process zucchini, olive oil, and garlic in food processor. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth.

* Fennel is not something we usually offer two weeks in a row, but we want to plant some of our fall crops in the bed space it is occupying, so we are going to harvest the rest of what we began to harvest last week. I like this recipe from Eating Well magazine because it uses the bulb as well as the fronds of the fennel:

Seared Salmon with White Beans and Fennel

3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 small bulb fennel, halved, cored and thinly sliced, plus 1 tablespoon chopped fennel fronds

1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed

1 medium tomato, diced

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 1/2 teaspoons dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided

1 teaspoon fennel seed

8 ounces center-cut salmon fillet, skinned and cut into two portions

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add sliced fennel; cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Stir in beans, tomato, and wine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato begins to break down, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; stir in chopped fennel fronds, mustard, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Cover to keep warm.

Rinse and dry the pan. Combine fennel seed and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon black pepper in a small bowl; sprinkle evenly on both sides of salmon. Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in the pan over medium-high heat until simmering but not smoking. Add the salmon, skinned side up; cook until golden brown, 3-6 minutes. Turn the salmon over, cover and remove from heat. Allow the salmon to continue cooking off the heat until just cooked through, 3-6 minutes more. Serve salmon with the bean mixture.

2011 CSA Week 7

The heat and dry conditions felt sudden last week, but we have since had a decent rainfall and time to come to terms with the fact that it is, after all, July. Before last week I had since March 1st ridden my bike to the farm every workday but one. Riding not without a significant tendency toward distraction and wobble, laden with soil from the farm and wearing a backpack over-filled with vegetables, singing top-40 radio hits in my head and sort of out loud, thinking of myself as a solitary, begrimed counterpoint to the spandex-clad pelotons that populate Dover roads, it could be obstinacy--a simple pleasure congealed to compulsion--that kept me uncovered on the occasionally cold and wet days of our extended spring, but whatever the reason you'll know that the single day I chose to drive was particularly inclement. I think of it now because it was the day in early April on which we planted the beets that were in the share this week and last. We worked that morning in a cold, unremitting rain, transplanting the beets one at a time into soil saturated by water enough that we could call it mud and watch it harden in the following days to a slick crust hardly conducive to the production of healthy plants. We dried ourselves at intervals by the woodstove and completed our work with a semi-useful stubbornness, and the beets eventually overcame their disadvantageous origin and found their way in the compacted ground. Their harvest during this first week of summer weather reminds me of their beginning, and of the fact that however jarring the sudden arrival of this season may feel it is inextricable from the season past, stitched to it by the work we began in April and continue today. We've followed a thread through sucking a mud and a cold day that would keep anyone off their bike, and here we are: a warm month and an abundant harvest.

The share this week:

Lettuce

Red Russian Kale

Rainbow Chard

Collard Greens

Red Beets

Napa or Green Cabbage

Summer Squash or Zucchini

Fennel

Green Beans

Sugar Snap Peas

Cinnamon Basil

Parsley

Spring Onions

Raspberries

Notes about the food:

* Parsley, which for the purpose of this week's photo shoot I have inexplicably situated on top of a toy wooden bus, is another one of my favorite things we grow. Although it is often relegated to the role of garnish, I insist there is no shame in enjoying it--stems and all--as a stand-alone snack or prominent component of any meal. But, because I suspect you are unlikely to share with me the lonely joy of eating a full bunch of parsley like it's a candy bar, I am including two recipes that are not shy about the fact that parsley is an intensely nutritious, intensely flavorful dark leafy green that deserves better than use as a neglected scrap alongside your hamburger. The first is from The Food Network, the second from a 2003 issue of Gourmet:

Parsley Salad

4 ounces Italian parsley

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons lemon zest

6 tablespoons walnut oil

2 teaspoons dark sesame oil

1 teaspoon honey

salt and freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Wash and dry the parsley. Remove leaves from stems and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, zest, walnut oil, sesame oil, honey, and salt and pepper, to taste. Add the parsley and sesame seeds and toss to combine. Allow the salad to sit for at least 30 minutes before serving so that the flavors to meld.

Beet and Parsley Salad

2 medium beets without greens

1 cup packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon sugar, or to taste

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Trim and peel raw beets, then cut into very thin slices. (If you have one, a mandoline is the best kitchen tool for this.)

Toss beets with parsley, salt, sugar, and pepper in a serving bowl until sugar is dissolved. Add oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle vinegar on salad and toss again. Serve immediately.

* The first thing to know about fennel is that its taste is reminiscent of black licorice. When used as a garnish, the fronds will imbue any dish with this flavor, and a small amount of them will go a long way. The licorice taste is more subtle in the bulb, and will be affected by cooking. The bulb is versatile: it adds crunch when chopped into salad, it is easily sauteed or baked, and it is delicious when lightly glazed with olive oil and grilled. I hope you'll experiment freely. For more involved recipes that incorporate fennel, as well as beets, chard, and kale, consider the following soups:

Beet and Fennel Soup with Kefir

From Bon Appetit, January 2011

Note: Kefir is a drink that looks and tastes like yogurt, usually made from cow's milk or goats milk. It's in the dairy section. Can't find it? Substitute plain yogurt. I think this soup is also good served cold.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped fennel bulb

1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds

2 large beets, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 cups low-salt chicken broth

1 cup unflavored kefir

Additional unflavored kefir

Fennel fronds (for garnish)

Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped onion, chopped fennel, and fennel seeds. Saute until vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Add cubed beets and stir to coat. Add chicken broth and bring to boil. Cover; reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until beets are tender, 18-20 minutes. Puree soup in batches in blender. Return to same saucepan. Whisk in 1 cup unflavored kefir and season soup with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Rewarm soup, but don't boil.

Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle with additional unflavored kefir; garnish with fennel fronds.

Barley Soup with Greens, Fennel, Lemon, and Dill

From Bon Appetit, February 2010

4 cups water

8 cups vegetable broth

1 cup pearl barley, rinsed

1 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus additional for sprinkling

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus additional for drizzling

3 cups chopped onion

8 cups coarsely chopped kale leaves (one 7-ounce bunch)

6 cups coarsely chopped chard leaves (one 7-ounce bunch)

5 cups spinach leaves (about 5 ounces)

3/4 cup sliced green onions

1/2 cup chopped fresh dill

1/2 cup chopped fresh fennel fronds

3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 7-ounce package feta cheese, crumbled

Bring 4 cups water, 2 cups broth, barley and 1 teaspoon sea salt to boil in a large pot. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, sprinkle with sea salt, and saute until golden brown, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Add sauteed onions and remaining 6 cups broth to pot with barley.

Add kale and chard to soup. Simmer until greens are tender, about 15 minutes. Add spinach, green onions, dill, fennel fronds, and mint; simmer 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Season soup with sea salt, pepper, and additional lemon juice, thinning with more broth, if desired.

Divide soup among bowls. Sprinkle each with feta cheese, drizzle with oil, and serve.

* We are introducing the summer squash and zucchini slowly. The plants have begun to produce enough for the CSA, but barely. Beginning this week we'll harvest everything and divide it among the shares, and as the summer continues the plants will produce more and they will be joined by a second succession of everything squash-related, so don't feel antagonized if you receive as few as 1 squash per share this week--more are on the way. I'll provide further notes about the varieties we are growing as their abundance increases.

Miscellaneous Notes:

* Have you been to the movies recently? I saw The Tree of Life last weekend, and I've hardly stopped thinking about it since. If you think that ours might be a world in which gain and loss are constant and simultaneous, and that any accounting of such things must consider equally the cosmically-scaled and the infinitesimal, you might enjoy this movie. Anyway, it's something we can talk about while you collect your vegetables, if you want.

CSA Week 16

Here is what's in the share this week:

Lettuce

Swiss Chard

Heirloom Tomatoes

Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

Eggplant

Sweet Peppers

Hot Peppers

Tomatillos

Husk Cherries

Fennel

Red Onions

Cilantro

Corn

*Each week we are happily surprised by the continued production of our heirloom tomatoes, but the week will come when the plants are no longer producing enough fruit to supply the CSA. If you want to use some of the current abundance to prepare for a day beyond the end of tomato season, consider making tomato sauce and either freezing or canning it. Here's a sample recipe, but experimentation is encouraged:

4 1/2 pounds heirloom tomatoes

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

3/4 cup chopped garlic

4 cups diced onions

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 cup red wine

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1/2 chopped fresh basil

freshly ground pepper, to taste

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Submerge the tomatoes for about 10 seconds; remove and peel the tomatoes with a paring knife or your fingers. Don't remove seeds or juice--it's from these areas that a tomato gets a lot of its flavor. Coarsely chop the tomatoes and set aside.

Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes. Add onions and salt, stir to coat, cover and cook, stirring often and adjusting heat to prevent burning, until soft and golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and oregano and cook, stirring often, 2 to 4 minutes.

Pour in wine and vinegar; bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits with a spoon. Cook until reduced slightly, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and any juice; return to simmer, stirring often. Reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are mostly broken down, about 25 minutes.

Remove from the heat. Stir in basil and pepper. Transfer the sauce, in batches, to a blender or food processor. For a smoother sauce, blend all of it. For a chunkier sauce, blend 1/2 and combine the the unblended portion.

This sauce can be eaten fresh, or preserved by freezing or canning. Freezing is the easiest and most risk-free option, but if you want to try canning, refer to this blog post by a friend of the farm. The post is specifically about fruit, but it mentions the basics and includes links for further information.

*The corn this week is from Sunshine Farm in Sherborn. We're happy to be supporting another local farm business; please see the Week 14 post for information about our decision to buy sweet corn rather than grow it ourselves.

*This is the last week that fennel will be in the share, which means it is the last time this season you will wonder what to do with fennel. Make amends for past uncertainty with either of these recipes, both from Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables:

Sauteed Fennel With Lemon

"As basic, useful, and versatile as simply sauteed peppers, mushrooms, or snow peas--any or all of which will enhance it, as variations."

2 medium fennel bulbs

2 Tbsp olive oil or butter

1/4 tsp salt, or to taste

1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

pepper to taste

Trim and reserve fennel leaves (and cut off and reserve top stalks). Quarter each bulb lengthwise; cut each quarter crosswise in very thin slivers. Mince 1 Tbsp of the fine leaves.

Heat oil in large, heavy skillet; toss fennel slices to coat. Add salt. Continue tossing frequently over moderate heat, until tender--about 10 minutes.

Toss with lemon zest and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with minced tops.

Fennel a la Grecque

1 1/2 cups water

1/4 cup dry vermouth

2 large garlic cloves, halved

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1/2 tsp thyme

1 bay leaf, crumbled

1 tiny dried hot chili-pepper, or 1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes

1 tsp coarse kosher salt

1/2 tsp sugar

2 medium fennel bulbs

3 Tbsp olive oil

3 Tbsp lemon juice

Lemon Slices

Combine water, vermouth, garlic, fennel seeds, thyme, bay leaf, chili (crumbled), salt, and sugar in saucepan. Simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Let stand, covered, until ready to use.

Trim and discard fennel stalks, saving feathery leaves. Trim base of bulb slightly without removing core. Cutting across as you would a loaf of bread, progressing from one short side to the other, make even slices 1/4-1/2 inch wide.

Heat oil in wide skillet (12 inches or more). On moderately low heat brown slices lightly in single layer, turning once, about 10 minutes.

Remove garlic from prepare bouillon and discard; add liquid to fennel with lemon juice. Cover and simmer very gently 5 minutes. Uncover and simmer about 15 minutes, or until fennel is very tender.

Cool. Gently lift slices into serving dish. Pour liquid over. Cover and chill.

To serve, snip fennel leaves and sprinkle on top. Arrange lemon slices over all.

CSA Week Lucky Number 13

I have a theory that there is always at least one blustery day in the second half of August. Today, then, along with yesterday, is fall's annual incursion upon summer. We expect sun and warmer temperatures by the end of the week, but for now it is cool and windy and the rain has been steady and it certainly feels like a new season. Our soil will appreciate the moisture, and we appreciate the opportunity to leave the fields to the weather while we complete a few indoor projects. (This morning, for example, we spent some hours preparing our seed garlic. Of the garlic that we grew for CSA distribution we set aside a crate of particularly robust heads; we separated these into individual cloves, each of which will be planted next month as part of next season's garlic crop.) Our harvest, though, isn't slowed by the temporary change in conditions. This week's share:

Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

Heirloom Tomatoes

Sweet Peppers

Hot Peppers

Red Russian Kale

Carrots

Edamame Soybeans

Summer Squash

Zucchini

Onions

Fennel

Sage

Dill

Watermelon

*The fact that the watermelon is being distributed during a blustery week is inadvertent. The melons are ripe now, but they'll last a few days on your counter (longer in the refrigerator) if you want to save them for a day that is more summer-like. We're growing a few varieties, so don't be surprised if your melon is either yellow or white. I've never pickled watermelon rind, but I'm curious. If you have, let me know how it turned out. If you haven't and are also curious, try this recipe:

1 4-pound watermelon, quartered

8 cups water

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons coarse salt

2 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups apple cider vinegar

8 whole cloves

8 whole black peppercorns

2 cinnamon sticks

1/2 tsp pickling spice

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp ground ginger

Cut watermelon pulp from rind (eat it!), leaving thin layer of pink on rind. Cut green outer skin from rind and discard. Cut rind into 1 x 1/2 inch pieces to measure 4 cups. Combine water and 2 tbsp salt in large pot and bring to boil. Add rind pieces and boil until tender, about 5 minutes. Strain and transfer rinds to large metal bowl. Combine remaining 2 tsp salt, sugar, and next 7 ingredients in heavy large saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour over watermelon rinds. Place plate atop rinds to keep rinds submerged in pickling liquid. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight. Strain liquid from rinds into saucepan and bring to boil. Pour over rinds. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Repeat straining and boiling of liquid and pour over rinds 1 more time.

*Edamame are green soybeans. We've harvested them by cutting and bunching entire plants, so what you pick up at distribution will have the appearance of a small bush adorned with many fuzzy pods. The beans can be prepared simply by removing the pods from the stems and steaming them for about 20 minutes. Season with salt and lemon juice and eat the beans directly from the pod. They are also good marinated in soy sauce.

*A CSA member sent us this suggestion for fennel:

Very thinly slice a whole fennel bulb--a mandolin works best. In a serving dish make thin layers--fennel, a little shaved parmesan, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Be sure to top the last layer with parmesan. You can either serve this as a salad and top with the fennel fronds, or you can bake it in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes until the top browns slightly and then top with the fennel fronds.

*We planted a row of husk cherries earlier in the season, and they're beginning to ripen. Like tomatillos, the fruit grows inside a papery shell, but they're smaller than tomatillos and have a unique taste that is somewhat sweet, somewhat vegetable-like, and somewhat tomato-like. We probably won't harvest them for distribution, but if you are interested in taking a walk on the farm and eating a few, ask Joshua or Jonathan to show you where they are, and to tell you how to know when they are ripe.

CSA Week 11

We estimate that two inches of rain fell in less than one hour last Thursday afternoon. I was riding my bicycle home from the farm when the shower began, and the water moved across the pavement in streams that accumulated faster than they could disperse so that by the time I got home I had seen cars parked in water up to their undercarriages. Our soil is more absorbent than the surface of a road, and the farm welcomed its own pummeling. The fast infusion of water was a relief to the crops in spite of its violence: we're not equipped to irrigate our fields, so after several consecutive hot and dry days we welcome rainfall of any kind. The well, too, from which we draw water to wash the crops we harvest and from which we fill buckets to water our seedlings benefited from the shower. It had been intermittently dry in recent weeks, and we had been relying on water from the well of a neighbor. (The fact that we she gives us water and we give her vegetables makes me feel like we're part of an apocalypse economy in which currency doesn't exist that is neither edible nor potable.) Warm days and rainfall that is ample but not constant are the best conditions we can hope for, and both have been provided this season.

The season, by the way, reaches its halfway point this week. This is the eleventh CSA distribution, and there will be eleven more. It is going fast, and we are mindful of the fact that the second half of anything is faster than the first. It will be October before we fully realize that it is August, and then it will be winter. Please take the time time to enjoy this week's harvest, and the harvests of all the weeks that remain.

Here is what's in the share:

Heirloom Tomatoes

Slicing Tomatoes

Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

Eggplant

Hot Peppers

Golden Beets

Summer Squash

Zucchini

Cucumbers

Scallions

Fennel

Dill

Notes about the food:

*Eggplant is one of the loveliest things we grow. The plants themselves are solidly rooted and adorned with large triangular leaves, and amongst these bloom small lavender flowers. In the hottest parts of the summer these flowers dropped without producing fruit, but the temperatures have been slightly cooler in recent weeks and the plants are finally laden with the deeply colored, glossy eggplant that we've been waiting for. We've been preparing them by cutting each unpeeled eggplant in half, spreading both halves with olive oil and wrapping them along with a few cloves of garlic in tinfoil. Baked like this for 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees they become soft and infused with the flavor of the garlic--we've then chopped them as an addition to pizza or pasta, but they are also a good stand-alone sidedish at this point.

*Treat the fennel as a plant with two complimentary parts. The bulb is crunchy and makes a good addition to raw salads. It is also excellent grilled--slice it into strips and brush with olive oil and grill alongside other summertime staples. The fronds are more herb-like, and their flavor is reminiscent of licorice. A little bit goes a long way to flavor soups or salads. Try this easy salad from a website called "vegalicious":

Orange, Beet, and Fennel Salad

2 large beets, peeled and cooked

2 medium oranges, peeled and segmented

1 medium fennel bulb

for the dressing:

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp fennel frond, finely chopped

1 tsp mustard

1 tsp agave syrup

salt

Peel the oranges and cut them into segments. Slice the cooked beets in fine circles. Clean the fennel and cut off the bottom part of the bulb. Slice the fennel into very thin slices or shavings. Assemble these components on a plate and drizzle with combined dressing ingredients. Garnish with sprigs of fennel.

Or try this Ratatouille recipe from Epicurious:

1 bulb fennel, stalks discarded

3 red bell peppers, pierced with tip of knife
3 yellow bell peppers, pierced with tip of knife
2 medium zucchini, quartered
1 medium eggplant, quartered
About 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 head garlic
2 cups tomato sauce
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh marjoram, chopped
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In large saucepan over moderately high heat, bring 2 quarts salted water to boil. Add fennel and boil until tender, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, rub red and yellow peppers, zucchini, and eggplant with olive oil and transfer to large baking sheet. Cut off top 1/2 inch from garlic head. Wrap in foil and transfer to baking sheet alongside vegetables. When fennel is tender, use tongs to transfer to sheet and rub with oil. Roast vegetables, turning occasionally, until tender and slightly browned, 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer roasted peppers to large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let all vegetables stand until cooled slightly, about 10 minutes. Peel and deseed peppers, then finely dice. Remove seeds from zucchini and finely dice. Finely dice eggplant. Core fennel and finely dice. In large saucepan over moderately high heat, combine diced roasted vegetables and tomato sauce. Squeeze garlic from skins into pan. Simmer mixture, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened with very little liquid remaining, about 10 minutes. Stir in basil, thyme, marjoram, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, and remaining 1/4 cup olive oil. Serve immediately.