Hi there! The weather's starting to get hot - how are you staying cool? We like to take a cool dip in the creek right behind the fields; it's a great perk of our farm.
The harvest this week includes:
kale, broccoli, cabbage, kohlrabi, bok choy, beets, carrots, potatoes, fresh onions, head lettuce, swiss chard, fresh garlic, hakurei turnips
In addition to our classic wood-fired white bread we usually have there will also be wheat and rosemary bread!
We want to share some simple prep tips today to help you manage all those leafy veggies you get from market - especially if you have a CSA box. Sometimes all the greenery can fill up the fridge and make using them a little bit daunting. Taking a bit of time to prep your veggies (30 min to an hour) will make cooking and meals more enjoyable throughout the week.
Here are some tips:
Remove the leafy green tops from root vegetables. Discard the inedible ones - things like carrot tops, and set aside the edible ones like beets and turnips.
Give everything a quick final rinse, washing off any remaining grit from the fields. A nail brush or something similar will help you scrub the grooves of root veggies. Squeeze them lightly in a clean dishtowel to dry them off.
Have some zip-lock bags or food containers handy to store things you're not using right away as you prep them.
Remove stems and ribs from hearty leafy greens like kale or chard and either tear or chop them into smaller pieces. Trim and cut up more delicate turnip and beet greens as well.
Bonus kale tip - if you're using it for a raw salad, sprinkle it lightly with salt and a squeeze of lemon juice and massage away! It'll make it so much more tender.
Separate lettuce or cabbage leaves from the heart so they are ready to use; leave them whole if you're planning on wrapping things in them or chop them up for salads and stir-fries. You can also do this with bok choy - the white stem part is edible and tender after cooking.
Trim and chop the other veggies according to how you want to use them - you can slice, dice, and store and they'll be ready for all kinds of recipes when it's time to cook.
Some extra info on the interesting-looking kohlrabi - remove the greens coming from the center orb, then peel it and cut it up as you would like. It's delicious raw with your favorite dip or in stir-fries. You can even make soup with it!
Hope these tips both simplify and make cooking more enjoyable with your freshly harvested veggies. If you ever have questions or need suggestions on how to use something please feel free to contact us or ask us at market!!
Have a great weekend, seeya soon!
Luke + Meghan