Week 8: October 24 - October 27
On the farm, we’re plenty familiar with vegetable-centric to-do lists. Vegetables to plant, vegetables to weed, vegetables to harvest, vegetables to clean. A big part of the day revolves around, well, doing things with vegetables.
Which means that by the end of the day, we’re sometimes tired of doing things with vegetables. (Shocking, I know.) With dinner rolling around, it can feel like an arduous task to cook up an elaborate veggie-forward feast.
That’s why we often skip the ‘elaborate’ part. Our preparations tend toward the simple - roast, sautee, bake, or just slice up whatever veggies we have on hand, add a bit of seasoning, and call it a day. It’s tasty and it works.
So when I was recently reading an article about Row 7, a chef-founded seed and produce company, a quote from the company’s COO Elizabeth Mahler struck a chord: “When people look at fruit,” she says, they generally know how to eat it. “But when they see a vegetable, they kind-of see a to-do list. ‘What am I going to do with it?’”
Mahler went on to talk about how a lot of the produce available in conventional grocery stores has been bred for shipping and shelf-life, rather than flavor. Which, in turn, has led to vegetables that need doctoring to taste good. Rather than growing the best tasting food, industrial operations are focused on growing the best transported food. Most people are buying vegetables that taste like a to-do list.
Everyone knows the taste difference between a hydroponic tomato from California and one grown in Minnesota soil. We like to think that same difference is there in everything we grow on the farm, even if it’s sometimes more subtle. We select varieties for flavor, not durability, and harvest them in a way that helps them last as long as possible. We want our potatoes to wow you, turnips to change your mind, and our carrots to knock ‘store carrots’ out of the park. We want to grow food that tastes great, without elaborate work. And we hope that when you open your bag each week you see a world of possibilities just a sprinkle of salt away, not a to-do list, waiting to be done.
Have a to-do free week,
Chris, Ashley, Hallie, and the 10th Street Farm Crew
In Your Bag This Week
Carrots: These carrots are sweet, crunchy, and oh so addicting! Store in your fridge.
Arugula (micro for half shares, bagged for full shares): Peppery greens that add zip to a salad. We love arugula dressed simply with oil and salt. Store in a bag in your fridge.
Salad Turnips: Also called Hakurei Turnips, these fresh-eating turnips are tasty and versatile. Slice them up with hummus, sauté them, roast them in the oven, or even try them on the grill. Store in a bag in your fridge.
Garlic: The best cooking advice we ever received? When a recipe calls for a clove of garlic, use two or three! Store on your counter.
Flavor Mix microgreens: Mild and tasty, these make an easy salad on their own or can add some color to any other salad. Try them on eggs or sandwiches – or anything, really! Store in a bag in your fridge.
Leeks: Buttery and delicious leeks are a fall staple for soups and baked dishes! Store in a bag in your fridge.
Potatoes - Russet: These potatoes are famous for a reason - great baked, fried, steamed, or mashed. Store in a dark, dry place.
Kale (half shares): Hearty yet still tender, the kale is tasting great this summer. Maybe time for some kale chips? Store in a bag in your fridge.
Romaine Lettuce (full shares): Beautiful crisp lettuce heads. Great for everything from lettuce wraps to salads and sandwiches. Store in a bag in your fridge.
Thelma Sanders Squash (full shares): This heirloom acorn squash variety is renowned for its nutty, almost sweet potato flavor! Stores well on your counter.
What should I make with what’s in the bag?
After all that talk about great veggies standing up on their own, we’ll go with some recipes on the simpler side of things this week. We’ve got russet potatoes in the bag this week, so maybe try this recipe for the best roast potatoes ever (!) or get fancy and bake up some hasselback potatoes - both get a little fancy on the cookery, but require just a simple ingredient list. We’re planning to kick off soup season with some potato leek soup - here’s a vegan recipe that sounds quite tasty. We love leeks in a frittata too! Try adding your kale or arugula, and topping with microgreens.
Also on the simple side: sauteed carrots; roasted turnips; baked kale chips; roasted squash. Turns out with just a sprinkle of seasoning, your fat/oil of choice, and some heat, you can help the veggies sing their delicious song!
If you've found a recipe you're loving, please send it our way. We're always looking for new things to cook and share with other members!
We wash everything in your bag but we wash them in bulk so some things may need an extra rinse at home. Please bring your bag back next week so we can re-use it! Thanks!
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