Peas

Peas (pisum sativum)

Peas are most certainly a seasonal treat! Savor them fresh while they last! Peas are as ancient a cultivated food as wheat, barley, and garlic. They have been found in famous excavations dating back to 7000 and 10,000 PC. Perhaps originating in northern India, peas moved to the Near East, the Mediterranean, northern Europe, the British Isles, and England.

Peas have much to offer nutritionally. They are an excellent source of vitamins A, C, K, and the Bs. They are also high in the minerals iron, potassium, and phosphorus. All of this in a high protein, high carbohydrate, high fiber package!

Storage Tips:

Snow, snap, or shelling peas:

Clean peas in cold water and remove stems (or pods for shelling peas). Place into pot of boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove from water and immediately place in cold clean water for 2 minutes. When peas feel cooler remove from water. Shake out water. Place into plastic bag, twist, suck out excess air, twist-tie, and put in the freezer.

When you go to use these in the middle of winter, thaw in the morning to use at night. Slow thawing helps to keep them from getting too mushy. One pint-sized bag of frozen peas will be enough for a meal for 1 - 3 people.

Potato

Potato (Solanum tuberosum)

Potatoes are the fourth most important crop in the world (after rice, wheat, and maize). They were domesticated in Peru some 10,000 years ago, and were a staple of the Andean diet. These ancient Peruvians grew hundreds of varieties of potatoes-sweet, bitter, red, blue-which were baked, boiled, and even eaten for dessert. Now, in America, 65% of the potatoes we grow are used to make processed products-potato chips, French fries, hash browns, etc. Potatoes plus milk make a complete protein-which is why the crop has historically been so important to the world's poor. In America they are a leading source of vitamin C, and are also rich in potassium, niacin, iron, and B6.

Storage Tips:

You may find that you get too many potatoes to eat in one week - no problem. Just keep them in a paper bag, in a dry and cool (40 F) part of the house - the garage is good until it freezes at night, then the basement is usually good - away from the furnace.

Pumpkins, Jack O'Lanterns

Pumpkin (cucurbita pepo)

Cultivation of the cucumber dates back 9,000 years ago to its native regions in South and Central America. Naturalized to the eastern United States, the Native American tribes in the New England area cultivated pumpkins and other squashes as staples of their diet long before the arrival of the Europeans.

Pumpkins are an important winter vegetable for the seasonal eater, providing the greatest vitamin A of all common fruit and vegetables. They are also high in iron, potassium, and phosphorus. They offer excellent nutrition as well!

Storage Tips:

• Store pumpkins in a cool, dry place. Pumpkins will last at room temperature for several weeks, and at 40-50 degrees for several months. Do not refrigerate unless cut open.

• Pumpkin may be cooked, pureed, and packed into airtight containers and frozen for later use in soups or baked goods.

Radicchio

Radicchio (Cichorium intybus)

Radicchio is a red leaved, white veined vegetable whose leaves make a small head. Its strong bitter flavor makes a great addition to salads. It is also often grilled or roasted to obtain a milder flavor.

Storage Tips:

Radicchio can store in the hydrator drawer of your refrigerator for at least 2 weeks.

Radish

Radish (Raphanus sativa)

Radishes come in a multitude of shapes, sizes and colors besides our common round, red radish. In Eastern Europe and Russia, black radishes are commonly mixed into various dishes. The daikon radish of East Asia is grated and eaten raw, cooked into soups and stews, and pickled.

At the farm, we also grow a "watermelon" or "meat" radish which is white/green on the outside and pink on the inside.

Rhubarb

Rhubarb is an early spring delight and a perennial crop (meaning it comes back year after year)

The edible part of rhubarb is the stalk of the leaves. Its crisp texture and tart, sour flavor pair well with sweet fruits, desserts, crumbles and pies. Or, try making a rhubarb simple syrup for use in cocktails!

Harvest tips:

• pull stalks off of plants, then trim off leaf before cooking

• unwashed rhubarb will store in the refrigerator for 5-7 days

• freeze rhubarb by cutting into pieces and freezing on a baking sheet before storing in a freezer bag

Rutabaga

Rutabaga (Brassica napobrassica)

The rutabaga is a relatively modern vegetable that resulted from a cross between a Swedish turnip and a cabbage. The rutabaga's flesh is yellowish, and it's taste is milder than that of the turnip.

Storage Tips:

• Rutabaga will store adequately at room temperature for up to one week, or refrigerated in plastic bag or hydrator drawer for up to one month

• For longer term storage, rutabagas may be packed in moist sand and kept in a cool but not freezing location

Salad Greens

Salad Greens

A salad mix can be as specific and as satisfying as your grandmother's favorite dish, and the components of a salad mix are as variable as your imagination allows. Chicory, mustard, cress, endive, mizuna, kale, dandelion, arugula, tatsoi; plus your choice of lettuce(s) are all options to experiment with. Even some of our "favorite" farm weeds taste great in a salad; like purslane and amaranth.

Storage Tips:

This mix will have to be lightly washed before eating to ensure that it has no grit in it. Leave it out to dry (or put it through a salad spinner) if you plan to store it in the refrigerator for more than a couple of days.

Scallion (Green or Bunching Onions)

Scallion (Allium cepa)

The onion is a native of west-central Asia has been cultivated since prehistoric times. They were believed to have curative powers by the ancient Babylonians, Greeks, and Egyptians. Indeed, onions, garlic and chickpeas reportedly made up the bulk of the food ration given to the 100,000 laborers of the Great Pyramid of Cheops. Onions' internal layers were considered a symbol of eternity-an idea espoused by Russian architects, who constructed onion-shaped towers hoping to ensure that the buildings would stand forever. Onions are high in vitamin C.

Storage Tips:

• Bulb onions will store for several months in a cool, dry ventilated place. Warmth and moisture will cause sprouting.

• Store onion in the refrigerator in an air-tight container to avoid transference of flavors to other foods.

• Store chives or scallions wrapped in a damp towel or plastic bag in hydrator drawer of fridge for 2-3 days.

Spinach

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea)

Spinach hails from southwestern Asia; it was given to China as a gift from Nepal in the first years of the T'ang Dynasty (early seventh century A.D.). Spinach spread slowly, finally reaching Europe with the invading Moors. It was popular on the Continent because it grew well in the early spring, when other fresh vegetables are still scarce. Popeye (who made his cartoon appearance in 1929) inspired a 33% increase in spinach consumption among children. Indeed, it is rich in beta-carotene, calcium, folacin, and various minerals.

Storage Tips:

• Store spinach in a damp towel or plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

• For longer term storage, spinach may be frozen. Blanch for 1-2 minutes, rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process, drain well and pack into airtight containers, such as zip-lock freezer bags.

Strawberries

Strawberry (Fragaria ananassa )

The first garden variety of strawberries was cultivated in Brittany, France from a cross of a species native to the East Coast of North America and another species from Chile.

The strawberry is not, from a botanical point of view, a berry. Technically, it’s an aggregate fruit—each “seed” on the outside of the fruit is actually a separate fruit with its own seed inside it!

Strawberries are sweet and delicious and full of vitamin C!

Pick strawberries ripe—they don’t continue to ripen after picking.

Storage Tips:

• Strawberries are best eaten fresh and soon after picking.

• You can keep unwashed strawberries for a few days in a colander in the refrigerator. Wash before eating.

• Try freezing strawberries to enjoy all year: sort out any mushy fruits, wash the remaining ones and cut off the tops. Let dry for about 10 minutes in a colander and then spread them in a single layer on a cookie sheet (this keeps them from freezing into a solid block). Freeze overnight. Then pack the loose frozen berries into freezer bags. These work great for smoothies and baking!

Peppers, Sweet

Shishito PEppers

Italia Peppers

Sweet Peppers (Capsicum annuum)

Red, yellow, purple, orange, green, and black. Pimento, cubanelle, bell, banana, and mango. Peppers come in so many shapes and sizes that it's hard to keep track of them all. And, did you know-that all bell peppers are green at first, and we often pick and enjoy these "unripe" fruit. If left on their plants, peppers ripen into their different colors. Though sweet peppers originally hailed from the Americas, they are very important exports of the Netherlands and Hungary as well. Sweet peppers are a good source of vitamin C, and those that turn red are also high in beta carotene.

Storage Tips:

• Refrigerate peppers in hydrator drawer unwashed for 1-2 weeks
  
  

• Freezing sweet peppers is as easy as cleaning them, dicing them, and putting them in the freezer.

Potatoes, Sweet

Sweet Potato (Solanum tuberosum)

Potatoes are the fourth most important crop in the world (after rice, wheat, and maize). They were domesticated in Peru some 10,000 years ago, and were a staple of the Andean diet. These ancient Peruvians grew hundreds of varieties of potatoes-sweet, bitter, red, blue-which were baked, boiled, and even eaten for dessert. Now, in America, 65% of the potatoes we grow are used to make processed products-potato chips, French fries, hash browns, etc. Potatoes plus milk make a complete protein-which is why the crop has historically been so important to the world's poor. In America they are a leading source of vitamin C, and are also rich in potassium, niacin, iron, and B6.

Storage Tips:

• You may find that you get too many potatoes to eat in one week - no problem. Just keep them in a paper bag, in a dry and cool (40 F) part of the house - the garage is good until it freezes at night, then the basement is usually good - away from the furnace.

Tatsoi

Tatsoi (Brassica rapa) 

Tatsoi is an Asian mustard grown for its leaves. The subtle tasting tatsoi is delicious in a salad mix or cooked.

Tomatillo

Tomatillo (Physalis Ixocarpa)



Tomatillos are native to Central and South America, where they have been cultivated for centuries--even before the first tomatoes! Tomatillos, or 'husk tomatoes' as they're sometimes called, are important vegetables in authentic Mexican cuisine. Tomatillos are ready to harvest when they have filled out their papery shell--or just after they've fallen.

Storage Tips:

• Store at room temperature, with husks on, for up to 2 weeks.

• For longer storage, refrigerate in husks-but not in a plastic bag.

Tomato

(Lycopersicon esculentum)

The tomato's name comes from tomatl, which, in the language of the Aztecs, means "round and plump." Spanish explorers brought the vegetable back to Europe, where it was greeted with suspicion and confusion. The French called it "pomme d'amour" (love apple); the Italians called it "pomodoro" (golden apple); others called it "pomi di mori" (Moorish apples). Those who weren't confused about the nomenclature were convinced that the tomato, being a relative of deadly nightshade, was poisonous. In the U.S, 85% of the tomatoes we grow are processed into soup, catsup, salsa, juice, puree, and sauce. Ripe tomatoes contain large quantities of vitamin C and beta-carotene.

Storage Tips:

• The easiest way to deal with your excess tomatoes is to freeze them. Just wash your tomatoes, let them dry a bit, then put them in a heavy duty plastic bag, and place them in your freezer. They can be thawed and used in soups and stews all winter long. This takes up a bit of freezer space, but if time is an issue, it's a great way to keep you in tomatoes all year.

Turnip

Purple Top Turnip

Gilfeather Turnip

Turnip (Brassica rapa)

Turnips, which apparently hail from Asia Minor, were eaten by hunter-gatherers millennia before they were cultivated. They can grow in poor soil, and are so cheap to cultivate that they have often been grown for animal feed. The roots can be baked, fried, boiled, and added to soups and stews. Turnip greens are quite popular in Europe, Eastern Asia, and the southern United States. Consumed by American slaves, turnip greens have become a vital component of the cuisine known as "soul food."

The Gilfeather Turnip was bred in Vermont (and has now become the official state vegetable). This is a mild turnip, that keeps it’s crunch and not as much “turnipy taste” as the purple tops. Delicious.

Storage Tips:

• You can store turnips in a root cellar, moist sand, or the hydrator drawer of your refrigerator

Winter Radishes

We grow a variety of storage radishes including Black Radish, Daikon, Purple Daikon, and Watermelon (or Meat) Radish. (Genus: Raphanus)

These storage radishes have a range of spice to them, but they all store well and are a standby of our fall harvests as well as our winter share!

Try grated radish as a colorful addition to salad or cabbage slaw. Or, roast a selection of radishes and notice how their flavor gets sweeter! And, like their spring radish cousins, storage radishes make wonderful quick-pickles!

Storage Tips:

• Leave the dirt on radishes until you’re ready to cook them, then wash

• Store in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or even longer in a root cellar!

Watermelon

Crimson Sweet

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus)

Sunshine

Watermelons were originally domesticated in central and southern Africa where they served as an important water source in arid regions.  Watermelons are about 92% water and 6% sugar by weight.  They are rich in Vitamin C, beta carotene and red varieties contain lycopene.

We grow two different type of melons: Crimson Sweet (red) and Sunshine (yellow).  We pick our melons ripe so any melon that comes with your share is ready to eat.

Storage Tips:

• Melons will keep for a week or so if kept cool and uncut.

• Once cut open, melons should be eaten within a few days

Squash, Winter

Winter Squash (Cucurbita moshata and maxima)

Squashes are American natives and were cultivated to serve various purposes. Native Americans ate the shoots, leaves, flowers, and seeds of winter squash, and preserved the flesh in syrup. The yellow and orange flesh of winter squash is rich in beta-carotene. It contains goodly amounts of folacin and vitamin C as well.

Storage Tips:

• If you do get squash that you don't want to use this week, you can store it by keeping it in a dry place that is as close to 50 F as possible. Under a bed in a back room, in the garage, or in a dry basement. Keep it away from moisture and all should be well for 4 - 5 months at least.