A few notes from my years of experience…. by Liz

I've been wanting to write something for about this for awhile. This goes back to my days of being a barter sharer at Mad Mares and learning the hard way what happens to lettuce on the counter.

 
Note.
Remember, your veggies are organic, so you can expect to find some bugs, holes, and inconsistencies here and there. We do our best to give you quality food, but don’t expect your veggies to be “grocery store perfect” – they won’t be. While we do wash all of the food before we share it out, keep in mind we don’t have a commercial facility in which to wash them, nor do we have large refrigerators in which to cool them. With greens and lettuce, check for slugs and others bugs, especially if it has been overcast or rainy within 24 hours of harvest. Slugs in particular thrive in that kind of weather. We do use an organic slug bait which works very well, but it won’t always get all of them.

General Rule of Thumb.
Get those veggies cold. If you don't have time to process your share, best thing you can do is get them in the fridge or in a cooler with ice. Process them as soon as possible.  

Greens, Head – eg: Escarole, Pac Choi, and even Lettuce.

I usually run these under cold water to clean off any remaining dirt or bugs. I change the direction I’m holding the greens so the water flushes through the top, and then flip them over so the water runs back out the other way. I then remove all the leaves from the heads about a half inch to an inch from the original "crown" of the plant. (Note: Both escarole and pac choi have edible - and delicious - stems.) I go through all the leaves to make sure they are clean, and then chop them as I would prep them for a dish. After one more wash in a strainer, I dry them only slightly, then pack them into a plastic bag and store in the fridge until ready for use. I’ve had greens last up to two weeks like this.

Greans, Leaf – eg: Kale and Chard

I follow the same method as above, only I start by opening the bunch of leaves and wash them individually. Kale stems are edible BUT not necessarily desirable to eat as they can be quite tough. When prepping kale, I cut the entire stem even up through the leaves.

Herbs – eg: Basil, Parsley, Mint, Cilantro, Dill

Herbs are best kept with their stems in water. Basil has been the exception. I've had mixed reports and experiences on how basil will last in the heat. It seems that once the stem gets out of the water, it quickly seals up and won’t take in any more water (think of cut flowers here – same idea). You can put a fresh cut on the stem and put it into water, or get the leaves off the stems, rinse them, bag them and put them in the fridge.

If I don’t think I can use herbs within a few days, I will also chop them up and divide them into ice cube trays with a little water and freeze them. Once frozen, you can store them in a freezer bag so they’re ready whenever you need them!

Root crops – eg: Beets, Carrots, Turnips, Radishes

All root crops we grow except carrots have edible tops. Tops can be processed the same way as cooking greens. If I don’t have time to process the roots, I will put them into a glass or a bowl with an inch of water on my kitchen counter. They will last this way for a few days. A longer storage method would be to cut off the roots (with about a half inch of stem) and store in a bag in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator.

Oddballs – Garlic Scapes and Green Garlic

Neither of these has been "cured", which is a several week long drying out process that garlic bulbs go through before they are ready for hard storage. These will keep, but you should use them within two weeks. Keep in the fridge inside a plastic bag. Sometimes I use these to make a simple “pesto” with oil, salt and pepper, and use it to start meals. Again, this will keep for about two weeks.

More coming soon.....