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Farm-fresh vegetables: a rainbow of possibilities to enjoy
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  • Farm-fresh vegetables: a rainbow of possibilities to enjoy
March 23, 2020

Farm-fresh vegetables: a rainbow of possibilities to enjoy

Read about the beautiful versatility, flavor and nutrition of our vegetables, ones regeneratively farmed with love, harvested fresh and shipped directly to you.

Here’s the beauty of our vegetables, ones regeneratively farmed and grown with love, harvested fresh and shipped directly to you. You can choose carefully curated boxes (more about those in a minute) and then select the delicious and nutritious vegetables that appeal to you for today’s meal, washing them well and using them as you normally would. Simply upgrading the quality of your ingredients will automatically upgrade the quality of your experience.
 
To help, here are curated boxes that contain the absolute best of a day’s harvest, including an Introduction Box of Fresh Vegetables, along with these delicious and nutritious choices:

  • Best of the Season

  • Immunity Booster Box

  • Anti-Aging Box

  • Detoxification Box

  • Optimal Health Box

 
These boxes may contain vegetables you already include in your weekly meals, along with those that could be new to you. To spark ideas for healthy, flavorful meals, we’ve created this vegetable primer that includes information about flavor, nutrition, texture, storage and care—along with links to individual vegetables that may want to order.

Enjoy!
 
Beets
Think earthy. Think sugar sweet. Farm fresh beets miraculously combine the best of both. How?
 
When raw, mixed beets are the earth's sugar; when cooked, flavors are reminiscent of plum, dried cherry, raw mushroom, radish, parsnip, and dark caramel. Texture is crisp and crunchy—with beets enjoyable when raw, roasted, steamed, boiled, or shaved. You can bake them when washed, still unpeeled. Simply submerge them in liquid at 330F for about an hour or until fork tender. Remove them from the oven and wipe off the skin with a linen. Cut and serve hot or cold.
 
Beets provide folate and vitamin C, magnesium, potassium and iron.
 
Here are instructions for storage and care: Rinse and scrub gently in cold water. Place them on a dry or slightly damp paper towel or linen cloth in a sealable flat container without stacking them on top of one another. They can stay on a paper or cloth linen in the container; however, make sure the linen isn’t ever wet. The linen can be damp. The container should not allow too much light. Keep packaged between 40-45F.
 
Bok Choy 
Add the flavor of sweet mustard cabbage to your home-cooked dishes quickly and easily. Bok choy is delicious when sautéed, steamed, or roasted. We like searing them in a hot pan with oil until they’re charred or heavily caramelized on one side and just barely on the other. Season with salt – and then add to your plates.
Texture is crisp, with butter-soft leaves and crunchy stems.
Nutrients include vitamins C, A and K, along with phosphorus, zinc, manganese, selenium, niacin, and folate. Keep packaged between 40-45F.
 
Carrots
Carrots are sweet, nutty and earthy—so aromatic with a crunchy, juicy texture. And, they are incredibly versatile! You can eat them raw, or roasted, grilled, steamed, boiled, stir fried, or shaved. Here’s a favorite technique of ours. Wash well and roast whole at 350F until tender. Dress lightly with honey and season lightly with salt.
 
Nutrients include vitamins A, K and C, plus potassium and calcium—and, of course, alpha carotene and beta carotene. Keep packaged between 40-45 degrees, and don’t store near apples.
 
Celery Root
This deliciously edible root is enjoyed around the world—and we’re glad to introduce it to even more people. They are the root of a certain type of celery plant, offering up a pungent celery flavor. They’re crunchy when raw, and creamy when cooked. Cooking techniques to try include roasting, baking, boiling and mashing—and pureed. You can julienne your celery root and dress it with a Caesar dressing or vinaigrette. Or, you can boil them with an onion and herbs until soft, and then blend the mixture on high until smooth for a terrific soup.
 
You can wrap these in plastic and refrigerate them for up to one week. Nutrients include vitamins K, C and B, plus phosphorus, potassium, iron, calcium, and manganese.
 
Cucumber
Fresh cucumbers are, of course, delicious when raw—whether sliced or whole. If, within a week, you still have cucumbers left, pop them into a jar of pickles that you already have in your refrigerator. Or, slice and season with salt, and store refrigerated.
 
Cucumbers offer up a refreshingly nutty flavor, the bright green almond flavor associated with delicious cukes. Ours are tender and crunchy, with a buttery bloom. They contain vitamins A, B, C, D, and E and should be kept packaged between 40-45 degrees.
 
Mixed Edible Flowers
Now, these are a special treat, a way to brighten and add beauty to your family’s plates. Flavors comes in a kaleidoscope of floral aromas and associated flavors, from sweet to slightly bitter. Textures are mixed.
 
You can add edible flowers raw to salads or candy them for a sweet treat. They can be steeped or dried and powdered. The reality is that there’s no bad time to use edible flowers to bring a touch of sunshine into mealtime—and here’s an easy and eye-catching way to use them: add a bloom or two to a scoop of ice cream. Keep packaged between 40-45 degrees.
 
Garlic Root
If you’re used to using garlic cloves in dishes, know that these roots offer up the flavor of true garlic—meaning, spicy yet milder than a raw clove. Expect a deliciously lingering finish. You can use a garlic root raw or, if you decide to fry them, they crisp up quite nicely in an oven or fryer. Consider chopping these edible roots for a much easier alternative than whole cloves.
Texture is wiry and fibrous, offering up a soft, dry finish. These nutritious roots add manganese, calcium, copper, selenium, phosphatase, and vitamins C and B6 to dishes.
Keep your garlic root in the original package. Refrigerate at 100% humidity, out of direct light, and remove only as needed. Handle with gloves because hand oils can deteriorate the product. Keep packaged between 40-45F.
 
Kale
Sweet, cabbage-y, nutty. Delicious! Fresh kale can be enjoyed raw, or blanched, braised, roasted, sautéed, steamed or fried. We like to braise fresh leaves like collards with smoked meat and aromatic veggies. This is a quick, super tender and delicious use of fresh kale.
 
Texture is rigid, firm, crisp, dry, and fibrous. As far as nutrition goes, kale adds protein, fiber, folate, and vitamins A, C, and K to your family’s meals. Keep packaged between 40-45F.
 
Kohlrabi
Kohlrabi adds a pleasant mustard flavor to dishes, with stems providing a touch of sweetness. This veggie can be eaten raw—or steamed, roasted, or sautéed—and it pairs especially well with apples or baked au gratin style with a delicious cheese.
Texture is thick and cabbage-like, and it provides a rainbow of nutrients: thiamin, folate, magnesium and phosphorus, plus potassium, copper, and manganese, and vitamins C and B6. Keep packaged between 40-45F.
 
Leeks
These lovely leeks provide a sweet onion flavor that’s also somewhat earthy. It builds up heat with a great finish. You can enjoy leeks raw, or roasted, grilled, steamed, or fried. In fact, creamed leeks can be a versatile addition to nearly every meal. They’re also delicious when braised with sauce gribiche.
Texture is chewy and fleshy—and leeks are yet another nutritional powerhouse, containing thiamin, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, folate, potassium, manganese, and vitamins C and B6. Keep packaged between 40-45F.
 
Lettuce
We grow lettuce that offers up a rainbow of flavors, including grassy, nutty, and earthy. Some varieties have the mild taste of raw mushrooms, bell peppers, and green grass. Textures also run the gamut, including tender, crunchy, crisp, and chewy.
 
In general, lettuce is eaten raw. If you can’t use yours quickly enough, you can blanche the leaves. Otherwise, chop leaves or keep them whole, and then dress them with your favorite vinaigrette or dressing.
 
Lettuce contains calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate, and vitamins B6 and other B vitamins, plus vitamins C, A, E, K.
 
To store and care for your lettuce, submerge in cold water. Spin and store in a plastic container with a damp towel on the bottom and on top. Cover the container with a lid and store between 33 and 38F. Wash again before serving.
 
Microgreens
Marvelous microgreens can be used on just about anything, from sandwiches to side dishes, and from salads and soups to virtually anything in between. It’s an ideal way to get greens inside the entire family! As a bonus, microgreens contain all the nutrition found in their bigger brothers and sisters—in every single tiny bite.
 
Mustard Leaves
Get ready to enjoy a mix of spicy and funky mustard flavors, with some leaves crunchy and, others, chewy. Feast on them raw, or blanch, braise, sauté or cream them—and know that these greens are ideal for intense salads. Picture our young mustard greens in a salad alongside sweet dried fruits. Delicious!
Nutritious mustard greens contain protein, niacin, and phosphorus, plus thiamin, riboflavin, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, copper and manganese, along with vitamins A, B6, C, E, and K. Keep packaged between 40-45F.
 
Parsnips
Our delicious parsnips are nutty, salty, and earthy, with a sweet caramel flavor that’s similar to the carrot. Texture is crisp—and these amazing parsnips can be eaten raw or boiled or roasted. Here’s what we love: caramelize them, cooking them until tender, and them blend them until smooth with milk and butter. Serve with salt. You’re welcome!
Powerfully nutritious parsnips contain potassium, folate, and manganese, plus vitamins C and K.
 
Peas
These sweet legumes are so marvelous that, at the Culinary Vegetable Institute, we typically don’t cook them. We eat them raw as a treat. That said, you can cook these tender yet crisp peas. They can be, for example, steamed, boiled or sautéed.
They contain calcium, potassium, and iron, along with vitamins B1, B2, B3, C, and K.
Be sure to keep petite mixed snow peas in the original package. Refrigerate at 100% humidity, out of direct light, and remove only as needed. Handle with gloves because hand oils can deteriorate the product. Keep packaged between 40-45F.
 
Potatoes
Talk about a versatile veggie! Fresh potatoes from The Chef’s Garden are a mix of sweet and earthy flavors, and a mixture of smooth and flaky skins. They’re all delicious and can be roasted, boiled, mashed and more.
Try this! Quarter our potatoes and roast them in the over at 400F with just a bit of olive oil and salt. Roast until tender.
Potatoes provide potassium, and vitamins B6 and C. Keep packaged between 40-45F.
 
Fall Radish
For an intense radish/horseradish flavor, these fall radishes can’t be beat. Crunchy and crisp, they’re delicious raw, as well as when braised, roasted or grilled. Consider shaving them and serving them raw on a salad or with a dip. As another idea, roast them with salt and olive oil until tender; this takes off the spicy edge.
Nutritious radishes provide folate, fiber, zinc, potassium, phosphorous, magnesium, copper, calcium, iron, and manganese, as well as vitamins, A, B6, C, E, and K. Keep packaged between 40-45F.
 
Salsify
This is one of the greatest ingredients to have in your pantry! Salsify adds subtle hints of licorice, umami, and artichokes to your dishes, along with a smooth and crisp texture. This is a beautifully underappreciated ingredient that fries well when shaved, purees well for soups and can simply be cut into rounds for mixed vegetable dishes. Boil it, mash it, enjoy it.
Nutrients include riboflavin, potassium, and manganese, along with vitamin B6 and C. Wash yours well and keep packaged between 33-35F.
 
Spinach
Mild, fresh, green, buttery—and beautifully sweet. That’s what you can count on with spinach from The Chef’s Garden. Texture is crisp and delicious when raw. Or, you can steam, blanch or sauté our spinach—and we especially love it when it’s creamed. Consider adding fennel pollen, toasted fennel seeds or poppy seeds.
 
Fresh spinach is another nutritional powerhouse, with iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, folic acid, and vitamins B6, B9, C, K and E. Keep packaged between 40-45F.
 
Sunchokes AKA Jerusalem Artichokes
Think apple-nutty-caramel deliciousness—and you’ve got the flavor of sunchokes, also known as Jerusalem artichokes. This veggie has a potato-like texture and is delicious when roasted, mashed or fried. We love sunchokes so much that we believe chips from them should be commercially made available. Make them and then let us know if you agree! Fry at 300F for about a minute and then season with salt.
Nutrients include thiamin, phosphorus, potassium, and iron. Keep packaged between 40-45F.
 
Sweet Potatoes
Our sweet potatoes can offer up a pleasantly sweet flavor, with other varieties being spicy and, still others, creamy. They have smooth skins with starchy flesh and are delicious when roasted, baked, mashed, grilled or fried. For an easy dish, wrap them in aluminum foil and bake them at 350F for about 40 minutes. Done!
 
Nutrients include potassium and manganese, along with vitamins A and B6. Keep packaged between 40-45F.
 
Turnips
Our fresh turnips offer up mustardy-spicy goodness with a juicy and soft potato-like texture when baked or boiled. You can also eat them raw, roasted, steamed or mashed—and these are one of our favorite vegetables on the farm. You can put them in a hot pan, blister them, and then take them out when barely cooked.
Talk about nutrition! Turnips contain vitamins K, A, C, E, B1, B3, B5, B6, and B2, along with folate, phosphorus, manganese, potassium, magnesium, iron, calcium and copper, plus omega-3 fatty acids and protein. Keep packaged between 40-45F.
 
We are thankful for the opportunity to be your personal farmer! Please let us know what you think.

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