(Listed from shortest shelf life to longest shelf life. If you have any particularly good storage tips please let me know so that I can share with everyone.)
Romaine or Red Leaf Lettuce: Store in the crisper in a plastic bag.
Red or Green Mustard: This is super quick to prepare, even I can do it. I remove the leaves from the stems chop the stems and fry in a skillet with olive oil and garlic for a couple of minutes only. Then add the torn leaves with a couple of tablespoons of water to steam under a lid for a couple more minutes. I then stir in a teaspoon of maple syrup and serve immediately. Store in the crisper
Mei Qing Bok Choy: Great for stir fry’s, we also add them to soups. Store in the crisper.
Celery Hearts: Jose and I cut a couple of plants back to the hearts and found that they were good on the inside. These make great additions to soups, crockpot dishes and eaten with just a little salt, raw. Store in the crisper.
Baby Tadorna Leeks: The selection of this variety of leeks was not under my control as it was a group purchase with Riverdog, Terra Firma and Full Belly Farm. They wanted leeks good for the wholesale market and stores. This year we have ordered our own and I have at least four varieties selected. These have longer white shanks and I think they should have improved flavor. Store in your crisper.
Red Cabbage: My wonderful mother cooked this to a pulp and so I never was excited about cabbage. Things have changed over the years as I have grown many types. So has her cooking, we all look forward to Grandmas Sunday roast. Store in the crisper.
Carrots: From Terra Firma in winters. Our carrots are still small and we just do n to have sandy enough soil to germinate them well. We always grow delicious carrots but getting a crop to germinate is our main problem. Store in the crisper.
Butternut Squash: Always a reliable crop here on the farm. Next year we will have a nice cosy warm dome for the butternuts to live in. They like 50F and will keep well into May. Our big project going forward is the farm buildings, we need secure storage for all our stuff. We will have to do it in stage which is why the domes work so well for us.
Satsuma Mandarins: From Bill Crepps in Winters. The paperwork of organic farming drives Bill crazy so he is not certified. That does not change how he farms. The taste tells us he is organic and I have known Bill for many years.
Pomelo: From our own trees these have come through the freeze in good condition. There are some ugly marks on the outside but as we all know what on the inside is what counts.
Lisbon Lemons: From Bill Crepps in Winters. Lorraine is cooking more and more with lemons.
I am very excited about the year ahead. We have made some great strides in 2013 and hope to go further this coming year. In the next few weeks we will be putting up the event schedule for the year on the website. Please encourage your friends and co workers to consider joining your farm. Great food from a good source, where you can visit and see how it is grown is not a luxury but a necessity for a healthy body and environment…. Nigel