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Arugula

What’s Below:

About Arugula

Cooking & Storage

Recipes

ABOUT Arugula

Arugula is a green leafy vegetable that grows in cool temperatures, and is in the same family as other brassicas like collards, cabbage, kale and radish. It has origins in Southern Europe, particularly Italy and Greece where it’s been cultivated for at least 2,000 centuries. These tender leaves are known for their peppery, mustard-like flavor at their most mature, however they can be picked when younger for a more subtle, sweet taste. 

COOKING & STORAGE

  • Edible parts: Leaves and flowers

  • Medicine and Nutrients: These punchy little leaves also pack lots of nutrients like vitamins A, C, & K, as well as minerals like calcium, iron, and potassium.

  • Storing and Shelf Stability: Don’t wash arugula until you are ready to use it, make sure you are storing the leaves when dry after washing. Arugula will last in the refrigerator for about one week, loosely wrapped between some paper towels and kept in a plastic bag or container.

Ways to Prepare 

  • RAW: Arugula is most commonly eaten raw in salads tossed with a dressing or vinaigrette, on sandwiches, in smoothies to add a kick, or just by itself. If you’re lucky enough to catch an arugula plant flowering you can harvest the bright yellow flowers and eat those too.

  • COOKED: Arugula can also be quickly cooked as a sauteed or stir-fried green like spinach, or added towards the end of a soup or stew’s cooking time.

RECIPES 

Authored and compiled by Maya Marie of Deep Routes, Ayllen Kocher, and Amara Ullauri

Onions

Farmer Kyle with a ton of curing onions.

What’s Below:

About Onions

Cooking & Storage

Recipes

ABOUT Onions

Onions are a root vegetable in the Allium family alongside its plant cousins garlic and leeks, and has origins in Central Asia where it’s been cultivated for over 7,500 years. It’s a vegetable that’s been valued for its medicinal and flavor enhancing properties for centuries, as well as for its symbol for eternal life and veneration for the dead in African traditions such as those in Egypt. Over several centuries, onions have been bred or developed in the wild to create quite a wide variety of types. 

The type most people are familiar with are the large bulbing onions, but there are also your milder torpedo-shaped ones, small round ones, and bunching onions (aka scallions). All have the power to add savory and sweet complexity to salads, soups, stews, braises, and marinades among other culinary applications.

Here at the farm we grow yellow, white, red, and tropea onions. Tropea onions are of particular interest due to their origins in the Tropea area of Calabria Italy where they’ve been cultivated for about 2,000 years. This particular variety is sweeter than most onions (except maybe Vidalia from U.S. Georgia) and traditionally included in antipasto spreads either raw or cooked.

COOKING & STORAGE

  • Edible parts: Root (Note: The stems, skin, and leaves are good for stock and broth making both for their vitamin and flavor concentration)

  • Medicine and Nutrients: Onions are packed with Vitamin C, manganese, potassium, water, and fiber. They can improve your digestion due their naturally occurring probiotics, and are also great for maintaining your heart, eye, and joint health. Alongside all of this they’ve long been recognized for their medicinal properties to clean wounds and strengthen your immune system.

  • Storage: Whole onions are best stored in a cool, dry, dark and well-ventilated area. Peeled onions can be stored in the fridge for 10–14 days, while sliced or cut onions can be refrigerated for 7–10 days.

Ways to Prepare 

  • RAW: When prepared for raw salads or slaws, onions need to be thinly sliced or minced finely.

  • COOKED: Onions can be roasted, baked, caramelized, braised, fried, stir-fried, and pickled.

RECIPES

Authored and compiled by Maya Marie of Deep Routes and Ayllen Kocher

Okra

Photo Source: Unsplash

What’s Below:

About Okra

Cooking & Storage

Recipes

ABOUT Okra

Okra is a tall, heat loving plant that generously produces fruit at the peak of summer through to the early fall, and has origins in Ethiopia that go back at least 3,000 years. It’s in the Mallow family with cacao beans and cotton, and it’s name has origins in Twi, Igbo, and Bantu languages (okuru, nkuruma, and ngombo respectively), with its Bantu name being the reason its also known as gumbo, both as a plant and the dish.

Okra is an herbaceous yet mildly sweet fruit that can range in color from green to white and red. It has a slimy texture in the center that can be used as a thickening agent for soups and stews!

COOKING & STORAGE

  • Edible parts: Fruit

  • Medicine and Nutrients: Okra is rich in vitamin C, B6, iron, and calcium.

  • Storing and Shelf Stability: Refrigerate your okra unwashed and untrimmed in a paper bag in the crisper drawer for three to five days.

Ways to Prepare 

  • RAW: Enjoy them diced up in a salsa or salad; sliced on a sandwich; or just as is with a sprinkle of salt and your favorite herbs or spices alongside some pungent cheese.

  • COOKED: Okra is a staple in Creole and Southern cuisine. It can be sauteed, deep-fried, or simmered in soups and stews, such as gumbo. Raw okra can even be pickled. 

RECIPES

Authored and compiled by Maya Marie of Deep Routes, Ayllen Kocher, and Amara Ullauri

Tatsoi

Photo Source: Morning Chores

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About Tatsoi

Cooking & Storage

Recipes

ABOUT tatsoi

Tatsoi is a tender green that has rounded leaves. It has a smooth texture and a sweet, earthy flavor. These yummy greens have origins in China, particularly along the Yangtze River in East China, where it’s been cultivated for over 2,000 years. To this day it is especially popular in Chinese and Japanese cuisines for adding to stir-fries and soups.

COOKING & STORAGE

  • Edible parts: Leaves and flowers

  • Medicine and Nutrients: Tatsoi is very rich in vitamins C, K, and A. They also provide a significant source of fiber.

  • Storage: Store tatsoi in the refrigerator, in the crisper drawer with other vegetables. Put it in a plastic bag and wait to wash until eating or cooking. Tatsoi has a short shelf-life and will only last a few days.

Ways to Prepare 

  • RAW: Tatsoi can be eaten raw, and is tender enough to use as a salad base.

  • COOKED: In terms of cooking, tatsoi has some similarities to spinach, and can be used in place of it. That said, their leaves are best prepared using quick cooking methods like sautéing, steaming, braising, and adding to soups.

RECIPES

Authored and compiled by Maya Marie of Deep Routes, Ayllen Kocher, and Amara Ullauri.

Cabbage

Caraflex cabbage

Caraflex cabbage

What’s Below:

About Cabbage

Cooking & Storage

Recipes

ABOUT Cabbage

Cabbage is a leafy green that forms a head of densely packed leaves that can range from tasting sweet to a mild bitterness. These versatile greens have their origins in Southwest Europe/Mediterranean where they’ve been cultivated for at least 2,500 years. Due to their nutrient density, transportation friendly shape, and a great vehicle for flavor infusion from spices and herbs, cabbage has been a valued green for centuries across cultures. Cabbage is a popular green to cook in the African and Asian diasporas, and is important for its medicinal uses just as much as it is for food.

Napa Cabbage (Photo source: Unsplash)

Tendersweet Cabbage (Photo source: Seeds Day)

We grow three types of cabbage here at Rock Steady, which are caraflex and tendersweet, and napa cabbage. Caraflex cabbage is a small cabbage with a pointed shape. It has a mild flavor and the texture is tender and crunchy. Tendersweet cabbage is a flat cabbage with a mild, slightly sweet taste. Napa cabbage is an elongated cabbage with crinkly, tender leaves that are much more similar to bok choy than regular cabbage and sweeter than any other variety. This variety first came about in China where it’s been cultivated for about 600 years.

COOKING & STORAGE

  • Edible parts: Leaves

  • Medicine and Nutrients: Cabbage provides a great source of vitamin C and potassium. It’s high fiber content is good for regulating your digestion and is good for boosting your immunity.

  • Storing and Shelf Stability: A whole head of cabbage will keep for a week or longer when stored unwashed in the fridge and sealed in plastic.

Ways to Prepare 

  • RAW: All cabbage types can be pickled, as well as shredded into slaws and salads. They also make for a delicious wrap for savory fillings hot and cold.

  • COOKED: All cabbage types can be roasted, braised, blanched, steamed, and stir fried.

RECIPES

Authored and compiled by Maya Marie of Deep Routes, Ayllen Kocher, and Amara Ullauri

Purslane

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About Purslane

Cooking & Storage

Recipes

ABOUT Purslane

Purslane is an adorable, juicy, tart plant that some might say is a combination of a mini nopal, watercress, and spinach. It has tear-drop “leaves”, fat stems, and vibrant little pinkish to yellow flowers that are all edible raw or cooked.

The origins of purslane are still not super clear, some researchers believe it may have originally grown in the wild or have been domesticated in Europe, while others have found different species in the Americas and Africa. Either way, most researchers believe the plant came into existence at least 4,000 years ago. It can be found in many Asian, Mexican and Southern European dishes.

COOKING & STORAGE

  • Edible parts: Root, stems, and flowers

  • Medicine and Nutrients: Carrot roots are packed with Vitamins A and K, and are a great source of potassium. Their leaves/tops are an incredible source of Vitamin C, fiber, and trace amounts of essential minerals.

  • Storing and Shelf Stability: Gently wrap it in a towel then place in a loosely closed plastic bag and refrigerate for up to a few days. If you want to freeze purslane, steam it just until tender, squeeze out any excess moisture, cool, then wrap tightly in plastic and freeze.

  • Cooking with Purslane: Although purslane is typically eaten raw in salads, you can also cook it using quick methods like sauteeing and stir-frying, or add it to soups.

Recipes 

Authored and compiled by Maya Marie of Deep Routes, and Amara Ullauri

Callaloo (Amaranth Greens)

Photo Source: Now You’re Cooking (“Callaloo plant at Farintosh Farms in Stouffville, Ontario.”)

What’s Below:

About Callaloo

Cooking & Storage

Recipes

ABOUT Callaloo(Amaranth)

Callaloo (also known as amaranth) is a tender leafy green that also produces grain. It’s leaves have a slightly bitter flavor with a nutty undertone that is very similar to spinach, and the grains can be toasted or boiled. Callaloo has been cultivated for over 9,000 years across the Americas, Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Each of these regions have a long history of preparing callaloo leaves and seeds in a variety of ways that include savory dishes, soups, stews, drinks, and sweets.

COOKING & STORAGE

  • Edible parts: Leaves and seeds

  • Medicine and Nutrients: Amaranth is a nutrient and medicinal powerhouse, with leafy greens that provide tons of essential nutrients like protein and fiber; vitamins K, A, & C; as well as minerals like iron, calcium, and manganese. The grains also offer significant amounts of those nutrients alongside copper and complex carbohydrates.

  • Storing and Shelf Stability: To preserve callaloo, it's best to chop it before. Place the freshly chopped callaloo into a zip lock bag and store it in the fridge for a couple of days. If you’re planning to freeze the callaloo, you won’t need to drain it for a long time. Place the cut up callaloo into a zip lock bag and remove the air before sealing it. Store the callaloo in the freezer for future use.

  • Ways to Prepare: Callaloo can be sauteed, blanched, steamed, and put into soups and stews. It can also be made into a filling for patties and dumplings.

RECIPES 

Authored and compiled by Maya Marie of Deep Routes, Ayllen Kocher, and Amara Ullauri

Winter Squash

Image Source: Unsplash

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About Winter Squash

Cooking & Storage

Recipes

ABOUT WINTER SQUASH

Winter Squash is a delicious, hearty fruit that comes in a several varieties that range in taste and texture, from sweet to nutty and creamy to delightfully stringy. These versatile, fall fruits grow on vines and have their origins across North, South, and Central America where they’ve been cultivated by Indigenous peoples for at least 10,000 years. It’s believed that the word squash comes from the Narragansett word for “eaten raw” askutasquash." While it is possible to eat many varieties of winter squash raw, many people prefer to eat the skin, flesh, and seeds cooked.

The winter squash most folks have heard of is pumpkin, with acorn and butternut right behind them. Here at Rock Steady we grow two varieties of winter squash, which are kabocha and butternut squash. Kabocha is a Japanese squash with a green outer shell, with a flavor that’s described as sweet potato mixed with pumpkin. Butternut squash is a hybrid of a pumpkin and gooseneck squash, and is often described as being sweet, but nutty tasting.

Butternut squash

Butternut squash

Kabocha squash

Kabocha squash

COOKING & STORAGE

  • Edible parts: Fruit

  • Medicine and Nutrients: Depending on the type winter squash have varying levels of different nutrients, but most are a great source of potassium, fiber, vitamin C, and beta-carotene.

  • Storing and Shelf Stability: Store kabocha at room temperature in a cool, dry and dark place for up to 1 month. Refrigerate cooked and cut kabocha squash and use within 2-3 days. Store sliced kabocha in plastic wrap, foil or a sealed plastic bag. If you store uncut butternut squash, it will keep for 3-4 months in a cool, dry place. Discard if it becomes soft, squishy, or moldy.

  • Ways to Prepare: Winter squash can be roasted, fried, simmered, stewed, and added to soups with or without their skin peeled. The seeds can be seasoned with spices and roasted.

RECIPES

Authored and compiled by Maya Marie of Deep Routes, Ayllen Kocher, and Amara Ullauri

Parsnip

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About Parsnips

Cooking & Storage

Recipes

ABOUT PARSNIPS

Parsnip is a root vegetable that’s plant cousins with carrots, dill, and parsley. It has a texture that’s similar to turnips, slightly sweeter than a carrot, and sometimes has a hint of spice like a radish. These creamy colored roots have origins in the Mediterranean where they’ve been foraged for in the wild and cultivated for thousands of years, with the exact date being unknown. Although parsnip tops can be eaten, they have a small level of toxicity that mostly irritates the skin when touched, therefore they’re best eaten cooked and typically don’t come with their tops.

COOKING & STORAGE

  • Edible parts: Roots (and the leaves if handled properly)

  • Medicine and Nutrients: Parsnips offer a rich source of vitamins C and B6, as well as potassium, iron, magnesium, and fiber.

  • Storing and Shelf Stability: Parsnips will stay firm and fresh for about 2-3 weeks if kept in a cool, moist area of the fridge like the crisper or in plastic bag.

Ways to Prepare 

  • RAW: Parsnips can be eaten raw in salads tossed with your other favorite fruits and vegetables, they’re best when shredded thin or cut small.

  • COOKED: Parsnip roots are excellent roasted, sauteed, or stir-fried with other vegetables, and also are a great addition to your favorite soups and stews.

RECIPES

Authored and compiled by Maya Marie of Deep Routes.

Collard Greens

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What’s Below:

About Collards

Cooking & Storage

Recipes

ABOUT Collards

Collards are a flavorful dark green that has origins in Italy, Greece and Turkey where it was first cultivated over 4,000 years ago. However, the continued use of collards in modern times can be largely attributed to Black and African Diasporic peoples who were forcibly brought to the United States during the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. During this period some enslaved people would grow collards in subsistence gardens and substitute them in place of the ones they were familiar with back in Africa but were unavailable or hard to grow in the Southern U.S.

To this day collards continue to be a highly favored dish in Southern cuisine where they’re a staple in the meal spread for various holidays and celebrations, and are also important in areas of the U.S. where African Americans moved during The Great Migration. Outside of the U.S., collards are also a very popular crop to cook within Brazilian cuisine.

Collards have somewhat bitter tasting leaves, however they become tender and sweet the longer they are cooked. This is one of the reasons why braising and boiling them have traditionally been the go-to method for cooking them. However, longer cooking methods tend to make them a muted, green color that can be unappealing to some and there are a variety of quicker ways to cook them to maintain their vibrant green color (see below).

COOKING & STORAGE

  • Edible parts: Leaves and stems.

  • Medicine and Nutrients: Collards are incredible source of vitamins and minerals like iron, Vitamins K and C.

  • Storage:  These hearty leaves are best kept in an open plastic bag in the refrigerator for about 5 days. When you are ready to cook the greens, you'll need to wash them.

Ways to Prepare 

  • RAW: When prepared for raw salads or slaws, collards need to be chopped very fine and/or massaged in order for oils, vinegars, and salt to fully penetrate and season the leaves. The leaves can also be used for making nutritious, gluten-free wraps.

  • COOKED: Collards are traditionally braised or stir-fried, but can also be sautéed, steamed, roasted, stir fried, and used in soups/stews.

RECIPES

Authored and compiled by Maya Marie of Deep Routes, Ayllen Kocher, and Amara Ullauri

Pea Shoots

Pea shoots.jpg

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About Pea Shoots

Cooking & Storage

Recipes

ABOUT pea Shoots

When grown to full maturity, peas produce a pod of legumes, however when harvested at a very early stage of growth in their life cycle prior to flowering they’re known as pea shoots. These shoots are typically ready in the summer in the Northeast and have delicate leaves on them.

The pea plant itself has origins in the Mediterranean and Southwest Asia where they’ve grown for thousands of years. However, Indigenous Hmong people of Southwest and East Asia are known as being the first to cook with and introduce pea shoots to other ethnic groups across Southeast Asia as well as some parts of Africa, where they’re typically eaten as a salad or quickly stir-fried green. Only in past two decades has it become a popular specialty food in the United States.

COOKING & STORAGE

  • Edible parts: Leaves and stems

  • Medicine and Nutrients: Pea shoots are rich in vitamins E, C and A; and provide a significant source of fiber and potassium.

  • Storage: Place your pea shoots inside a brown paper bag, or wrap them with a paper towel and place them in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator. They should last a week. Do not freeze them. 

Ways to Prepare 

  • RAW: The taste of pea shoots is sweet, grassy, and fresh. They’re typically eaten raw, in salads, and as a garnish for your favorite grain or vegetable bowl.

  • COOKED: These light sprouts can be stir fried, steamed, and sauteed.

Recipes

Authored and compiled by Maya Marie of Deep Routes, Ayllen Kocher, and Amara Ullauri.

Dill

Dill.jpg

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About Dill

Cooking & Storage

Recipes

ABOUT Dill

Dill is a frilly herb that’s in the same plant family as carrots and fennel. It has origins in Egypt where it’s been cultivated, cooked with, and used medicinally for over 5,000. From there dill has become popular in Mediterranean regions like Greece and Italy, as well as in Indian and other Asian regions. Dill is perhaps most well known for the leaves that go in pickles, as well as creamy sauces for salads and dipping crunchy raw vegetables into. However, throughout history dill seeds have also been used for a variety of purposes: crushed into a poultice for wounds, chewed on to freshen breath, or brewed in a tea to soothe gastrointestinal issues. As far as flavor notes go, dill has a notable smell, with a strong grassy flavor.

COOKING & STORAGE

  • Edible parts: Leaves/fronds, seeds, and flowers

  • Medicine and Nutrients:  Dill provides some vitamin C, iron, potassium and manganese. It’s also known to relieve stomach and digestion issues when chewed on or made into a tea. 

  • Storage: Store stems of fresh dill weed loosely wrapped in plastic in the refrigerator and use within a day or two. Dill tends to wilt and get mushy rather quickly. To store it a bit longer, place a bunch of dill in a jar or glass of water (like flowers), then cover the top with plastic and put the whole thing in the fridge.

Ways to Prepare 

  • RAW: Dill can be used in salad dressings, marinades, mixed in salads, or used as a garnish, they just need to be thinly sliced or minced finely. The bright yellow flowers are edible and make a bright and tangy addition to salads, garnishes and as a pickling spice.

  • COOKED: Dill is mainly used for pickling with vegetables but can also be cooked in soups and with rice, or added towards the end of a dish’s cooking time to add more flavor. 

RECIPES

Authored and compiled by Maya Marie of Deep Routes, Ayllen Kocher, and Amara Ullauri

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Broccoli and Broccoli Greens

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broccoli .jpg
Purple Broccoli .jpg

What’s Below:

About Broccoli

Cooking & Storage

Recipes

ABOUT broccoli

Broccoli is a plant in the brassica family that has origins in Italy, Greece and Turkey where it was first cultivated over 4,000 years ago. The part of the plant that’s the most popular to cook with are its bushy flowers which are known as florets which make up the “crown” or “head” of broccoli. The broccoli variety most folks are familiar with due to its signature full, bushy head are native to the Calabria region of Southern Italy. Although most broccoli plants only produce one head of florets, the leaves surrounding the head are also edible and can be cooked like collards or kale. Broccoli and its greens are available all year round.

Although calabrese broccoli is the most well known type, other varieties of broccoli include romanesco, broccolini, and broccoli rabe. Several East Asian cuisines, particularly Chinese and Korean, have adopted and transformed broccoli into their foodways with the use of rich soy and fish based sauces, as well as in stir-fries and soups.

COOKING & STORAGE

  • Edible parts: Floret heads, stems, and leaves

  • Medicine and Nutrients: All types of broccoli can be delicious sources of vitamins and minerals like iron, Vitamin K and C.

  • Storage for Broccoli Heads: To store it, mist the unwashed heads, wrap loosely in damp paper towels, and refrigerate. Use within 2 to 3 days. Do not store broccoli in a sealed container or plastic bag. Raw broccoli requires air circulation. 

    Storage for Broccoli Greens: Store unwashed broccoli greens in  a plastic bag in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator. The leaves are hardy and can last for up to 2 weeks. If they wilt a little, trim the stems and stick them in a glass of water in the refrigerator overnight. Remove the stems and rinse the leaves just before eating.

Ways to Prepare 

  • RAW: Broccoli leaves can be chopped fine for salads and slaws.

  • COOKED: Broccoli can be sauteed, braised, steamed, baked, stir fried, and used in soups/stews. Their greens are very similar to collard greens, and should be treated as such. This is a very neglected part of the broccoli plant, most folks are not aware that such big hearty leaves can come from broccoli. Broccoli greens can be sauteed, braised, steamed, baked, stir fried, and in soups and stews. They can be used interchangeably in recipes that call for kale or collard greens. 

RECIPES

Authored and compiled by Maya Marie of Deep Routes, Ayllen Kocher, and Amara Ullauri

Garlic Chives

Garlic Chives.jpg

What’s Below:

About Garlic Chives

Cooking & Storage

Recipes

ABOUT Garlic Chives

Garlic chives have origins throughout Asia, specifically China, India, and Indonesia where they’ve been growing wild for over 4,000 years. These mildly pungent and tender herbs are within the onion family, but have a much more garlicky flavor than regular chives’ typical onion flavor, hence their name. While they typically have flat leaves, when they are flowering the leaves become hollow and have a stronger flavor. They’re a staple in Korean and Chinese cuisines where they’re typically used to season a variety of stir-fries and soups, and salads.

COOKING & STORAGE

  • Edible parts: Leaves and flowers

  • Medicine and Nutrients: Garlic chives offer a good amount of vitamin C, B1 and B2, as well as essential minerals like calcium and iron.

  • Storage: Fresh garlic chives will last for up to a week when stored  wrapped in a paper towel and in a plastic bag, preferably in the crisper section of the refrigerator.

Ways to Prepare 

  • RAW: When used in salad dressings, marinades, mixed in salads, or used as a garnish they need to be thinly sliced or minced finely.

  • COOKED: Garlic chives can be steamed, simmered in soups, and added to stir-fries.

RECIPES

Authored and compiled by Maya Marie of Deep Routes, Ayllen Kocher, and Amara Ullauri

Summer Squash

Pattypan squash in the center!

Pattypan squash in the center!

What’s Below:

About Summer Squash

Cooking & Storage

Recipes

ABOUT Summer squash

Summer squash is a fruit in the same family as cucumbers and winter squash. It’s earliest cultivation has been traced to Central America, particularly in Mexico where it’s been grown, cooked, and enjoyed anywhere from 7,000 - 10,000 years (depending on the type). They’ve also been included in the Indigenous agricultural practice used across several Indigenous groups of the Americas and known most ubiquitously as “The Three Sisters”. The Three Sisters are three plants that support each others’ growth and include corn, beans, and squash.

Many parts of the summer squash can be used including the fruit, leaves/shoots, and flowers. All of its parts are popular to cook with across Central American cuisines in stews, fillings for tacos or quesadillas, as well as fried and sauteed. Different types of summer squash like Zucchini have gained popularity in Southwest Asian, North African, Japanese (e.g. fried in tempura), and French (e.g. in Ratatouille) cuisines.

Summer squash have a softer, thinner skin than their winter/storage counterparts (think pumpkins) that is perfectly edible, with varying degrees of light to dense flesh. These colorful fruits come in quite the variety of types, and some of the ones we grow on the farm are listed in our photos (above and below). The flavors can range from sweet to nutty.

Zephyr squash

Zephyr squash

Zucchini is being held up here!

Zucchini is being held up here!

COOKING & STORAGE

  • Edible parts: Fruit, leaves/shoots, and flowers (blossoms)

  • Medicine and Nutrients: Squash fruits are rich in minerals like magnesium and potassium as well as vitamins C, B6, and A. They also provide a significant source of fiber. The leaves contain all of that plus iron and zinc. The flowers have a significant source of calcium, fiber, as well as vitamins A and C.

  • Storage: Store summer squash by gently wiping the fruit with a damp cloth and then placing it in a perforated plastic bag (to maintain humidity) in the vegetable crisper of the refrigerator. Do not store summer squash in the refrigerator for more than 4 days.

Ways to Prepare 

  • RAW: Some types of summer squash can be eaten raw like zucchini and crookneck if they’re cut into super thin slices, strips, or “noodles”.

  • COOKED: Summer squash fruits and leaves can be sautéed, roasted, grilled, broiled, steamed, and braised; as well as added to soups, stews, and sauces. The flowers are best eaten raw or fried; either alone, in salads, or to fill tacos or quesadillas.

RECIPES

Authored and compiled by Maya Marie of Deep Routes, Ayllen Kocher, and Amara Ullauri.

Eggplant

Eggplant from the farm!

What’s Below:

About Eggplant

Cooking & Storage

Recipes

ABOUT EggplantS

Eggplant is a warm season plant that produces hearty fruits that come in an array of sizes and range in color from purple to white and striped. They have their origins in East and Southeast Asia, particularly India and China where they were first cultivated thousands of years ago before being brought over to Western and Southern Europe where they became popular.

Eggplant is a fruit that peaks from July to October here in the Northeast, and is a staple in Asian and North African cuisines as well as in Mediterranean cuisines. There are tons of varieties out there but some of the most common fall into the category of Asian varieties (which are typically longer and more tender), Italian varieties (which are wider and more dense), and mini varieties.

A Deep Violet Asian Eggplant

Mini Eggplants

A Striped Italian Eggplant

COOKING & STORAGE

  • Edible parts: Fruit

  • Medicine and Nutrients: Eggplants are rich in potassium, fiber, vitamin C and B6.

  • Storing and Shelf Stability: Place uncut and unwashed eggplant in a plastic bag and store in the refrigerator crisper where it will keep for a few days.

Ways to Prepare 

  • RAW: Eggplant can be eaten raw, and it has a pleasant taste and spongy texture.

  • COOKED: It is more commonly cooked though, and the taste becomes more mild and a bit richer. Eggplant can also be grilled, baked, pan fried, marinated, slow cooked, roasted, in salads (cooked), pureed, and stir fried. 


RECIPES 


Authored and compiled by Maya Marie of Deep Routes, Ayllen Kocher, and Amara Ullauri

Carrots

Carrots.jpg

What’s Below:

About Carrots

Cooking & Storage

Recipes

ABOUT CARROTs

Carrots have multiple points of origins that include the regions of Western Asia and Europe and North Africa where they’ve both grown in the wild and been cultivated between 3,000 - 5,000 years. Carrots are believed to have originally been white and purple, and over time were bred to be yellow and orange.

Today carrots can still be found in quite a rainbow of colors that provide varying levels of nutrition (see below) and vibrancy to your favorite dishes. Both their tops and bottoms are edible, and inspiration for how to use them can be found throughout Afghan, Iranian, Moroccan, and Indian cuisines just to name a few. 

Carrots are a root vegetable that peak in the fall. They have a sweet taste, which may get sweeter in the fall because the colder air and soil temperatures encourage the conversion of starches to sugars.

COOKING & STORAGE

  • Edible parts: Root and stems

  • Medicine and Nutrients: Carrot roots are packed with Vitamins A and K, and are a great source of potassium. Their leaves/tops are an incredible source of Vitamin C, fiber, and trace amounts of essential minerals.

  • Storing and Shelf Stability: Carrots can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a month! To do so, cut off the carrot greens and place the carrots in a container with a lid and cover completely in water. Keep the container in the refrigerator, changing the water every 4-5 days.

Ways to Prepare 

  • RAW: Carrots are delicious raw, especially when you get your hands on a sweet type of carrot. Shred them into a slaw or salad, or eat them sliced up into little batons to dip into your favorite spread. But if you wanna get real jazzy with it blend the tops in your favorite pesto in place of basil, and if pine nuts are too expensive just swap those out for any nut or seed that’s friendlier on your wallet. 

  • COOKED: Carrots can be sauteed, braised, steamed, baked, stir fried, in soups and stews, roasted, and grilled. 

RECIPES

Authored and compiled by Maya Marie of Deep Routes, Ayllen Kocher, and Amara Ullauri

Tomatillos

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Tomatillos are considered a key ingredient in Mexican cuisine. However, it was the Aztecs that were the first to domesticate them in 800 BC. Also known as “tomate verde (green tomato)”, tomatillos have a vibrant, tart flavor. They can be eaten raw, sauteed, boiled, roasted, broiled, fried, and in soup. 

Storage: Tomatillos can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 weeks. Store them loose in an unsealed paper bag. To help keep them fresh and free of bruises, don't peel back the husks until you're ready to eat them.

Recipes and Ideas: 

  1. Chef Aaron Sanchez's Salsa Verde

  2. 27 Summertime Tomatillo Recipes

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Dandelion Greens

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Dandelion greens are at their peak in the spring to very early summer, before the flowers begin to bloom. They are known for a slight bitter taste, which is more notable in mature dandelion greens. However, that bitter taste can be removed by blanching or steaming them! Young dandelion greens are milder, which makes them appropriate to eat raw in salads. Other ways of cooking dandelion greens are sauteing, braising and putting in soups in place of spinach.

Storage: Store dandelion greens wrapped in a damp paper towel in an open ziploc bag in your crisper drawer for up to a week.

Recipes and Ideas: 

  1. 10 Recipes Using Dandelion Greens

  2. Dandelion Greens With a Kick!

  3. Dandelion Greens and Beans Skillet

Thyme

Thyme is a perennial herb that consists of a concentrated sharp grassy, woody and even citrusy flavor. Thyme can be added to salads, sauces, soups, and chopped as a garnish. 

Storage: Store your thyme loosely wrapped in a damp paper towel, inside a sealed plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Discard once the leaves begin to turn brown.

Recipes and Ideas:

  1. Thyme, Lemon, & Garlic Roasted Chicken Breasts

  2. 30 Recipes with Fresh Thyme

  3. Herb Butter

  4. Apricot and Thyme Jam

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