By Madeline Guzman, newsletter coordinator from the Rockville, Maryland Tuv Ha’Aretz site
The best time to plant garlic is after the first frost date, this translating into mid-October in Maryland and much of the Northern regions of the country, which is coming up soon! Garlic is part of the allium genus (the onion plant family) which also includes scallions, chives, onions, shallots, and leeks. All of these are perennial bulbous plants which contain cysteine sulfoxide,a chemical which gives these plants their distinctive taste and odors There are about 1,250 species of this genus, making it one of the largest plant genera in the world!
Garlic is very easy to grow. It would make the perfect vegetable for the first-time vegetable gardener. You may begin with just one bulb of garlic. Obtain it from a farmers market, a seed company, your CSA farmers, or even a garlic festival. Do not use garlic from the grocery store, as those bulbs are usually imported and may harbor disease. Begin by dividing the garlic bulb into cloves. Each clove, with its thin, white, papery skin, will be a seed for a new garlic bulb. Allow the cloves to dry overnight before planting. Choose a garden site that is sunny, but not too damp. Prepare your garden by loosening the soil and adding a scoopful of compost, working the compost into the rest of the soil with your shovel. Do not use any cloves that appear damaged. Plant each clove one inch deep and 4 inches apart. Each bulb of garlic usually contains about 20 cloves. You can plant as many of these as you want, and use the rest for cooking. It might be best to label the garden spot so you do not confuse the long leaves that will emerge as weeds (a sad experience I had last year within over-zealous garden helper in my own flower garden).
After planting, firm up the soil around each clove. Cover all with a layer of mulch or straw. Mulching the ground will prevent weeds from sprouting around each plant and will protect each clove from the biting cold of winter. The mulch does not have to be removed in order for the plants to emerge.
Your garlic bulbs will be nearing harvest time when you see the leaves withering and turning yellow (if you are in the northeast, this won’t be until about July). When the leaves appear almost completely dry, gently dig up each bulb without removing the dead leaves. Allow the bulbs to completely dry by spreading them individually on a screen or newspaper. When dry, cut off the leaves and stems to within an inch of the bulb. Store the bulbs either in a cool area of your home (the cooler, the better) or in your refrigerator. Never store garlic in plastic bags which does not allow the living bulb to “breathe”.
Your garlic is now ready to use. Once you harvest your own garlic, you’ll be so proud of having grown a self-sustaining (a word we love) vegetable. If you grow too many, simply bring them in to share with other CSA members or friends at work. Happy gardening!
Showing posts with label tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tips. Show all posts
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Leeks
With a milder taste and smell than onions, this vegetable sweetens as they cook. Look for this veggie during the fall and winter months, as they take several months to mature. They contain C, which is good for immune response, and K which is involved with blood clotting.
Storage Tips
-Wrap in a damp cloth or paper towel, unwashed and untrimmed, and they will stay good in the fridge for 2 to 3 weeks.
Storage Tips
-Wrap in a damp cloth or paper towel, unwashed and untrimmed, and they will stay good in the fridge for 2 to 3 weeks.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
This week's tips from Hazon - Apple and Chili Peppers
Apple:
There are over 7000 varieties of apples. Each apple seed will grow into a unique tree that will often produce undesirable fruit. Therefore, the apples that we know today have been selected and grafted to be deliciously tasty fruit.
Storage Tips
- Most apples will stay fresh for up to three months when stored in a perforated plastic bag or paper bag in the refrigerator; otherwise apples taste better when kept at room temperature
- Do not wash apples until you are ready to eat them
-Browning near the core of an apple indicates that the fruit has been stored at too low temperatures.
-Apples, once cut, can be kept from browning by dipping the slices in citrus juice and water, or simply squeezing some lemon juice over them.
Hot chili pepper:
Peppers belong to the same family as tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, and tomatillo. The substance that is responsible for giving the pepper its spice is called capsaicin and it is soluble in milk and alcohol, not water. So next time you want to extinguish that fire in your mouth, reach for a glass of milk instead of water.
Storage Tips
-Store hot peppers in a cool dry place for 1 to 2 weeks.
-To freeze, wash and dry, cut into chunks, and place in freezer bags in the freezer.
-To dry hot papers, cut into ½ inch slices and gently heat in an over at 175-200 degrees for 2 to 3 hours. Store in a well ventilated place.
There are over 7000 varieties of apples. Each apple seed will grow into a unique tree that will often produce undesirable fruit. Therefore, the apples that we know today have been selected and grafted to be deliciously tasty fruit.
Storage Tips
- Most apples will stay fresh for up to three months when stored in a perforated plastic bag or paper bag in the refrigerator; otherwise apples taste better when kept at room temperature
- Do not wash apples until you are ready to eat them
-Browning near the core of an apple indicates that the fruit has been stored at too low temperatures.
-Apples, once cut, can be kept from browning by dipping the slices in citrus juice and water, or simply squeezing some lemon juice over them.
Hot chili pepper:
Peppers belong to the same family as tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, and tomatillo. The substance that is responsible for giving the pepper its spice is called capsaicin and it is soluble in milk and alcohol, not water. So next time you want to extinguish that fire in your mouth, reach for a glass of milk instead of water.
Storage Tips
-Store hot peppers in a cool dry place for 1 to 2 weeks.
-To freeze, wash and dry, cut into chunks, and place in freezer bags in the freezer.
-To dry hot papers, cut into ½ inch slices and gently heat in an over at 175-200 degrees for 2 to 3 hours. Store in a well ventilated place.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
How to Cope with “CSA Stress”
By Cathy Erway
This article is from Cathy’s blog “Not Eating Out in New York”. All the produce we receive in our CSA boxes can sometimes be overwhelming. Cathy’s article provides great ways to utilize all that produce, other than just typically trying took cook everything all in one week. You can visit Cathy’s blog at http://noteatingoutinny.com/
Since so many of us have joined the frays of small farm supporting by becoming new members of CSAs, I’ve noticed a particular syndrome going around this summer. The symptoms? Staying in to eat lettuce heads that have piled up in the crisper over some weeks, extreme guilt about going out to eat when there’s tons of food at home; passing up plans to make the weekly pick-up day and time, or feeling the need to schedule vacations around your CSA calendar. And then the danger symptom, indicating the illness has reached its next, undesirable stage: deciding to forfeit a few items from your share on a particular week, leaving them behind at the pick-up location.
Basically, it’s being bogged down by the little commitments one makes when joining a CSA. I can relate. It took me three days past the official pick-up night last week when I finally took my half of a full share out of my share-splitter’s fridge. People, especially in urban areas, continue to have unpredictably busy schedules, even though their will to support local food has grown.
But, before you start tossing once-fresh vegetables to the compost, or dread another bag of spinach in the fridge, here are a few tips that have helped me, at least, figure out what to do with all this great food.
Don’t cook.
Put away the pots and pans. If your CSA produce looks anything like mine, it’s probably at its best potential raw. We’re not talking about pesticide-drenched, close to moldy, stuff from the supermarket. So beyond a little dirt and bugs, there’s nothing high heat needs to kill, besides some extra vitamins. Zucchini and summer squash? Chopped and sprinkled with sea salt, lemon and olive oil and they’re a refreshingly crisp, new breed.
Rinse before putting away.
If you spend a few extra minutes washing and patting down your produce with towels, you can grab and go from the fridge much easier through the week. Plus, the time taken will reinforce what you have that week in your mind, hopefully clearing up all, “What’s in here and how old is it?” confusion.
Appoint a back-up pick-up buddy.
It’s like the person who has your extra set of housekeys, for when you get locked out. Except instead of hanging onto a measly key, this neighbor gets to hang onto a big batch of food when you can’t pick up your CSA share. And the words, “Keep whatever you like!” should be a pretty good guarantee for his or her service.
Save the hardiest vegetables for later.
Beets last a really long time. Kohlrabi is not going to turn in a week, either. If you find that you simply have too much stuff to eat in a week (as I do often), go for the most delicate leafy greens first. Save the big heads of cabbage, potatoes, green beans and carrots for another week, and don’t worry about them.
Entertain more.
In times of stress, we can all lean on our friends. I don’t think I needed to sound half as desperate when I asked one, in a moment of high CSA stress, “I have too much food, can I make you dinner?!” Who doesn’t like local, fresh food, being served to them free? Plus, following guideline #1, there really is very little preparation that should be involved for this grub.
Can it, jam it, pickle it (and compost the scraps).
A few mason jars go a long way; you can make pickles, jam or sauces like chutney and pesto to snack on throughout the year by squashing a lot of fresh produce into its tightly-packed constraints. But if this weekend hobby is not quite your style, you can still salvage extra produce by simply bagging it and tossing it in the freezer. Broccoli and green beans work great for this.
Make a stress-relieving tea with dried herbs.
Overwhelmed by all the fresh herbs you’ve been getting? Grow your own already, and don’t really need ‘em? Hang a bunch upside-down for a week, like you would with a rose bouquet, and crumble the flakes into a mason jar. Yep, I have cilantro “tea,” all ready to steep. So? (Hint: mix in those dried rose petals, too, if you’ve got them.)
Be a good member.
It’s easy to dash in and out of CSA pick-up in the middle of your busy day or night, but the folks volunteering there, or organizing the local chapter, can really help you out if you have a stress situation. Communicate if you’re going to be out of town and can’t pick up your stuff, they might appreciate the advance notice to gauge how much will be leftover at the end of that day. Or give it away to someone else in the group who might actually need it for a big bash they’re throwing. Volunteering, team-working and spreading the good karma might win you favors in return, like being able to store your untaken stash another day somewhere convenient.
This article is from Cathy’s blog “Not Eating Out in New York”. All the produce we receive in our CSA boxes can sometimes be overwhelming. Cathy’s article provides great ways to utilize all that produce, other than just typically trying took cook everything all in one week. You can visit Cathy’s blog at http://noteatingoutinny.com/
Since so many of us have joined the frays of small farm supporting by becoming new members of CSAs, I’ve noticed a particular syndrome going around this summer. The symptoms? Staying in to eat lettuce heads that have piled up in the crisper over some weeks, extreme guilt about going out to eat when there’s tons of food at home; passing up plans to make the weekly pick-up day and time, or feeling the need to schedule vacations around your CSA calendar. And then the danger symptom, indicating the illness has reached its next, undesirable stage: deciding to forfeit a few items from your share on a particular week, leaving them behind at the pick-up location.
Basically, it’s being bogged down by the little commitments one makes when joining a CSA. I can relate. It took me three days past the official pick-up night last week when I finally took my half of a full share out of my share-splitter’s fridge. People, especially in urban areas, continue to have unpredictably busy schedules, even though their will to support local food has grown.
But, before you start tossing once-fresh vegetables to the compost, or dread another bag of spinach in the fridge, here are a few tips that have helped me, at least, figure out what to do with all this great food.
Don’t cook.
Put away the pots and pans. If your CSA produce looks anything like mine, it’s probably at its best potential raw. We’re not talking about pesticide-drenched, close to moldy, stuff from the supermarket. So beyond a little dirt and bugs, there’s nothing high heat needs to kill, besides some extra vitamins. Zucchini and summer squash? Chopped and sprinkled with sea salt, lemon and olive oil and they’re a refreshingly crisp, new breed.
Rinse before putting away.
If you spend a few extra minutes washing and patting down your produce with towels, you can grab and go from the fridge much easier through the week. Plus, the time taken will reinforce what you have that week in your mind, hopefully clearing up all, “What’s in here and how old is it?” confusion.
Appoint a back-up pick-up buddy.
It’s like the person who has your extra set of housekeys, for when you get locked out. Except instead of hanging onto a measly key, this neighbor gets to hang onto a big batch of food when you can’t pick up your CSA share. And the words, “Keep whatever you like!” should be a pretty good guarantee for his or her service.
Save the hardiest vegetables for later.
Beets last a really long time. Kohlrabi is not going to turn in a week, either. If you find that you simply have too much stuff to eat in a week (as I do often), go for the most delicate leafy greens first. Save the big heads of cabbage, potatoes, green beans and carrots for another week, and don’t worry about them.
Entertain more.
In times of stress, we can all lean on our friends. I don’t think I needed to sound half as desperate when I asked one, in a moment of high CSA stress, “I have too much food, can I make you dinner?!” Who doesn’t like local, fresh food, being served to them free? Plus, following guideline #1, there really is very little preparation that should be involved for this grub.
Can it, jam it, pickle it (and compost the scraps).
A few mason jars go a long way; you can make pickles, jam or sauces like chutney and pesto to snack on throughout the year by squashing a lot of fresh produce into its tightly-packed constraints. But if this weekend hobby is not quite your style, you can still salvage extra produce by simply bagging it and tossing it in the freezer. Broccoli and green beans work great for this.
Make a stress-relieving tea with dried herbs.
Overwhelmed by all the fresh herbs you’ve been getting? Grow your own already, and don’t really need ‘em? Hang a bunch upside-down for a week, like you would with a rose bouquet, and crumble the flakes into a mason jar. Yep, I have cilantro “tea,” all ready to steep. So? (Hint: mix in those dried rose petals, too, if you’ve got them.)
Be a good member.
It’s easy to dash in and out of CSA pick-up in the middle of your busy day or night, but the folks volunteering there, or organizing the local chapter, can really help you out if you have a stress situation. Communicate if you’re going to be out of town and can’t pick up your stuff, they might appreciate the advance notice to gauge how much will be leftover at the end of that day. Or give it away to someone else in the group who might actually need it for a big bash they’re throwing. Volunteering, team-working and spreading the good karma might win you favors in return, like being able to store your untaken stash another day somewhere convenient.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
This Week's Plan
So I see that we will be getting the mysterious alien vegetable Kohlrabi in our boxes. Now before you immediately chuck it into the swap box today, consider all the wonderful possibilities this veggie has to offer. As a rule treat it like you would a turnip, so it can go into soups or vegetable mashes, or mix it with some potatoes, onions (and maybe even this week's zucchinis, and roast in the oven with some olive oil, thyme and garlic for a wonderful side dish. Still not convinced? Heres a recipe that, if you replace the cream with Mayonnaise, will make a tangy variation on a waldorf salad.
Personally, I'm a radish Fiend so I cant wait to eat them raw, in a salad, or like they used to do it in the old country, dipped in a salt cellar. Braising them in butter is also a great way to mellow them out.
If you've never had the chanceto roast peppers, this week is your chance to go for it! just place them directly over the grates of a burner and rotate them with tongs every once in a while until the skin turns 90% black. Let them cool, and then use a paring knife to scrape the skin off leaving nice soft peppers than can be used in hundreds of ways. I put them in quinoa to make a nice salad, or simmer them in tomato sauce for a flavorful pasta sauce.
Finally, while peaches are great on their own, I've been halving them brushing them with a bit of honey, and then putting them on a very hot grill for just a minute until there are grill marks. This adds a really nice smokiness and makes for a wonderful dessert, alone, topped with cream or a simple mint syrup.
Any more ideas? leave them in the comments below!
Personally, I'm a radish Fiend so I cant wait to eat them raw, in a salad, or like they used to do it in the old country, dipped in a salt cellar. Braising them in butter is also a great way to mellow them out.
If you've never had the chanceto roast peppers, this week is your chance to go for it! just place them directly over the grates of a burner and rotate them with tongs every once in a while until the skin turns 90% black. Let them cool, and then use a paring knife to scrape the skin off leaving nice soft peppers than can be used in hundreds of ways. I put them in quinoa to make a nice salad, or simmer them in tomato sauce for a flavorful pasta sauce.
Finally, while peaches are great on their own, I've been halving them brushing them with a bit of honey, and then putting them on a very hot grill for just a minute until there are grill marks. This adds a really nice smokiness and makes for a wonderful dessert, alone, topped with cream or a simple mint syrup.
Any more ideas? leave them in the comments below!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Greening Your Shabbat Table
Hosting a Shabbat meal is a wonderful way to spend quality time with family and friends without the distractions of the everyday (email, ringing cell phones, distracting text messages…) It also offers an amazing template over which to create new rituals and traditions that add new meaning and sustainable flair to the experience. Hazon’s blog The Jew & The Carrot (www.jcarrot.org) offers the following resources to help you Green Your Shabbat Table and discover, “What makes this Shabbat meal different from other Shabbat meals?”
Greening Your Shabbat Table
Set a kavannah (intention) to “go local.” Whether you decide to make all your dishes from scratch, or purchase some things ready-made, make a pledge to feature ingredients and dishes that are locally grown. Remember that the definition of “local” is loosely defined - so decide in advance where you want to draw the boundary. Even if you don’t manage to eat all local, all the time in your day-to-day life (and really, who does?), Shabbat is the perfect time to strive for that ideal. See just how local you can go!
*Teaching moment: Think about your guest list and what interests your invitees share. If several your guests are vegetarians, or committed meat eaters, consider brining this topic into the meal as well. If there are people who are involved in social justice causes, or grow their own herbs, consider what kind of menu and discussion questions would draw them in most.
Involve your friends. Don’t take on the local kavannah alone - get your friends involved! Invite them into the conversation about where ingredients for your shared meal will come from. If no farmer’s market is readily available at which you/your guests can buy local produce, what other criteria can you use for buying locally or sustainably? Perhaps everyone will pledge to use no plastic bags in their shopping (including those little bags for vegetables and fruit!) or to walk or bike to their supermarkets or farmers markets.
Utilize peoples’ skills. Maybe someone is a great baker—ask him to make challah. Someone else might have a knack for roasting her own peppers or making fruit preserves—find a way to use that as well!
*Teaching moment: If you do decide to ask your friends to bring dishes to the meal, consider giving them questions to think about while they are shopping or preparing their food. For example, if someone is bringing fruit, try giving them the task of asking the fruit vendor about the origins of the produce, or what makes organic food different from pesticide-free food. Ask them to share what they learned at the meal.
Drink locally. If you are comfortable drinking non-kosher wine, try to find a bottle (or box!) of wine grown and produced close to home. If you prefer kosher, check out a wine on The Jew & The Carrot’s kosher organic wine list.
Check in with the season. If you are hosting in the winter, think about making a winter vegetable theme, e.g. winter squash, or using lots of peaches, nectarines, and cherries if you are hosting a summer meal. And realize that as the seasons change, the ingredients will as well so that allows you to have original menus numerous times a year!
Bless your meal. Other than the traditional brachot (blessings) birkat hamazon (grace after meals), invite your guests to discuss whom they want to thank before, during, and following this unique meal and encourage them to create their own blessings or songs if they so choose.
Eat together. With intention. In silence. (Try spending the first 10 minutes of your meal just enjoying the food and company without speaking. It might feel a little strange at first, but see if you can relax into the idea. And of course you can share your experiences afterwards!)
Learn together. Rabbi Shimon said: If three have eaten together at one table and have not spoken over it words of Torah, it is as though they had eaten of the sacrifices of the dead (Isaiah 28:8)…but if three have eaten at one table and have spoken over it words of Torah, it is as if they had eaten from the table of God (Ezekiel 41:22).
In other words, learning together over food is a good thing! Identify a learning coordinator for your meal who will come up with questions to lead the discussion around the table, and identify short texts that can be learned together. Discussion questions can include: “What does sustainable mean to you?” “How is your relationship to this meal different from other meals knowing how it was prepared and where the ingredients were purchased?” “What is the connection between Shabbat and having a sustainable meal?”
Texts are another great way to create an order and guide your meal. Try to focus on Jewish texts (Hazon’s book “Food for Thought” curriculum book is an incredible resource for relevant texts), but feel free to bring in non-Jewish texts as well that might speak to your dinner’s theme, i.e. highlights from Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma or Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.
Clean up green. After your sustainable meal, clean up with green cleaning supplies like Seventh Generation or Ecover. Invite your friends to help you wash dishes and put leftover food away. Whether or not you made all the food yourself, or invited friends to help, clean up should be a communal effort (which is more sustainable for you)!
Be Creative. Don’t feel limited by these ideas! This is just a starting point for making sustainable Shabbat “seders” a tradition that any community, group, or city can take part in and make their own!
Thanks to Nadya Strizhevskaya for pulling together this resource page.
Greening Your Shabbat Table
Set a kavannah (intention) to “go local.” Whether you decide to make all your dishes from scratch, or purchase some things ready-made, make a pledge to feature ingredients and dishes that are locally grown. Remember that the definition of “local” is loosely defined - so decide in advance where you want to draw the boundary. Even if you don’t manage to eat all local, all the time in your day-to-day life (and really, who does?), Shabbat is the perfect time to strive for that ideal. See just how local you can go!
*Teaching moment: Think about your guest list and what interests your invitees share. If several your guests are vegetarians, or committed meat eaters, consider brining this topic into the meal as well. If there are people who are involved in social justice causes, or grow their own herbs, consider what kind of menu and discussion questions would draw them in most.
Involve your friends. Don’t take on the local kavannah alone - get your friends involved! Invite them into the conversation about where ingredients for your shared meal will come from. If no farmer’s market is readily available at which you/your guests can buy local produce, what other criteria can you use for buying locally or sustainably? Perhaps everyone will pledge to use no plastic bags in their shopping (including those little bags for vegetables and fruit!) or to walk or bike to their supermarkets or farmers markets.
Utilize peoples’ skills. Maybe someone is a great baker—ask him to make challah. Someone else might have a knack for roasting her own peppers or making fruit preserves—find a way to use that as well!
*Teaching moment: If you do decide to ask your friends to bring dishes to the meal, consider giving them questions to think about while they are shopping or preparing their food. For example, if someone is bringing fruit, try giving them the task of asking the fruit vendor about the origins of the produce, or what makes organic food different from pesticide-free food. Ask them to share what they learned at the meal.
Drink locally. If you are comfortable drinking non-kosher wine, try to find a bottle (or box!) of wine grown and produced close to home. If you prefer kosher, check out a wine on The Jew & The Carrot’s kosher organic wine list.
Check in with the season. If you are hosting in the winter, think about making a winter vegetable theme, e.g. winter squash, or using lots of peaches, nectarines, and cherries if you are hosting a summer meal. And realize that as the seasons change, the ingredients will as well so that allows you to have original menus numerous times a year!
Bless your meal. Other than the traditional brachot (blessings) birkat hamazon (grace after meals), invite your guests to discuss whom they want to thank before, during, and following this unique meal and encourage them to create their own blessings or songs if they so choose.
Eat together. With intention. In silence. (Try spending the first 10 minutes of your meal just enjoying the food and company without speaking. It might feel a little strange at first, but see if you can relax into the idea. And of course you can share your experiences afterwards!)
Learn together. Rabbi Shimon said: If three have eaten together at one table and have not spoken over it words of Torah, it is as though they had eaten of the sacrifices of the dead (Isaiah 28:8)…but if three have eaten at one table and have spoken over it words of Torah, it is as if they had eaten from the table of God (Ezekiel 41:22).
In other words, learning together over food is a good thing! Identify a learning coordinator for your meal who will come up with questions to lead the discussion around the table, and identify short texts that can be learned together. Discussion questions can include: “What does sustainable mean to you?” “How is your relationship to this meal different from other meals knowing how it was prepared and where the ingredients were purchased?” “What is the connection between Shabbat and having a sustainable meal?”
Texts are another great way to create an order and guide your meal. Try to focus on Jewish texts (Hazon’s book “Food for Thought” curriculum book is an incredible resource for relevant texts), but feel free to bring in non-Jewish texts as well that might speak to your dinner’s theme, i.e. highlights from Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma or Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.
Clean up green. After your sustainable meal, clean up with green cleaning supplies like Seventh Generation or Ecover. Invite your friends to help you wash dishes and put leftover food away. Whether or not you made all the food yourself, or invited friends to help, clean up should be a communal effort (which is more sustainable for you)!
Be Creative. Don’t feel limited by these ideas! This is just a starting point for making sustainable Shabbat “seders” a tradition that any community, group, or city can take part in and make their own!
Thanks to Nadya Strizhevskaya for pulling together this resource page.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Top 10 CSA Must Haves
The wonderful Tuv Ha’Aretz Community-Supported Agriculture group at the JCC Houston came up with this Top-10 list of must have kitchen items in order to maximize the produce from your CSA share.
Turns out, the list is pretty handy for any Jewish food enthusiast - feel free to share with friends and family.
Top 10 CSA (& Jewish Food) Must Haves
1. Evert-Fresh Green Bags - The best bags for storing fruits and vegetables. Possibly ever?
2. Slow Cooker - Slow cook your veggies into a delicious Shabbat dinner (or lunch!)
3. Salad Spinner - A handy salad spinner makes your weekly influx of lettuce and leafy greens a snap to clean - or at least a lot easier.
4. Freezer Bags - Freeze those fresh, local corn kernels to enjoy all winter long.
5. Food Processor- Pesto, butternut squash puree, homemade soup…mmmmm
6. A Food Steamer - Steam your raw veggies into a delicious dinner in no time.
7. An (Immersion) Hand Blender - The best thing to happen to soups since the spoon.
8. An Ice Cube Tray - For freezing that pesto (or tomato sauce, butternut squash puree…) into easy-to-store-and-reheat cubes.
9. Space to put everything (yes, this can even be done in the city!)
10. A Large Stock Pot - For soups, sauces, boiling pasta…you can never have enough big pots around.
Turns out, the list is pretty handy for any Jewish food enthusiast - feel free to share with friends and family.
Top 10 CSA (& Jewish Food) Must Haves
1. Evert-Fresh Green Bags - The best bags for storing fruits and vegetables. Possibly ever?
2. Slow Cooker - Slow cook your veggies into a delicious Shabbat dinner (or lunch!)
3. Salad Spinner - A handy salad spinner makes your weekly influx of lettuce and leafy greens a snap to clean - or at least a lot easier.
4. Freezer Bags - Freeze those fresh, local corn kernels to enjoy all winter long.
5. Food Processor- Pesto, butternut squash puree, homemade soup…mmmmm
6. A Food Steamer - Steam your raw veggies into a delicious dinner in no time.
7. An (Immersion) Hand Blender - The best thing to happen to soups since the spoon.
8. An Ice Cube Tray - For freezing that pesto (or tomato sauce, butternut squash puree…) into easy-to-store-and-reheat cubes.
9. Space to put everything (yes, this can even be done in the city!)
10. A Large Stock Pot - For soups, sauces, boiling pasta…you can never have enough big pots around.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Advice on storing produce that you can't use
THE MINIMALIST; FREEZE THAT THOUGHT
By MARK BITTMAN, The New York Times
Published: May 6, 2009
IF I tried to sell you a new appliance that could help you save money, reduce food waste and get meals on the table faster, the only thing you'd ask would be How much? The answer is Nothing. You already own it. For just as the stove comes with a hidden and often overlooked bonus -- the broiler -- so does the refrigerator: the freezer. Why not use it?
By MARK BITTMAN, The New York Times
Published: May 6, 2009
IF I tried to sell you a new appliance that could help you save money, reduce food waste and get meals on the table faster, the only thing you'd ask would be How much? The answer is Nothing. You already own it. For just as the stove comes with a hidden and often overlooked bonus -- the broiler -- so does the refrigerator: the freezer. Why not use it?
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