How to Store (and eat) Early Summer Produce
Keep things fresh
Summer is in full swing over here! I simultaneously cannot remember what day it is and also feel busy with projects including making bread, crocheting a dress, a Lego kit, garden weeding, and getting through my audiobooks before they are due back to the library. I had one of my most stressful weeks with two of my biggest fears coming true within 10 minutes of each other - an anxious person’s nightmare. I’m trying hard to lean into simplicity like I talked about last week (linked below in case you missed it). I’m finally recovering and coming back to neutral after a few days!
So onto food things! We are relishing in the strawberry juice dripping down our chins, the sharp aromatics of fennel fronds and bulbs, the thick crunch of kohlrabi and radishes, and the brightness of summer produce here in the Deep North. It’s cloudy this weekend, and there’s potential for thunderstorms this weekend so I thought it would be a perfect day to make a big pot of stock and greens. I pulled out my copy of Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin and got to work on a broth full of hearty veggies (onions, carrots, celery, garlic) and bacon ends which was the closest thing I could find to a smoked ham hock at the co-op. I added a little liquid smoke to get closer to that smokey flavor. I’ll save half the broth for another rainy day, and use the other half for the collards we got in the CSA the last two weeks to make cornmeal biscuits with the cornmeal we got in one of our winter CSA boxes. An unexpected, warm meal in the middle of summer! (Pro tip: if it’s too hot to turn on your oven, you can always use a Crockpot to make broth, soup, greens, etc.)
I thought this would be a good time to give you a peek behind the curtain on how I store and use up a box of produce from our CSA (read more about why I love getting a CSA every year here). One of the barriers for people just starting out with a farm box, or even with shopping at the farmers market, is to know how to use and store all the fresh produce. After more than five years of practice, I thought I would share my tried and true storage methods, and how are are using it all up this week.
Here’s what we got in our CSA box on Thursday: asparagus, basil (green & purple), butterhead lettuce, carrots, cilantro, collards, fennel bulb, garlic scapes, kale, kohlrabi, Napa cabbage, radish bunch, strawberries, and Swiss chard. We still had butterhead lettuce, collards, dill, and Swiss chard left over from the week before too. 😬 It was a busy weekend and week so we didn’t do a great job of using up our produce from the week before but the bonus of getting a CSA is that the veggies are still fresh in our fridge over a week later.
As soon as we get home on Thursday night, my husband and I spend 10-20 minutes processing all our veggies so that they keep well through the week(s). I’ve been recording them with a timelapse and they’re so satisfying to watch!
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Tips to keep in mind:
We use and reuse zip top bags (i.e. Ziplock or similar) for most veggies and herbs. Be sure to get as much of the air out as possible without squishing your produce too much.
We also use paper towels in much of our storage because they absorb moisture, and keep the veg from browning and molding. I replace them 1-2 times a week in bags of veggies that are full of moisture (i.e. lettuce). For now, paper towels are what we like best, although I’m open to a reusable option. I’ve been eyeing these from Geometry for quite awhile since they make my favorite kitchen towels. I’m sure small cotton squares or reusable paper towels would also work well too!
Storage for Maximum Freshness
You can use these tips anytime you get these veggies at farmers markets or from the store. I’ve only listed what we got in our share this week but can share more throughout the summer if that’s something you want!
Asparagus - Zip top bag in the fridge
Basil - Zip top bag with half a paper towel on the counter
Handle gently so as not to bruise the leaves (bruising leads to browning)
Butterhead lettuce - Zip top bag in the fridge with a paper towel to absorb moisture (switch this out as needed) but you will need to rinse the leaves right before you use it
Can also take off individual leaves, rinse and pat dry with a kitchen towel, then store in a zip top bag with 2-3 paper towels to absorb excess moisture
Carrots - Zip top bag in the fridge
Cilantro - Treat these like flowers: a little bit of water in a jar (make sure it’s just on the stems and no leaves are touching the water for max freshness), then put a plastic bag over the top and zip it closed as much as you can and/or use a rubber band around the plastic at the top of the jar. Carefully squeeze the air out of the bag.
Collards - Laid flat in a Zip top bag
Fennel bulb - Zip top bag in the fridge. If it’s too big to fit diagonally, you could trim the feathery fronds off and store those in a zip top bag with a paper towel separately.
Garlic scapes - Zip top bag in the fridge
Kale - Strip the leave and put in a zip top bag in the freezer OR zip top bag in the fridge with a paper towel to absorb moisture
I have found that our two person household is overwhelmed by greens at times, so we solve that by freezing all the kale we get and then using it throughout the winter in soups, smoothies, stir fries, etc. This way we get summer fresh produce all year long.
Some people will blanch (cook in boiling water for a minute, then immediately chill in an ice bath) before freezing but that extra step is not worth the effort for a few leaves per week for me.
Kohlrabi - Zip top bag in the fridge
If the whole thing doesn’t fit, I’ll fold the leaves and squish them in to fit, or just strip them off
Napa cabbage - Zip top bag in the fridge
Radishes - Zip top bag in the fridge (with or without greens attached, although my preference is to twist the radishes off to store)
Strawberries - Rinse and store in airtight container with a couple paper towels on the bottom to absorb moisture
Swiss chard - Zip top bag in the fridge with a paper towel laid flat
Meal Planning with a CSA
In case you’re interested, here is our meal plan to get through all the veg, which I plan on Wednesdays after getting our CSA newsletter or on Thursday before picking up the box and grocery shopping for any additional food we need:
Friday dinner: Turkey Lettuce Wraps
uses basil, butterhead lettuce, carrots, cilantro, Napa cabbage
Saturday lunch: Veggie Egg Scramble
uses asparagus, dill, scapes, Swiss chard
Saturday dinner: Collard Greens with Cornmeal Biscuits
uses carrots, collards and cornmeal from winter CSA box
Sunday dinner: White Bean Salad & Basil Scape Pesto Toast with Mozzarella
bean salad uses sliced fennel, kohlrabi, green apple, lemon
toast uses uses basil, scapes
Monday dinner: Boxed Mac & Cheese with Salad
uses roasted beets from last week, butterhead lettuce, dill, radish
Wednesday dinner: Veggie Fried Rice
uses up whatever veggies are left plus roasted parsnips in the freezer from a couple weeks ago
Things I Like
This week is all about other Substack posts I have loved recently or keep coming back to
- ‘s chart posts like this one are ones I go back to again and again
Beachy reads from my new internet friend Katy
This evergreen post from my friend Kel
on ways to afford hobbies to ground yourself- ‘s take on the submersible this week is a good one
I hope your fridge is full, the veggies are stored well, and that your week has lots of delicious food in store.
May your week be gentle and may you eat well. 🌲🥣
decided not to do a CSA this year (traveling a lot!) but the garlic scapes give me FOMO... they're just so charming! and yummy!