Category: Veggies
-
How To: Make Homemade Vegetable Stock!
As August comes to a close, we find ourselves knee-deep in the midst of the growing season. Produce just keeps rolling in: ripe tomatoes straight off of the vine, sweet and pungent onions, earthy carrots and beets, creamy potatoes, crunchy peppers, fragrant basil, and the first sugary bites of winter squash. Hopefully you are finding…
-
Veggie Care 101
“How do I keep my carrots from getting wobbly and my lettuce from wilting when I get it home?” Questions along those lines are very common at the beginning of the season, especially as folks are getting big boxes and bags full of goodies from their CSA share or farmers’ market shopping excursions. THE key point to remember: most…
-
Now THAT’S a Tractor!
If you’ve spent any time driving around Chester County, then you’ve seen them on the side of the road: these spindly red machines that look exactly like what a five-year old would draw if you gave them some crayons and said, ‘draw me a tractor.’ That is, unless they’ve already been indoctrinated to think John…
-
Your Pollination Primer (just in time for spring blossom season!)
As farmers and consumers, why do we need to worry about pollination at all? Easy answer: because one third of the crops we eat rely on it! Any fruiting bodies that we eat, with a few exceptions, rely on pollination and proper fertilization to be recognized as edible. Apples, peaches, plums, zucchini, walnuts, melons, tomatoes,…
-
Help for the Squash-Challenged!
Have no fear! I, too, felt daunted by winter squash of all kinds. Oh, the time and effort and pre-planning required to use it. And how to use it?? Well, fear no more: here’s the super-duper, easy way to start dealing with your mountain of squash…. Microwave it! Simple and fast, nuking squash essentially steams…
-
“Ugly” Fruit Can Be Beautiful – or Ridiculous
Who determines what is ‘ugly’? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, certainly, but the perceptions of the beholder can be strongly influenced by outside forces. In the world of produce, beauty vs. ugly is usually is determined first by the wholesale and grocery store system, which demand picture-perfect produce. Over time, consumers expect…
-
Row Covers
Row covers of wonderRow covers of mightRow covers hide awesome garden delightsI wish that they mayI wish that they mightKeep tender plants warm and cozy at night.
-
Weirdo of the Week: Celeriac!
We can hear it now. You’re saying “what do I do with this lumpy alien troll beast in my share?!” More politely, this excellent article from NPR calls it “the vegetable world’s ugly duckling”. Don’t panic, friends, at the sight of this week’s truly weird weirdo! Celeriac may have the look of ogre skin at first glance,…
-
Weirdo of the Week: Butternut Squash!
It’s about this time of year when cans of cranberry sauce and pumpkin puree start gracing the ends of grocery store aisles. Do you know what’s really in many of those cans of pumpkin though? Butternut squash! It’s true; the USDA is pretty lax on their definition of pumpkin, and so long as the veg inside falls under…
-
Weirdo of the Week: Leeks!
Boy, oh boy, I am so excited we finally get to talk about leeks! I have got some serious love for these mouth watering alliums. These beauties may seem intimidating, but I promise you, they are no harder to prepare than their onion cousins. Now, I can hear you thinking “but how do I clean these…
