What's safe and what's not, storage tips, storage veggie favourite new recipes, and the promise of spring! ~
While the crocuses and tulips are still hiding safely in the ground, it's the time of year that our veggies in storage start thinking about waking up. It's only natural really. Root vegetables have developed the capacity to capture energy (that's the roots we eat) and keep them over winter to use for reproducing in their second year. Our humidity controlled fridges mimic their overwintering in the soil, more or less. I'm happy to report that only the garlic has had any issues so far, we'll be planting the rest in the greenhouse for spring shares but we don't have any "saleable" grade left. The rest of the veggies might pop up a little impatient leaf here or there, we see them but you shouldn't!
To reduce the risk of sprouting during storage at your house over the next month, tuck as many veggies as you can in the fridge (squash and sweet potatoes excepted). Second rule of long storage veggies... don't panic! A little green sprouting can easily be knocked off (or harvested to enjoy in the case of onions!). While it's not what you expect to see, sprouting isn't inherently dangerous - if the greens are edible on the plant so are the sprouts. Not that you'd want to as they're tiny, but it's good to know they're not poisonous. The only root storage vegetable we have where you need to avoid eating any sprouting is regular potatoes. They are a nightshade plant, which is not edible when green and leafy as it produces solanine to deter insect predation. So if you see any green spots developing on potatoes or sprouts, be sure to cut them out.
By this time in the winter, we're always looking for new ideas and ways to enjoy the roots! We decided we'd travel to Japan through cooking this winter, since travelling in person was still too risky. A bit of a trip down memory lane for Stephanie too, who grew up with very close neighbours who were Japanese and had an uncle (and her Dad) living there for a time. She has fond memories of the treats her neighbour made for her growing up, and has had fun recreating some and discovering new ones.
Delicious Daikon Medallions - I was not sure what they were at first, but so very delicious. Boiled daikon with a miso citrus glaze. Did you know salting the cooking water helps prevent nutrient and flavour leaching into the water from the veggies?
Cabbage Pancakes: Okonomiyaki - A delicious savoury meal of a pancake, with cabbage and carrots (and we definitely improvise some of the hard to find ingredients). I can see why it's a pizza-like staple, with room for lots of kitchen variation depending on the day!
Not your classic cabbage rolls, made with Napa! - A member sent this one in, and the napa cabbage rolls look delicious. Napa is a much softer leaf, and doesn't need to be boiled before assembling these making them a tiny bit easier too!
This is our last winter season delivery. We're really excited to be launching our spring season again around the Bay of Quinte. Be sure to turn on auto-renew if you haven't already had an email about this (it was sent to all members with auto-renew on at eligible locations). While we had a glorious spinach harvest this month, we're still feeling a steep learning curve in the greenhouses and we've made the tough decision to postpone launching the spring season in Toronto until 2023. We want to be able to provide greens for everyone, and we're not sure our production is up to the task yet. We do have lots of spinach for everyone this month though, and a second bag for a number of you. A welcome change from past months ;)
