Olive Food

I have been wanting to join a CSA program for years and years and years, and I decided this was the year to try it out.

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and it is a community farming program you become a member to through monetary support, which entitles you to a share of the season’s bountiful harvest. This monetary investment is what has stopped me from joining in the past.

The CSA I joined is a part of Farmers on 57th. Growing Eden, the community kitchen  program I coordinate, is under this organization as well, so I am excited to contribute to another part of the spectrum and build on our existing food community.

We received our first harvest last week, filled with fresh organic produce, as you can see in the picture.

The radishes went quickly in a few salads for myself, and the tat soi soon followed in a stir fry.

Tat soi is similar to bok choi, so it is a good source of Calcium, Vitamin K, Iron and Potassium. I cooked it with some carrots, garlic and soy sauce to accompany an asian inspired omega-3 filled Atlantic salmon.

There is enough spinach, lettuce and mizuna for 2 more salads, which is good because I pick up the next harvest tomorrow!

Mizuna looks kind of like arugula, but has a mustard taste, which is a great compliment to any salad, curry or stir fry. Use it anywhere you would use spinach or arugula. I even tried it on a burger a few days ago, and I didn’t even need to add mustard!

I am struggling to use the herbs, and the chives went brown quicker than I could use them. I have them stored upright in a few inches of water on my counter, but it doesn’t seem to do the trick. I usually store herbs in this way, or just in a bag in the fridge, but I need a more reliable way to store them before they go to waste.

How do you store fresh herbs?

The harvests will only get bigger from here, so I am looking forward to hearing your ideas for using and storing the produce!