Green beans are in the same family as familiar shelling beans such as kidney beans, navy beans, and black beans; all are referred to as “common beans.” However green beans, also known as string beans and snap beans, are harvested while immature, when the beans are just forming inside the elongated pod.
 
When you are ready to cook your beans, rinse them in cool or lukewarm water. Snap off or cut off the tips, and then cut the beans to the desired length for your recipe. Most green bean varieties no longer have a string down the length of the pod, but if you encounter a string, simply pull down the length of the pod and discard.
 
To get through a large amount of green beans at one time, line them up in a row, using your hand or a knife to guide them, then using a chef’s knife or paring knife, remove the top tips in one quick chop, then repeat on the other side if you’d like. (The stem end is the main side that needs to be removed.) If you want to cook a large amount of green beans more quickly, cut each bean in half lengthwise. This is also a good method for rehabbing the green beans that are no longer looking their best. For the crisper, freshest tasting beans leave them whole after removing the tip ends.
 
Green beans are great stir-fried, steamed, sautéed, or boiled. You can also eat them raw in salads or with a vegetable platter and hummus. Whichever method you prefer, they are best if cooked to a tender-crisp. Squeaky beans can be avoided by a longer cooking time to soften them more, but this will be up to your personal preference. The longer they cook, the less squeak you’ll encounter.
 
If you boil your beans, use as little water as possible, and afterward, you can use the bean water to cook rice. If you want to freeze the beans for later use, blanch them for three minutes in boiling water and then immediately remove and cool in an ice bath.
 
Cooked beans pair well with butter, lemon butter, sautéed onions or mushrooms, toasted almonds, pine nuts, herbs, wine-based sauces, Parmesan cheese, or ham or bacon.
 
Steamed beans taste great with a gingery sauce. In doling out servings of beans per plate, a handful per person is a good measurement to use when deciding how many to cook. Store unwashed green beans in the refrigerator, covered loosely with a plastic bag, for about a week.
Blessings!
Jeff
​

Every part of fennel serves a purpose in the kitchen, bulb, stalks, and leaves. Raw fennel has a flavor similar to the herb anise and black licorice, so it can be great on its own, but one of the best things about it is that it enhances the flavors of other foods it is cooked with. As it cooks, the crispness of the flavor mellows, though its sweetness remains.
 
Fennel is used widely in Mediterranean and Indian cuisine. It is jam packed with vitamin C and many important micronutrients. Throughout history it has been used to freshen the breath, treat stomach ailments, and help keep the body in balance.
 
Keep your fennel whole and unwashed in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. It should last about a week in the fridge. You can put it in a plastic bag to extend storage time. The “bulb” of the plant is actually a tightly packed bundle of leaves. This part of the plant can be served raw in salads or braised, sautéed, roasted, or grilled. When cooked, the leaves, like onions when cooking, become supple.
 
The stalks of the plant are fibrous, with a texture similar to celery, and as such, can serve as a celery substitution in a stew or stir-fry. Their flavor is a bit more distinct and intense than the bulb of the plant, but can still be eaten raw. Many people like using the stalks for making a good vegetable stock.
 
The leaves, or fronds, of the plant are a pretty, feathery, emerald green and easily lend themselves to garnish a plate. They can also be chopped and used as a fresh herb to flavor soups or sauces. Fennel leaves are particularly nice in a tomato based pasta sauce. Add the chopped leaves late in cooking to keep their flavor from weakening too much.

Blessings!
​Jeff

Beets
If you plan on boiling beets, adding white vinegar (1/4 cup for every 8 cups of water) will help them keep their color. Leave the skin on while the beets are boiling so the juices, which are highly water soluble, won’t bleed into the water. The same goes for baking and steaming—gently rub off the skin under cold running water after these methods of cooking. Beets can be peeled and quartered for oven roasting. You’ll know your beets are fully cooked when you can insert a knife or fork and it is tender all the way to the center.
 
With no roots attached, beets should last a week to 10 days in the refrigerator. Beets aren’t bashful about sharing their reddish-purple perspective with whatever they come in contact with, whether it’s your kitchen counter, cutting board, hands, other foods, or clothing. In cooking, add beets last to avoid turning the entire dish an unwanted pink hue. Lemon juice or a salt scrub can help remove beet stains from your hands. For fabric and other surfaces, quick attention to soak and scrub is going to be the first and most important step in avoiding a lasting stain.

Blessings!
​Jeff

Cauliflower is a prize of early spring. It’s sensitive to extreme temperatures, hot and cold, and takes some extra care from your farmers. Cauliflower is related to broccoli and cabbage. Steaming, blanching, and sautéing are good go-to cooking methods for preserving the flavor and texture of the cauliflower in your box. A short cooking time is best, and also helps to avoid the common cruciferous issue of a too-strong smell during cooking.
 
Cauliflower can also be roasted whole or chopped with olive oil in a 425° oven, or cut into florets and added to a stir fry. To take the edge off for use in salads or stir fries, cook the veggie very lightly, until it is about half way done, and then plunge it into ice cold water to refresh its crispness.
 
If you don’t mind loosing some of the crispness, you can blanch your cauliflower for three to four minutes, let it cool and then transfer it to freezer safe containers for freezer storage and later use. You can save the leaves for use in vegetable stock or even as an ingredient in a soup. Store your cauliflower in a plastic or paper bag in the refrigerator. It should stay fresh under ideal storage for about a week.

Blessings!
​Jeff

Freshness is key for enjoying chard’s earthy, sweet, salty flavor. Chop and sauté chard with your favorite oil. Toss in garlic, hot pepper flakes, raisins, or pine nuts for extra flavor. The leaves of Swiss chard are sturdy and hold up well when braised in a soup or stew. You can also use them as a wrap. Cooked Swiss chard leaves can be used as a substitute for spinach in most recipes. You can juice chard and combine with juice from sweet fresh apples, parsley, lime, and spicy ginger. The crunchy stalk needs a slightly longer cooking time than the leaves. Store your unwashed chard in a plastic bag in the fridge. Wash it just before you’re ready to use it.
Blessings!
Jeff
​

​Green Cabbage
Cabbage is the perfect complement for cold weather. Some of you folks down south might not measure your seasons as much by the weather as you do by the foods that are in season. So, just in case it’s 70 and sunny at your house, let this cabbage remind you that it’s time for cozy wintertime dinners. Dutch Flat cabbage (shaped like a flying saucer), round green cabbage (standard, fresh, and versatile), and a Savoy cabbage (dark green textured leaves--named for the Savoy region of France).
 
Eat it raw: use in mixed greens salads, use the individual leaves for making cabbage wraps, or make traditional coleslaw. You can soak the cabbage in ice cold water to restore its maximum crispness before preparing for raw dishes. Or cook it: Cabbage can be steamed, baked, broiled, braised, or roasted. To prepare, cut in half or in quarters and cut out the thick core at the stem end of the plant.

​Broccoli Raab
You can identify this Italian veggie by its leafy greens, slender stalks and tiny florets. Don’t let the name fool you, these greens are not related to broccoli, but rather, are relatives of the turnip and have a slightly similar, yet milder taste. As a general rule, a good way to balance bitter greens is to add an acidic ingredient like white wine, lemon juice or vinegar to the greens just as they are beginning to cook. Many Italian families like a simple recipe that involves chopping both leaves and stalks and tossing them with orecchiette pasta, crushed garlic, and olive oil. The raab can also be sautéed. Store your broccoli raab unwashed in a plastic produce bag or in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. When looking for recipes; try searching under its other names, including rapini or broccoli rabe.

​Napa cabbage is also known as Chinese celery or Chinese cabbage. Napa cabbage can be eaten raw or cooked. Stir-fry it, steam it, or sauté it. You can even roast it. The crunchy white stalks can be chopped and used as a substitute for celery to add crunch to a soup or salad. Napa cabbage leaves are great for wrapping grain, meat, or veggie fillers. It can be used as a substitute in any recipe that calls for regular cabbage. You can add the leaves of Napa cabbage to a salad or add a few cups of chopped Napa cabbage to a soup toward the end of cooking.
 
Napa cabbage is the main ingredient in fermented Korean kimchi. We’ve heard from several of you who are planning a first go at making your own batch of kimchi. Way to go! Leave your Napa Cabbage unwashed and uncut until you are ready to use it. Seal the head of Napa cabbage in a large plastic bag and store it in the fridge. It should stay fresh for about a week. Discard any outer leaves that have yellowed before cooking with it.

​Collard Greens Ideas
The abundance of dark green leafy veggies is one of the best parts of winter, and mild-tasting collard greens are no exception. Collards contain loads of calcium as well as other minerals like manganese, copper, and potassium. They’re also a great source of Vitamins A and C.
 
These greens can be steamed, sautéed, blanched, or boiled. Account for a longer cooking time for the stem portion of the veggie by adding stems first, or by chopping stems into thin pieces. Nice partner flavors include hot sauces, vinegar, garlic, onions, peppers, and lemon. This bundle of smooth, large broad leaves is well suited for creative use in the kitchen.
 
Here are a few ideas that go beyond braising or steaming: Substitute leaves for half the noodles in a green and red lasagna. Remove the stems and steam or blanch leaves then pat dry, then assemble lasagna. Transform boiled collards into a pesto with Parmesan cheese and pecans or with olives and capers.
 
Crunchy baked collard greens chips are a nice change up. Remove stems and tear or cut leaves into chip sized pieces. Lightly coat with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and your favorite seasonings. Bake in a 300° oven until crispy, just five to ten minutes

​We have received a lot of requests for fresh mint. We are doing our best to find mint as it really cannot be grown from seed. Mint is versatile. It just as nice in vegetable side dishes of peas, carrots, or potatoes as it is in a sweet fruit salad; and, it can be done up hot or cold, in drinks or for dinner. Some classic mint pairings include mint jelly for lamb dishes, tabbouleh, and albondigas meatball soup.
 
Mint can be used fresh or dried. To dry it, hang it in bundles of four to six stems and keep it stored in a cool, dry, dark place. You can also remove the leaves from the stems and lay them out in a single layer to dry. Fresh mint can be stored in a glass with enough water to cover the stem ends and loosely covered with a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Change the water if it starts to cloud and your mint should stay fresh for about a week. You can also store the leaves in a sealed plastic bag in the refrigerator.
 
For a savory mint breakfast addition, add a pinch of nutmeg and a splash of milk to your next batch of scrambled eggs, then when the eggs are almost done, fold in a handful of chopped mint.