Day 1: Chicken Caesar salad with mizuna
Day 2: Creamy mushroom and wild rice soup with ramps
Day 3: Homemade pizza, Tossed salad
Day 4: Grilled steak, Arugula pesto potatoes, Leftover salad
Day 5: Sesame noodles with bok choy
Day 6: Grilled cedar plank salmon, Roasted sweet potatoes, Orange & vanilla fruit smoothie
Day 7: Cilantro lime rice and bean bowls (top with any leftover veggies or freezer corn)
Notes: Proper Produce Storage
Skip to the bottom if you are looking for Keewaydin Farms CSA share breakdown. Otherwise, enjoy this bonus info!
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Since we are nearing the end of Earth month I would like to leave you with one more tip for reducing food waste. Earlier in March and April I ran a 6 week miniseries on food waste, so head back to the blog to find more tips at the bottom of those weekly meals plans. In that series, I covered how to meal plan, embracing ugly produce, how to eat ALL of your food, using food scraps (how to compost), eating out, and food waste with kids.
This week let’s talk about how to store your food correctly. It does you no good to plan out a week of meals and stick to your shopping list, only to find that the produce you stuffed into your fridge now has a layer of mold or is totally wilted by the end of the week! This can be especially helpful for CSA members since you get a boatload of produce all at once.
Here is how I store my fruits and veggies. Bookmark this page or print out to keep handy in your kitchen.
On the countertop: tomatoes, bananas, onions, garlic, winter squash, avocados, mangos, pears, plums, peaches (stone fruit, pears, and tomatoes can be moved to the fridge once ripe to extend their life), uncut melons (once cut move to fridge in an airtight container)
Paper bag in the cupboard: potatoes, sweet potatoes (do not place near onions)
Crisper drawer in the fridge: apples, oranges, lemons, limes, ripe tomatoes, ripe pears, ripe stone fruits, bell peppers, pomegranate, corn on the cob (with the husk on)
Vented container or bag in the fridge: berries, grapes, cherries (even with this storage berries need to be eaten quickly)
Plastic bag in the fridge: lettuces or any greens, herbs, green onions, ramps, green garlic, cucumbers, green beans, broccoli, asparagus, carrots, cabbage, beets, brussels sprouts, parsnips, celery, cauliflower, zucchini, summer squash, radishes. Do not put wet produce in the bag. Keep the bag loose and open at the top.
Airtight container with a bit of water on the bottom in the fridge: cut produce like pepper sticks, carrot sticks, radish slices, celery sticks, cucumber slices, cut melon
A vase with water on the counter: basil (adding a loose plastic bag over the top will help it last even longer; do not let any leaves touch the water)
Root cellar: this could be a cool, dark area in a basement, a special cellar you have built, or an extra refrigerator where you can control the temp and humidity. For long term storage of winter squash, apples (keep away from other produce), potatoes, sweet potatoes, celeriac root, rutabaga, turnips, carrots, parsnips, daikon radishes, beets, onions (keep away from other produce), garlic
Universal rule: Wait to wash your produce until you are ready to use it.
Tip: To revive wilted greens or limp carrots, try submerging them in cold water for a few minutes.
Were you surprised that I mentioned plastic bags? Yes, even this professed plastic-free guru will admit to using plastic bags to store some produce. I’ve tried other ways like wrapping greens in damp towels, but nothing works as well as plastic bags to keep my food fresh before I can eat it. Truly, it is more important to keep the food out of the landfill.
So now I use and reuse plastic produce bags that I get from my CSA farm shares. The bags can be reused until they rip, and I estimate I get at least 20 uses out of one bag! Between uses, be sure to clean your bags. Simply flip the bag inside out so that your hand is inside of the bag (sort of like you are going to pick up dog poop – maybe not the best analogy), then rinse the previous inside of the bag under running water with a bit of mild soap and hang to air dry. I use a wooden drying rack (link here for the one I have), but you could easily use pot handles, bottles, wooden spoons, or whatever you can find in your kitchen. I have also heard others rave about these reusable Debbie Meyer Green Bags, but I have not personally tried them (note they are still made from plastic).
CSA Breakdown: For those of you also using Keewaydin Farms this spring, here is a breakdown of how I will use each piece of produce this week. You certainly don’t need to make the whole week’s worth! This is a jumping off point for you so that none of those awesome veggies go to waste. See the first CSA post from this season for details on how I structure the plans.
- Salad mix: tossed salad to serve with pizza (day 3)
- Arugula: pesto to dress potatoes (day 4)
- Green garlic: I received 2, so will probably use 1 in the pesto (day 4) and 1 in the sesame noodles (day 5), then use garlic powder for the cilantro rice
- Ramps: mushroom and wild rice soup in place of green onions (day 2)
- Mizuna: Chicken Caesar salad (day 1)
- Dried beans: rice and bean bowls (soak the night before then cook the day you are using) (day 7)
- Sweet potato: Roasted to serve with salmon (day 6). Dice, toss in olive oil, and roast on a baking sheet at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes until tender and starting to brown.
- Red potato: Served as a side to the steak (day 4). Dice then steam until tender and toss with pesto.
- Cilantro: rice and bean bowls (day 7)
- Radish or bok choy: If you get radishes, cut off the greens and slice the radish for the tossed salad (day 3). The radish greens or bok choy can be used in the sesame noodles (day 5)
