After a whirlwind of holiday relaxation, fun and recharge it's time to get back to the routine of the CSA.  Looking at the list of veggies we'll be harvesting this week is super inspiring for a fresh and healthy start to the new year.  Pretty much everything in the share is coming right out of French Farms fields, except for the strawberries which are a welcome surprise from an organic farm in central Florida near Plant City which is just inland from Tampa.  We teamed up with Worden Farm and Bee Heaven Farm to purchase a bulk order of strawberries for all of our CSAs.

Chris French has been busting his butt over the holidays to keep crops streaming in for you guys.  He loves to farm so don't feel bad for him!  This week he's harvesting the first big crop of a new scallion variety everyone is swooning over.  Check out the purple coloring on these beauties!  You'll also be enjoying the first CSA carrot harvest this week!

Small shares:
Carrots from French Farm
Watermelon radishes from French Farm
Red scallions from French Farm
Salad mix from French Farm
Choice of kale, collards, chard or spigariello from French Farm
Hon Tsai Tai from our field
Strawberries from Strawberry Kreek Farm

Large shares:
Carrots from French Farm
Watermelon radishes from French Farm
Red scallions from French Farm
Salad mix from French Farm
Choice of kale, collards, chard or spigariello from French Farm
Hon Tsai Tai from our field
Strawberries from Strawberry Kreek Farm
Broccoli from French Farm
Extra strawberries

Here are a few storage tips to help keep your CSA share fresh through the end of the week.  First things first, top your carrots and radishes!  You never want to store root vegetables with their leafy tops still attached because the leaves continue to wick moisture from the roots even after harvesting which results in soft withered roots.  The reason we give you the leafy tops attached to your carrots and radishes is to give you the opportunity to make use of the tops in your weekly meals.  Radish tops are so yummy in a stir fry or quiche; they can be used in place of spinach for pretty much any cooked recipe.  Carrots are closely related to parsley so their leafy tops have a similar flavor profile.  Carrot top pesto is a thing, google it!  Also, did you know that root veggies such a carrots and radishes can last weeks in your fridge?  They'll stay crisp and fresh if you store them in a sealed container in the darkest place in your fridge. 

Another very important tip related to keeping things from wilting: always store your leafy greens in a sealed container or bag.  Leafy greens like salad mix and kale bunches wilt almost instantly if they are left in the open air both in and out of the fridge.  In fact, the dryness of the fridge wilts them even faster.  You can either wrap each leafy item in a plastic bag or you can store all of your leafy items in a large sealed tupper ware. 

Generally speaking baby greens spoil the fastest, then larger greens like kale and lastly hard veggies like broccoli.  If you can eat them in that order you're less likely to waste greens this week.

Enjoy!