Tuscan kale, arugula AND lettuce mix, celery, new crop spring beets, Cherry Belle radish, green garlic, and BOK CHOY—so excited!

Earth Day is Friday, April 22, and the official theme for 2022 is Invest in our Planet. Every time I pick up my Towles farm Twenty Bag, I know I’m supporting my local farmer and doing my small part to renew planet Earth all year long. Here’s how to get in on the CSA movement, learn more about South Carolina grown products, and make a difference.

When my daughter, Liz, was home last month, she insisted we challenge ourselves to compose meals we cooked together using ingredients only from the Bag and the pantry—no trips to the supermarket allowed. We had great fun and drew on recipes we might not have otherwise thought to employ, like her luscious roasted sweet potato potage and my creamy cauliflower soup. Cheesy Cabbage Gratin was another low-carb winner!

So, I’m just putting this thought out there…why not celebrate Earth Day with your own challenge, and cook for a day, a week, or, you name it—getting the most out of the Towles farm harvest and limiting your trips to the market.

So. Beef up your pantry. I recently found a great deal on organic vegetable broth at Costco. (I know what you’re thinking. Big box. But the store happens to carry a good bit of healthy, even local, stuff.)

Everyone has soy sauce and sesame oil tucked away somewhere, right? If you don’t, get some—these hyper-flavorful ingredients keep forever. This simple recipe for sauteed bok choy from the New York Times’ Sam Sifton brings together those Asian flavors with garlic, ginger and crushed red pepper in a fantastic aromatic side dish.

Got a freezer full of Easter ham? Consider tossing it in a food processor and transforming it into Mimi’s spicy ham salad. It’s easy to pull together and a big lunchtime crowd pleaser. Not a fan of the horseradish in my recipe? Sub a stalk of finely chopped green garlic and celery instead.

I’ve been using up a backlog of beets (they keep forever in a cool, dry place) by rough-chopping and splashing them with grapeseed oil and roasting the chunks, covered in foil, for about an hour in a 400 degree oven. Heavenly in a mixed green and arugula salad, finished with good olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a sprinkling of feta cheese.

I will pop the kale in a sturdy glass of water and store it in the fridge until I’m ready to use it in a nutrient-rich and delicious power smoothie. Store the arugula and mixed greens in there as well, and try to use them within a week or so, in a Big Corsican Salad for instance—a refreshing break from cooking. Store the green garlic, refrigerated, in a reusable bag. Similar to green shallots, you can mince the tender green and white stems and use in a quiche or sprinkled over an egg dish like this frittata.