Twenty Bag | Apr 13

In the April 13 Twenty Bag:Tuscan kale, butterhead lettuce, cherry belle radish, rainbow carrots, lettuce mix, Italian flat leaf parsley, green garlic and purple SC asparagus.

Thank you Harleston Towles and Rooting Down Farm!

Young asparagus poking through the earth really says Springtime to me. Before I joined Harleston’s CSA, I foraged for mine at Sweetgrass Garden, a Johns Island non-profit, where we’d nibble on slender stalks plucked fresh from the field. Here’s a nice writeup from The Spruce Eats on the difference between the green, purple and white varieties.

After a little research, I found a recipe that I return to whenever asparagus is in season. I adapted Martha Stewart’s Cheesy Asparagus Pasta, subbing gruyere for the cream cheese and cheddar, and the results were amazing! Thanks, Martha xo

For the rest of the Bag’s haul…a quick search of sweetgrass + grits will take you to plenty more recipes—all curated with an eye toward the weekly Twenty Bag harvest.

Harleston’s storage tips: If greens of any kind begin to wilt at any point or at pick up, put them in a big bowl of ice water for 20-30 minutes.  Almost all produce is already washed and should go in the refrigerator. Remove carrot and radish tops from root portion and juice or discard.  Also suitable for carrot top pesto (add parsley?). Radish tops can be used for sauteeing as well if nice and tender which they will be.