In the Sep 19 Twenty Bag: North Carolina sweet potatoes, summer squash and zucchini, Gala apples from Lively Orchards, NC, shishito peppers, Japanese eggplant, basil, Italian sweet peppers, okra.

Thank you Harleston Towles and Rooting Down Farms!

The generous bunch of basil in this week’s Bag will produce enough basil pesto to store a bit for a bright herbaceous dish of pasta in the dead of winter. Pass the pecorino Romano please.

Sweet potatoes are back—give them a quick chop and sheet pan roast them for an easy, delicious side that’s packed with nutrients. While researching the fiber-rich tuber, I learned that boiling them is actually the best way to retain more of the beta-carotene (vitamin A)—up to 92%. After simmering till tender, I like to mash them with a splash of orange juice and a sprinkling of cinnamon and nutmeg to taste—and a dollop of unsalted butter doesn’t hurt!

For more ideas, 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 or herbs 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 washed and should go in the refrigerator. Basil in a vase of water if not badly wilted, or in the fridge protected in a plastic bag.  Apples on the counter or in the fridge.  Sweet potatoes in the pantry or on the counter.  Squash, peppers, eggplant, and okra should all go in the fridge protected by a plastic bag of sorts.