Twenty Bag | Jun 18

In the June 18 Twenty Bag: Red potatoes, pickling cucumbers, Italian eggplant, rainbow carrots, lion’s mane mushrooms from Super Mushroom Bros, Charleston, Genovese basil, summer squash, zucchini, leeks.

Thank you Harleston Towles and Rooting Down Farms!

Over the winter, I stumbled on the website of award winning chef Alan Bergo, whose journey has led him to cull the gardens and wilds of the earth for edible plants of all kinds. His book, The Forager Chef's Book of Flora: Recipes and Techniques for Edible Plants from Garden, Field, and Forest guides the inquisitive cook through myriad types of plants, and how to clean and cook them. Here’s a simple technique of his for serving steamed lion’s mane mushrooms with butter and herbs.

Find more recipes, like his fave faux crabcakes, here.

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. Carrot, beet, and radish tops should be removed upon receiving Bag.  If healthy and green, use carrot tops for pesto or juicing.  Topped carrotsand other root crops will hold well in a plastic bag in the fridge for months.   Potatoes in a cool, DARK place.  Light will cause them to turn green if not used right away.  Eggplant, summer squash, leeks, and cucumbers can all go in a plastic bag of sorts to prevent wilting and drying out.  Basil in the same plastic bag or in a vase of water on the counter.  Mushrooms in a small paper bag in the fridge.