Vegetables & Fruit

Basil
Basil Recipes
STORAGE
Basil is best kept in water outside of refrigeration. The cold of the refrigerator can turn the basil leaves black.

Beetroot
Beetroot Recipes
Both the beet root and the greens are edible.  Beetroot can be roasted, boiled, or grated raw in salad, and the tops can be cooked like silverbeet or spinach.  Nutritionally speaking, beetroot is an exceptional sources of essential vitamins and minerals. They are rich in calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin A and vitamin K. Beetroot stores most of these nutrients in their leaves.
STORAGE
Keep beetroot refrigerated (0-3°C). The stems and leaves can be removed and they do not need to be in a plastic bag.

Bok Choi
Bok Choi Recipes
Bok Choy is a Chinese leaf vegetable commonly used in Asian cuisine. The vegetable is related to the Western cabbage and is of the same species as the common turnip. Both the stalk and the leaves can be eaten raw, or cooked.
STORAGE
Keep bok choy refrigerated (0-3°C), storing in a perforated plastic bag.

Broccoli
Broccoli Recipes
Broccoli is a member of the cabbage family, and is closely related to cauliflower. Its cultivation originated in Italy. Broccolo, its Italian name, means “cabbage sprout.” Because of its different components, broccoli provides a range of tastes and textures, from soft and flowery (the floret) to fibrous and crunchy (the stem and stalk).
STORAGE
Store broccoli in a bag in the high-humidity vegetable draw of your refrigerator for up to three days.

Cabbage
Cabbage Recipes
We grow several types of cabbage, include red, green, and savoy.  Cabbage is part of the cruciferae family of vegetables along with kale, broccoli and Brussels sprouts.
STORAGE
Head cabbage stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator’s humid vegetable bin will last at least a week. Savoy cabbages should be consumed within three or four days.

Capsicum
Capsicum Recipes
Capsicum are plump, bell-shaped vegetables featuring either three or four lobes. They usually range in size from 2 to 5 inches in diameter, and 2 to 6 inches in length. Inside the thick flesh is an inner cavity with edible bitter seeds and a white spongy core.
STORAGE
Capsicum like cool not cold temperatures, ideally about 7-10°C with good humidity. Capsicums are ethylene sensitive, so they should not be stored near ethylene-producing food such as pears or apples. Put capsicums in plastic bags and they will keep up to five days in the refrigerator. Green capsicum will keep slightly longer than the other, more ripe, varieties.

Carrots
Carrot Recipes
The carrot is a hardy, cool-season biennial that is grown for the thickened root it produces in its first growing season. Although carrots can endure summer heat in many areas, they grow best when planted in early spring and midsummer for autumn harvest. They are rich in carotene (the source of vitamin A) and high in fibre and sugar content.
STORAGE
Remove their green tops, rinse, drain, and put the carrots in plastic bags and store them in the coldest part of the refrigerator with the highest humidity. They’ll last several months this way. To keep the carrots crisp and colorful add a little bit of water in the bottom of the plastic storage bag; this will keep the carrots hydrated. Carrots should be stored away from fruits such as apples and pears, which release the ethylene gas that cause carrots to become bitter.

Cauliflower
Cauliflower Recipes
Cauliflower lacks the green chlorophyll found in other members of the cruciferous family of vegetables like broccoli, cabbage and kale, because the leaves of the plant shield the florets from the sun as they grow.Cauliflower has a compact head (called a “curd”), usually about six inches in diameter that is composed of undeveloped flower buds. The flowers are attached to a central stalk.
STORAGE
Place in a plastic bag and store in your refrigerator crisper. When stored properly, cauliflower will last up to five days; however, it is best when eaten within three days.

Cucumbers
Cucumber Recipes
Cucumbers are scientifically known as Cucumis sativus and belong to the same family as watermelon, zucchini, pumpkin, and other types of squash.
STORAGE
Store in a plastic bag and place in the refrigerator at a temperature between 7-10°C for up to a week.

Eggplant
Eggplant Recipes
Eggplants belong to the nightshade family of vegetables, which also includes tomatoes, capsicum and potatoes. They grow in a manner much like tomatoes, hanging from the vines of a plant that grows several feet in height.
STORAGE
Does not like severe cold, so the front part of the refrigerator where the temperature is around 8-12°C is ideal for storage. Eggplant is ethylene sensitive, so store it away from ethylene-producing produce such as apples. If kept in a plastic bag (to retain moisture,) eggplants will last up to five days.

Garlic
Garlic Recipes
Garlic is arranged in a head, called the “bulb,” averaging about 2 inches in height and diameter consisting of numerous small separate cloves. Both the cloves and the entire bulb are encased in paper-like sheathes that can be white, off-white or pinkish.
STORAGE
Stored under optimum conditions in a dark, cool, dry place with plenty of ventilation, garlic will last from several weeks to one year. Ideally, try to use fresh garlic within a few weeks and do not refrigerate unless the garlic has been peeled or chopped.

Green Beans
Green Bean Recipes
Green beans are picked while still immature and the inner bean is just beginning to form. They are one of only a few varieties of beans that are eaten fresh. Although green beans vary in size they average about four inches in length.
STORAGE
Place green beans in a perforated plastic bag and store them in the refrigerator crisper. Although they will keep longer, up to 5 days, enjoy them within 2-3 days.

Kale
Kale Recipes
Kale is considered one of the oldest forms of cabbage, and native to the eastern Mediterranean, researchers believe it may have been grown as a food crop as early as 2000 B. C.
Preparation
First off, you must be sure to remove the tough stem.  To do so, run your knife down either side of the center stem, pull to remove, and discard.  Then, coarsely chop the leaves into ribbons or pieces. Secondly, be sure to cook your kale until tender, but not overcooked.  This can take a little bit of getting used to, because kale takes a lot longer to cook than most greens. When it’s tender and turns a bright green, it’s usually done.
STORAGE
Do not store greens in paper bags. Store unwashed with a dampened paper towel in a perforated plastic bag and refrigerate. By changing the towel occasionally and keeping it damp, you’ll be able to store the greens for up to a week. Freezing: Greens freeze well. Wash, then blanch for 3 minutes, drain and plunge into ice water. Chill for two minutes; drain. Pack in freezer containers or bags. Use within 6 months.

Leeks
Leek Recipes
Leeks are related to onions, shallots and scallions to which they bear a resemblance. They look like large scallions having a very small bulb and a long white cylindrical stalk of superimposed layers that flows into green, tightly wrapped, flat leaves.
STORAGE
Keep leeks refrigerated (0-3°C). When preparing, trim white part, discard greens.

Lettuce
Lettuce Recipes
We grow many different varieties of lettuce, including….  Lettuce is most often eaten raw as salad.
STORAGE
Lettuce will perish quickly if not stored properly. Lettuces like moisture and cool temperatures, so store lettuce in perforated plastic bags wrapped in damp paper towels, and keep in the refrigerator vegetable drawer.

Melons
We grow several varieties of melons, including musk melons, cantaloupe melons, and watermelons.
STORAGE
Can be kept on the counter until ripe, then immediately refrigerated until ready to eat! Our melons are usually ripe right off the vine, so you can put them straight in the fridge when you get them home.

Onions
Onion Recipes
The word onion comes from the Latin word unio for “single,” or “one,” because the onion plant produces a single bulb, unlike its cousin, the garlic, that produces many small bulbs. The name also describes the union (also from unio) of the many separate, concentrically arranged layers of the onion. We grow several different varieties of onions.
STORAGE
Store in a cool, dry, well ventilated place, in single layers. If the onions at home show signs of sprouting, cut away the sprouts and use them immediately.

Parsley
Parsley Recipes
STORAGE
Store in a plastic bag in the fridge.  Should last up to a week.

Parsnip  
Parsnip Recipes
The parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) is a root vegetable related to the carrot. Parsnips resemble carrots, but are paler than most of them and have a stronger flavor. Like carrots, parsnips are native to Eurasia and have been eaten there since ancient times.
STORAGE
Keep refrigerated (0-3°C), storing in a perforated plastic bag to retain moisture.

Peas – Sugar Snap
Sugar Snap Peas Recipes
Sugar Snap Peas, also known as mange tout, meaning to ‘eat everything’ in French, are an early summer favorite. Unlike many other varieties of pea, you can eat the peas and the pod, but the tough stem must be removed. To remove the stem on the pea, snap off the top and remove the attached string that pulls off down the side of the pea.
STORAGE
Keep snap peas refrigerated (0-3°C), in a perforated plastic bag.

Potatoes
Potato Recipes
The potato belongs to the Solanaceae or nightshade family whose other members include tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and tomatillos. They are the swollen portion of the underground stem which is called a tuber and is designed to provide food for the green leafy portion of the plant.
STORAGE
Potatoes like cool (7-10°C) humid (but not wet) surroundings, but refrigeration can turn the starch in the potatoes to sugar and may tend to darken them when cooked. Store in hessian, brown paper, or perforated plastic bags away from light, in the coolest, non-refrigerated, and well-ventilated part of the house. Under ideal conditions they can last up to three months this way, but more realistically, figure three to five weeks. New potatoes should be used within one week of purchase. Don’t store onions and potatoes together, as the gases they each give off, will cause the other to decay.

Pumpkin
Pumpkin Recipes
Pumpkin, members of the Cucurbitaceae family and relatives of both the melon and the cucumber, come in many different varieties. While each type varies in shape, color, size and flavor, they all have hard protective skins that are difficult to pierce that gives them a long storage life of up to six months and a hollow inner seed containing cavity.
We grow Butternut, Queensland Blue, Jap and various Heirloom Varieties.
STORAGE
Pumpkin should be stored at room temperature – and dry. Keep in paper bags or baskets out of direct sunlight and they will last months.

Radishes
Radish Recipes
This root vegetable is a relative of the turnip and horseradish.  The elongated pink and white roots are usually eaten raw as an appetizer or in salads, and the leaves are usually not edible.
STORAGE
Our radishes come with the greens still intact, so we recommend that you separate the two when you get home. Radishes will last up to two weeks inside a plastic bag in the vegetable draw of the refrigerator.

Rhubarb  
Rhubarb Recipes
Rhubarb is a very old plant, dating back to 2700 BC in China where it was cultivated for medicinal uses.
STORAGE
Rhubarb will keep up to a week when stored in a plastic bag in the fridge.

Spinach
Spinach Recipes
We harvest our spinach either as baby size (packed in bags) or when slightly larger in bunches. The smaller the leaves, the more tender, and better for eating raw in salads.
STORAGE
When you get bunched spinach home, untie it, remove any blemished leaves, trim off the stems, and wash it thoroughly in cold water. Repeat if necessary until you’re sure all the grit is gone. Spin dry in a salad spinner or drain well, then put into clean plastic bags very loosely wrapped with paper towels. It will last only two to three days, so plan on eating your rinsed spinach right away. Cold, moist surroundings, as low as 0°C and about 95% humidity are the best for storing spinach.

Tomatoes
Red Tomato Recipes | Green Tomato Recipes
Tomatoes have fleshy internal segments filled with slippery seeds surrounded by a watery matrix. They can be red, yellow, orange, green, purple, or brown in color. Although tomatoes are fruits in a botanical sense, they don’t have the dessert quality sweetness of other fruits. Instead they have a subtle sweetness that is complemented by a slightly bitter and acidic taste. Cooking tempers the acid and bitter qualities in tomatoes and brings out their warm, rich, sweetness.
We grow a wide variety of tomatoes.
STORAGE
Tomatoes should never be refrigerated until they (1) have been cooked, (2) have been cut or put into a raw dish like a salsa, or (3) are fully ripe and would spoil if left further at room temperature. Place tomatoes stem end up, and don’t put them on a sunny windowsill to hasten ripening. Instead, put tomatoes in a sealed paper bag with or without ethylene-producing fruit such as bananas. Ripe tomatoes will hold at room temperature for two or three days. Ripe tomatoes you’ve refrigerated to keep from spoiling will taste better if you bring them to room temperature before eating.

Zucchini
Zucchini Recipes
Zucchini are harvested when immature (while the rind is still tender and edible).
STORAGE
Zucchini should be kept cool but not cold, about 7-10°C with good humidity.