Winter Vege Bag - Week 2

Click on any vegetable that has a link to see previous posts with recipes and cooking tips. You can also browse the filter the whole vege bag archive by vegetable here.

This weeks vege bags feature an option of nappa cabbage from Kai Ora Initiative. Kai Ora are a biogro certified market garden based in Te Horo, growing with hua parakore principles. They supply the Dreamcatcher Coop (and grow out the back), as well as running the Faith Fresh self-serve vege fridge co-operatively with Crooked Vege. Kai ora are one of the most environmentally and socially principled farms we know - truly uncompromising in values. We’re stoked to be working with another awesome, extremely local grower!

This week we have

1. Radishes (from Ahoaho māra kai)

2. Salad Mix (Ahoaho māra kai)

3. Carrots (Ahoaho māra kai)

4. Coriander or Shishito Chillies (Crooked Vege Ōtaki)

5. Parsley or Pea Shoots (Crooked Vege Ōtaki)

6. Pumpkin (Crooked Vege)

7. Beetroot (Crooked Vege)

8. Nappa Cabbage (Kai Ora) or Celery (Live2Give Organics - Live2Give were introduced last week if you’d like to read about them)

Vege highlights, tips & recipes

Chillies

Just a quick reminder that chillies freeze well and can be used through the winter when these plants stop producing! But we do love these shishito grilled or made into tempura - we’ve written about that previously.

Pea Shoots

Pea shoots are what they sound like - the leafy sprouts out of young peas. They taste like peas. They’re delicious as a garnish to just-about anything, used in a salad, or lightly stir fried.

This is another experiment for Crooked Vege. We’ve started growing these for The Big Egg Shop, who opened yesterday (ourselves, Live2Give and Kai Ora are stocking the organic vege - and vege bag member Sarah is stocking herbal teas there!)

We grow the pea shoots directly in the field, where they are cut once, and then left to grow into a winter green manure. Peas have a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen fixing bacteria, which convert the nitrogen in the air into a plant available form. The air we breathe is nearly 80% nitrogen, yet nitrogen is one of the major fertilisers farmers are using and a serious concern for our waterways. So nitrogen we can obtain biologically (and there are many ways to do this, N-fixing plants like peas are just one) is a massive win for sustainability.

Nappa Cabbage & Radishes

I’ve made great kimchi with radishes and nappa cabbage - we’ve written more detail about that on an older post about nappa cabbage.

Nappa Cabbage is super versatile - I like to roughly shred it for a salad or a stirfry. Ditto for radishes.

Radishes are great when quick pickled for a salad. You need about an hour, although overnight is better.
The simplest method is to heat equal parts water and vinegar, some sugar (approx 1 Tbsp per 1.5 cups of liquid) and a little salt (1/2tsp per 1.5 cup of liquid). I like to add chilli and soy sauce, or tumeric for colour - but you can go crazy with the spices! Bring the brine to a simmer, then pour it over thinly sliced radish (or, any firm vege like carrots or beets!), and then put it in the fridge. It will taste good after an hour or so, but overnight will be stronger. It should store for at least a couple of weeks in the fridge to brighten up any salad or sandwich.

—

Ka kite ano,
Jon