Enjoying a Green Winter

By Lanae Jackson, Clifton Park Production Assistant

March 26, 2015

If you don’t know what’s growing during the winter at Real Food Farm, try dark leafy greens – a wintertime commodity.

Beet greens are one of the dark leafy greens that are great in winter. Consume the top leafy portion of the vegetable, you will love the rich earthy flavor. You can find beet greens still attached to the beet or separated into bunches. Other dark leafy varieties are available at the farm in winter, including:

• chard
• collard greens
• kale
• mustard greens

The production team at Real Food Farm loves harvesting these greens and taking the seconds* home! To cook many of the dark leafy green varieties, set up a very large pot filled with less than 1/3 of water and add the greens. Also consider flavorings such as garlic, onion powder, ground pepper, and/or simmered meat. It’s great to dig in with a fork for your lunch or dinner.

Take advantage of winter greens!

*The term ‘seconds’ refers to any item that is below retail or market quality, but still perfectly good for eating. For example, because we practice sustainable, organic methods and avoid chemical pesticides, sometimes a hungry cabbage worm finds himself among a smorgasbord of delicious collard greens. While we know our customers understand produce with a little pest damage is to be expected from farms practicing sustainable production methods like ours, we also know that they prefer their collard greens intact and without any large chunks missing due to hungry nibblers. The snacked-on items become ‘seconds’ and are free game for any farm team members who are looking for some tasty farm-fresh veggies!

About Real Food Farm

Real Food Farm works toward a just and sustainable food system by improving neighborhood access to healthy food, providing experience-based education, and developing an economically viable, environmentally responsible local agriculture sector.