One of the most enjoyable parts of a weekly pick-up is seeing all the colors and textures of vegetables on the tables or in the fields and using multiple senses to enjoy the produce. Is “crunch” a sense?

Early in the season there are lots of shades of green and then more colors come a bit later. The baby lettuces are greens and reds, collards and spinach and raab are yet other shades of green, and early cucumbers follow. Not since the huge box of Crayola crayons have there been such luscious shades to choose from for dinner!

Some of the vegetables are “tougher,” if you will. Collards are not as tender as baby lettuce and spinach. Collards and raab need to be cooked! Everything else could be finger food! And they all feel different on the tongue: some melt away, some need more chewing, and some can be nearly liquid (try an arugula pesto sometime.)

Taste? Sweet cucumbers and peppery arugula and semi-bitter raab. Mix arugula with a hot pasta and chick peas for a very nourishing dish.

The anticipation of the salad for dinner or the grilled everything to accompany (select a protein) may influence what you select each week. Try grilling romaine for your salad! Stuff a zucchini. Grill carrots and onions.  Add any or all to your salad base or eat them cold during the week.

If you’d like to anticipate the harvests and plan for new cooking adventures, check out the normal pattern of produce availability here. But if you are content to plan for just the week at hand, be sure to check our updated list for the week before you arrive at pick-up.