Ready. Set. Market.

Each Friday, Michelle and I begin the day around 8 - with the Fresh Gatherings' Harvest Market hopefully starting at 11 and the Fresh Gatherings' Harvest pick up that afternoon... it makes for a busy morning.  While we have yet to make the 11 o'clock start time for the market, Michelle and I are working on the logistics and hopefully (fingers crossed) we will become more efficient in the next few weeks we can start the market early.  We appreciate your patience as we works towards meeting that goal - we'll get there! 

Why haven't we been able to meet that 11 o'clock start time?  Crate assembly.  While it isn't difficult, it is quite time consuming... Everything must be checked for quality and weighed out to ensure that everyone is getting the appropriate amount.  This is an excellent time for us to enjoy some great music with Pandora.  Does anyone have a favorite station they'd like to share? Anything vegetable-esque?  We're always out to make the vegetables happy.

Here is a little peak behind the scenes as we prepared your crates last week... 

Chinese broccoli. Is it broccolini?

Yes, and well, no.

Chinese broccoli, also known as kai-lan, is in the same species group as broccoli (Brassica oleracea) but is in a different group.  Broccolini, also a member of the same group, is a hybrid between broccoli and kai-lan, produced and trademarked by the Mann Packing Company, Inc.

Although Chinese broccoli tastes very similar to broccoli and can be prepared in pretty much the same way, Broccolini is usually a bit sweeter and the stalks more tender, which means it will cook more quickly. Nutritionally-speaking, they are comparable; both being a great source of vitamins A, C, and K. As for all those other compounds that make broccoli so good for you, such as sulphoranes, indoles and isothiocyanates, these are found in all cruciferous vegetables--including collard greens, cauliflower, mustard greens, kohlrabi and of course, Chinese broccoli, broccoli and broccolini!

Week 3: Here comes the yellow squash!