Harvesting veg boxes from the market garden
After the success of our last crop-based blog post, we’ve decided to make a habit of writing about the produce that inspires us in the garden. While last time we looked into the sky for inspiration, this time we’ll be digging in the dirt. Looking at the bounty currently coming out of the market garden (see picture above), we’ve decided to focus on two particularly flavorful tubers: ginger and radish.
Ginger is the underground rhizome of the Zingiber officinale plant. Often providing a kick to our favorite Asian dishes, ginger is also medicinal and makes a lovely tea when steeped in hot water. In traditional medicine, ginger is often used to alleviate intestinal distress, such as nausea and stomachache. It is also said to have anti-inflammatory effects and to be helpful in relieving arthritis pain. A relative of turmeric, cardamom, and galangal, ginger root has a lot going for it. Our favorite uses include a comforting ginger and lemongrass tea with a spoonful of honey and a spicy Thai coconut ginger vegetable curry.
These bright red beauties are a new addition to our weekly vegetable boxes. Despite their well-known roots, radishes are actually a member of the Brassicaceae family and are related to kale, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and horseradish. Learning its family tree, the fact that radish leaves are also edible, as well as the tangy tubers, makes a lot of sense. Ancient Chinese medicine believed the radish to be good for overall health and this little plant is high in vitamin C, iron, calcium, phytochemicals and antioxidants. The tuber is delicious eaten raw, dipped in hummus, grated into a salad, or stir-fried while the tops can be prepared with similar leafy greens.
Email us for recipe suggestions for either of these tasty tubers!
