Baby Greens

About me: We grow several types of baby greens at our farm. Each have their own special flavour, texture, and health benefits, and are best used in certain ways.

Arugula, or roquette, has a beautiful peppery flavor. Arugula is rich in vitamins A, K, and folate. Use in salads, in pesto, soups, on top of sandwiches, or pizzas. This is a tender green and is best used fresh or thrown in/on a dish at the very end, in order to wilt the greens.

Kale is a member of the brassica family. It is high in beta-carotene and vitamins A and E. It is rich in bioflavonoids that help protect against cancer. Baby kale is more tender than full grown but can still be lightly cooked.

Mizuna is a Japanese mustard green. It has long, glossy, serrated leaves and a beautiful mustard flavour. Mizuna is loaded with vitamin C, A, B6, calcium, and potassium. We grow our mizuna to baby and full size. For the baby greens we recommend eating them raw since they are very tender.

Red Giant is a mustard green and one of our favourites. It has a stronger mustard flavour compared to mizuna with a hint of spice. We grow to both baby and full size. These greens are a delicious source of calcium, magnesium, folic acid and vitamin K, important for bone health. We grow Red Giant our to baby and full size but the baby greens are a little thicker and can withstand lightly cooking them.

Sorrel is a perennial herb and has a beautiful lemon flavour. Red sorrel contains high amounts of vitamin C and several B vitamins, in addition to calcium, potassium, magnesium, and a small amount of phosphorus. We recommend eating baby sorrel raw and not cooking it but it can also be juiced and makes a wonderful addition to smoothies. Sorrel packs a punch of flavour and a little goes a long way. Add it to a salad along with other greens for a nice compliment. 

Spinach is a member of the amaranth family, native to central and western Asia. Spinach has small-medium leaves with thick stems. It can be served raw in salads or lightly cooked. Spinach is chalk full of vitamin A, beta-carotene, iron, potassium, and calcium. Spinach freezes well and can be used in soups and stews all winter long!

Tatsoi is a member of the brassica family and is a semi-hardy Asian green. Tatsoi is a good source of vitamins A, C and K, folate, calcium and potassium. Tatsoi is a little thicker than spinach so it can withstand being thrown into soups or a stir-fry, but it’s also really tasty when eaten raw in a salad. Tatsoi freezes well and can be used in soups and stews all winter long!

Salad Mix is a restaurant style mix. It has different textures and crunch and is slightly more bitter than your average leaf. We recommend using a sweeter dressing with this green. Something like a honey, balsamic mix is always nice. 

 

Baby Green Storage: Our baby greens come in a compostable paper bag. We DO NOT recommend that you store them in this bag by itself. It is meant as a environmentally friendly method of transport. Keep baby greens in a mesh cotton bag, or paper towel, and then place inside a reused plastic bag, or container inside your fridge crisper. You can also leave the greens in the paper bag and put that bag in an airtight container or used plastic bag. They will keep for about 1-2  weeks.

 

Recipes:

Chickpea Coconut Curry (Tatsoi)

Pumpkin Spinach Curry (Spinach)

Kale and Fennel Citrus Salad (Kale)

Pasta +Tomato Fennel Confit + Whipped Feta (Arugula)

Simple Green Salad + Maple Mustard Dressing (Tatsoi and Spinach)