By Megan Winfrey

Instead of a recipe this week, I thought I'd share my prepping process (the tedious, sometimes annoying part) that inevitably must happen before the cooking (the fun part) can begin. I've been wanting to post about this for awhile because finally, after almost 8 months of receiving my CSA share, I feel like I've finally got my system down.

If I've learned anything at all, it's that prepped produce gets eaten and unfortunately, the bunches that go straight from the box to the fridge tend to end up in the compost. Sad, but true. But it makes sense. Who wants to prep AND cook? Who has that kind of time? When everything is washed, par-cooked, or chopped, cooking just seems more appealing. I hope these tips help y'all to make the most of your produce!

Prepping Process

1. The Greens
I always start here - probably because they're on top, but also because I'm a little obsessed with my salad spinner. If you don't have one, GET ONE. It's my BFF in the kitchen. They're surprisingly pricey ($30), but so worth it.
I de-stem the hearty greens like kale and collards, but just snip the ends off chard, spinach, and arugula. Soak, spin, and drain the green in batches, then lay them out to dry on paper towels. Once dry(ish), bag in gallon ziplocs** with one paper towel to soak up excess water. If you store these in the crisper drawer of your fridge, they'll be good for a week or even two.

2. Herbs
Simple. Just snip the ends of the stems and display in a cup of water like a bouquet of flowers. They look beautiful and will last for about a week this way.

3. Root Vegetables, etc.
The guys and gals at the bottom of the box get their stems trimmed and bodies scrubbed with a vegetable brush before drying in the dish rack. I almost always eat the carrots with Grandma's Hummus within a few hours, which is why I cut the tops right off (pictured). Beets get boiled, peeled, and chopped for snacking and salads. Everything else ends up in the fridge, ready for the week.



I try my best to do all of this the same day as my CSA delivery. Sometimes though, life happens, and my box remains untouched until the next day, which is just fine. The food will be OK.

** I try not to feel bad about using paper towels and ziploc bags because I literally reuse them until they fall apart and the zippers break. New kale goes into the old kale bag, that soggy paper towel is used to mop up a spill, and so on and so on.