March 2nd-4th 2020

Changes in deliveries next week:

– Clients from Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, Givatayim, Herzlia, Rechovot, Gush Ezyon, Rishon L’Zion and the area, Nes Harim – Deliveries as usual (Monday/Wednesday) – Those who collect their boxes personally from Kfar Ben-Noon – no changeModi’in and Mevasseret area – Deliveries will take place on Sunday afternoon/eveningJerusalemites who receive their boxes on Wednesday (Ein Kerem, Kiryat HaYovel, Beit Hakerem, Givat Massuah, Malcha, Kiryat Moshe, Nachlaot, Shaarei Chesed, Mishkenot Hauma, Nayot, Rechavya, Talbiye, Katamon, German Colony, Baka/Talpiyot, Arnona) will receive them on Thursday.

Orders for sprouts, mushrooms and dairy products will close by this Sunday morning (as opposed to evening). Please remember to make your orders on time.

Wishing you all a silly, fun Purim!

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Eat, Drink and be Merry… In honor of Purim (but not only…)  “Hamatsesa” is offering the following treats:

– Three mini-ciders – Dried apple, half-dried apple and half-dried pear (in bottles of .330 or .750 liter) – Two types of fresh squeezed juice – Apple (gold and green) and pear (in bottles of 1/2 or 1 liter) – Superb apple cider (in .250 or .750 liter) – Fruit delicacies (pear in wine and apple)

Purim Sameach!

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I’m a be-leafer

Over the past few weeks there are fewer greens dotting the field: the arugula, misuna and totsoi already bloomed (when the light hours get longer, the brassicas tend to blossom), the New Zealand spinach awaits warmer weather, and the celery stalks that have been with us for awhile have taken a break till the next batch ripens. We are left with only the most sustainable of the bunch – lettuce, Swiss chard and kale, parsley and cilantro – which loyally stick around all year long. During this present season, we attempt to augment the green part of your boxes with greens that come along with root and stem veggies. Thus, you get to meet kohlrabi leaves, beet and fennel leaves, and of course radish leaves.

This week your boxes include bunches of small fennels along with their lovely, fragrant leaves. These are fennels that re-sprouted out of stems that had already been cut down in the previous harvest, and they are even sweeter and milder than the big fennel that preceded them. This year we are attempting for the first time to send them to you in one big fresh bundle. We anxiously await your feedback!

There is something beautiful and wholesome about vegetables that are joined in a bundle, leaves included, so that you can get a close look at the entire plant – head to root – rather than its more familiar form, shorn of leaves and amputated. As a rule, when harvesting vegetables for marketing, the leaves are removed from the vegetables to prevent them from eventually sucking out the moisture and turning soft and sallow. This phenomenon occurs because even though we harvested the plant out of the earth, it still tries to preserve its strength, and the leaves demand priority over the root or stem. But why?

The leaf is one of the plant’s organs, used primarily to absorb light and energy from the sun, and transform them into glucose. This is the process of photosynthesis, enabled through chlorophyll. The leaves are the power suppliers to the plant – other parts of the plant (stem, flower, root) do not contain chlorophyll and at times are not exposed to the sun, which is why their existence depends upon the energy (and the sugars) produced in the leaves.

Leaves exist in nature in many shapes and forms: narrow and wide, short and long, tiny and huge, serrated, round, paper-thin, fleshy or feathery (like the wispy dill and fennel leaves). The leaf is composed of two parts: the petiole and the blade. The blade is the flat, broad part of the leaf. Because of its (usually) wide surface area, it is the main creator of photosynthesis, and its tissue arrangement is tailored to absorb sunlight. The petiole is the narrow part of the leaf, that little point connecting the body of the leaf to the branch or the main stem.

In order to provide nutrients to the entire plant, the leaves are the top priority in the main growth stage of the plant. Upon transferring the center stage to blossoming and fruit-bearing, the leaves shrink and sometimes wither, and the plant reaches the end of its life cycle. Consequently, though we try to give you vegetables as close to their natural stage as possible and thus do not cut off the leaves from radishes, beet, fennel or kohlrabi (as well as parsley and celery roots), when they arrive in your kitchen, separate the leaves from the root or stem so they don’t drain out its vitality:

  1. Remove the vegetable’s leaves, leaving a centimeter or two of stem, and do not cut the root itself.
  2. Keep the leaves wrapped in a plastic bag or plastic bowl and place the roots or stems in the cold part of the fridge, in the low vegetable drawers. Best to place radishes in a sealed plastic bowl.
  3. Do not place hard vegetables in close proximity to apples or other fruits (banana, avocado, melon, peach, pear and tomato) which emit ethylene, expediting the ripening of fruits and vegetables.
  4. Radishes, beets and withered carrots can be revived in a bowl of ice water. And of course, hold onto the greens. They are more than just decorative, and are easily edible.
  • You can use beetroot greens just as you would Swiss chard (the beet’s older brother) or spinach. They are also milder in flavor, thus more suitable for a fresh salad than their elder sibling’s.
  • Add radish greens to a salad, or as you would any other “green”– in soup, in a quiche or a sandwich, along with the radishes themselves. If you want to eat them fresh, use the younger and milder leaves. Chop the mild leaves very finely, grate radishes, add to butter with some lemon zest and salt, and you have a perfect spread for your bread.
  • Kohlrabi and broccoli greens are equivalent to their cousin, the kale, and may be used similarly. They, too, are mild and ideal for a fresh salad or sandwich.
  • Fennel greens are sweet and mild, perfect for dressing fish, meatballs, salads, and sandwiches. For a great pesto, combine and grind pistachio, garlic, parmesan, fennel greens, and olive oil. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
  • Green garlic leaves, making their debut this week, are mild and wonderful when added to salads, omelets, pastries and dough, pesto, sandwiches, soup and more.

In the spirit of elections, may we remember that the plant is comprised of many parts, each of which has a place and an advantage, and that growth is only possible with every part doing its job and all parts working together for the benefit of the whole…

Wishing you a good week,

Alon, Bat Ami, Dror, Yochai, Orin and the entire Chubeza team

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WHAT’S IN THIS WEEK’S BOXES?

Monday: Potatoes, broccoli, snow peas/green fava beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, cauliflower/cabbage, carrots, parsley/coriander, lettuce, scallions/leeks. Small boxes only: Jerusalem artichokes/garden peas.

Large box, in addition: Beets, Swiss chard/kale, daikon/bundle of fennel, celeriac/parsley root.

FRUIT BOXES: Bananas, orange/pomelit, avocado clementinot, lemons. 

Wednesday: Potatoes, broccoli/cauliflower/cabbage, peas/green fava beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, , carrots, parsley/coriander, lettuce/red mizuna, scallions/leeks/green garlic, Swiss chard/kale/mallow greens (Chubeza), daikon/bundle of fennel,

Large box, in addition: Beets, Jerusalem artichokes, celeriac/parsley root.

FRUIT BOXES: Bananas, orange/pomelit, avocado clementinot, lemons. 

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