Week 7
I try to post the veggie list before I leave on Sunday morning to meet the crew, but often I only get started and then I finish it after harvest and and after getting Derek and Talia off to market. I just came home and read what I wrote and then deleted it because mostly it was me just whining!
The second half of July rages into August and it is the season to push hard and embrace chaos, but apparently this morning that wasn't really suiting me! Lucky for me, most of the time I like it. I also like sleep and I guess I need a bit more of it.
There were lots of things to be grateful for this week on the farm. We got the last of our garlic out of the ground and hung on Friday and it is the nicest garlic we have maybe ever grown. Of course, we aren't in the clear yet. It has to dry down and not rot, but so far so good. Having it all out of the ground and in the barn is such a relief.
Kelly direct seeded our last big round of carrots and I seeded our last round of kale, broccoli and cabbage into plug trays. Getting those done on time is also a relief.
And perhaps what I am most excited about is that we hired an additional person. One of our crew quit a couple weeks ago and keeping up has been difficult. It can be hard to catch up and honestly we let a couple things slip by that we will just have to let go of, but our new hire arrived just in time to keep us moving forward and avoid a nose dive.
I hope you enjoy your veggies this week. Cheers to a week of good meals, productive days and restful nights!
And being grateful of course.
Carrots
Beets - No tops - which for most of you is probably just fine. Beets are susceptible to something called leaf spot and we have it pretty bad this year. Fortunately the beets sized up okay. Some of you will have small beets and some larger ones. If you have a preference let me know.
Cauliflower - yippee
Snap Peas - Last call
Garlic - Inchelium Red
Lettuce
Arugula - Large Only
Additional Item - Large Only I have been waiting on Kelly to text me on his thoughts on this but I think he forgot and his ringer is broken or so he says :).
Carrot and Beet Soba Noodles with Pickled Greens
I enjoy this recipe enough to type it out! Usually I can find what I am looking for on the Internet but no such luck today.
This is an Anna Jones recipe that can be on the table in 30 minutes. She claims 20 minutes, but the recipe only serves two which I need to double. I actually find the dish to be a little sweet so I usually lessen the maple syrup, but that might just be me.
Serves 2
1 large carrot
1 large beet
thumb size piece of ginger
salt
7 ounces soba noodles
3.5 ounces chard or kale (or I would add any green. If using something tender like lettuce don't massage it)
4 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp soy sauce or tamari
1 lime
1 Tbsp sesame seeds (she calls for black ones)
cilantro
Cut carrot into matchsticks or thin rounds then peel and cut beet in same shape as well. Saute chopped ginger in oil and cook for a minute. Add veggies, pinch of salt and 7 Tbsp of water and cook 5-7 minutes until veggies are tender.
Cook noodles.
Shred greens and mix with vinegar, salt and tsp of maple syrup. Scrunch with hands to soften.
Add sesame oil, other tsp of maple syrup, juice of the lime and sesame seeds to the carrots and beets. Toss in noodles and mix to combine.
Serve with greens and garnish with cilantro.
Sunday, July 15, 2018
Sunday, July 8, 2018
Week 6
Week 6
Each year we trial new vegetables. Often they are just different varieties of stuff we already grow. For example we always grow a couple new tomatoes. This year we are growing one called Cherokee Chocolate. We currently grow Cherokee Purple and and Cherokee Green. I think both the green and the chocolate where found as mutations in plantings of Cherokee Purple. The Cherokee Chocolate is a dark tomato like the purple but with a distinct reddish brown color. I have high hopes for it, like I always do, but rarely do new varieties make the cut. The highlight of my week was our red napa trials. Napa cabbage is one of the most difficult things we grow. It attracts bugs in a way no other veggie does. We cover it from start to finish and we still have a high cull rate. So, I don't know that the red napa will actually make the cut but it is stunning!
It shows no consistency in maturity which is another down side. We also are trialing some new green napa varieties and that is what will be in the large share's box. Not as flashy, but growing and heading up much better than the reds.
I think we might be pushing the limits of our cherry tomato supply by putting them in your boxes, but they are so good and the first ones are always exciting. Peas, which at this point have become less exciting, but still delicious, will hopefully make one final showing in your box next week. We are rolling the dice just a little, but I am fairly certain they will be around next week.
Lettuce - Dealers choice - holler at me when I am grabbing your box if you have a preference.
Carrots
Broccoli
Zucchini
Cherry Tomatoes
Collards/Kale/Chard - Your Choice When the collards get big we refer to them as elephant ears. Some of them can be comical. They are from a new planting and while big, they are also tender. If you find the assertive flavor of kale and collards to be a bit much try simmering them in coconut milk. A little sauteed onion, garlic and/or ginger all make welcome addition as would a splash of tamari or soy and a fresh squeeze of lemon or lime. Similarly, the fat of heavy cream and a generous grating of a hard cheese are delicious with them as well. If you enjoy the flavor of kale and collards then these collards would be great for rolling tight and cutting into ribbons for a salad or just lightly sauteed.
Napa Cabbage - Large Only
Herb Choice - Large Only - Basil, Mint or Parsley
Each year we trial new vegetables. Often they are just different varieties of stuff we already grow. For example we always grow a couple new tomatoes. This year we are growing one called Cherokee Chocolate. We currently grow Cherokee Purple and and Cherokee Green. I think both the green and the chocolate where found as mutations in plantings of Cherokee Purple. The Cherokee Chocolate is a dark tomato like the purple but with a distinct reddish brown color. I have high hopes for it, like I always do, but rarely do new varieties make the cut. The highlight of my week was our red napa trials. Napa cabbage is one of the most difficult things we grow. It attracts bugs in a way no other veggie does. We cover it from start to finish and we still have a high cull rate. So, I don't know that the red napa will actually make the cut but it is stunning!
It shows no consistency in maturity which is another down side. We also are trialing some new green napa varieties and that is what will be in the large share's box. Not as flashy, but growing and heading up much better than the reds.
I think we might be pushing the limits of our cherry tomato supply by putting them in your boxes, but they are so good and the first ones are always exciting. Peas, which at this point have become less exciting, but still delicious, will hopefully make one final showing in your box next week. We are rolling the dice just a little, but I am fairly certain they will be around next week.
Lettuce - Dealers choice - holler at me when I am grabbing your box if you have a preference.
Carrots
Broccoli
Zucchini
Cherry Tomatoes
Collards/Kale/Chard - Your Choice When the collards get big we refer to them as elephant ears. Some of them can be comical. They are from a new planting and while big, they are also tender. If you find the assertive flavor of kale and collards to be a bit much try simmering them in coconut milk. A little sauteed onion, garlic and/or ginger all make welcome addition as would a splash of tamari or soy and a fresh squeeze of lemon or lime. Similarly, the fat of heavy cream and a generous grating of a hard cheese are delicious with them as well. If you enjoy the flavor of kale and collards then these collards would be great for rolling tight and cutting into ribbons for a salad or just lightly sauteed.
Napa Cabbage - Large Only
Herb Choice - Large Only - Basil, Mint or Parsley
Sunday, July 1, 2018
Week 5
Kelly is off to Shelton to bring home the bacon (his joke and he thinks it is really funny). He is picking up four piglets today. We skipped raising them last year and are looking forward to having the again. We had hoped to pick them up a bit earlier, but the first ones we reserved stopped eating when they were weaned. The farmer wanted to hang on to them a bit longer to make sure they were in good shape. We still aren't really sure what the situation was, but after a month of back and forth we decided it was time to move on. If we hadn't already ordered a ton of feed we might have just decided to skip raising pigs this year. I hated the idea of scrambling to buy pigs from someone I didn't know. Fortunately some friends of ours who also raise pigs directed us to a farmer they have had a relationship with for a few years. They were really happy with the quality/health of the piglets they bought. Pigs of all breeds and markings make delicious pork, but just like I enjoy pretty vegetables I also enjoy pretty pigs. Who doesn't love spots? I suspect, based on the breed, that the pigs we are getting today are going to be pink but at this point I am just happy that things seem to be working out.
On the veggie front we started picking field cukes this week and sold a few pints of Sungolds. We bunched the last of the spring radishes and are a week out from saying goodbye to turnips until the fall. We uncovered the peppers and weeded them and I am really happy with how they look. It is time to burn through all the frozen peppers we have in our freezer!
Lettuce - If you had Little Gems (mini romaines) a couple weeks ago you will have Lovelock, an awesome summer lettuce with a crunchy rib. If you haven't received Little Gems yet you will have those. In addition to a crunchy rib and great flavor they are cute.
Carrots
Turnips
Snap Peas
Cucumber
Scallions
Chard - Large Only
Kelly is off to Shelton to bring home the bacon (his joke and he thinks it is really funny). He is picking up four piglets today. We skipped raising them last year and are looking forward to having the again. We had hoped to pick them up a bit earlier, but the first ones we reserved stopped eating when they were weaned. The farmer wanted to hang on to them a bit longer to make sure they were in good shape. We still aren't really sure what the situation was, but after a month of back and forth we decided it was time to move on. If we hadn't already ordered a ton of feed we might have just decided to skip raising pigs this year. I hated the idea of scrambling to buy pigs from someone I didn't know. Fortunately some friends of ours who also raise pigs directed us to a farmer they have had a relationship with for a few years. They were really happy with the quality/health of the piglets they bought. Pigs of all breeds and markings make delicious pork, but just like I enjoy pretty vegetables I also enjoy pretty pigs. Who doesn't love spots? I suspect, based on the breed, that the pigs we are getting today are going to be pink but at this point I am just happy that things seem to be working out.
On the veggie front we started picking field cukes this week and sold a few pints of Sungolds. We bunched the last of the spring radishes and are a week out from saying goodbye to turnips until the fall. We uncovered the peppers and weeded them and I am really happy with how they look. It is time to burn through all the frozen peppers we have in our freezer!
Lettuce - If you had Little Gems (mini romaines) a couple weeks ago you will have Lovelock, an awesome summer lettuce with a crunchy rib. If you haven't received Little Gems yet you will have those. In addition to a crunchy rib and great flavor they are cute.
Carrots
Turnips
Snap Peas
Cucumber
Scallions
Chard - Large Only
Sunday, June 24, 2018
Week 4
The beginning of summer was marked on our farm by the appearance of the first ripe Sungold tomato. It will be a while before there are lots of cherry tomatoes, but it is still positive sign. They are in a greenhouse (all our houses are unheated and plants are grown in the ground) which has in past years produced nice tomatoes for us, but you just never know. In my opinion we have to have to grow under plastic. We can't be a competitive farm without greenhouses. We typically get a good round, sometimes a round and a half of early spring crops out of them and then plant them with a summer crop. This is why our tomatoes are staggered. Ideally they would all go in around April 15th or so but on April 15th we still have a lot of spring crops that need the protection and we need to have a consistent supply of spring veggies from the time we begin selling until we start selling field grown spring crops. The houses that got the first round of cukes and tomatoes also get planted with some fall salad and lettuce. Making green house maps/production plans/spread sheets is one of my favorite winter activities. It is always fun to dream of summer.
Lettuce
Carrots
Zucchini
Potatoes - These are the same variety you got last time. Caribe has a purple skin and a white flesh.
Broccoli
Snow Peas
Garlic
Baby Fennel - Large Only
I made one and a half recipes from the cookbook I mentioned last week. One was fantastic. It was a pasta with snap peas. You will have snap peas again in your boxes next week as we are having an incredible pea year. I don't usually cook snap peas but I realize I have been missing out. It really brings out the sweetness in the pod. I won't go into the one that I only managed to make half of it but perhaps I will fully execute it this coming week!
Pasta with Slivered Snap Peas
The recipe calls for a compound butter of black pepper, Parmesan and Romano cheeses. I added all the ingredients of it without making the butter because of time and it turned out great.
Here is a snow pea recipe that I have never made but looked good. You have a generous amount of snow peas in your boxes and I thought you might need a little encouragement.
The beginning of summer was marked on our farm by the appearance of the first ripe Sungold tomato. It will be a while before there are lots of cherry tomatoes, but it is still positive sign. They are in a greenhouse (all our houses are unheated and plants are grown in the ground) which has in past years produced nice tomatoes for us, but you just never know. In my opinion we have to have to grow under plastic. We can't be a competitive farm without greenhouses. We typically get a good round, sometimes a round and a half of early spring crops out of them and then plant them with a summer crop. This is why our tomatoes are staggered. Ideally they would all go in around April 15th or so but on April 15th we still have a lot of spring crops that need the protection and we need to have a consistent supply of spring veggies from the time we begin selling until we start selling field grown spring crops. The houses that got the first round of cukes and tomatoes also get planted with some fall salad and lettuce. Making green house maps/production plans/spread sheets is one of my favorite winter activities. It is always fun to dream of summer.
Lettuce
Carrots
Zucchini
Potatoes - These are the same variety you got last time. Caribe has a purple skin and a white flesh.
Broccoli
Snow Peas
Garlic
Baby Fennel - Large Only
I made one and a half recipes from the cookbook I mentioned last week. One was fantastic. It was a pasta with snap peas. You will have snap peas again in your boxes next week as we are having an incredible pea year. I don't usually cook snap peas but I realize I have been missing out. It really brings out the sweetness in the pod. I won't go into the one that I only managed to make half of it but perhaps I will fully execute it this coming week!
Pasta with Slivered Snap Peas
The recipe calls for a compound butter of black pepper, Parmesan and Romano cheeses. I added all the ingredients of it without making the butter because of time and it turned out great.
Here is a snow pea recipe that I have never made but looked good. You have a generous amount of snow peas in your boxes and I thought you might need a little encouragement.
Sunday, June 17, 2018
Week 3
Last winter I put my name on the wait list at the library for the cookbook Six Seasons. I waited and waited and read some more about what a great book it was and waited a bit longer. Months went by and I slowly moved up the list. I try really hard not to buy cookbooks. I am not against the idea of buying a cookbook, I am just against the idea of finding a spot in my house for another cookbook. I was so sure that I would love it. I ended up buying it and here it is two months later and I have only made one thing out of it. Anyway, my goal for the week is to make at least one dish from it. Hopefully it is a winner and I will give you a link next week. It can be hard when our days are so full to prepare a new dish. Instead we fall back on old favorites. I am sure you can relate. I love Vietnamese Bun, rice noodle dishes with veggies and lots of herbs. I am including a recipe for a shrimp one that is perfect for the warm weather this week. I make the dressing in this recipe, but I use more more rice noodles and typically put carrots in it and this time of year I would add snap peas as well. It is great/better with all the herbs but also good with just cilantro. We do the same dish subbing lemongrass marinated grilled pork chops and that is delicious too. There is also a link below for recipe for Strawberry Horchata. I made that out of the cookbook Nopolito (great and it doesn't have 5000 other people on a list hoping to check it out) in early spring with some of last year's frozen strawberries. I am hoping to make it again this week with fresh berries. It involves a little planning but the active time preparing it is minimal.
Lettuce
Carrots
Beets
Scallions
Snap Peas
Strawberries
Cabbage - Large Only
Additional Item - Large Only I am not sure what this will be...snow peas, baby fennel and zucchinis are all in the running.
Vietnamese Shrimp Bun
Strawberry Horchata
Last winter I put my name on the wait list at the library for the cookbook Six Seasons. I waited and waited and read some more about what a great book it was and waited a bit longer. Months went by and I slowly moved up the list. I try really hard not to buy cookbooks. I am not against the idea of buying a cookbook, I am just against the idea of finding a spot in my house for another cookbook. I was so sure that I would love it. I ended up buying it and here it is two months later and I have only made one thing out of it. Anyway, my goal for the week is to make at least one dish from it. Hopefully it is a winner and I will give you a link next week. It can be hard when our days are so full to prepare a new dish. Instead we fall back on old favorites. I am sure you can relate. I love Vietnamese Bun, rice noodle dishes with veggies and lots of herbs. I am including a recipe for a shrimp one that is perfect for the warm weather this week. I make the dressing in this recipe, but I use more more rice noodles and typically put carrots in it and this time of year I would add snap peas as well. It is great/better with all the herbs but also good with just cilantro. We do the same dish subbing lemongrass marinated grilled pork chops and that is delicious too. There is also a link below for recipe for Strawberry Horchata. I made that out of the cookbook Nopolito (great and it doesn't have 5000 other people on a list hoping to check it out) in early spring with some of last year's frozen strawberries. I am hoping to make it again this week with fresh berries. It involves a little planning but the active time preparing it is minimal.
Lettuce
Carrots
Beets
Scallions
Snap Peas
Strawberries
Cabbage - Large Only
Additional Item - Large Only I am not sure what this will be...snow peas, baby fennel and zucchinis are all in the running.
Vietnamese Shrimp Bun
Strawberry Horchata
Sunday, June 10, 2018
Week 2
We hope you all enjoyed your first week of the farm share. This week's box is filled with lots of spring veggie candy - baby carrots, snap peas and strawberries, oh my.
Friday's rain was much needed and we even fired up the wood stove for what I suspect will be the last time and ate take-out on the couch. It was a very relaxing end to what was a very busy week. It feels pretty good to be on our full summer schedule with the gardens really starting to produce loads of veggies. I am thankful that we have a great crew and even with all the additional harvest last week, we got a lot of weeding and transplanting done as well.
There are lots of good meals to be had in your boxes this week.
Oak Leaf Lettuce - This lettuce has the slippery texture of butter lettuce. Some of you will get the green which is a pretty lime color and others will get the red which is also beautiful with its dark outer leaves and green core.
Carrots
Snap Peas - You can eat the whole thing.
New Potatoes - Super creamy - these will cook more quickly than you are probably use to. Because they have thin skins they need to be eaten soon. They will not store like later season potatoes.
Turnips - This planting got big on us. Don't be afraid of the larger size. They don't get woody or pithy like a radish. They actually get juicier. I like them sliced raw but you can also briefly sautee them or they make a great pickle.
Strawberries - The only thing on the farm that wasn't thrilled with the rain.
Arugula - Large Only
Garlic - Large Only - Basque, our earliest garlic. It is not dried down. We will be digging it tomorrow. It should either be kept out with good air flow on the counter or stored in the fridge.
We hope you all enjoyed your first week of the farm share. This week's box is filled with lots of spring veggie candy - baby carrots, snap peas and strawberries, oh my.
Friday's rain was much needed and we even fired up the wood stove for what I suspect will be the last time and ate take-out on the couch. It was a very relaxing end to what was a very busy week. It feels pretty good to be on our full summer schedule with the gardens really starting to produce loads of veggies. I am thankful that we have a great crew and even with all the additional harvest last week, we got a lot of weeding and transplanting done as well.
There are lots of good meals to be had in your boxes this week.
Oak Leaf Lettuce - This lettuce has the slippery texture of butter lettuce. Some of you will get the green which is a pretty lime color and others will get the red which is also beautiful with its dark outer leaves and green core.
Carrots
Snap Peas - You can eat the whole thing.
New Potatoes - Super creamy - these will cook more quickly than you are probably use to. Because they have thin skins they need to be eaten soon. They will not store like later season potatoes.
Turnips - This planting got big on us. Don't be afraid of the larger size. They don't get woody or pithy like a radish. They actually get juicier. I like them sliced raw but you can also briefly sautee them or they make a great pickle.
Strawberries - The only thing on the farm that wasn't thrilled with the rain.
Arugula - Large Only
Garlic - Large Only - Basque, our earliest garlic. It is not dried down. We will be digging it tomorrow. It should either be kept out with good air flow on the counter or stored in the fridge.
Sunday, June 3, 2018
Week 1
Talk to me for 10 minutes and I think my motivation for farming is fairly obvious - I love food. I love reading about, talking about it, preparing it and just simply admiring it. Yesterday Kelly had some new potatoes at Oly market. The only thing more special to me than a new potato is a perfect pink tomato. We don't usually have new potatoes this early. We took a day trip to Ellensburg at the end of February to pick up some potato seed and got them in the ground in early March. I was pretty excited to dig and eat them, but I don't think most of the people who bought them understood they were special. One person who did was Mike, the chef from Our Table, who now has a food cart at the market. Around 11am I received a text from Kelly with a picture of a beautiful salad that featured sliced early tomatoes from Humble Stump's heated greenhouse, sliced apricots from Eastern Washington, mint, cucumbers and raw new potatoes from us. It was so beautiful. We don't focus on selling to restaurants, but working with Mike is great. He also loves food and we love having food vendor at market who uses so much local produce. His food cart is worth going to the market for even if you need nothing else.
This is a busy couple weeks for us. In addition to the CSA, the Chehalis market starts on Tuesday. Fingers crossed, peas and field carrots will be ready for harvest at the end of the week (and in your boxes next week). The Wednesday stand will start next week. Those of you who pick up on Wednesday will not see our yellow sign at the end of the road this week, but we will be at the farm with your CSA boxes.
The picking will be slim on the trade table - mostly just more of what is in your boxes. Variety is pretty limited at the moment but more selection is just around the corner.
Red Leaf Lettuce - BIG! This is the best time of year for growing lettuce. The heads are large, beautiful and also tender and sweet. The variety you are getting is also the one we grow for the Olympia Food Co-op. It is the one lettuce that I feel always (well almost, there is no always in farming unless you include that something will always have a bad year at some point) does well for us.
Cucumber - These are out of an unheated greenhouse. Cukes are another much awaited item and I love that we have them super early. I came across a recipe for a brown rice salad with cucumbers and avocado this winter which looked great and I moved the piece of paper with the recipe on it around a 100 times waiting for cucumbers to be ready before I had a chance to make it last week. It was easy and great - the peanuts and lime zest really made it for me.
Radishes
Curly Kale - This is a variety we haven't grown in several years. At some point two kinds of kale seemed to be enough and we dropped curly kale, but enough customers have asked about it that it seemed like it was time to grow it again.
Cabbage - Another veggie I am excited to eat in the spring.
Cilantro/Herb Choice
Garlic Scapes - If you aren't familiar with these they might look intimidating,but they are easy to use. They can be grilled or broiled whole, made into pesto, compound butter, chopped and used like garlic. Raw they have a strong garlic flavor but cooked they are more mild than a head of garlic.
Salad Mix - Large Only
Talk to me for 10 minutes and I think my motivation for farming is fairly obvious - I love food. I love reading about, talking about it, preparing it and just simply admiring it. Yesterday Kelly had some new potatoes at Oly market. The only thing more special to me than a new potato is a perfect pink tomato. We don't usually have new potatoes this early. We took a day trip to Ellensburg at the end of February to pick up some potato seed and got them in the ground in early March. I was pretty excited to dig and eat them, but I don't think most of the people who bought them understood they were special. One person who did was Mike, the chef from Our Table, who now has a food cart at the market. Around 11am I received a text from Kelly with a picture of a beautiful salad that featured sliced early tomatoes from Humble Stump's heated greenhouse, sliced apricots from Eastern Washington, mint, cucumbers and raw new potatoes from us. It was so beautiful. We don't focus on selling to restaurants, but working with Mike is great. He also loves food and we love having food vendor at market who uses so much local produce. His food cart is worth going to the market for even if you need nothing else.
This is a busy couple weeks for us. In addition to the CSA, the Chehalis market starts on Tuesday. Fingers crossed, peas and field carrots will be ready for harvest at the end of the week (and in your boxes next week). The Wednesday stand will start next week. Those of you who pick up on Wednesday will not see our yellow sign at the end of the road this week, but we will be at the farm with your CSA boxes.
The picking will be slim on the trade table - mostly just more of what is in your boxes. Variety is pretty limited at the moment but more selection is just around the corner.
Red Leaf Lettuce - BIG! This is the best time of year for growing lettuce. The heads are large, beautiful and also tender and sweet. The variety you are getting is also the one we grow for the Olympia Food Co-op. It is the one lettuce that I feel always (well almost, there is no always in farming unless you include that something will always have a bad year at some point) does well for us.
Cucumber - These are out of an unheated greenhouse. Cukes are another much awaited item and I love that we have them super early. I came across a recipe for a brown rice salad with cucumbers and avocado this winter which looked great and I moved the piece of paper with the recipe on it around a 100 times waiting for cucumbers to be ready before I had a chance to make it last week. It was easy and great - the peanuts and lime zest really made it for me.
Radishes
Curly Kale - This is a variety we haven't grown in several years. At some point two kinds of kale seemed to be enough and we dropped curly kale, but enough customers have asked about it that it seemed like it was time to grow it again.
Cabbage - Another veggie I am excited to eat in the spring.
Cilantro/Herb Choice
Garlic Scapes - If you aren't familiar with these they might look intimidating,but they are easy to use. They can be grilled or broiled whole, made into pesto, compound butter, chopped and used like garlic. Raw they have a strong garlic flavor but cooked they are more mild than a head of garlic.
Salad Mix - Large Only
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