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.
Sunday, June 24, 2018
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
Sunday, October 15, 2017
Week 20
Drum roll please...
Where does the season go?
A customer mentioned they were making a cabbage soup out of the Joy of Cooking. We talked a little about it and I decided I would make it this past week. She told me it was in the 75th anniversary edition, but I looked in my two older editions (yeah, I have a little cookbook problem, but there are worst vices) just for the fun of it as well. They had a different version. I love comparing different editions. It is fun to see how the way we eat/what we want to eat has changed over the years. We enjoyed it and it wouldn't surprise me if some of you still had the cabbage we gave you a few weeks ago so I will post the recipe at the end.
While making the chicken stock for the cabbage soup on Friday night something clicked in my brain and I realized that there was another soup recipe I meant to make this summer. It is a Thai soup with pork stuffed cucumbers cooked in chicken broth. Since we are pretty much done with cucumbers I went into a small panic, raced over to the farm and grabbed several cucumbers off of some essentially dead plants that I think were hit with a light frost. They feel firm and the one I tasted was fine so I am going for it tonight.
One of the worst things about being too stubborn to buy produce is that I get a little crazed this time of year, trying to cook things "one last time" or in the case of the cucumber soup "one first time", before the autumn chill takes all the summer goodness away. Not that I don't enjoy winter veggies. I love them, but the thought of summer veggies not being available much longer makes them that much more desirable.
Today I did the Olympia market for part of the day so Kelly could get the garlic field ready for planting. A customer told me that he likes to grill whole delicatas over a charcoal fire and then scoop out the seeds and puree it. He compared it to babaganouj. He didn't mention garlic, tahini or lemon but I think it might be delicious. Now, I have a dish for my winter list! There is always good food to be had and while I mourn the loss of summer it is fun to think about cooking new stuff as well.
I hope that you all had a chance to make all your summer favorites and also try a new thing or two. I know that it can be hard to try new things when you are busy, but I also think it is a lot of fun and usually worth the stress. Here we go, your last box.
Carrots
Leeks
Rutabagas or Turnips
Purple Potatoes
Head Lettuce
Winter Squash - Spaghetti or Butternut, your choice
Garlic
Parsley - Large Only
Shallots - Large Only
Cabbage Soup, adapted slightly - Saute 2 small chopped leeks, 2 diced small onions, 2 tablespoons garlic in a soup pot until tender. Add 6 cups mild broth, 2 sliced carrots, 1 teaspoon caraway seed, 2 small diced potatoes and bring to a boil. Simmer until the potatoes are almost cooked. Add 4 cups shredded green cabbage and simmer until cabbage is cooked. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in 1/4 cup chopped parsley and top with crumbled blue cheese.
Drum roll please...
Where does the season go?
A customer mentioned they were making a cabbage soup out of the Joy of Cooking. We talked a little about it and I decided I would make it this past week. She told me it was in the 75th anniversary edition, but I looked in my two older editions (yeah, I have a little cookbook problem, but there are worst vices) just for the fun of it as well. They had a different version. I love comparing different editions. It is fun to see how the way we eat/what we want to eat has changed over the years. We enjoyed it and it wouldn't surprise me if some of you still had the cabbage we gave you a few weeks ago so I will post the recipe at the end.
While making the chicken stock for the cabbage soup on Friday night something clicked in my brain and I realized that there was another soup recipe I meant to make this summer. It is a Thai soup with pork stuffed cucumbers cooked in chicken broth. Since we are pretty much done with cucumbers I went into a small panic, raced over to the farm and grabbed several cucumbers off of some essentially dead plants that I think were hit with a light frost. They feel firm and the one I tasted was fine so I am going for it tonight.
One of the worst things about being too stubborn to buy produce is that I get a little crazed this time of year, trying to cook things "one last time" or in the case of the cucumber soup "one first time", before the autumn chill takes all the summer goodness away. Not that I don't enjoy winter veggies. I love them, but the thought of summer veggies not being available much longer makes them that much more desirable.
Today I did the Olympia market for part of the day so Kelly could get the garlic field ready for planting. A customer told me that he likes to grill whole delicatas over a charcoal fire and then scoop out the seeds and puree it. He compared it to babaganouj. He didn't mention garlic, tahini or lemon but I think it might be delicious. Now, I have a dish for my winter list! There is always good food to be had and while I mourn the loss of summer it is fun to think about cooking new stuff as well.
I hope that you all had a chance to make all your summer favorites and also try a new thing or two. I know that it can be hard to try new things when you are busy, but I also think it is a lot of fun and usually worth the stress. Here we go, your last box.
Carrots
Leeks
Rutabagas or Turnips
Purple Potatoes
Head Lettuce
Winter Squash - Spaghetti or Butternut, your choice
Garlic
Parsley - Large Only
Shallots - Large Only
Cabbage Soup, adapted slightly - Saute 2 small chopped leeks, 2 diced small onions, 2 tablespoons garlic in a soup pot until tender. Add 6 cups mild broth, 2 sliced carrots, 1 teaspoon caraway seed, 2 small diced potatoes and bring to a boil. Simmer until the potatoes are almost cooked. Add 4 cups shredded green cabbage and simmer until cabbage is cooked. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in 1/4 cup chopped parsley and top with crumbled blue cheese.
Sunday, October 8, 2017
Week 19
For many of you this is your last week. We hope you enjoyed the veggies you received and shared some nice meals with friends or family.
A few years ago I was at a wedding. The DJ asked everyone to grab their partners and head to the dance floor. The music started, people began dancing and then the DJ had couples sit down by how long they had been married in assorted rounds. By the end there were three couples on the dance floor, all who had been married for over 50 years. She then asked them for their advice on staying married for so long. One woman said "some years are better than others." This is a broad statement that could be applied to many things, but I liked the use of the word years. Of course some days are better than others, but to look at a marriage in terms of years reminds you that you really need to keep the big picture in mind. It is a long term commitment and there is no sense in getting down about a tough stretch or giving up too easily. The farm is also a long term commitment. It requires effort and attention and at times it is disappointing, but the good things greatly outweigh the difficult things. I love thinking about the sentiment that some years are better than others when we are in the dog days of summer. Yes, I hate cucumber beetles and yes, they ruined a lot of cucumbers and in the moment it was heartbreaking, but honestly in the grand scale of things they mean so little. It is much more important to focus on the successes and be grateful for what we do have which is a ton of veggies and some awesome folks who buy them! Thank you for your commitment to eating good food and for being willing to come to the farm to get it. Your appreciation, stories of what you cooked and friendly faces end our Mondays and Wednesdays on a positive note. We couldn't do this without such great customers and we are thankful for all of you.
These boxes feel decidedly fall like.
Spinach
Carrots
Kabocha Squash - your choice - green, grey or orange
Parsnips
Cipollini Onions
Lettuce - Large Only
For many of you this is your last week. We hope you enjoyed the veggies you received and shared some nice meals with friends or family.
A few years ago I was at a wedding. The DJ asked everyone to grab their partners and head to the dance floor. The music started, people began dancing and then the DJ had couples sit down by how long they had been married in assorted rounds. By the end there were three couples on the dance floor, all who had been married for over 50 years. She then asked them for their advice on staying married for so long. One woman said "some years are better than others." This is a broad statement that could be applied to many things, but I liked the use of the word years. Of course some days are better than others, but to look at a marriage in terms of years reminds you that you really need to keep the big picture in mind. It is a long term commitment and there is no sense in getting down about a tough stretch or giving up too easily. The farm is also a long term commitment. It requires effort and attention and at times it is disappointing, but the good things greatly outweigh the difficult things. I love thinking about the sentiment that some years are better than others when we are in the dog days of summer. Yes, I hate cucumber beetles and yes, they ruined a lot of cucumbers and in the moment it was heartbreaking, but honestly in the grand scale of things they mean so little. It is much more important to focus on the successes and be grateful for what we do have which is a ton of veggies and some awesome folks who buy them! Thank you for your commitment to eating good food and for being willing to come to the farm to get it. Your appreciation, stories of what you cooked and friendly faces end our Mondays and Wednesdays on a positive note. We couldn't do this without such great customers and we are thankful for all of you.
These boxes feel decidedly fall like.
Spinach
Carrots
Kabocha Squash - your choice - green, grey or orange
Parsnips
Cipollini Onions
Lettuce - Large Only
Sunday, October 1, 2017
Week 18
I was just downtown visiting Kelly at the Oly market, giving him a break and saying hi to the other vendors. We will be there on Sundays until the end of October if you need some veggies after the CSA is done and we will be at the farm stand on Wednesdays and Saturdays until the end of November. Yes, it is true, we are nearing the end of the farm share. For those of you who did not skip a week, next week will be your last week. Those who did skip a week will have two more pick-ups after tomorrow. Time goes by pretty quick, doesn't it?
We are headed to a fund raiser tonight for the Chehalis market, another sign that our season is winding down. I had visions of dressing up, but time is ticking away so I think I will probably just settle for wearing some pants that don't have double knees. Kelly doesn't have pants that don't have double knees (funny, right?) so he will just be wearing a cleaner version of what you always see him in! Looking forward to seeing friends and relaxing. Fall is a good thing.
Your boxes are typical of what we have on the farm in the fall with the exception of the cucumber.
Looking forward to some nice hearty meals this week. Enjoy your veggies.
Carrot
Celery
Daikon/Watermelon Radish - Most years that we try to grow these they are hideous, but this year they are so nice that Kelly jokingly asked me who grew them when he saw the crate I harvested for Saturday. If you get a daikon you might be a little intimidated (holy cow, that is one large radish) but take a moment to google some recipes and get creative. There is a Cantonese dish with slow cooked beef and daikon seasoned with star anise. It has been on my mental list of dishes to try to make for a long time...maybe you can beat me to it.
Broccoli - probably not a huge quantity but everyone will have some.
Cucumber - Last taste of summer - almost done for the season.
Garlic
Acorn - We grow a variety called Honey Bear that is sweet and creamy. If you have bad memories of stringy acorn smothered with butter and brown sugar you will be pleasantly surprised.
Beets - Small Only
Turnips - Large Only
Lettuce Mix - Large Only
I was just downtown visiting Kelly at the Oly market, giving him a break and saying hi to the other vendors. We will be there on Sundays until the end of October if you need some veggies after the CSA is done and we will be at the farm stand on Wednesdays and Saturdays until the end of November. Yes, it is true, we are nearing the end of the farm share. For those of you who did not skip a week, next week will be your last week. Those who did skip a week will have two more pick-ups after tomorrow. Time goes by pretty quick, doesn't it?
We are headed to a fund raiser tonight for the Chehalis market, another sign that our season is winding down. I had visions of dressing up, but time is ticking away so I think I will probably just settle for wearing some pants that don't have double knees. Kelly doesn't have pants that don't have double knees (funny, right?) so he will just be wearing a cleaner version of what you always see him in! Looking forward to seeing friends and relaxing. Fall is a good thing.
Your boxes are typical of what we have on the farm in the fall with the exception of the cucumber.
Looking forward to some nice hearty meals this week. Enjoy your veggies.
Carrot
Celery
Daikon/Watermelon Radish - Most years that we try to grow these they are hideous, but this year they are so nice that Kelly jokingly asked me who grew them when he saw the crate I harvested for Saturday. If you get a daikon you might be a little intimidated (holy cow, that is one large radish) but take a moment to google some recipes and get creative. There is a Cantonese dish with slow cooked beef and daikon seasoned with star anise. It has been on my mental list of dishes to try to make for a long time...maybe you can beat me to it.
Broccoli - probably not a huge quantity but everyone will have some.
Cucumber - Last taste of summer - almost done for the season.
Garlic
Acorn - We grow a variety called Honey Bear that is sweet and creamy. If you have bad memories of stringy acorn smothered with butter and brown sugar you will be pleasantly surprised.
Beets - Small Only
Turnips - Large Only
Lettuce Mix - Large Only
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)