CSA Members 2008: Newsletter Archive

Dear CSA Members,

We have entered the crazy season, and I'm already exhausted. Whew! Only 4 more months until it slows down . . . if you have emailed, and haven't received a response from me, I apologize. Most days I run past the computer thinking, "I HAVE to get to that" . . . then the phone rings six times and I'm back to the farm to pack boxes/check on everyone/help harvest lettuce/water the transplants. I thrive on chaos, though (we have to, to farm this way), so in a way it's kind of invigorating. I promise I'll email you this week!

Some big news on two fronts here at the farm: first, we are finally moving back into our house! It has been eight months since we were evacuated from our house by boat (for those of you who haven't heard about this, a little more information is included on our website here), and we are so excited to be home again.

Also, we have scheduled our annual Open House for Saturday, September 13th! This season we will have our Open House in the afternoon as usual, then we will host a barbecue fund raising dinner. Why the fund raiser? you might ask. We have been awarded a matching funds grant of $25,000 to help repair our historic barn! (See a photo of our barn, built in 1913, in our 2005 photo slide show). The Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation has recognized our barn as one worth saving. It's a particularly tricky year to invest in our barn, but with such a grant available to us, we have to act right away. Hence the fund raising dinner. The open house will be free and open to all as usual. Those who wish to buy tickets and stay for the dinner are welcome! I will send out fliers to remind you in the coming weeks.

And on to the boxes . . . this week we have our first potatoes! These freshly dug potatoes will be missing a bit of skin -- the skin peels right off when you wash them. The variety is Yukon Gold; a great flavor for roasting, steaming or potato salad.

Finally our first carrots! They are little, but I couldn't help it. I have included carrot recipes below, but if you have children, you may have to wrestle the carrots out of their hands. We'll send more.

In case you were worried about running out of lettuce, these heads should keep you busy for a few days. The Romaine and red leaf make a beautiful combination in the bowl, and they're both mild enough to serve to everyone.

The cinnamon basil is amazing. Besides having such a heavenly scent, it's versatile and easy to cook with. Chop it up and sauté it with the zucchini you keep meaning to use. Or toss it into an easy vinaigrette dressing. Or, make this simple side:

Clean and trim your carrots and some of the peas. Take the fennel bulb, cut it in half and core it, then cut it into thin slices. Put two tablespoons of butter into a large skillet, and turn it to medium heat. Toss the fennel in. Sauté until it browns a bit in places, stirring occasionally. While it browns, slice the carrots and wash and chop half of your bunch of cinnamon basil.

Add the carrots, peas and basil and and put the lid on, cooking until almost tender. Remove lid and let the vegetables brown just a tiny bit in places.

Roasted Fennel and Baby Carrots

ingredients

• 1 bunch baby carrots, scrubbed & trimmed, leaving 1/2 inch of stems intact
• 1 medium fennel bulb, stalks discarded and bulbs cut into thin slices
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/3 teaspoon salt and a grating of fresh black pepper

procedure

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 450°F. (If you are making just this dish, you can put oven rack in middle position and roast vegetables on that rack throughout.)

Toss carrots and fennel with olive oil, water, fennel seeds, salt, and pepper and arrange in 1 layer in a 17- by 11-inch shallow baking pan. Cover pan with foil and roast vegetables in lower third of oven 10 minutes, then uncover and roast, turning occasionally, 10 minutes more. Switch pan to upper third of oven and roast until vegetables are tender and browned, about 10 minutes more.

Adapted from Gourmet, April 2005

Dilled Potatoes Vinaigrette

ingredients

• 1 pound potatoes, scrubbed
• 1/4 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
• 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp dry vermouth or dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup minced fresh dill

procedure

Cut the potatoes into chunks and in a steamer set over boiling water steam them, covered, for 7 to 10 minutes, or until they are just tender. In a bowl whisk together the mustard, the vinegar, the vermouth, and salt to taste, add the oil in a stream, whisking, and whisk the dressing until it is emulsified. Add the potatoes while they are still warm to the dressing and toss them gently with the dressing, the dill, and pepper to taste until they are coated well. Let the potato mixture stand, tossing it occasionally, for 30 minutes and serve it at room temperature. The potato mixture may be made 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled. Let the potato mixture return to room temperature before serving.

Adapted from Gourmet, July 1990