CSA Members 2009: Newsletter Archive

Summer Delivery #14

Dear CSA Members,

Delicious stew and storage vegetables await us in the coming weeks, to help get us geared up for the chilly season. Since we have an abundance of Fall crops, we are extending our local weekly deliveries into November and December. Please see our Extended Season CSA page for more details or to sign up.

Plus, with our strong Winter garden (can I still call it a garden?) we will have plenty to offer for our new year-round program. That's right, a Winter CSA, available to all our members from Chehalis to Seattle. For the Winter months, we will offer one delivery each month, November through May. The deliveries will be larger than usual ($60/delivery) but will contain many vegetables that will store for weeks, plus the best of our Winter greens. Think sweet carrots, savory herbs, potatoes, beets, cabbage, kale, chard, Winter squash, garlic, onions, bok choy, Brussels sprouts, parsnips, turnips, rutabaga, cauliflower, broccoli. . . plus extra goodies from other local dairies, farms and bakeries for the early Spring season. We are only able to accept a limited number of members, so please sign up soon to secure your subscription!

Our website now includes sign up information on all our CSA programs, so please see our sign up page for delivery dates and more information about our Winter options.

Sign up for our Holiday through May season by November 15th to get a free quart of Boistfort Valley Farm honey!

Our Second Annual Barn Stomp farm dinner is this Saturday, September 15th, starting at 4 pm. Join us for a local dinner of farm fresh vegetables and locally-raised pork (plenty of options are available for the vegetarians). Enjoy live music from Pickled Okra, The Blackberry Bushes, and The Tilted Stilts. Camp out if you'd like. Tickets are still available at Brown Paper Tickets.

Bulk quantities of garlic, beans, tomatoes, squash, and more are still available for purchase. Please contact us by email or by phone to receive a complete list or to enquire about prices.

A few notes about today's veggies:

CORN! Our first harvest of corn is a sweet bicolor -- a new variety for us that we hope you'll enjoy. Husk it, steam it just a few minutes, then roll it in a little butter and eat standing over the sink.

The carrots are easily kept for a few weeks by storing them in their plastic bag in the crisper drawer.

The savoy cabbage is a favorite of ours -- sweet and mild, this versatile cabbage makes a delicious salad and is perfect for soups. I have included a recipe below. Storage tip: peel the outer leaves and chop them up, leaving the head intact, to keep your cabbage fresh for much longer.

The tomatoes just keep coming, so we are passing on the bounty to you. For those of you who have a dehydrator, consider halving them and dehydrating them. I have also included my father's recipe for oven roasted tomatoes below.

Cipollini are an Italian flat onion with an intense flavor that sweetens dramatically when cooked. Use them in place of a red onion for a lovely effect.

Boistfort Valley Farm's
Second Annual
BARN STOMP!

Saturday, September 19th, 4-9 pm

Enjoy live music & local dinner from Chef Dustin Ronspies

Come fill your bellies and dance
until your shoes wear out!

Tickets are $30 -- please see us at the farmers market or buy online at: Brown Paper Tickets.

For more information: 360 245-3796 email us.

Cabbage, Carrots & Onions with Sesame Seeds

ingredients

• 6 Tbsp sesame seeds
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 Walla sweet onion, cut into thin slices
• 1 large carrot, thinly sliced
• 1 head cabbage, coarsely chopped

procedure

Combine the sesame seeds and salt in a blender. Grind until they achieve the consistency of coarse meal. This is called gomasio or sesame salt. Set aside. Heat a medium-sized wok or large deep skillet. Add the sesame oil and the onions. Stir-fry over med-high heat for a couple of minutes. Add about a tablespoon of the gomasio. Keep stir-frying until the onions are soft and translucent (5-8 minutes). Add carrots and the cabbage, and sprinkle in about half the remaining gomasio. Keep stir-frying until everything is tender (another 10-15 minutes). Sprinkle in the remaining gomasio, and serve.

Adapted from Still Life with Menu by Mollie Katzen

Oven Roasted Tomatoes

ingredients

• 2 pt cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• 2 Tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper

procedure

Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Mix ingredients and spread over non-aluminum cookie sheet. Cook one hour, then turn off oven, leaving tomatoes inside. Leave overnight.

Use over pasta or on fresh bread or crackers.