CSA Members 2010: Newsletter Archive

Winter Delivery #1

Dear CSA Members,

This time of year is oddly busy for us here at the farm. With shorter days and persistent drizzle, we limit our outside hours and fill the days with the long overdue desk work that hasn't yet been wrestled into submission.

There are seeds to be catalogued, transplants to plan, brochures to be printed, and mailings to be sent. Supplies are ordered, broken parts cursed at and replaced, bills paid, and plans made. . . so much more than you'd imagine for a small farm.

Mike fills up his evenings and spare time with Farmers Market meetings, grant proposals, barn restoration, and business planning. I have the privilege of writing to you, of planning and working on the Winter CSA harvest and deliveries, and of managing the seed starts and transplants. For all the dreary weather we endure, we don't have much time to complain about it. Spring is rapidly approaching, and we best be ready!

Today's delivery is a tribute to Winter -- full of storage crops, roots and hardy vegetables. Most everything in the box will last for a few weeks. Please keep an eye on the carrots, however. Though sweet and crisp, we have suffered a few soft spots from the too cold weather. We have hand sorted and bagged everything to send you the best quality, so we hope you enjoy them!

As for the extra goodies: we have included a bag of amazing coffee from Santa Lucia. Justin and Lucy Page, the owners, make our top five list of favorite people and favorite local businesses. From their website (santaluciaroasters.com): "Founded in 2002, Santa Lucia Coffee is a small batch coffee roaster located in the heart of the Pacific Northwest. We offer only the finest, fair trade, organic beans, roasted on unique hand built roasters." They roasted our beans specifically for this delivery.

We have elected to leave the coffee whole bean due to so many requests for whole bean coffee last time.

The cheese comes directly to you from Black Sheep Creamery (blacksheepcreamery.com). Just over Curtis Hill and across the Chehalis River, Brad and Meg Gregory run their family farm and raise a beautiful flock of sheep. They care deeply about their animals, and their love for what they do shines through in their product.

For those of you who may be interested in pork, our neighbor, Tom Taylor, has pork for sale. His pigs are antibiotic and hormone free, and although his feed isn't organic, he does grow it himself, right here in the Valley. For those of you who attended our Barn Stomp last September, you've had a taste of Tom's pork. Please call or email if you're interested, and we will put you in touch with Tom directly.

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Roasted Vegetables with Fresh Thyme

ingredients

• Olive oil
• 3 medium potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 cups chopped carrots
• 1 large rutabaga, CAREFULLY peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 medium onions, cut into thin wedges
• 2-3 large parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 5 cloves garlic, cut into thin slices
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup vegetable broth

procedure

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a large baking dish with olive oil. Stir all vegetables and oil and arrange on the pan. Roast for about 30 minutes, then add broth and stir. Roast an additional 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Parsnip and Apple Soup

for soup

• 1 leek (white and pale green part only), halved lengthwise, washed, and chopped fine
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 2 to 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup apple cider or juice
• 1/2 cup milk or half and half

for fried parsnips

• vegetable oil for deep-frying parsnip
• 1 parsnip, peeled and cut into thin strips

procedure

Make soup:

Peel potato and cut into 1/4-inch dice. In a heavy kettle cook potato, parsnips, shallots, leek and parsley in butter over moderate heat, stirring, until leek is softened, about 12 minutes. Add broth and simmer, covered, 20 minutes, or until vegetables are very soft. In a blender purée mixture in batches and transfer to a large saucepan. Stir in cider or juice, cream, and salt and pepper to taste and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Keep soup warm.

Make fried parsnip:

In a heavy saucepan heat 1 inch oil to 360°F. on a deep-fat thermometer and fry parsnip strips in batches until golden brown, transferring with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Season fried parsnip with salt.

Serve soup topped with fried parsnip.

Adapted from Gourmet, November 1995

Pears in Honey and Pine Nut Caramel with Artisanal Cheese

ingredients

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 3 firm but ripe Bosc pears or other pears, peeled, halved lengthwise, cored
• 3 1/2 tablespoons mild honey (such as orange blossom or clover)
• 4 ounces artisanal cheese, sliced or crumbled, room temperature
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts
• Pinch of fine sea salt

procedure

Cook unsalted butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until beginning to brown. Add pear halves, cut side down, to skillet. Drizzle honey over pears and swirl pan slightly to blend butter and honey. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until pears are tender when pierced with paring knife, swirling skillet occasionally and adding a few tablespoons water to skillet if caramel sauce turns deep amber before pears are tender, about 12 minutes.

Transfer pears, cut side up, to serving platter. Top pears with cheese. Return skillet with caramel sauce to medium-high heat; add pine nuts to skillet and sprinkle lightly with sea salt. Cook until sauce in skillet is brown and bubbling, about 2 minutes. Spoon sauce over pears and serve.

Bon Appétit, February 2008, Deborah Madison