CSA Members 2010: Newsletter Archive

Winter Delivery #4

Dear CSA Members,

Our May 1st early sign up deadline is just around the corner! Please join us for our Summer season of vegetables! Greetings from the sometimes rainy, sometimes sunny, always changing Boistfort Valley. We have been seeding and planting during the sunny spells over the last few weeks, and hope to catch up on transplanting at the end of this week (provided we have a few sunny days. . . it's positively soggy out there right now). We offer occasional updates through our website, but more frequently through our blogs and our facebook page.

April 2010: Winter CSA Share

Here are links to the blogs and Facebook, just in case you want to check in:
boistfortvalleyfarmcsa.blogspot.com (Farm Blog)
boistfortvalleyfarm.blogspot.com (Mike's Blog)
facebook.com/boistfortvalleyfarm (Facebook page)

Today's delivery brings an abundance of Spring crops from the farm: our first salad mix (ever!), radishes, mizuna (the frilly bunched green), apple mint, and bok choy. Rutabaga and Spinach represent the last of our overwintered offerings, as the warmer weather begins to take hold. . . or tries to take hold. Please note that the mixed salad, like all our vegetables, should be washed prior to eating. It has been rinsed after harvest but not thoroughly enough to remove any clinging soil. The spinach has an incredible mild sweet flavor, and can be eaten raw in salad or just sautéed with a bit of olive oil and half an onion. Even my daughter will eat our Winter spinach raw. Its flavor is unparalled, even in our own Fall crops. Mizuna can also be eaten in salad or sautéed slightly (just to the wilting point). Stems, leaves, and buds are all edible, so just chop it up and enjoy it.

We have also included the season's first rhubarb and what will likely be the last of the Washington onions and leeks for a while. Alden Farms in Monroe, Washington has supplied us with some delicious potatoes, Bintje by name, that we think you'll love. The variety is new to us, and has proven itself an asset for excellent flavor and versatility.

We have also included granola from Olympia's Blue Heron Bakery. I can't get enough of their coconut almond granola, so I have to include it with the shares in hope that you'll enjoy it as much as I do. From their website: "Committed to community, health and sustenance seven days a week since 1977. We make the very best baked goods because we demand the very best ingredients. Our goal is to create great tasting foods with the purest and freshest ingredients available."

Eggs are often requested with our shares, and we are pleased to partner with Steibrs Farms again for the April delivery. One of the reasons we're so pleased: "The health and happiness of our hens is important to us. For that reason our hens will never be fed any hormones, antibiotics, harmful drugs, or animal by-products. Our hens feed is vegetarian. It is a mixture of the finest grains: corn, wheat, barley, and soy. . . All of our Organic hens are fed 100% Organic feed, milled from the finest Organic grains in our own, on site, certified Organic Feed Mill."

Our final delivery for the Winter/Spring season will be on Thursday, May 27th. Thank you for participating in our Winter journey, and we hope that you will join us for the Summer season!

Join us for the 2010 Summer Season!

See our Summer offerings & sign up now!

Apple-Rhubarb Crisp

for topping

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1/2 cup old-fashion oats
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

for filling

• 1/2 pound apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
• 3/4 pound rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt

procedure

For topping

Mix first 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Rub in butter until mixture begins to clump together. Mix in nuts. (Can be made 1 day in ahead. Chill.)

For filling

Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine apples, rhubarb, sugar, flour and vanilla extract in large bowl and toss to coat. Transfer apple mixture to 8x8x2-inch glass baking dish. Sprinkle topping evenly over fruit. Bake until fruit is tender when pierced with knife and topping is crisp, covering with foil if topping is browning too quickly, about 45 minutes. Cool 20 minutes.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Bon Appétit, March 1996

Stir Fried Baby Bok Choy

ingredients

• 1 bunch baby bok choy
• 2 teaspoons peanut oil
• 1 tsp minced fresh ginger
• 1/4 large onion, thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
• a pinch of sea salt
• a pinch of sugar
• a pinch of ground white pepper

procedure

Slice bok choy crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Wash bok choy and dry in colander or salad spinner until dry to touch.

In wok or large sauté pan over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion and sauté until translucent, but do not allow to brown. Add ginger and garlic and stir-fry until aromatic, about 1 minute. Add bok choy, salt, sugar, and pepper and increase heat to medium high. Stir-fry 1 minute. Add 1 tablespoon water, cover, and cook until wilted, about 30 seconds. Uncover, stir-fry 5 seconds, then cover again, turn off flame, and let steam in residual heat until just tender, about 30 seconds more. Serve immediately.

Adapted from Epicurious, by Chef Shirley Cheng, July 2008

And a special recipe, dedicated to my favorite Kentuckian Rebecca in honor of the Kentucky Derby this Saturday!    Mint Juleps from allrecipes.com