Week 7: Summer Solstice

Shannon shows off the good greens to come...a herb salad blend.

Hey howdy, everybody! Supposedly it will be warm this week, today sure feels good. Yes, I type these letters a Monday afternoon, whilst children still at friend's or grandma-grandpa's house. I just can't seem to think, much less type, when they're here. So loud and crazy they are! And sleep early? Oh, no no no, “it's not night time...” “yes it is, it's summertime, the sunshine stays bright late, so it's nighttime even though it's light out. Go to sleep, now.” “But it's mornin'time, not night time.” “it's nighttime, sleepytime, close your eyes then it will be dark!” Happy Summer Solstice!!!

Yaay, we got a comment on our blogspot! A compliment, even, yaay! It said, “those sunflower shoots were awesome!” I agree, they were tasty, and i'm-a-gonna plant some more! The kids like them, too. 

Full share with Cheese and extra fruit options.  Photo by Shannon Gilbert

This week's standard share with extra fruit option.  Photo by Shannon Gilbert

This week's box: the salad is back! We'll have the herb blend next week or the next, lookin' forward to it! A bundle of scapes with either dill or cilantro and a pretty pea shoot (a decorative, edible, savory bundle; perfect for a pretty glass of water on your counter). And an alien from outer space! Just kidding, it's kohlrabi from Yonder Farm! I looked at recipes, but they're all for cooking and you only each get one, and they're yummiest raw, anyways. So, chop tops (can cook and eat them) and bottom, then peel and cut slabs or wedges and eat like a sliced apple-- I can't wait to get mine to eat! Maybe i'll start growing them again next year. I think i'll grow more stuff next year, i'm starting to miss all the cool plants. . . The Chinese/Napa Cabbage is from up Yonder, too. Fruit shares: the strawberries are from 8^th Street, not washed. You have credit for next week, as it's a late fruit year and cherries are ~10 days slow.

For those with a fruit share: the reddest, juiciest strawberries from 8th Street Greens.

Cooking tips for Chinese Cabbage: chop raw into green salads; sub. into traditional coleslaw; make kim chi; chop with grated carrot/green onion/toasted sesame oil/rice vinegar and soy sauce; cooks quickly: Steam for 3-5 minutes or until leaves are wilted down but remain slightly crisp; sub. For common cabbage but reduce cook time by 2 minutes; stir-fry alone with onion, toasted sesame oil and soy sauce or add at end of stir-fry; use leaves for roll-ups; excellent in soups, fried rice, mashed with potatoes, chopped with scrambled eggs. Storage tips: do not remove all of the outer tough leaves before storage. They will help retain moisture, keeping the inside crisp and fresh. Keep in hydrator drawer of fridge for up to 2 weeks. --from Asparagus to Zucchini

Can you believe that just 7 weeks ago, as shown on our first blog post, these big Chinese Cabbages were transplanted to the field?

Cilantro does not keep flavor when dried, however it's delicious in stir-fries and soups but add at end of cooking to preserve flavor. Toss into salad, pasta or potato salad (or use dill), make a vinaigrette with lime, use in Thai-Indian-Mexican or Chinese dishes, or in those roll-ups you're doing with the Napa Cabbage. :)

Fletcher harvests the tasty and decorative buds from a cilantro plant that Shannon let grow tall and flower for this week's herb bundle.

Keep fresh herbs like dill or cilantro in a damp towel or stand upright in a container with an inch of h2o, and refrigerate. Do not wash prior to chilling. Freeze fresh leaves in a zip-lock bag or little yogurt type container. Do not thaw before use. Dill DOES dry nicely. You'll get both these herbs again as the summer rolls along. . . ~~later, Shannon

Week 6: "Oh, The Things You Can Do With a Farm Share Box"

Check out this great article (with recipes) on NPR about the excitement of cooking from a CSA box, entitled, "Oh, The Things You Can Do With a Farm Share Box".

http://www.npr.org/2011/06/14/137034621/oh-the-things-you-can-do-with-a-farm-share-box

 

Beautiful lettuce from Art Heineman, garlic scapes, winter savory herb bundles, mini chinese cabbage, sunflower shoots and a ripening hint of the fruits to come! (photo by Shannon)

Hey there, everyone! This is our 6th CSA box of the season. This week's box has: a bundle of winter savory herb from Michael Pilarski, a head of red iceberg lettuce from Art Heineman (certified organic fields in Tonasket), a bundle of mini Chinese cabbage from 8th Street Greens (it began bolting before it formed heads, but is still good cooking food, the flowers and buds are food too!), a bundle of garlic scapes from 8th Street (tasty savory seed shoots that we trim from the garlic plants, allows garlic to form bigger bulbs and gives us gourmet early garlic flavor for our cooking, or eat raw in a processed dressing or pesto), and either a bag of stir-fry or a handful of sunflower shoots from 8th St... Sunflower shoots are a delicious tender microgreen, a young green that's older than sprouts but not yet a baby green like our salad. Hopefully we succeed for this Thursday, otherwise we'll try again for in a week or two! It's probable that this week's box is a little sparse and you'll all have some credit for later this summer when we have food abundance. Then, you'll get a fat box! How about that watercress guacomole?! Yum!

Where exactly does a scape come from? The top of an almost mature garlic plant.

The super-delicious flowers from a bolted Yukina Savoy plant. This week you have the flowers from a mini Chinese cabbage. 

Savory by Linda Gilbert

Savory: an herb so bold and peppery in its flavor that since the time of the Saxons it has come to denote not only the herb itself, but also a whole segment of cooking. It is synonymous with tasty and flavorful foods. Most commonly used as a seasoning for green vegetables, savory's special affinity is for beans. Use summer savory, with its more delicate flavor, for tender baby green beans, and winter savory to enhance a whole medley of dried beans and lentils. It is no coincidence that the German word for the herb is Bohenkraut, meaning bean herb, as one of the components of the herb naturally aids the digestion of these sometimes problematic legumes.

Winter savory (Satureja montana) The leaves of winter savory are best used for dishes that require long cooking, such as stews, or added to the water when cooking dried beans so that there is enough heat and moisture to break them down. This not only releases the flavorful oils, but also softens the leaves so that they are palatable. Winter savory is often used in stuffing, with vegetables, as a seasoning for fowl, and in making sausages. In fact, it is used today in the commercial preparation of salami.

Asian Bean Salad serves 4 Colorful and filled with lively flavors, this salad is a perfect match with grilled chicken or fish.

1/2 cup Adzuki Beans;4 sprigs Winter Savory; 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 clove garlic, minced; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil; 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar; 1/8 teaspoon Asian chile sauce; 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice; 3 tablespoons celery, chopped

4 tablespoons red onion, chopped; 3 tablespoons red bell peppers, chopped; 3 tablespoons snow peas, blanched and chopped; 1/8 teaspoon black pepper; 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin; 1/4 teaspoon salt

Cover the beans in four times the volume of water and let soak overnight. Drain off the water and place the beans in a pot. Cover with five cups of water, add the salt and garlic. Bring to a boil and cook until the beans are soft but still retain their shape. Remove from heat, drain and rinse briefly with warm water. When drained, place in a mixing bowl, add the remaining ingredients, and toss gently until everything is evenly blended. ~~shannon

Eisa and Copper Kettle cuddle on top of a bale of hay.

photo by Shannon Gilbert 

Iris grabs a good snack: asparagus from her back yard.

photo by Shannon Gilbert

Week 5: Sweet Greens Are Made of These

This week's box: Heads of Bok Choy, beautiful radishes (limited supply cuz high cull rate) or heads of lettuce or other substitute, and sweet carrots from Yonder farm, early carrots – so special. 

Painted Sky Warrior uses the giant salad spinner to dry the triple washed greens.

The stir-fry bag from 8^th Street is an odd-ball mix, not our usual “prototype :),” but it's still good food that we've rinsed 3 times. Big and small kales, chards, tokyo bekana, pea shoots and flowers, tatsoi and yukina savoy. We're giving the salad and spinach a rest from being picked so hard. It's been slow-growing, but this week's blend has two new plantings in it! Next year I will plant 3 times as much when I do my 1^st march planting!

Heather harvests Yukina Savory

What's with all the Pac Choi? Last week's bag, this week's blend AND heads from Yonder? Well. . . that's what we've got out in the fields! I ate some chopped, sauteed in butter then cracked a couple eggs in the pan, stirred and flipped and scrambled, then spritzed with braggs or soy sauce, yum!

“Bok Choy is a great nutritional gift and often touted as the garden vegetable higheset in calcium. Whether this is the truth or not, you can be confident that bok choy is an exellent source of vitamins A, B-complex, C and some minerals. All of this for only 24 calories per 1-cup serving!”

For stir-fry: separate leaves from stem, put stems in first to start cooking. Bok Choy can compliment other ingredients or it can be the stir-fry. Good with rice or noodles. Or, simply steam the Pac Choi and toss with a favorite marinade. Toasted sesame oil, soy sauce and rice vinegar are good basics. Storage: Wrap bok choy in a damp towel or put it in a plastic bag and place in the hydrator drawer of the fridge. Store up to 1 week. Leaves will lose integrity and wilt if allowed to dry out.

Beautiful Austrian Winter Pea shoots are included in this weeks stir-fry mix.

Grilled Pork Chops and Bok Choy with Sesame Garlic Glaze -From Asparagus to Zucchini

3 TB soy sauce//1 ½ TB sesame oil//1 ½-2 tsp chili garlic sauce//4 chops//8 large stalks bok choy

Combine sauces and oil in a large, deep plate or dish. Place chops in the mix, turn and coat. Let stand at room temp., turning occasionally, while prepare grill to med-hi heat. When coals ready, remove chops from marinade and grill them until just done, 3-4 min. p/side. Meanwhile, grill the bok choy stalks until tender, about 3 min., basting with remaining marinade while they cook. Serve with rice or asian noodle dish. 4 servings.

The watercress, never before in the csa boxes, is from a creek at one of Michael Pilarski's fields. I'm looking forward to eating it! A love of mine is wildcrafting and when out on a walk, nibbling foods from the old lands... last week, while thunder was rolling, I munched on a few fern tips that were just thinking about unfurling the next day. (Michael taught me about eating fern tips about 14 years ago in Bellingham). Then I looked at the nettle tips with buds, still tender, and remembered our friend Sonya who taught me that you could munch them too. (No, I didn't get stung:)) Little moments of wildcrafting food or medecine, and recognizing what's out there without farming gives good feelings and good memories. I always feel moments of thankfulness and gratitude right then...

4-star review on this simple recipe~~~

Watercress Guacamole//Bon Appétit | December 2009 //by Selma Brown Morrow //yield: 8 servings

Ingredients: 3 large avocados, halved, pitted, peeled//2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 cup chopped fresh watercress tops//Coarse kosher salt

Preparation: Cube avocados into medium bowl of cold water; drain well. Place in large bowl. Add lime juice and mash coarsely. Mix in watercress; season to taste with coarse salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover and chill. ~~~shannon

photo by Shannon Gilbert

Albert from Pine Stump Farms unloads hay for mulching at 8th Street Greens while Eisa looks on with admiration from a safe distance.

Shannon planted blackberry "tissue cultures" and keeps them warm and protected from weeds in a nest of hay mulch.

Vetch grows freely at 8th Street Greens. Vetch (the purple plant) is a often used as a cover crop, as it fixes nitrogen and other nutrients into the soil.

Week 4: A tour of Crown S Ranch

Here we are with our 4^th CSA box, already! This week's boxes have:

photo by Painted Sky Warrior

Salad from 8^th Street Greens, bok choy leaves (washed 3 times) from Yonder Farm and 8^th Street, radishes from Yonder, and marjoram from Michael Pilarski. The chive flowers in the salad are also from Michael. Yes, they are edible!

There is an avocado soup recipe I've posted on the blog site. It's ingredients are nicely seasonal (except the nuts)... scallions, marjoram, radishes and chive blossoms, all of which are in this week's CSA box. Lots of other seasonal herbs too, if you have them.

Avocado Soup

yield: 3 1/2 Cups

Avocado pureed with buttermilk (low-fat) and yogurt (with the cream on top) yields a pale green soup laced with masses of minced herbs and textures.

Ingredients: 2 cups low-fat buttermilk

1 cup yogurt, preferably whole-milk

1 large avocado, peeled and pitted

1 cucumber, peeled and seeded

1 large garlic clove

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

3 slender scallions, white parts plus a bit of the green, finely minced

2 tablespoons chopped dill

1 tablespoon snipped chives

1 tablespoon minced marjoram or oregano

1 tablespoon minced tarragon

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1/2 jalapeño chile, seeded and chopped

Zest and juice of 1 lime

1/2 teaspoon sweetener, such as agave syrup, to taste

To Finish:

Finely sliced chives and chive blossoms

Thinly slivered radishes

Dill, mint, and cilantro sprigs

1/3 cup shelled pistachios or walnuts

1. Puree the buttermilk, yogurt, avocado, and a quarter of the peeled cucumber in a blender until smooth, then pour it into a bowl.

2. Mash the garlic with 1/2 teaspoon salt and stir it into the puree along with the scallions, herbs, chile, and lime zest. Season to taste with salt, pepper, lime juice, and sweetener, if needed. Seed and finely dice the remaining cucumber and add to the soup. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled. Just before serving, taste and correct the seasonings.

3. Ladle the soup into bowls, then cover the surface with the chives, radishes, herb sprigs, and pistachios

Following is a radish recipe, but you've received just one bunch.

Yield: Makes 4 side-dish servings

Active time: 15 minutes //total time: 35 minutes

Brief high-heat roasting mellows a radish's peppery flavor and turns it into a whole new root vegetable.

Ingredients: 2 bunches medium radishes (such as red, pink, and purple; about 20)

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Coarse kosher salt

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Preparation: Preheat oven to 450°F. Brush large heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Cut off all but 1/2 inch of green radish tops; reserve trimmed tops and rinse them well, checking for grit. Coarsely chop radish tops and set aside. Cut radishes lengthwise in half and place in medium bowl. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and toss thoroughly to coat. Place radishes, cut side down, on prepared baking sheet; sprinkle lightly with coarse salt. Roast until radishes are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally, about 18 minutes. Season to taste with more coarse kosher salt, if desired.

Medium-high heat: Add pinch of coarse kosher salt to skillet and cook until butter browns, swirling skillet frequently to keep butter solids from burning, about 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and stir in fresh lemon juice.

Transfer roasted radishes to warmed shallow serving bowl and drizzle brown butter over. Sprinkle with chopped radish tops and serve.

photo by Shannon Gilbert

Iris watches a variety of sheep graze in the rain at Crown S Ranch.

Our family visited Crown S Ranch this Sunday. We did an informative and fun tour in a torrential downpour. Super fun! They tour folks on Saturdays at 2:00 throughout the season. They've done awesome things with solar powered rolling chicken coops, crop-rotating meat animals, and food processing. They've got a good example of a closed-loop, full-circle, healthy animal/land, actually sustainable family farm. Best to them and their projects! 

photo by Shannon Gilbert

Eisa and Iris check out one of the solar powered rolling chicken coops at Crown S Ranch.

photo by Shannon Gilbert

Jennifer Sukovaty-Argraves runs Crown S Ranch with her husband, Louis. Her energy isn't dampened by the rain as she gives a tour of their sustainable family farm.

Ed Welch from Sunny Pine farm was there, too. Our kids love sampling the “cream cheese” (goat chevre). That is probably what the cheese shares are getting in the box this week. Their cheese is so yummy, a couple weeks ago was the first time we tried the honey lavender, “mmm,” Iris likes it a lot. We were at Twisp Farmers Market Saturday and happened to meet an 8^th Street 2^nd year CSA shareholder. It's so funny that several of us are involved without knowing faces, another reason for the blog. That way you can see our fun and beautiful pictures!

Best to you and yours! ~~Shannon

Week Three: Yonder Farm

Hello~~ Just rototilled and prepped all the beds for another salad, spinach and herbs succession. We plant those every 2 weeks to keep the greens young and tender throughout the summer. I also prepped to transplant our squash, pumpkin, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant and peppers. I'm experimenting this year with a small lima bean and kidney bean planting —so curious how that will go!

Heads of lettuce grow in one of the many greenhouses on Yonder Farm.

This weeks box has more original salad blend but with pea shoots in it too! and green garlic from 8^th Street. What!!! More green garlic, what the heck!? I know, but it's so yummy and we have lots of it, and. . . I got a loose version of a recipe from Watershine, who brought a tasty fresh green garlic pesto spread to a potluck. So, chop the tender green garlic parts (and whites) into 1” pieces and whir them in a blender, add olive oil and salt. There you go, a savory bright green simple pesto for bread or noodles. I think it would be awesome with cashews or pine nuts in there, too. This could probably freeze well, either use ice cube trays, then release the frozen pesto cubes into a ziploc baggie, or re-use yogurt type “tupperwares” and drizzle more olive oil on top to preserve the bright green in the freezer. Though, with basil pesto, I often skip the oil seal, and it preserves just fine.

Also in the box are baby beets with their glorious tops! These bunches of beautiful vegie are all about the beet greens and the baby roots are just a tasty little bonus. They're from Yonder Farm.

Bruschetta with Sauteed Greens

Bon Appétit | March 1998 cuisine: Italian yield: makes 4 servings (recipe found on Epicurious

Ingredients: 1 tablespoon plus 12 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic[[or green garlic from last week]

8 ounces greens (such as Swiss chard, spinach, or beet tops), stems removed, leaves sliced

4 6 x 3 x 1/2-inch slices country-style white bread, toasted, each slice cut in half crosswise

Grey Celtic salt (also called gros sel or gray salt) or other salt

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and stir 15 seconds. Add greens and sauté until tender, about 3 minutes. Place toasts on platter. Drizzle 1 1/2 teaspoons oil over each toast. Top with greens. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Amber harvests beets with delicious green tops at Yonder Farm.

Beet tops are also good in marinara with pasta, chopped for a simple broth soup or many other ways like their relation, spinach and chard. If you ever see a “blister” on a leaf of this family, tear it out and discard. It must have escaped our careful observation... a pest could be inhabiting the blister.

The rhubarb is from Michael Pilarski. It's exciting to have it in the CSA for the 1^st time ever! I remember picking rhubarb on misty, fog-laden mornings in Chimicum, back when we lived on the Olympic Peninsula. I worked on Gunning Farm by a rushing salmon creek, with compost piles made of shrimp and fish parts. My co-worker would turn them with a backhoe! Here's Michael's quick rhubarb sauce recipe: put some water in a saucepan, cut the rhubarb in chunks, boil then simmer 20 minutes, add honey or sugar (or agave) to taste. Good drizzled over ice cream (cold sauce), yogurt, granola, in or on pie, eat plain, or freeze for later.

The starts are from Watershine, a special package put together just for 8^th Street's CSA. It is 4 different flowers from Yonder Farm: the Lupine, Bee Balm, and Gruppenblau (old German salvia) are all perennials and the Stocks are annual, a fragrant treat for this year. The hummingbirds and bees will love them!

All the Best! ~~Shannon

Week Two: Purple and Green

Hey there CSA folks! We are now 35 shares and growing. Lucky for 8^th Street the greens love the rain. We have a handful of bread shares and 10 folks signed up for cheese! If any Okanogan Valley shareholders are curious about Back Country Coffee they can now buy some at Main Street Market in Omak or sample it while at One Drop Coffee Shop in Tonasket. It's Caleb's and my favorite local coffee and it's 100% organic and fair trade, such a pleasant bonus! Nothing like fresh (weekly) roasted coffee brewed in your morning-time kitchen (or rainy afternoon office).

Yes, new this year, Shannon (me) has finally allowed 8^th Street Greens to fly into the interwebs of the internet... we'll try to stay rooted though. I've been wanting to share pictures with CSA members for several years now. Thanks to Phoebe Webb, film school graduate, we now have a semi-professional blog site featuring the farm all-stars (people and crops), additional recipes and the weekly newsletters. So, shareholders and acquaintances alike can subscribe and get an email when the updates happen or just search it here-n-there. Our blog site can be part of the education that our Okanogan County community needs. It seems that some of us small-scale farmers are accidentally competing for the same customer base, but if the thousands of Okanogan County residents grocery-shopped more locally, seasonally and healthfully, us farmers would be sittin' pretty and I'd be property-shopping!

Until Shannon gets her dream property, 8th Street Greens continues to "grow it the healthy way" in this soil she's been stewarding for 10 years. A weeping crab apple tree looks over the greenhouse and freshly disced soil.

 

This Week's box has Original Salad Blend and Green Garlic from 8^th Street. We need to harvest the green garlic before it toughens up. Head Lettuce, either green or red loose leaf, from Yonder Farm (Watershine has sold the Filaree Farm name with the orchard and garlic so has re-named her row-crop operation as Yonder Farm! Yonder Farm is located in the same fields as Filaree was, so the food continues to be 30 years certified organic!). The storage potatoes are Viking (purple, good fryers) and Yukon Gold (excellent steamed, boiled and mashed, or good any way). They are from Sutton Farm out of Tonasket and grew in soil that is stewarded in an environmentally friendly way.

Pictured is the standard share with no added options.

The following two recipes would be good to keep around, as they are basics for regular use.

Wilted Greens with Basic Dressing

Aioli is good on sandwiches, with fish and chips, or with herbed potatoes or other foods.

Ingredients: 1/3 C. olive oil; 4 garlic cloves (or green garlic), minced; ¼ C. cider vinegar; 1 ½ 1b mixed tender greens (beet, mizuna, mustard or mesclun)

Preparation: eat oil and garlic in small saucepan over moderate heat until fragrant, approx. 1 minute. Stir in vinegar and immediately pour over greens. Season with salt and pepper and toss well. Serve right away. Serves 10-12 (Note: you receive ½ lb greens in your box, so you may want to decrease this recipe)

Aioli Sauce

Ingredients: ¼ C. extra virgin olive oil; 2 TB chopped green garlic; ¼ tsp. Coarse salt; ¾ C. mayonnaise, divided; 2 tsp. Fresh lemon juice

Preparation: Blend olive oil, garlic and salt in processor until garlic is minced. Add 2 TB mayo and blend well. Transfer to small bowl; whisk in remaining mayo and lemon juice.




Spinach and Green Garlic Souffle from Epicurious

Infusion

3/4 to 1 cup minced green garlic, about 5 small heads

1 cup cream or half-and-half

1 thyme sprig

The Soufflé

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for the dish

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 bunch spinach, stems removed, or 12 to 16 ounces loose, young spinach leaves

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/3 cups milk

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1 scant cup (about 4 ounces) mild goat cheese

4 egg yolks

6 egg whites

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter a 6-cup soufflé dish or gratin dish and dust it with a few tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese.

2. Put the garlic, cream, and thyme in a small saucepan over low heat. Bring slowly to a boil, then turn off the heat, cover, and let steep for 15 minutes.

3. Wash the spinach well, then wilt it in a skillet with the water clinging to the leaves. Tip it into a colander, press out the moisture, then finely chop.

4. Melt the 4 tablespoons butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour, and cook for 1 minute while stirring. Whisk in the milk and stir until it thickens. Add 1 teaspoon salt, then stir in the goat cheese and remaining Parmesan. Turn off the heat and stir in the egg yolks, spinach, and the garlic-cream mixture. Season with pepper.

5. Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they form firm peaks that are just a bit on the soft side. Fold the whites and base together. Scrape the batter into the prepared dish and bake until golden brown and set, about 25 minutes for a gratin dish, 30 minutes if using a soufflé dish.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Spinach-and-Green-Garlic-Souffle-355946#ixzz1MTlWB2Gf

First Box of the Season

Greetings! Welcome to the 2011 growing season here in the Okanogan! This is 8^thStreet Green's 6^th CSA season. We started our CSA in 2003. This spring has been cold but it seems we're on track with growing food, so here we go!

This first newsletter is mostly a “how-to” reading about general operations of our weekly CSA delivery.

Communication: I only have a landline home telephone. I check it at break-times and lunch and evening. For quick response call me. We prefer “business hours” so we have night time off. For non-urgent words, you may email me, i've been checking it more-n-more regularly, though I still love ink on paper. It's fun when we get letters in our returned boxes:)

Schedule: Box-packing begins at 8 a.m. in Okanogan. We load the car at ~10:30 and drive north to Tonasket with round 1 of deliveries. Along the way we will deliver to Omak locations (Breadline and Main Street Market), hoping to have boxes conveniently available for lunchtime hour pick-ups. I then drive back to Okanogan and pick up round 2 for delivery. I will drop off Okanogan doorstep deliveries, then head over the mountain to Twisp (The Local) and Winthrop (The Community School). I should be to Winthrop by 3:00. On-farm pick-up boxes are available by 2:00. You park up top and walk down to the cooler or you can drive down if you need to. Please, always drive slow and watch out for our toddlers, especially if you are arriving later. If anybody needs a different drop-off location let me know.

Boxes: The precious boxes... I have 3 rotations of boxes purchased for you. The 300 boxes I just bought cost $599! So, it adds up and we love to have them returned! I leave a box of food for you, you take it home, when you get the following weeks box of food you leave your empty box there for me! Later, there will sometimes be little boxes inside the big box, we like to get those back, too!

Payment: You will get a receipt for your CSA purchase. If you paid in full, done deal! If you're making 3 payments, I will let you know via newsletter when they're due, July 1^st and Sept. 1^st. You will send me a check in the mail, then I will put a receipt in your box.

We are currently 25 shareholders! I'm still accepting memberships, probably on into June. We had rave reviews last year, but sign-ups are low so far. I was hoping to grow the CSA this year, but now i'm hoping to make it to 60 like last year! Thank-You to all of you who advocate for local foods, enjoy small business and love the seasons!

This box, for those who have chosen the options, also includes Larkhaven Farm's Whitestone Feta and The Okanogan Bakery's OK Multigrain bread.

This weeks box has Salad and Spinach from 8^th Street Greens. Both have been triple- washed. We serve it up right out of the bag. Whether you wash it a 4^th time or not is up to you. The spinach with a red stem is called “Bordeaux.” The green garlic is also from 8^th Street. Use it like green onions; in soup, on salad or in stir-fries. The apples are “Cameos” and “Fujis” from River Valley Organic's (George and Apple Otte's) fall crop. They're still quite tasty for fresh eating. The head lettuce is mostly “Black Seeded Simpson” from Yonder Farm.

Here's to a great 2011 season!!! ~~Shannon

Heather helps out on harvest day, working fast to keep the delicate greens fresh.

A full bucket of greens sits at the end of a row.

 photo credit: Zak Scott

Shannon pours Nutri-Rich into the mix of OMRI Certified fertilizers, which also includes Nature's Intent (nitrogen, protein, chicken manure), K-Mag (calcium and magnesium), Epsom Salts, and Kelp.

 photo credit: Zak Scott

Shannon uses the tractor to spread organic fertilizers into the field. The funnel can hold 500 lbs and Shannon applies 2,500 lbs per acre.

Zak gently slices tender greens for this week's CSA box.