Week 5!
Pesto and Jam!
As of this week, we’ve started to turn the corner on the farm (at last!): the strawberries are coming on strong, and the basil crop has bushed out. That means it’s time for making pesto, freezing strawberries, and making jam!
Bulk basil and flats of strawberries will be available by special order
- Basil is $14 per pound, sold in one-pound increments. We pick only the primo tops (no stem), so it’s a lot of basil bang for your buck!
- Strawberriesare $35 per flat (12 heaping pint baskets per flat).
We can deliver to your pickup site, or you can pick up at the farmstand. We will fill requests in the order we receive them, on a rolling basis. To order, email us your name, phone number, pickup location preference, and the quantity you want.
Bulk basil will likely be available through July and into August. Flats of strawberries will be available in July during our peak harvest window (the next few weeks).
Let the food preservation begin!
Happy Food Independence Day!
Eating locally is one of the most patriotic acts there is, whether you’re buying from a food producer in your area or growing some of your own food. Why? Because eating locally helps strengthen the “foodshed” that you belong to –it supports local farmers and food producers, it puts money into the local economy, and it keeps food miles (the distance food travels from farm to plate) at a minimum (which means less burning of fossil fuels to transport food long distances). The cherry on top is the fact that local food is as fresh as it gets, and the taste can’t be beat.
Enjoy this Independence Day with local food produced by Candace, Juana, Seth, and your Valley Flora farmers. Eggs! Bread! Tamales! Salad Greens! Veggies! Berries! And then pat yourself on the back for being instrumental in helping build a stronger local food system here on the southcoast of Oregon! We thank you!
In your share this week:
- Broccoli or Broccolini
- Spinach
- Head Lettuce
- Strawberries (2 pints, hooray!)
- Hakurei Turnips
- Red Beets
On Rotation:
This means that some pickup locations will receive it this week, others next week – or in a future week.
- Kohlrabi
- Radishes
Red Beets
A haiku from yours truly, inspired by four years of putting beets into the CSA share:
Red earthy beauty,
so steeped in controversy.
What is not to love?
Controversy? I jump for joy at the first beet harvest each year, but there are those who will bemoan the sight of beets in their tote this week. They will open the lid, groan, and quickly try to find someone who wants to trade two pounds of beets for a pint of strawberries, or anything. Anything other than beets.
I have tried everything to convince the resolute beet protestors: recipes for chocolate beet cake, roasted beets, beet salad, beet soup, cold beet borscht, steamed beets, grated beets, beet stamps and beet lipstick.
I may have won over a few converts over the years, thanks to the natural sweetness and deep flavor of fresh beets not 24 hours out of the ground. I like to think I have, at least.
And then there are those of you who are swooning at the mention of the season’s first beets. Because you know that not only are the red roots so good, so many ways, but because the greens are just as delicious (and good for you, too). A big brother to chard, beet greens steam, stir-fry, sautee, soup, and salad themselves up beautifully.
I am at peace with the fact that there will be controversy (if nothing else, then to inspire more haiku). I am hopeful that our beets will find their way into many hearts and bellies. I accept that not everyone has to like everything. We are all different.
And there might just be someone at a pickup site who would gladly hand over a pint of strawberries for a handful of beets.
The universe works in mysterious ways.
Beet storage: if you top your beets, the roots will hold up for months in the fridge in a plastic bag. The greens will hold for a week or more.
Recipes Galore
Please note: all of our produce is field-rinsed, not washed. We recommend you wash all of your produce before eating it.
For recipes and ideas, check out these links:
http://www.valleyflorafarm.com/forum/4
Our own collection of recipes that you can contribute to
http://www.valleyflorafarm.com/content/recipe-searcher
Our website’s recipe “search engine,” where you can hunt down recipes by ingredient
A vast collection of recipes, searchable by one or multiple ingredients
http://info2.farmfreshtoyou.com/index.php?cmd=RE
A storehouse of recipes, searchable by ingredient
