2016 CSA Week #1 Here comes Summer!

Welcome or Welcome Back! 
Some of you are new to this year's CSA program. Thank you for joining us. Every year is different for us here on the farm. Usually, our ups and downs coincide with the weather that we have been given to work with. This season promises to be no different in that regard.
We decided to delay the CSA by one week so that we could (hopefully) be one step closer to diving in to the bounty of summer; limiting the amount of time spent swimming in greens. Although the boxes will still contain a fair amount of the green stuff as we wait for the heat of summer to approach, we have saved up a few goodies to throw into the mix that will make it feel maybe a little bit more like July than June. And, as always, the boxes will be smaller in these first few weeks as we ramp up into full production mode. This will give everyone a chance to ease back into the CSA mindset and will allow you a chance to dust off your cook book and start clearing out your fridge.


For those of you who are picking up boxes off-site (most of you), there are a couple of loose rules to follow:

1. Boxes will be dropped off by 4 PM on Wednesdays at either Plain Grocery or Sage Mountain. Both places have been super generous in allowing us to use them as a drop off location over the past 10 years. Please tell them THANK YOU! On-Farm pick up is after 3 PM and bins will be in the BRAND NEW GARDEN HOUSE. Woo Hoo! Very excited about this.

2. Boxes need to be picked up within 24 hours of being delivered (that would be Thursday at 4 PM). If the boxes are not picked up by that time, the chance of it still being located where it should be will be less likely. Both of these are busy stores and floor/storage space is a hot commodity. They are not personally responsible for making sure the boxes are either refrigerated or stored long-term.

3. At Plain Grocery pick up will be in the back room. This is also the location where you can leave your empty tubs. At Sage Mountain pick up will be in the room with the sliding glass door. Tubs will be stored outside in the back of the shop. There are A LOT of pick ups at Sage this season and if it is too crowded in there  for people to shop because of all of our CSA bins, I will make other arrangements and will let you all know the new plan.

4. Please, please, please return your empty bin so we have a container to pack your produce in each week. We have a back stock of waxed boxes that Sage Mountain saved up for us over the winter. We can use these for people who forget to return their bins. However, when multiple people forget to return their bins (week after week) we go through our back stock of spare boxes fairly quickly. Once we run out of spare boxes then we can no longer deliver your produce.  Everyone forgets now and again to return their bin; that isn't a problem. If it gets to be a chronic situation, I will be in touch so that we can work out a solution.

I think that's it for now. I hope you enjoy the CSA. Willy and Laura (our first full time employee!) have been working really hard to get ready for this day. For us, the start of the CSA is our official signal that summer really is here. Hooray!
Have a great week.

In Your Share This Week:
Salad Mix, Carrots, Garlic Scapes, Swiss Chard, Pak Choi, Arugula and maybe a surprise or two (Diakon Radish?)

Every week I will do my best to let you know what will be in the boxes. This is a 'best guess' meaning that we may, at time of harvest, decide to make a last minute adjustment (either adding or subtracting items depending on what we find while in the field). Often the list is not entirely complete. Please do not panic if the list in the newsletter varies slightly from what is in the box. Farming is a job that requires calling lots and lots of 'audibles'.  We do our best to strive for consistency but life is often messy and does not unfold as intended. Thank you for your understanding!

Recipes:

Every week I will do my best to pick out and link to a few recipes that will highlight items from the box. If you have any favorite recipes that you would like to share with others, pass them along and I will include them.

7 Things To Do With Garlic Scapes

50 Salad Dressing Recipes

Sauteed Swiss Chard With Parmesan Cheese