It's the final week of winter CSA.  Feeling a little incredulous that it's already here, but also happy that it means spring and summer are around the corner...especially with this beautiful weather!! This is also a huge day for your farmers because it is the last day of our old CSA style.  We now move on to bigger and better things.  If you haven't checked it out already, you can see what we've got in store for the next CSA season here.  Our LOCAL FOOD BOXES come in two different sizes, span a longer season, have awesome add-ons like eggs, milk, meat and more.  We have re-done our crop plan to have more offerings and we've even made it so that there are even payment plans!  Check it out. Spring/Summer share starts May 4th and runs through August 17th.

As a side note, we really appreciate you supporting our farm by being a CSA member.  Your active participation in our farm really counts, especially during the hard winter season.  Your farmers are so, so grateful!!  We hope you've liked your shares and are thankful for your patience as some of the crops didn't come through and others did so well we had to give you lots.  The winter is always a trying time for vegetables and people like you not only make it possible but make it worth it.  We've got a lot planned for this 2016 season and we can't wait to share it with you!

In your share:

MÂCHE
Also known as "Lamb's Lettuce,"  mâche has been cultivated in France since the 17th century.  This delicious, tiny, dark green plant with a sweet, nutty flavor is one of the most nutritious salad greens around!  Packed full of vitamin C, beta-carotene and Omega 3s, the soft, buttery leaves also provide plenty of antioxidants. Plus mâche provides nearly a third more iron than a comparable amount of spinach.  To truly appreciate this delicacy, many suggest to serve mâche the traditional European way: lightly dressed with a simple vinaigrette.   The French also like to add chopped, hard-boiled eggs or sliced roasted beets. Mâche is good mixed with sharper-tasting greens like chicories. You can also braising it lightly as you would spinach. I gave you guys three heads since they are super small.

KALE RAAB
Yum!!  It is SO good, we can't get over it. I always bring some home to cook with and end up snacking on it fresh until it's completely gone.  These over-wintered flowering brassicas are sweet, tender and full of flavor.

NAPOLI or JAUNE DU DOUBS
Sweet and delicious overwintered carrots. The napolis are orange, the Jaune du Doubs are yellow/white.  The napolis are better fresh than the Jaune du Doubs which are more of a cooking carrot.  All would be great steamed or roasted.

PARSLEY
A great refreshing flavor after being used to all the hearty roots and squash during the dark months.  I love just throwing it in a salad or garnishing soup or whatever with it.

GILFEATHER TURNIP
I couldn't resist.  I love these guys and we had a really great crop of them so I'm giving them to you again as a bonus.  A great winter root.  

LEEKS
One of our flagship winter crops, can you tell?  But hey, who doesn't love a leek!  Hope you've enjoyed learning to cook with them.  

CHIVES
These lil fellas...everybody seems to love 'em.  They are such a great garnish and a real Spring treat.  Happy to have them in the share!  I like making chive butter to use with radishes and toast. 

THYME
Thyme is one of the classic herbs.  It can be used fresh or dried.  I always have dried thyme hanging on the wall in my kitchen to throw into a dish whenever.    It goes well with so many things...meats, roasted vegetables, asparagus and lemon, potatoes...

Hope to see you all May 4th for the first week of Spring CSA!!

Jen

​Think about the last time you went grocery shopping. As you walked through the aisles you probably saw people holding a product, looking down, meticulously reading the packaging. What is everyone looking for? The product’s origins, how it was grown or processed, recognizable ingredients, the company’s ethics, or all of the above? Will they find it by reading labels in a supermarket?
 
In the last decade, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in the available options for “Organic”, “Natural”, “Fair-trade”, and “Local” foods. With more choice than ever before, it’s easy to find products that seemingly solve the nutritional and environmental consequences of the chemical-rich and highly processed foods that have become typical in our food system. Food companies and grocery stores have particularly responded to rising consumer awareness and education by introducing new labels, certifications, and branding that help consumers make decisions about which food to buy so they can feel good about the choices they make.
 
Here’s the rub, though. What many of us don’t know is that most of the natural/organic products that we find in a supermarket are owned and controlled by only a handful of corporations — the same companies that manufacture and sell the food we’re trying to avoid! Unfortunately, these labels and claims are often no more than clever marketing that capitalizes on shifts in demand, rather than useful tools to help consumers. Whether you’re searching for more nutritious, environmentally sound, or ethical food, labels and certifications on supermarket products alone won’t tell you the whole story.
 
That's where Our Table comes in. We’re trying to restore transparency to our food system while making it easy to buy wholesome, honest food. We do this through our Certified Local Foods sourcing standards. Anything in our store with the Certified Local seal is either grown/raised/produced on Our Table’s farm in Sherwood, or by one of the Producer Members of the Co-op. This means that the food meets our high standards of quality and ethics — prioritizing a living wages for farm-workers, building soil fertility for long-term health and nutrition, and meeting the needs of our community through delicious, local and chemical-free foods. 
 
As the one overseeing the Producer Member relationships at Our Table, for me Certified Local is much more than just another label or certification. I get to find and build relationships with Oregon producers that are growing, raising, and producing some of the best food in the state — which also means I get to taste everything! Beyond the fun of tasting, I carefully vet potential Producer Members and their products to ensure that all of the Certified Local Foods standards are met. I look for three main things:
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1) Is the product produced with sustainability and high quality in mind (Organic, non-GMO, humane)
2) Is the product and business ethical (company philosophy, practices, treatment of workers, etc.)
3) Is the product wholesome and delicious (very important!)
 
Through our unique cooperative structure, we currently have 13 producers that sell under the Certified Local Food brand. Each of them represents and demonstrates Our Table’s shared values of good food, good practices, and good people. They are each unique in what they do and how they do it, but every one of them is choosing the more ethical, and often difficult, small-scale, slow hand approach. Whether it’s raising animals on home grown feed (Deck Family Farm), fermenting locally sourced and Organic produce (Oregon Brineworks and Lion Heart Kombucha), or going rogue by self producing and distributing products typically sold through large commodity markets (Flying Cow Dairy, Lonesome Whistle Farm, Caravan Coffee, and Community Supported Fishery), all these Producer Members exemplify what Certified Local Foods stands for.
 
Because we put in the effort and diligence to thoroughly evaluate our Producer Members, we take the guesswork out of the equation for you, the eater. By purchasing Certified Local Foods, you no longer have to read the labels or wonder where your food came from, who produced it, and what’s in it. You can just eat and enjoy!
 
You can read more about our Producer Members here. But, really, the best thing you can do is to try their products by purchasing them at the on-farm grocery or through the Local Food Boxes CSA — because once you do, you’ll be hooked! 

– Mallory

Today's share is GREEN!  And the sun came out just in time to celebrate it!

In your share this week:

KALE RAAB
The first of the season.  Kale raab, also known as rapini, is the flowering part of over-wintered brassicas.  You can get raab from collard greens, brussels sprouts, cabbage and more but kale is always the first.  It is sweet, tender and full of flavor.  I love to eat it fresh in a salad but you can also sauté it, roast it, steam it, put in an enchilada, put a bird on it (jk), the list goes on..

SPIGARELLO
This is a treat!  Spigarello is a variety of Italian sprouting broccoli. It has been overwintered and has this beautiful wavy, spirally leaves.  You can treat it the same way as raab although I've seen lots of unique ways to use it in the kitchen.  This is a chef favorite and I'm really excited to share it with ya'll.

CHICORY (open face Castelfranco or Chioggia)
The last chicory of the year!  These are not huge but I think are beautiful.  Chicories come in extremely diverse shapes, sizes and colors.  These are some of my favorites both the castelfranco and chioggia have either great big red leaves or speckles of magenta...their diversity within a variety is huge so everyone pretty much gets one that looks different.  Their large leaves can be used in a salad, roasted or sautéd.  The good ol' ice water bath trick works great for them...as does finding a good dressing to balance out the bitterness.

COLLARD GREENS
The standard, hearty winter green.  Collards are extremely healthy for you and are super delicious.  Common in a lot of southern cuisine, I like to sauté them with garlic, onion and maybe some chili oil and add them to a meal.  A lot of people like to steam them also.  

GILFEATHER TURNIP
You got these guys the other week and they're back again!  A great winter root.  I've been seeing them more at farmers markets and specialty grocers...our restaurants are really liking them as well.

CILANTRO
A delicious, fresh, great herb!

I'm going to bring this share home with me tonight and make enchiladas stuffed with raab, spigarello, gilfeather and top the dish with cilantro.