Another week of spastic weather, though luckily the sun came out on our harvest days!  We are busy, busy, busy this week planting and harvesting.  Tomatoes are going into the ground as I write this as well as leeks, peanuts, sunchokes and so much more!

Some notes on this weeks harvest:

FARM SHARE:

Lettuce:  This week we have several different varieties of lettuce: Romaine, Carmona butter head and Flashy Lightening. Romaine is a cool weather fav and this variety is so tasty, it kicks store bought romaine's lil butt. Carmona is a butterhead with a yellow green heart and rouge leaves that aren't bitter.  Flashy lightening is a beautiful, dense, butter oak with small leaves that are great to adorn burgers, sandwiches or the salad bowl!

Arugula:  My personal favorite green.  This arugula is tender, sweet with a lil bit of kick.  It is great alone or with other greens in a salad, on top of toast, on top of pizza, eaten straight out of the bag...so many options!  My favorite is prosciutto pizza topped with arugula (tossed with salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon), capers and shaved parm right out of the oven!

Lacinato Kale: Still a little bit holy but super tasty no less. I'm sure most of you are aware of the many amazing and different ways to use kale.  This specific kale is wonderful in a raw kale salad, just make sure to massage your kale first to make it more tender.  A simple but perfect kale salad: Wash and trim the stems off two large handfuls of kale. Chop into thin confetti-like strands. Shred ricotta salata on top, add about 1 tablespoon of red onion or shallot that has been sliced very thinly. Add some olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, and freshly ground pepper.  

Scarlett Ohno Turnip + Greens: Oh my, aren't these beautiful.  This is our first time growing these bright pink beauties and we are pretty in love with them.  We had a pretty thick stand of them so we gave everyone a mix of the roots as well as turnip thinnings which hadn't matured to size yet.  The turnips can be cut thinly and eaten raw or also pickled, they are great for both uses.  The greens are pink ribbed and tender.  You can use both in a classic Japanese dish - roots seasoned and braised with the tops chopped and mixed in.  Turnip greens can also be added to lasagna like spinach, sautéed on their own or eaten fresh in a salad.

Detroit Beets + Greens: SO thrilled to have beets to share!  These red beets are sweet and wonderful.  Use them raw, roasted, pickled and so on.  The greens can enjoyed as well, best cooked in some form rather than eating raw.

Zucchini OR Strawberries:  Different drop sites receive strawberries this week!  This rotation will be continuing as the weather stays a bit cool!

Scallions:  Sweet and herby with the familiar onion kick. Eat both the white and green parts raw in salads, cooked in stir-fries, or whizzed into cream cheese and sour cream for a luscious dip.

Basil:  Oh...you know...basil in the PNW in May...hurray!!  What are you going to do with it??


MINI FARM SHARE:

Everything in the mini share is also in the farm share – see above!

Hope you have a great Memorial Day!  If you want to come out to the farm we are hosting Carabella Winery the Memorial Weekend in Wine Country event.  We'll also have a wine + pizza special!  More here.

Jen

Hello!

Happy sunny Wednesday.  It is always an amazing experience to be away from the farm for a week during the spring because things are almost unrecognizable upon return.  The beets have doubled in size, the turnips are booming and the tomatoes have become monsters. The amount of growth that happens during a sunny week never stops being impressive.  As one of our farmers came in from harvesting summer squash I was pinching myself, not being able to believe it's only the middle of May!  Even though it seems like summer is here, we are still operating within the parameters of the spring harvest.  

Some notes on this weeks harvest:

FARM SHARE:

Fava Tops:  Much like pea shoots, these are a spring delicacy!!!  The tender tops of the fava bean plant, with these you get all of the great flavor of fava without the pain of shelling the bean!  These tender greens can be used raw in a salad, made into pesto, put on top a pizza or just eaten straight outta the bag.  Store them in their bag in the fridge and use within a couple of days (DO NOT wash before storing as it will turn the leaves black)!!  For a simple fava greens recipe from the Beaverton Farmer's Market click here.  Another method for adding them to pasta is here.

Arugula Raab:  Also known as arugula rapini.  By the time CSA season started much of our raab was already out of the fields so I'm happy to have been able to include this delicious arugula raab.  We didn't give you too much as the flavor packs a punch but this flowering arugula is super tasty and can been eaten raw in a salad or sautéed lightly in oil.  I love this on top of toast with butter and radishes. Sautéing is quick and simple! Heat olive oil, add sliced garlic, add washed greens, sprinkle some chili pepper flakes; stir a few times, cover to steam a bit, and there you have it!

Vivid Choi: From the pak choi (also known as bok choy or Chinese cabbage) family, a mild and sweet mustard green with multicolored stems that are good cut up raw in a salad, or lightly sautéed with butter and salt.   How beautiful are the stems?  Try a leaf raw, it is SO good!  A farmer's favorite.

Zucchini OR Strawberries:  PLEASE note!!  If you didn't receive strawberries this week don't worry!  You will in one of the following weeks.  We keep track of who gets what and slowly rotate.  This is our way of giving our members some of our crops that we don't have enough of to give everyone at the same time.  And if you got zucchini, holy cow!  It's that delicious, early season bounty.  The first taste of summer, really!  

Salad Mix:  This is one of our mainstays.  We supply our salad mix to incredible chefs all over the Portland metro area year round and they love it!  We put a lot of hard work and creativity into it and change our salad mix along with what is seasonally appropriate.  Right now it is a mix of delicious mustards and lettuces.  It is so flavorful that you really don't need anything fancy in terms of a dressing.  We hope you enjoy it!

Valentine's Radishes:  A curated mix of three different radish varieties (red, purple and pink).  Super tasty and the tender greens can be used as well!  To store the roots longer, separate the tops.

Green garlic:  The last of it for the year, you received it the first week as well!  I think a great recipe from this box would be a fresh pasta with green garlic, fava tops and summer squash. Yum!


MINI FARM SHARE:

Rainbow Chard:  The first of the season!  We harvested both our very own Our Table saved-seed Rainbow variety as well as an Italian green/white variety called Verde di Taglia.  Both are super tasty although the smaller Verde is better raw than the rainbow.  Chard, like many of the farm greens, is great cooked.  I recommend adding it to a dish (ala spinach) like lasagna or enchiladas or just sautéing it with some onions, garlic and a little bit of oil and maybe some lemon at the end.  You can also throw it in fresh pasta, add it to a soup...really the options are endless.  I often de-stem the chard, dice the colorful stems and use them in a different dish (delicious in a little olive oil and seasoning alone).

Hakurei Turnips:  The large share received these last week. In my mind they are one of the MVPs of spring!  Absolutely delicious fresh, these are great on toast, in a salad or munched on alone  They can also be roasted or grilled but there is really no need.  The greens are also tasty and tender and should definitely not be thrown away!  If you want to store the roots for a couple of days remove the tops and store separately.

For Fava Tops and Green Garlic see above.

Hope you enjoy your share this week!

Jen



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We’d like to introduce Liz Raymond, a Consumer Member. Liz is a surgical nurse who loves to ride horses. Five days a week she is with her horse, Chula, to practice jumping, and improve her technique and style. She also loves to cook, grow veggies in her garden, and spend time with family. Liz worked with Karen Flowers, one of the co-op’s farmers, and heard about Our Table from Karen.  

Liz went to one of the early Open House meetings and heard Narendra explain his philosophy and goals. Feeling it was important for social, environmental, and economic reasons, Liz joined the CSA and soon became a member to support the co-op. “For example, I love that farmer members would (ultimately) have a livelihood that could support them, and that temp workers had potential for a more sustainable way of life. I think that this is what farms should be doing everywhere. I want to support my local economy, my neighbors, and buy local vs. things grown hundreds of miles away which need to be shipped here.”

​Liz disagrees with the argument that monoculture “is the only way to feed this world. Post World War II, the face of the USA has changed, and this really bothers me. Chemical based farming has taken over; monoculture is most common. As a result there is little plant diversity — plants are unhealthy and so is the soil.”
 
“The benefits of an intimate, long-term relationship with the land are a resource we have all but totally lost, along with the family farm. I’m concerned about its demise and the knowledge that came with it. In the past, farmers passed down what they learned through experience, and over time about their particular parcel of land and it's environment. To me this way of farming is absolutely crucial to keeping us on course towards a sustainable planet.
 
Aside from her own garden’s produce, Liz enjoys the CSA. “It has broadened my horizons as I have to figure out what to do with unfamiliar veggies. I love finding things in my share that my Mom would talk about eating when she was a child. It is like opening a gift each time!"
 
Liz shops in the store every week. “I love the rural setting, love the drive to get there, and the design of the building. It’s fun to check out what is in the store. I feel at home in this kind of environment.”

Hey everybody! Welcome to week 2 of your local food boxes!!!
Here on the farm spring is chugging, or should I say hurtling along while we are already busy getting our baby summer crops out of the greenhouse and into the ground.  Even as we're all enjoying the delicious flushes of spring, it's impossible not to have things like tomatoes and peppers and cucumbers stuck in our minds, both as farmers and eaters.  But, alas, for now as the tomato babies get big and strong for our future enjoyment, we must focus on the bounty that we are lucky enough to get to see appear before our eyes!

In this weeks shares:

Notes:
Mini Share:
Thyme: Sweet smelling herb great with pork, chicken, even mac n' cheese.
Pink Beauty Radish: Watery and sweet with a little radish kick, they're great sliced and eaten raw or cooked with butter and salt (the radish greens would be great in the latter scenario, but are a little prickly when raw).
Vivid Choi: A Mild and sweet mustard green with multicolored stems that are good cut up raw in a salad, or lightly sauteed with butter and salt (and perhaps radishes?).
Kale: Kale is kale is kale is great raw in a salad, cooked in a soup, blended in a smoothy, it's kale!

Farm Share:
Leek: the allium that keeps on giving, substitute it in for onion for a milder flavor, great with any other vegetable or meat, it's great!
Thyme: See mini share
Kale: See mini share
Hakurei Turnip: A very sweet spring treat, so good raw, but also good sauteed with...you guessed it, butter and salt.
Flashy Lightning Lettuce: A very fast growing butter lettuce that's crisp and beautiful to look at as you eat it.
Baby Fennel: Condensed flavor in a small package, use it to flavor a salad or pasta sauce.
Ruby Streaks Mustard: A spicy mustard green with a powerful flavor to use sparingly in a salad or braised.

Enjoy!!!!

Louis

It is finally here!  Week one of our new CSA program!!  We are SO excited for you to join us! 

Every week, one of your farmers will be writing a blog post here.  We will highlight the produce we've included in the boxes, give you some anecdotes from the farm and often have some recipes as well!

It is always a great feeling to know that our community members are following the season along with us. There will always be ups and downs, successes and failures and it's so special to us to share them with ya'll.  Some of the produce may be "ugly," there might be some mud still left on a radish but at the end of the day you know that it is all coming from our little farm!  

A SIDE NOTE:  Spring is always difficult.  You can't predict the weather and this year especially has been sporadic as you know...your farmers would like to emphasize the abundance in your box will increase as the season gets more underway, we are still early here so be patient with us as we work through the tough hunger-gap times.  We promise it will even out through the season!

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Some notes on what we've put in the box:

The romaine is our first full head lettuce of the season!  It's been growing since March in one of our hoop houses and I'm so glad it is ready in time.  It's a delicious early season romaine!
Green garlic...such a Spring treat.  This young, tender garlic is full of flavor.  You can use it raw, sauté it, roast it...there are so many options, get creative!  I love it roasted on pizza or raw in a salad.  
Leeks These overwintered beauties are the best!  We know we are giving you two alliums but we just couldn't help it.  These won't be around again until Fall so savor them!  Potato-leek soup, leek gratin and so many more possibilities.  
Baby fennel Use it like you would an herb, because they are so small they are full of flavor.  You can put the fronds in a salad and dice the bulb and put on top or use to flavor a dish.

Large Only:

Pea Shoots (large only)  Another Spring treat!  The shoots are tender and tasty. Great in a salad, as a burger topping or on pizza.
Shunkyo radishes are awesome!  A specialty radish originating in Northern China, these guys are sweet and spicy at the same time.  A great addition to toast or any salad. ALSO, the greens are tender and delicious.  They are great in a salad or sautéd (a few people got pink beauty radishes, fyi)

Mini Only :

Ruby Streaks Mustard This is a beautiful, mildly spicy mustard.  I love it fresh in a simple salad to highlight the flavor while others like to braise it.   The flowers we included because they are beautiful and tasty, just make sure to not eat the stem, it's woody!

We hope you enjoy your first share.  We know they are a little on the small size but it will get better as things start to grow!!  Thanks so much for supporting your Our Table farmers!

Jen