I had a lot of fun in Bakersfield last Saturday while making sure the truck got off on time. There were a couple of ladies there excitedly going through their boxes together so I got to tell them about each farmer who grew their produce and how to handle it at home and stuff. Then one said incredulously, “I couldn’t get near this much stuff at the farmer’s market for this price!” (Despite your best intentions, you probably wouldn’t force yourself to buy all Organic either.) That made me think that there are probably a lot of our subscribers who could use a short course on California/U.S. farmers markets historically as well as economically from a farmer’s perspective.
Don’t ask me why, but you can’t just ship your produce to a store in any old container. Oh no comrade dis vould be verboten! There are federal and state container and markings laws that have to be followed. As a matter of fact, each commodity has a board or panel that must recommend to the feds any new packaging or markings. It’s a lengthy process that takes about a year. It’s not as bad now as it used to be, but a couple times in my career, I’ve had an idea that I felt would give us a competitive advantage and found myself in the difficult position of having to get permission from our competition who conveniently delayed approval until they could get up to speed themselves.
Enter our beloved “Governor Moonbeam” late 60’s early 70’s with the farmer’s market exemption. Basically, if I pay some fees to the ag commissioner of the counties I farm in, he certifies that I actually grow certain things and that gives me the privilege of selling my own product and that of two of my neighbors at a “certified farmers market” (more fees) where they charge me fees to sell at their market. The neighbors of course aren’t allowed to pay me for selling their stuff. No, we all just love each other and they sell my stuff in return for my selling theirs. It has become a viable option for some farmers and a lot of fun for many communities. The economic advantage a farmer has vs. selling wholesale is this reduction of packing costs as well as keeping the retail mark-up for himself. The consumer benefits by getting a fresher product and the perception that “this guy grew my food”.
I did farmer’s markets one year after hail messed up my crop and frankly had a blast at it. Both of my brothers have done ‘em, one for over 10 years.
Here’s the bottom line. You can’t move more than a few boxes of any one item during the 4 hour course of a market. To the extent you’re at the market, you’re not farming and to move any amount of product or provide for your family, you’ve always got to be at some market. You find yourself in this catch 22 of wanting to farm but never having the time. The big addictive plus is the customer interaction.
The reason we’re able to do this as we are and as we grow even better, is that each farmer is able to be a professional at what he does, efficiently producing Organic farm products yet marketing them directly to you guys with greatly reduced packing costs in most cases. The second advantage is that he’s getting a fair price immediately at harvest instead of the common 6 weeks and now we’re at a level where we can estimate volumes and set price before planting. Lastly, as you in the south valley can see, as we’re able to shift to larger trucks, we can get it from the farm to you for less than a cup of fuel / box, beating out even a Prius! I hope this helps and wasn’t too boring.
EAT HEALTHY!!!!!
GREEN BEANS
Depending on your age you may remember helping your mother “string” the beans before she cooked them. The “strings” that gave these beans their common name, string beans, is seldom found in our modern varieties. Green beans are one of only a few varieties of beans that are eaten fresh. They are picked while immature and the inner bean is just beginning to form. Green beans are a classic favorite and can be eaten raw or cooked, hot or cold. They are great in salads, casseroles, sautéed or steamed and from summer to early fall they are at their very best.
You wouldn’t know it to look at them but green beans pack a power punch when it comes to nutrition, and at the same time they are very low in calories. You can eat a whole cup of green beans for only 43.75 calories! If you are looking for an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin K and manganese you will find it here. Want a good source for vitamin A, dietary fiber, potassium, folate and iron? Here it is. When you add to that magnesium, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, copper, calcium, protein, phosphorous, and omega-3 fatty acids you know you are serving your family nutrition.
Store unwashed fresh green beans in a plastic bag kept in the refrigerator crisper. Whole beans stored this way should keep for about seven days.
When you are ready to use them, wash them off and snap or cut off the ends and then snap or cut into preferred lengths.
REMEMBER THE ADD-ONS
“Gosh, I know I ordered add-ons but since it was almost a week ago I don’t remember exactly what I ordered.” Do you ever find yourself thinking that on delivery day? Or, perhaps you had someone else pick up your order but they didn’t get all of your add-ons. Maybe you got home and realized that you had ordered 2 dozen eggs but only got one. Have you ever experienced one, or all, of these scenarios? Your host has a list of what you ordered, and will do everything possible to make sure you get your whole order, but it is critically important that you check, before you leave the site, and make sure you have everything you ordered and paid for. A tool that can be used for this is the Invoice that is emailed to you each Monday. On that Invoice is a list of all of your add-ons. We suggest that you bring a copy with you and, before you leave, make sure you got everything on the list. If you are having someone else pick up your order for you, forward them a copy of the invoice and ask them to bring it with them so they are not in doubt.
WHO GREW THIS?
Here is what you will find in this week’s box.
-Seasonal Stone Fruit
The Peterson Family, Kingsburg
-Red Onions
-Summer Squash*
Ginger Balakian, Reedley
-Green Leaf Lettuce*
-Carrots
California Organic, Lamont
-Mediterranean Cucumbers
-Basil*
-Red Batavian Lettuce
-Green Beans
T & D Willey, Madera
*Denotes Large Box Only
Contents may vary due to availability on date of delivery.
WASH IT FIRST
Organic produce does not have chemical residue, but Mother Nature has a way of adding unwelcome elements to our produce since it is grown outdoors. All produce should be washed before you eat it.
GROWER LINKS
When you visit the add-on pages you will see a new addition. If the grower providing an add-on has a website there is a link available so you can check them out.
Greek Pasta Salad
12 oz dried penne (4 cups dry)
1 medium cucumber halved lengthwise and sliced
½ - 1 red onion sliced thinly
1/3 cup pitted olives, green or black, halved
Cook pasta according to pkg. directions, drain in a colander & rinse with cold water. In a bowl toss together the cooked pasta, cucumber, onions and olives.
½ cup olive oil ½ cup lemon juice
2 Tbsp fresh basil or 2 tsp dried & crushed 4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp fresh oregano or 2 tsp dried & crushed ¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper 1 cup feta cheese (4 oz)
In a jar that can be sealed combine the olive oil, lemon juice, basil and oregano, garlic, salt and pepper. Cover and shake well. Drizzle over pasta mixture, toss to coat. Cover and chill in frig for at least 2 hours. Add feta, toss and serve. Halved cherry tomatoes may be added as an option
String Beans with Shallots
1 lb fresh string beans, ends removed Salt
2 Tbsp butter 1 Tbsp olive oil
3 shallots, diced ½ tsp freshly ground pepper
Blanch the string beans in a large pot of boiling salted water for 1 ½ minutes. Drain immediately and immerse in a bowl of ice water.
Heat the butter and oil in a very large sauté pan or large pot and sauté the shallots on medium heat for 5-10 minutes, tossing occasionally until browned. Drain the string beans and add to the shallots with ½ tsp of sat and pepper. Heat only until beans are hot.
June 7, 2008
June 2, 2008
Week 39
Walk into any class of 4 & 5 year olds and ask ‘em “Who here can sing really well?” and every hand goes up. They’ll even start singing to prove it. “Which of you can dance?” Not only will you get all hands in the air, but you’ll get some pretty impressive improvisation on the old dance floor that would cause the judges to pull out some high cards. “Are there any artists in the room?” Well just come over here to the finger paints and crayons and budding Rembrandts and Michel-angelos will show you the most exuberant displays of creativity you’ve ever experienced. And if you still aren’t convinced of the true value of these creations, just follow ‘em home where the refrigerator – already covered with similar creations will yield to this latest masterpiece. Every one will stop dead in their tracks to marvel at this and other works on display in this most revered focal point of the home (except siblings who really don’t know anything at all about art). Fast forward a few brief years to Junior high and ask the same questions and what a difference. I was the Jr. Hi Sunday school teacher for 22 years (penance for the grief I caused) and I can tell you that one or two hands on each subject are a struggle and then with the caveat of “I’m pretty good at this particular type of art, but not that”. What happened in 9 years??
You’ll like this story. Here in Kingsburg, we have a beloved Elementary school vocal instructor named Avon Shakespeare. Retired at least 15 years now he was my singing instructor / choir director from kindergarten through 8th grade. I still love to sing and the louder the better. I took his 7th & 8th grade choirs (it was either that or sewing since I already had wood shop). Towards the end of 8th grade, he held me after class and after everyone was out of the room said “Vernon, you don’t sing very well, but you have a lot of confidence!”
Back to our Kindergarteners turned Jr Hi-ers. The world taught us there’s a lot of stuff we just aren’t very good at. Who Cares??!!
Always ask for crayons if the restaurant has ‘em. The waiter’s sure not going to be critical and you’ll have fun while eating less bread.
Here’s the deal. We get old to the extent we accept the implication, when really aging well is the art of doing more with less. When my pick-up was new, I covered 35,000 miles a year. I do half that now and get twice as much done.
We grow cynical to the extent we accept “there’s nothing we can do to change it” when realistically, with-in our own sphere of influence at least, “it” has just been put on the endangered species list. Folks, if something’s not right, and there’s nothing we can do about it, there’s no sin in going on. But if there’s a chance at putting it right, pity the fool who’d stand in front of that train.
I know you believe that or you’d be paying double for not so fresh Organic. And I know you’ll stay forever young as you take on whatever’s not right in your own world. EAT HEALTHY!!!
RAINER CHERRIES
Have you been missing out? Once you taste Rainer cherries you may think so. Many of us have grown up to believe that only bright, red cherries are sweet and good to eat.
The Rainer cherry has a creamy yellow flesh and is yellow and red on the outside. Being a hybrid between the Bing and Van cherries, two of the sweeter varieties, it is one of the sweetest and most prized cherries grown. They are generally more expensive than the red varieties and in fact may sell for as much as a dollar each in Japan. The reason that these cherries are valued so much is that they are loved by many for their sweetness, but they have a short growing season and are notoriously difficult to grow. Extreme heat and excessive rain can easily damage the cherry crop. Both of which we have been experiencing in the past two weeks.
Cherries should be stored in the coldest part of your refrigerator, usually near the back. Cherries can decay more in one hour at room temperature than they can in twenty-four hours at 32º F.
Just as with berries, cherries should not be washed until you are ready to use them. This will help to preserve the cherries. If you don’t plan to use ripe cherries within six days you should freeze them. To do so wash and drain them until they are dry. Spread the cherries evenly over a cookie sheet and freeze them. After they are frozen solid transfer them to a plastic bag. Your cherries will keep up to a year this way.
PLUOTS
Is it a plum or is it an apricot? Pluots are a cross between the two. But wait, isn’t that what we just had in an Aprium? Yes, but no.
You would think that crossing a plum with an apricot would be the same as crossing an apricot with a plum but that is not the case. Pluots are one-third apricot and two-thirds plum and so bear a strong resemblance to plums, but have a sweet, intense flavor, and are rich in vitamin A. The pluot was developed, through cross-pollination, in the 1990’s. This was achieved by Fred Zaiger who also developed the aprium. There are now several varieties of pluot available with colors that range from pink to red.
Pluots are juicy and sweet, which makes them a favorite of most kids. They can be served raw or cooked and can be used in the place of both plums and apricots in your favorite recipes. Try them on their own, mixed with yogurt or as a topping for your favorite ice cream.
Once pluots are fully ripe they should be stored in the refrigerator to keep them fresh.
WHO GREW THIS?
Here is what you will find in this week’s box.
-Flavor Rosa Pluots
-Rainer Cherries
Jeff White, Kingsburg
-Red Onions
-Summer Squash
Ginger Balakian, Reedley
-Lettuce
-Baby Beets*
T & D Willey, Madera
-Carrots
-Russet Potatoes
-Leeks*
-Green Peppers*
California Organics, Lamont
*Denotes Large Box Only
Contents may vary due to availability on date of delivery.
ADD-ON CHERRIES
It looks like the Rainer cherries came through this week’s rain OK. That means we are able to offer them as an add-on for next week’s delivery. If you want to purchase a 10 pound box they are available and you may order them off of the add-on list, but you must order them before 9:00 on Monday morning. To do so, login to your account find your Subscription Dashboard and the Edit This Week/Add-on button.
Zucchini Pancakes Yield: 3 Servings
½ cup all purpose flour ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ tsp dried oregano Salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten 2 Tbsp chopped onion
2 Tbsp mayonnaise 1 ½ cups zucchini or other similar
2 Tbsp butter or margarine squash
Sour Cream, optional
In a bowl combine the flour, Parmesan cheese, oregano, salt and pepper. Combine egg, onion, mayonnaise, and squash; stir into dry ingredients until well blended.
In a large skillet, melt butter. Drop squash mixture by cupfuls into skillet; press lightly to flatten. Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. Serve with sour cream if desired.
Zucchini Bread
3 eggs 3 cups flour
2 cups sugar 1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon 1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups shredded zucchini or other summer squash 2 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup chopped nuts 1 tsp grated lemon peel
Combine eggs and sugar. Beat in oil, vanilla and lemon peel. Combine the dry ingredients; gradually add to sugar mixture and mix well. Stir in squash and nuts. Pour into 2 greased 9 inch x 5 inch x 3 inch loaf pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.
You’ll like this story. Here in Kingsburg, we have a beloved Elementary school vocal instructor named Avon Shakespeare. Retired at least 15 years now he was my singing instructor / choir director from kindergarten through 8th grade. I still love to sing and the louder the better. I took his 7th & 8th grade choirs (it was either that or sewing since I already had wood shop). Towards the end of 8th grade, he held me after class and after everyone was out of the room said “Vernon, you don’t sing very well, but you have a lot of confidence!”
Back to our Kindergarteners turned Jr Hi-ers. The world taught us there’s a lot of stuff we just aren’t very good at. Who Cares??!!
Always ask for crayons if the restaurant has ‘em. The waiter’s sure not going to be critical and you’ll have fun while eating less bread.
Here’s the deal. We get old to the extent we accept the implication, when really aging well is the art of doing more with less. When my pick-up was new, I covered 35,000 miles a year. I do half that now and get twice as much done.
We grow cynical to the extent we accept “there’s nothing we can do to change it” when realistically, with-in our own sphere of influence at least, “it” has just been put on the endangered species list. Folks, if something’s not right, and there’s nothing we can do about it, there’s no sin in going on. But if there’s a chance at putting it right, pity the fool who’d stand in front of that train.
I know you believe that or you’d be paying double for not so fresh Organic. And I know you’ll stay forever young as you take on whatever’s not right in your own world. EAT HEALTHY!!!
RAINER CHERRIES
Have you been missing out? Once you taste Rainer cherries you may think so. Many of us have grown up to believe that only bright, red cherries are sweet and good to eat.
The Rainer cherry has a creamy yellow flesh and is yellow and red on the outside. Being a hybrid between the Bing and Van cherries, two of the sweeter varieties, it is one of the sweetest and most prized cherries grown. They are generally more expensive than the red varieties and in fact may sell for as much as a dollar each in Japan. The reason that these cherries are valued so much is that they are loved by many for their sweetness, but they have a short growing season and are notoriously difficult to grow. Extreme heat and excessive rain can easily damage the cherry crop. Both of which we have been experiencing in the past two weeks.
Cherries should be stored in the coldest part of your refrigerator, usually near the back. Cherries can decay more in one hour at room temperature than they can in twenty-four hours at 32º F.
Just as with berries, cherries should not be washed until you are ready to use them. This will help to preserve the cherries. If you don’t plan to use ripe cherries within six days you should freeze them. To do so wash and drain them until they are dry. Spread the cherries evenly over a cookie sheet and freeze them. After they are frozen solid transfer them to a plastic bag. Your cherries will keep up to a year this way.
PLUOTS
Is it a plum or is it an apricot? Pluots are a cross between the two. But wait, isn’t that what we just had in an Aprium? Yes, but no.
You would think that crossing a plum with an apricot would be the same as crossing an apricot with a plum but that is not the case. Pluots are one-third apricot and two-thirds plum and so bear a strong resemblance to plums, but have a sweet, intense flavor, and are rich in vitamin A. The pluot was developed, through cross-pollination, in the 1990’s. This was achieved by Fred Zaiger who also developed the aprium. There are now several varieties of pluot available with colors that range from pink to red.
Pluots are juicy and sweet, which makes them a favorite of most kids. They can be served raw or cooked and can be used in the place of both plums and apricots in your favorite recipes. Try them on their own, mixed with yogurt or as a topping for your favorite ice cream.
Once pluots are fully ripe they should be stored in the refrigerator to keep them fresh.
WHO GREW THIS?
Here is what you will find in this week’s box.
-Flavor Rosa Pluots
-Rainer Cherries
Jeff White, Kingsburg
-Red Onions
-Summer Squash
Ginger Balakian, Reedley
-Lettuce
-Baby Beets*
T & D Willey, Madera
-Carrots
-Russet Potatoes
-Leeks*
-Green Peppers*
California Organics, Lamont
*Denotes Large Box Only
Contents may vary due to availability on date of delivery.
ADD-ON CHERRIES
It looks like the Rainer cherries came through this week’s rain OK. That means we are able to offer them as an add-on for next week’s delivery. If you want to purchase a 10 pound box they are available and you may order them off of the add-on list, but you must order them before 9:00 on Monday morning. To do so, login to your account find your Subscription Dashboard and the Edit This Week/Add-on button.
Zucchini Pancakes Yield: 3 Servings
½ cup all purpose flour ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ tsp dried oregano Salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten 2 Tbsp chopped onion
2 Tbsp mayonnaise 1 ½ cups zucchini or other similar
2 Tbsp butter or margarine squash
Sour Cream, optional
In a bowl combine the flour, Parmesan cheese, oregano, salt and pepper. Combine egg, onion, mayonnaise, and squash; stir into dry ingredients until well blended.
In a large skillet, melt butter. Drop squash mixture by cupfuls into skillet; press lightly to flatten. Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. Serve with sour cream if desired.
Zucchini Bread
3 eggs 3 cups flour
2 cups sugar 1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon 1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups shredded zucchini or other summer squash 2 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup chopped nuts 1 tsp grated lemon peel
Combine eggs and sugar. Beat in oil, vanilla and lemon peel. Combine the dry ingredients; gradually add to sugar mixture and mix well. Stir in squash and nuts. Pour into 2 greased 9 inch x 5 inch x 3 inch loaf pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.
Week 38
The average (whatever that means) American I’m told eats about 15 different produce items in a year. Potatoes, carrots, onions, bagged salad, bananas, apples… you get the idea. BOOORIIING!!! No wonder folks get tired of eating at home. We’re doing almost that many any given week. Variety as they say, but variety not only to keep things interesting, but because each plant delivers different nutritional values. We need to be eating a varied diet of nutrient dense food, a portion of that raw in order to thrive.
Speaking of thriving, I put half of our home ranch chickens on a probiotic this flock as an experiment to see what would happen. Wow. Better livability, color, less odor because the droppings are firmer. Coincidently, I just visited a couple hours ago with Dr. Stephen Gorton whose company manufactures a probiotic (good micro-organisms) product that we’ve used to combat fungal problems in our fruit. He told me that he had developed this product we’re using on fruit initially for an unnamed meat packer. He was getting the same results I’m seeing in chickens from this other product 30 years ago in the hog business. So I asked him how come nobody’s using it?
“It cost $2.00/ pig which was less than the antibiotics they were using, but the independent vets would lose their kick-back from the pharmaceutical companies” Stephen stood right on my farm and told me that story 2 hours ago. Sounds like some conspiracy malarkey, but he’s an honest guy, and follow the money. There’s sure a lot we just don’t know, but the little we do know is probably enough. More real stuff. Less fake stuff = better health in all areas. It’s truly amazing the connectedness between micro-organisms and plants and people
Our local leafy guys got nuked by the heat last week.
Nectarines are Zee Fire from our Nomura farm and peaches are Zee Diamond from right here in front of the house. We’ve decided to just do “field run” in the box which will mean less volume, but truer to the stated guidelines when you signed- up. I really only had one complaint, but what we’ll do is continue to offer the #2 cosmetically challenged stuff at a real cheap rate for those who want to make smoothies or just have for snacking and sharing. EAT HEALTHY
BELL PEPPERS
Ever wonder where some of our vegetables originated? It is hard to imagine that some of the things we eat have been around for centuries. Such is the bell pepper. Peppers, of various varieties, actually date back to 1492, when Columbus and his explorers discovered sweet and hot peppers in the West Indies and took samples back to Europe. The Europeans quickly made peppers a popular food, spice, and condiment. Just twenty years later travelers throughout the West Indies, Central America, Mexico, Peru and Chili found varieties of bell peppers growing in those areas. Most Americans still prefer the sweet peppers.
The most common varieties of bell peppers turn from green to red and as they mature on the vine they become sweeter. The bell pepper is eaten raw, cooked, roasted, or in vegetable platters.
A medium bell pepper contains only 30 calories and no fat but has 2g of dietary fiber and 150% of the recommended vitamin C intake.
ROASTING A BELL PEPPER
To roast a bell pepper place the whole pepper on a foil lined baking sheet under the broiler. Broil until the skin has blistered completely, turning often. Place the pepper in a brown paper bag, close tightly for 15 minutes until the charred skin steams loose from the flesh. Remove from the bag and cut lengthwise so the stem, seeds and membrane can be removed. Cut the pepper into quarters, peel and discard the skin.
RUSSET POTATOES
The potato is often known as the world’s most important vegetable. In many countries it is the staple of the diet. The potato was long ago adopted as the primary food crop in Ireland. Potatoes are a healthy choice because they are fat free, very low sodium and a high source of fiber and vitamin C. Russets, however, do have high sugar content.
Do not wash raw Russet potatoes before storing them. If you do so it will speed development of decay. Russet potatoes should be stored in a cool 40-50º environment that is well ventilated and dark. This will inhibit quick sprouts from growing. If your potatoes do begin to sprout or grow, cut off the sprouts.
Do not refrigerate or freeze uncooked potatoes as this changes the potatoes’ starch into sugar which will change the taste of the potato and darken the flesh when it is cooked. Prolonged exposure to light causes greening of potatoes and may make them taste bitter. If this occurs peel or pare the green area from the potato before you use it.
Bar-B-Que’d Vegetables
Cut squash into wedges or pieces, depending on variety, and place on a piece of aluminum foil with onions, bell peppers, and carrots. Drizzle with olive oil, seal foil into a pouch and put on the grill while grilling your meat. The vegetables will be cooked but still a bit firm, not over cooked. Try the squash and onion alone or add other firm vegetables to the mix.
WHO GREW THIS?
Here is what you will find in this week’s box.
-Seasonal Stone Fruit
The Peterson Family, Kingsburg
-Squash
Ginger Balakian, Reedley
-Carrots
-Celery
-Russet Potatoes
-Green Bell Peppers
-Dill*
California Organics, Lamont
-Lettuce
-Cucumbers*
T & D Willey, Madera
*Denotes Large Box Only
Contents may vary due to availability on date of delivery.
IS SOMETHING MISSING?
All of your boxes are packed by human hands and as we all know “to error is human”. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but if you get your box and an item has been omitted please let your host know right away and we will make every attempt to get you a replacement of that item the following week, or replace it with something else, if that item is no longer available.
Scrumptious Squash Casserole
4 medium squash, sliced ¼” thick 3 carrots, shredded
1 onion, chopped 1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream 1 cup seasoned croutons
Butter
Boil squash until tender. Sauté carrots and onion in butter until limp. Add soup and cream, mix. Add ¾ cup of the croutons and squash, stirring gently. Pour into greased casserole. Put remaining croutons in 1 Tbsp. butter and heat until coated. Sprinkle over top of casserole.
Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes
Bar-B-Que’d Vegetables
Cut squash into wedges or pieces, depending on variety, and place on a piece of aluminum foil with onions, bell peppers, and carrots. Drizzle with olive oil, seal foil into a pouch and put on the grill while grilling your meat. The vegetables will be cooked but still a bit firm, not over cooked. Try the squash and onion alone or add other firm vegetables to the mix.
Fruit Ice Cream
4 cups mashed fruit 4 cups sugar
4 Tbsp lemon juice 1 pt whipping cream
Stir together and put into ice cream freezer. Fill with milk(any percent you wish) and freeze, according to freezer directions
Speaking of thriving, I put half of our home ranch chickens on a probiotic this flock as an experiment to see what would happen. Wow. Better livability, color, less odor because the droppings are firmer. Coincidently, I just visited a couple hours ago with Dr. Stephen Gorton whose company manufactures a probiotic (good micro-organisms) product that we’ve used to combat fungal problems in our fruit. He told me that he had developed this product we’re using on fruit initially for an unnamed meat packer. He was getting the same results I’m seeing in chickens from this other product 30 years ago in the hog business. So I asked him how come nobody’s using it?
“It cost $2.00/ pig which was less than the antibiotics they were using, but the independent vets would lose their kick-back from the pharmaceutical companies” Stephen stood right on my farm and told me that story 2 hours ago. Sounds like some conspiracy malarkey, but he’s an honest guy, and follow the money. There’s sure a lot we just don’t know, but the little we do know is probably enough. More real stuff. Less fake stuff = better health in all areas. It’s truly amazing the connectedness between micro-organisms and plants and people
Our local leafy guys got nuked by the heat last week.
Nectarines are Zee Fire from our Nomura farm and peaches are Zee Diamond from right here in front of the house. We’ve decided to just do “field run” in the box which will mean less volume, but truer to the stated guidelines when you signed- up. I really only had one complaint, but what we’ll do is continue to offer the #2 cosmetically challenged stuff at a real cheap rate for those who want to make smoothies or just have for snacking and sharing. EAT HEALTHY
BELL PEPPERS
Ever wonder where some of our vegetables originated? It is hard to imagine that some of the things we eat have been around for centuries. Such is the bell pepper. Peppers, of various varieties, actually date back to 1492, when Columbus and his explorers discovered sweet and hot peppers in the West Indies and took samples back to Europe. The Europeans quickly made peppers a popular food, spice, and condiment. Just twenty years later travelers throughout the West Indies, Central America, Mexico, Peru and Chili found varieties of bell peppers growing in those areas. Most Americans still prefer the sweet peppers.
The most common varieties of bell peppers turn from green to red and as they mature on the vine they become sweeter. The bell pepper is eaten raw, cooked, roasted, or in vegetable platters.
A medium bell pepper contains only 30 calories and no fat but has 2g of dietary fiber and 150% of the recommended vitamin C intake.
ROASTING A BELL PEPPER
To roast a bell pepper place the whole pepper on a foil lined baking sheet under the broiler. Broil until the skin has blistered completely, turning often. Place the pepper in a brown paper bag, close tightly for 15 minutes until the charred skin steams loose from the flesh. Remove from the bag and cut lengthwise so the stem, seeds and membrane can be removed. Cut the pepper into quarters, peel and discard the skin.
RUSSET POTATOES
The potato is often known as the world’s most important vegetable. In many countries it is the staple of the diet. The potato was long ago adopted as the primary food crop in Ireland. Potatoes are a healthy choice because they are fat free, very low sodium and a high source of fiber and vitamin C. Russets, however, do have high sugar content.
Do not wash raw Russet potatoes before storing them. If you do so it will speed development of decay. Russet potatoes should be stored in a cool 40-50º environment that is well ventilated and dark. This will inhibit quick sprouts from growing. If your potatoes do begin to sprout or grow, cut off the sprouts.
Do not refrigerate or freeze uncooked potatoes as this changes the potatoes’ starch into sugar which will change the taste of the potato and darken the flesh when it is cooked. Prolonged exposure to light causes greening of potatoes and may make them taste bitter. If this occurs peel or pare the green area from the potato before you use it.
Bar-B-Que’d Vegetables
Cut squash into wedges or pieces, depending on variety, and place on a piece of aluminum foil with onions, bell peppers, and carrots. Drizzle with olive oil, seal foil into a pouch and put on the grill while grilling your meat. The vegetables will be cooked but still a bit firm, not over cooked. Try the squash and onion alone or add other firm vegetables to the mix.
WHO GREW THIS?
Here is what you will find in this week’s box.
-Seasonal Stone Fruit
The Peterson Family, Kingsburg
-Squash
Ginger Balakian, Reedley
-Carrots
-Celery
-Russet Potatoes
-Green Bell Peppers
-Dill*
California Organics, Lamont
-Lettuce
-Cucumbers*
T & D Willey, Madera
*Denotes Large Box Only
Contents may vary due to availability on date of delivery.
IS SOMETHING MISSING?
All of your boxes are packed by human hands and as we all know “to error is human”. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but if you get your box and an item has been omitted please let your host know right away and we will make every attempt to get you a replacement of that item the following week, or replace it with something else, if that item is no longer available.
Scrumptious Squash Casserole
4 medium squash, sliced ¼” thick 3 carrots, shredded
1 onion, chopped 1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream 1 cup seasoned croutons
Butter
Boil squash until tender. Sauté carrots and onion in butter until limp. Add soup and cream, mix. Add ¾ cup of the croutons and squash, stirring gently. Pour into greased casserole. Put remaining croutons in 1 Tbsp. butter and heat until coated. Sprinkle over top of casserole.
Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes
Bar-B-Que’d Vegetables
Cut squash into wedges or pieces, depending on variety, and place on a piece of aluminum foil with onions, bell peppers, and carrots. Drizzle with olive oil, seal foil into a pouch and put on the grill while grilling your meat. The vegetables will be cooked but still a bit firm, not over cooked. Try the squash and onion alone or add other firm vegetables to the mix.
Fruit Ice Cream
4 cups mashed fruit 4 cups sugar
4 Tbsp lemon juice 1 pt whipping cream
Stir together and put into ice cream freezer. Fill with milk(any percent you wish) and freeze, according to freezer directions
May 17, 2008
Week 37
On the fruit farm, what we’ve experienced weather wise this year has been text book perfect. Plenty of chilling in the winter. Plenty of rain through mid February to get deep moisture. Then like a switch was thrown, the rain stopped right at bloom time to give us a disease free fruit set. Since then, we’ve had consistent cool weather so our sizing is excellent. Now we’re getting the heat we need to put some sugar in the stuff. My guess is that we get a year like this about every 15. Truth is, I’ve got a great memory, it’s just not very long but I can’t remember a year like this ever. In any 15 years, you’re going to have 4 with hail damage from slight to total. 5 with inadequate chilling. 5 with a wet bloom. And I haven’t mentioned frost and wind damage. Labor shortages…..
BUT on any of the other 14, we would call this normal. NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! Normal is frost, and wind and rain. We describe perfect as normal and any deviation from that as abnormal. It carries over into our every day lives. You get the picture I’m sure. We really need to be rejoicing when our families’ all healthy, the bills are mostly paid, there’s groceries in the pantry and the car starts in the morning. Folks, an attitude of gratitude is the basis of a healthy life every bit as much as Organic nutrient dense produce. Let’s start celebrating what every-body else calls normal and accepting deviations from perfection as the NORMAL challenges of life.
Well, we’re in the thick of the early harvest. 4 in the morning ‘til midnight next few weeks and then we’ll go to just ½ days (12 hours is half a day isn’t it?) Part of my original spiel was NO stickers. What I want to do is just a field run bunch of Organic fruit for you guys. A range of sizes the way they come off the tree. Right now, Organic fruit is really valuable but I still want to give you an abundant amount so what we’re going to do for a bit is focus on the cosmetically challenged stuff. Great to eat but with a slight blemish. I can give you 3X the amount and you’re not selling it you’re eating it. Down side, there’ll be some stickers for a bit, but it’s what our family eats. My own dad in the middle of the orchard would hand me the “split pit” to eat and say “these are the best”.
Next week you’re going to get Ginger Balakian’s squash. She grows 27 different kinds, so who knows which kind will be in your box, but you’ll be tempted to just leave it on the counter or paint a picture of it it’s so pretty.
Lots of the veg guys were frozen out a month ago and that’s contributing to the very tight supplies. That should ease over the next couple weeks as the new plantings come on line.
On the web, you’ll see Seasonal #2 stone fruit at a really incredibly cheap price. I want you to have all you want for smoothies and Ice Cream and just sharing with your friends and co-workers. I believe this will be one of the truly great benefits of being part of this. It’s what I do and you’re now insiders. Wait for Zee Lady’s July 5th for canning. I’ll let you know the week before. EAT HEALTHY!!
WEBSITE TOOLS
This will be old news to some of you but we have many new subscribers so this week we are including some information about your tools on the website. It will be a good refresher for everyone.
If you are going to be out of town or simply do not want to receive your produce on any given week you have the ability to place yourself on vacation. When you do so you will not be scheduled for delivery that week. The requirement on vacation stops is that they must be set a minimum of 10 days prior to the scheduled delivery. That means the delivery day does not count in the 10 days. When you login and select Set Your Vacation Weeks it will be immediately obvious to you whether or not you can still set a date for vacation because if you can it will be available on the list of delivery dates shown to you. This view will give you dates going out a full year so as soon as you know you are going to be gone get that vacation scheduled.
We do not have the ability to schedule your vacations for you, only you can do it. Once you are inside that 10 day window your order will be charged and processed. If you find out at the last minute that you are going to be gone you may have someone else pick up your order for you.
Many subscribers use the vacation system to schedule delivery on an every other week basis. If you have vacation scheduled, and decide you want your delivery, simply go to “Edit This Week” before 9:00 on Monday and make the change.
You may see other subscribers picking up eggs, chicken, extra fruit, etc. at the delivery site and wonder how you can too. Once again, login and look at the right hand side of your screen. You will see your “Subscription Dashboard” and the date of your upcoming delivery. Under that you will find a bar that is titled “EDIT THIS WEEK/ADDONS”. When you select that you will be taken to a page that will show you the items that you may purchase in addition to your box of produce. We are in the process of making improvements to this area of the site so the look may change but the function is the same. Simply enter the quantity you would like to purchase and Add to This Week’s Delivery. The cost of those items will be added to your charges on Monday morning and we will deliver them with your produce that week.
Your account page is your private area. No one else can view it, change it, or cancel your subscription. Not even us. Take some time to login and look at all of the different areas available to you. If you ever have questions don’t hesitate to ask.
WHO GREW THIS?
Here is what you will find in this week’s box.
-Seasonal Stone Fruit
The Peterson Family, Kingsburg
-Carrots
-Green Leaf Lettuce*
Grimway Farms, Bakersfield
-Tomatoes
Hans Wilgenburg, Dinuba
-Crookneck Squash*
-French Breakfast Radishes
-Red Spring Onions
-Bloomsdale Spinach
-Beets
-Lettuce
T & D Willey, Madera
*Denotes Large Box Only
Contents may vary due to availability on date of delivery.
IS IT GOING TO EXPIRE?
Don’t forget about us when your credit/debit card expires and you get a new one. Login and find the EDIT button under your User’s billing information. Select EDIT and enter the new expiration date.
In the same vein, if your card is canceled because it has been lost or stolen you must enter your new card number. Thank you, in advance, for keeping your card information updated.
Oatmeal Cookie-Fruit Pizza Preheat Oven to 350º
Cookie Crust
2 Tbsp butter ¼ cup honey
½ cup light brown sugar 1 egg white
1/3 cup applesauce 2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour 1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt 1 tsp cinnamon
1 ½ cup old fashioned oats 1/3 cup nuts (optional)
Cream the butter, honey, and brown sugar together in a mixing bowl. Add egg white and combine. Mix in the applesauce and vanilla. Mix together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add to sugar mixture stirring just to combine. Gently stir in oats and nuts. Spray a 12 inch pizza pan with Pam or cover with parchment paper. Spread the batter on the pan and bake until lightly browned, 30-35 minutes. Let cool.
Topping
8 ounces cream cheese 1 cup powdered sugar
Cream together until smooth. Spread on cooled cookie crust leaving a ½ inch border around the rim.
Fruit
Slice seasonal fruit (peaches, nectarines, apricots, etc.). Place on top of cream, in pattern or randomly.
Glaze
2/3 cup sugar 3 Tbsp cornstarch ¼ cup waterBring above ingredients to a boil and cook until clear. Drizzle on top of fruit to give a shine to the pizza. A cup of mashed fruit may be added to the glaze for color and flavor. Chill. Slice into wedges and serve.
BUT on any of the other 14, we would call this normal. NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! Normal is frost, and wind and rain. We describe perfect as normal and any deviation from that as abnormal. It carries over into our every day lives. You get the picture I’m sure. We really need to be rejoicing when our families’ all healthy, the bills are mostly paid, there’s groceries in the pantry and the car starts in the morning. Folks, an attitude of gratitude is the basis of a healthy life every bit as much as Organic nutrient dense produce. Let’s start celebrating what every-body else calls normal and accepting deviations from perfection as the NORMAL challenges of life.
Well, we’re in the thick of the early harvest. 4 in the morning ‘til midnight next few weeks and then we’ll go to just ½ days (12 hours is half a day isn’t it?) Part of my original spiel was NO stickers. What I want to do is just a field run bunch of Organic fruit for you guys. A range of sizes the way they come off the tree. Right now, Organic fruit is really valuable but I still want to give you an abundant amount so what we’re going to do for a bit is focus on the cosmetically challenged stuff. Great to eat but with a slight blemish. I can give you 3X the amount and you’re not selling it you’re eating it. Down side, there’ll be some stickers for a bit, but it’s what our family eats. My own dad in the middle of the orchard would hand me the “split pit” to eat and say “these are the best”.
Next week you’re going to get Ginger Balakian’s squash. She grows 27 different kinds, so who knows which kind will be in your box, but you’ll be tempted to just leave it on the counter or paint a picture of it it’s so pretty.
Lots of the veg guys were frozen out a month ago and that’s contributing to the very tight supplies. That should ease over the next couple weeks as the new plantings come on line.
On the web, you’ll see Seasonal #2 stone fruit at a really incredibly cheap price. I want you to have all you want for smoothies and Ice Cream and just sharing with your friends and co-workers. I believe this will be one of the truly great benefits of being part of this. It’s what I do and you’re now insiders. Wait for Zee Lady’s July 5th for canning. I’ll let you know the week before. EAT HEALTHY!!
WEBSITE TOOLS
This will be old news to some of you but we have many new subscribers so this week we are including some information about your tools on the website. It will be a good refresher for everyone.
If you are going to be out of town or simply do not want to receive your produce on any given week you have the ability to place yourself on vacation. When you do so you will not be scheduled for delivery that week. The requirement on vacation stops is that they must be set a minimum of 10 days prior to the scheduled delivery. That means the delivery day does not count in the 10 days. When you login and select Set Your Vacation Weeks it will be immediately obvious to you whether or not you can still set a date for vacation because if you can it will be available on the list of delivery dates shown to you. This view will give you dates going out a full year so as soon as you know you are going to be gone get that vacation scheduled.
We do not have the ability to schedule your vacations for you, only you can do it. Once you are inside that 10 day window your order will be charged and processed. If you find out at the last minute that you are going to be gone you may have someone else pick up your order for you.
Many subscribers use the vacation system to schedule delivery on an every other week basis. If you have vacation scheduled, and decide you want your delivery, simply go to “Edit This Week” before 9:00 on Monday and make the change.
You may see other subscribers picking up eggs, chicken, extra fruit, etc. at the delivery site and wonder how you can too. Once again, login and look at the right hand side of your screen. You will see your “Subscription Dashboard” and the date of your upcoming delivery. Under that you will find a bar that is titled “EDIT THIS WEEK/ADDONS”. When you select that you will be taken to a page that will show you the items that you may purchase in addition to your box of produce. We are in the process of making improvements to this area of the site so the look may change but the function is the same. Simply enter the quantity you would like to purchase and Add to This Week’s Delivery. The cost of those items will be added to your charges on Monday morning and we will deliver them with your produce that week.
Your account page is your private area. No one else can view it, change it, or cancel your subscription. Not even us. Take some time to login and look at all of the different areas available to you. If you ever have questions don’t hesitate to ask.
WHO GREW THIS?
Here is what you will find in this week’s box.
-Seasonal Stone Fruit
The Peterson Family, Kingsburg
-Carrots
-Green Leaf Lettuce*
Grimway Farms, Bakersfield
-Tomatoes
Hans Wilgenburg, Dinuba
-Crookneck Squash*
-French Breakfast Radishes
-Red Spring Onions
-Bloomsdale Spinach
-Beets
-Lettuce
T & D Willey, Madera
*Denotes Large Box Only
Contents may vary due to availability on date of delivery.
IS IT GOING TO EXPIRE?
Don’t forget about us when your credit/debit card expires and you get a new one. Login and find the EDIT button under your User’s billing information. Select EDIT and enter the new expiration date.
In the same vein, if your card is canceled because it has been lost or stolen you must enter your new card number. Thank you, in advance, for keeping your card information updated.
Oatmeal Cookie-Fruit Pizza Preheat Oven to 350º
Cookie Crust
2 Tbsp butter ¼ cup honey
½ cup light brown sugar 1 egg white
1/3 cup applesauce 2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour 1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt 1 tsp cinnamon
1 ½ cup old fashioned oats 1/3 cup nuts (optional)
Cream the butter, honey, and brown sugar together in a mixing bowl. Add egg white and combine. Mix in the applesauce and vanilla. Mix together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add to sugar mixture stirring just to combine. Gently stir in oats and nuts. Spray a 12 inch pizza pan with Pam or cover with parchment paper. Spread the batter on the pan and bake until lightly browned, 30-35 minutes. Let cool.
Topping
8 ounces cream cheese 1 cup powdered sugar
Cream together until smooth. Spread on cooled cookie crust leaving a ½ inch border around the rim.
Fruit
Slice seasonal fruit (peaches, nectarines, apricots, etc.). Place on top of cream, in pattern or randomly.
Glaze
2/3 cup sugar 3 Tbsp cornstarch ¼ cup waterBring above ingredients to a boil and cook until clear. Drizzle on top of fruit to give a shine to the pizza. A cup of mashed fruit may be added to the glaze for color and flavor. Chill. Slice into wedges and serve.
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