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Rising River Farm
13208 201st Ave SW
Rochester, WA 98579 360-273-5368
contact@risingriverfarm.com
www.risingriverfarm.com
July 21 ***** Box 5
Hello!
Remember, payment in full is due by August 1st. If you need
to stretch the payments out a little further, please call
or email and let us know what your plan is. We want our produce
to be accessible to all income levels, so as long as there
is a plan in place, we can be flexible. Contact me if you
are unsure of your balance.
While I have the warm and dry job of writing the newsletter,
the crew is out there in mud-caked boots and head-to-toe rain
gear harvesting the last few items to be put into your boxes
today. This much-needed rain is quite a contrast to last week’s
90+ degrees. Washington weather keeps us at its mercy and
certainly never bored. At least we are catching up a bit on
irrigation. It sounds like it’ll still be fairly warm
through all this rain so everything should put on an explosion
of growth.
The weeds are feeling a bit intimidating right now. In this
rain it is pointless to try and weed. They will just re-root
and it is hard to be thorough with mud sticking to your fingers.
We’ll have to wait it out. If only we could triple our
crew for a few days at a time I could sleep better at night.
This is the time of year when there is a lot to harvest, still
more to plant and transplant, and more than ever to weed.
(And still stuff to fix!) The workload seems to come in waves.
One week we’ll be overwhelmed and then the crew will
sweep through the fields with hands, hoes, and tillers and
it looks like a completely different farm. And while we stand
there and admire the groomed fields, the weeds conspire to
grow with a vengeance and we start all over again.
A few new crops are coming on the scene, not in much quantity
yet, but they are yielding much longed for samples of what
is to come. With most crops, the first harvest is slim so
there are several new items that we will rotate around. We
will harvest the first of the sungolds today, but there won’t
be too many. Zucchini and crookneck are starting, but due
to mice activity pre-germination this will be the only year
that we do not have squash coming out of our ears. Or so we
think… This week there are red potatoes to try. These
are great for potato salad, steaming, frying, roasting….
Basil will also be picked this morning. This is an item we
often rotate around the boxes so you’ll see it every
now and then. Sometimes you’ll get ¼ pound with
which you can make pesto (see cookbook) or some other heavily
basiled dish or you may just get an ounce or two. You can
freeze basil and pull it out in the winter to perk up your
dishes. It will turn a dark green or black when frozen and
I used to be suspicious of this, but it is FINE. You can even
make pesto out of frozen basil. We are nearing the end of
the peas-particularly shells and snaps. You may see them again,
but we’ll have to see what the harvest yields. We may
bring a smattering to market as they fizzle out for good.
As the peas fade we are graced with green beans. They should
be in solid production by next week. It takes nearly all of
one day (or so it feels) to pick peas and beans at the same
time so we try to have one crop end when the other begins.
The new crop of garlic is mostly harvested. We’ve
been pulling and hanging it in the barn over the past week.
We’ll have to wait until the rain stops before we get
the rest. You will find a head of the new garlic (called Music)
in your box today. Remember, this stuff is strong. Go easy
at first until you figure out what you like.
I have this neighbor who is like an artist in the kitchen.
She never measures and rarely follows a recipe. I often try
to imitate her cooking, but she must sprinkle magic dust in
things because mine never tastes as good as hers. The other
day she helped me make an easy salad dressing that was so
vibrant and delicious. Combine the following in a small jelly
jar (the oil and vinegar should fill the jar to roughly the
halfway mark) and shake well before using: 3/4 olive oil to
¼ balsamic, minced garlic, lots of finely chopped dill,
Dijon mustard, salt and pepper, shake well in a jar. You can
play around with amounts and add a little sugar or honey to
balance the tang of the balsamic or try basil or cilantro
as the herb.
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I ran out of room in the last letter and wanted to mention
another locally owned store to buy food. Not everything we
need is produced locally, so where can you get it and know
that your food dollars are going toward responsible and ecologically
sound businesses? The Olympia food co-ops are high on my list
and where I do virtually all of my food shopping. Look at
the website or phone book for directions. www.olympiafood.coop
. Both stores offer a huge selection of organic, natural,
and healthier versions of all the foods we eat. Since that
is their focus and they sell high volumes of these items so
they are cheaper than their counterparts in the health food
section of regular grocery stores. Many items are available
in bulk which allows you to use your own packaging (jars,
bottles, used bags, etc.) They research the companies they
buy from and make sure they are environmentally and socially
responsible. They offer many local products from fruit and
produce to salsa to cheese and bread, milk, etc. throughout
the store, though not is local-read your labels! They have
a no GMO policy for all product sold there. Parking can sometimes
be an issue, so try to avoid Saturday afternoons or 5:00 on
a weekday. But do check them out!
A Recipe for Chard contributed by a member.
-Chard, washed and cut into strips about 1 1/2 - 2 inches
wide. We de-stem the leaves, but that's not necessary.
-Shallot, cut fine (but not minced)
-chicken (or veggie) broth
-feta cheese
-Olive oil (or for an amazing treat, try some truffle oil),
just a little for sautéing the greens
Sauté the shallots until translucent
Add the chopped chard and pour some chicken broth over. The
amount is dependent on how much "sauce" you want
when finished, as the chard will emit it's own liquid.
Cover and steam until desired texture is reached.
Add some crumbled feta, mix and enjoy
Yum!
If anyone else has a recipe to share, email it and I’ll
try to include it in an upcoming letter.
Enjoy!
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