Rising River Farm CSA Newsletter
Box 9*** August 16th, 2006
13208 201st AVE SW -Rochester, WA 98579
(360) 273-5368
risingirverfarm@yahoo.com www.risingriverfarm.com

Please forgive the short and somewhat disjointed newsletter this week. I need to get back out in the field to help with the final harvest, but I didn’t want to abandon the newsletter altogether.
It is 6:00 am and barely light. We may have to push back our daily start time to 6:30. I’m sure the crew will be devastated (ha!), but it can’t be helped. I personally look forward to that extra ½ hour of sleep.
Things are going well without “boss man” Jim. The crew is well seasoned by now and I have been out in the field more than ever this year, so am in tune with what’s going on. Lydia has been organizing the irrigation schedule and schlepping lots of pipe, so that is one HUGE task that I only have to help with, not orchestrate. Jim and the kids are having fun in Maine so far but they miss the food and the quiet wide-open space of home.
I wandered through the rows of corn yesterday in hopes of finding tons of ripe ears. Still not ready. I hope by next week. I did eat one ear right thereon the spot, however. It was good.
Rigo, on the other hand, found tons of yellow crookneck squash. Believe me when I say that only giving you 3 in your box was showing restraint! It is tempting to keep handing them out when there are still yet more boxes in the cooler. Remember, squash is very versatile. You don’t necessarily need new recipes, jut add it to vegetable dishes you already make for a new twist.
The potatoes are unwashed today because they were barely dusty when coming out of the ground and they keep longer when unwashed. I hope no one is bothered. It was a huge time-saver for us on what was already a long harvest day.
My good friend and neighbor Betsie pulled me off the tractor at 8:00 last Sunday and had me over for a simple and amazing dinner of green beans, chard, and cous cous with feta cheese. Cous Cous is an easy grain because all you do is add boiling water and cover for 10 minutes or so. For every cup of grain, add 2 cups of boiling water (use the veggie steaming water in this recipe). Keep covered with a tight lid for 10 min.
In a big pot boil 5 cups of water and add roughly a pound of green beans to steam. After about 3 minutes add chopped chard, beet greens, or any green on top of the beans to steam as well. Meanwhile chop and sauté in olive oil several cloves of garlic. Add the steamed greens to the garlic sauté and cook a bit more. Add salt and pepper to taste. When the cous cous is done mix in the greens and crumble a cup or more of feta cheese over the top and mix it in. Serve with the green beans on the side. I am usually not a steamed greens fan (I know I should be) but I LOVED this meal. I hope you do too.
We knocked back the onion tops this week. This signals the plant to stop growing and start creating the protective wrappers around the onion. When we see a hot dry stretch on the horizon we will pull all of the onions and lay them out it the sun for a week or so to fully dry for storage. This week we are giving out a red onion as well as a Walla Walla. The reds are sweet, but also pungent. They are great cooked or raw.
Also new in your box is Red Russian kale. I find it to be a bit sweeter and more tender than the traditional curly type.

Well, that is all that time and space will allow. Enjoy your veggies!
Jen