Week 10

No tomatoes yet folks..but, it’s looking like next week. Although, your all getting a little bit more of summer in your boxes this week. Now that the zukes have started (i know were behind) you’ll probably be seeing them for a while and cukes will probably be ready next week as well! We are just plugging along around here..lots of weeding and garlic cleaning. Planning for fall crops, continual seeding of the basics, and the strawberries are making a comeback. We are thinking of a little work party or just a visit day if you all would like..either August 16 or the 23 (both Sundays). Obviously Saturdays don’t work for us and the work week is pretty full. So, if we could here from you all about which day seems to work better ..that would be great and we could make a decision. We were thinking of a time in the early to mid afternoon. Let us know!  ( This is a different meet-up than our end of season party)So..for the week.

SMALL SHARE

Salad mix

Chard

Onions

Garlic

Parsley

Zucchini

Green cabbage- yes these are shaped like a cone, if some are small you will receive two of them. Their so cute!

Green & Purple Beans- love these lightly sauteed in a stir-fry.

Yellow, pink, and red beets

LARGE SHARE

Strawberries

Basil

Head lettuce

Japanese eggplant- These are also great in a stir-fry  ( no need to cut the skin off on these) or you can batter them and fry them for a side dish.

Week 9

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a few pics to update you all with what things look like around here. Although we have gotten most of our summer crops in late, they are coming around. You’ll get your first peppers and basil in the baskets this week, probably the first tomatoes and beans next week with cukes, zukes and eggplants to follow (thanks to the heat).Even though these items have been absent from your baskets, they are coming on strong and you will see them probably for the rest of the season. Thanks for being patient!  Hope you all are staying as cool as possible..we’re trying! For the week:

SMALL SHARE

salad mix

walla walla onion

garlic ( german white)..a great four cloved garlic from our good friend peter!

carrots- orange,purple, and yellow mix

fresh basil!

green bell pepper

kohlrabi- if your making pickles by chance, slice your kohlrabi into sticks and pickle them too! They are actually our favorite type of pickles..staying super crisp and slightly sweet.

kale

LARGE SHARE

strawberries- these are on the comeback and the small share will be seeing them soon.

swiss chard- for any new folks..just check out some older blogs for recipes.

head lettuce

cabbage

Again, a  reminder..if there is an item you don’t like you can swap it out at the stand. Hope you all are enjoying your fresh, local produce! Thanks again

Week 8

Well I wrote the whole thing and when I went to check it I noticed that the blog was posted in the “pages” section.  I can’t figure out how to fix that right now, so if your on the webpage just look to the right at the top where it says Pages and click on “Week 8” under that. That will take you to the blog with some fresh recipes for the week. Thanks!

Week 7

Greetings friends,

Well another week..a few new items this week, but no tomatoes or peppers yet. They are in the ground and growing, but don’t expect to see them in your baskets probably until August. Once they are here though you should have them for the rest of the year, along with zukes and cukes. We hope you are enjoying your baskets as we certainly are enjoying seeing you all every week.  So for this week…

SMALL SHARE

Salad mix: a staple for your boxes

Onions: Some are getting bigger so they might have a little zest. You can still use the greens and the best way to store these is in a produce bag in your fridge.

Purple Kale:Yes, kale again…not enough chard this week and no other item to substitute with. But here’s a  new recipe for you:

Massaged Kale and Current Salad

1 bunch of kale (destem by pulling the leaves away from stems, stack leaves , roll up, and cut into thin ribbons.)

1 tsp. sea salt

1/4 cup diced red onion or your sweet onion

1/3 cup currants

3/4 cup diced apple (about a 1/2 an apple)

1/3 sunflower seeds toasted

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

Put you clean and cut kale in a mixing bowl, add salt, and massage kale with your hands for 2 minutes.

Stir in your onions, currants, apple, and sunflower seeds. Dress with oil and vinegar. Taste for salt and and vinegar..add more if you like. Then toss in cheese. This salad will keep for several days. ( Derived from Feeding the Whole Family, Cynthia Lair)

Parsley:  We love this fresh in our salads or a few sprigs in our green smoothies.

Carrots: FINALLY!

Blueberries

Fennel:hmm. don’t be daunted by this specialty vegetable. Most use just the white bulb, but others will use the whole plant..leaves and all. Fennel tastes like a cross between celery, cabbage, and licorice. There are many ways to use it, some like it finely chopped in their salads or add it to coleslaw. Or you can add it to stir-frys or roast it. Roasting brings out an entirely new flavor – as if pine nuts decided to join the party. Soo.. you could try this recipe for a nice side dish: 

Roasted Fennel:

One or two fennel bulbs, stalks cut off and sliced.

Olive oil and balsamic vinegar

1)Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2) Rub just enough olive oil over the fennel to coat. Sprinkle on some balsamic vinegar, also to coat. Line baking dish with foil and lay out the pieces of fennel and roast for 15-20 minutes, until it is cooked through and beginning to caramelize. Take out of oven and season with sea salt and pepper to taste. 

You can also just sautee  the bulb with garlic and olive oil, salt  and pepper, add a fresh tomatoes (or a can of diced tomatoes) and some good olives and pour this sauce over some angel hair pasta with toasted pine nuts..mmmm.

Or.. For some fennel potato soup: boil potatoes and the bulb with some onions and cook it down till it’s fairly thick. Then you can add some of the green tops, a little garlic, salt and pepper to taste, milk or cream if you like (but we don’t use it) and a bunch of sharp cheddar and a bit of parmesean. This is soo good and  soo easy…really!

There are so many ways to cook or uncook fennel,  you can just google it too! Hope this helps and enjoy!

LARGE SHARE

Kohlrabi: again..just peel the purple skin off..it can be thick. You can slice it anyway and put in you salads or stir fry, but we enjoy it just long slices with a little salt. Sweet and delicious.

Head Lettuce

Cilantro

Radish: sorry..we originally said strawberries but their just wasn’t enough..possibly next week.

magic rain

hi friends,

today was a beautiful scene out in hugo.  big billowy, marshmellowy clouds and sporadic rain drops, cool temperatures and wonderful harvesting conditions. 

during one of the rain bursts i was running over to the tiller(recently taken apart, non-professionally diagnosed and repaired, put back together, but still not running) looking up into the beautiful sky dropping what seemed to be magic rain.  instead of covering it up with a tarp, i felt that this was the God, the universe, leperachans whatever you may believe in sprinkling the tiller with sparks of life.  sure enough the tiller started right up, i felt like a man again with a loud, metal machine, and i did a little tilling. 

A young woman named stephanie from southern california is here woofing with us.  WWOOF stands for “world wide opportunities on organic farms.”  farms provide room, board, and apprenticeship on organic farming and wwoofers provide help with the day to day responsibilities of growing food.  we have been doing everything by hand so when she saw that tiller running she just grinned.  She may be a rookie but she is already into the game.  She has been such a help and wonderful addition to hugo.  Thanks Stephanie!

Here’s the goods for the week

 

SMALL SHARE

Salad Mix                                                                                                                                      

Cilantro

Brocolli or Cabbage

Radishes

Kale

Walla Walla Onions

LARGE SHARE ADDS

Red Iceberg Lettuce

Strawberries

Collards

Carrots

There will be a blue surprise in your baskets next week!

Take care everyone!

hotness

hello everyone,

the sun is shining, the hotness is here!  southern oregon is a dynamic zone.  soak up the heat and use it in the winter.   i hope you are all doing well and enjoy yourself.  it is late so this post will be kept simple and sweet.  Here’s the what’s in your boxes.  Take Care!

SMALL SHARE

Cherries!     Nature’s tree candy, yum

Salad Mix     Enjoy your evening salads, amigos

Walla Walla Sweets     You can eat these like apples…..if you dare!

Dill     Great addition to salads, fish, sauces, dressings, scrambles, whateva

Radish     Sweet, spicey goodness

Beet    A single  beet for you to eat, dark color contain wonderful nutrients

Chard    Add to stir fries, omelettes, salads, or soups

Kolrabi   This alien looking nobule is related to brocolli.  Stir fry or steam the leaves.  Cut the outer skin off of the tuber and the light colored inside can be sliced thin and eaten raw.  I like to make a honey mustard dipping sauce!

LARGE SHARE ADDS

Raspberries:    Yummy in da tummy

Purple Cabbage:     Grate it into soups, salads, or coleslaw

Kale:    Steam it, chop it fine in salads, fry it in an omelette

Cilantro:     Enjoy this summer herb in soups and salads, salsa, or sauces

Take care my friends and enjoy your day!

Peace!

Week 4

Greetings friends,

We are up early (of course) getting a quick blog in before harvest day begins aided by our good friend mate (the best tea ever in our opinion). While the boxes continue to look similar each week there is promise of change! This is part of what a c.s.a. is …eating what is currently available in your region and for no particular reason June has been an exceptionally cooler month. I personally don’t mind, but the plants are maturing at a bit slower speed..so…carrots and beets are coming (we ideally try to include a root in each box), as well as all the other summer veggies. We are behind on some plantings, due to Sam finishing work up at the schools, mama being pregnant and considerably tired this time, not much help, having a toddler, the tiller is broken, and fixing up and moving into a different house. WOW! I wonder why we are a bit behind..we’re making it though and you will  be getting delicious summer crops at some point! So until then, enjoy these great spring greens and the last of the radishes. Also, please remember if there is an item you don’t not particularly like in your box, feel free to exchange it with another item of the same value at the booth when you pick up your box. We are thinking of a work party in mid-July sometime, it has gotten pushed back due to something major happening each weekend (weddings, fourth of July, birthdays etc..) We were wondering if Sunday afternoons work for you all? Enjoy the week and be well

SMALL SHARES

Salad mixto: the usual SWF blend

Onions: The first of the fresh spring onions (red this week..wallas next week)

Kale:  Maybe because its so cool out you could through it in some soup!

Cilantro: The first of the year, yum! If you don’t enjoy cilantro you can exchange for another herb at the booth.

Radish: Last picking! Wish I had a better recipe for you all than in a salad..I have heard of pickled radishes..anyone?

Raspberries: Finally we have enough for the all the boxes..so delicious and sweet!

Dried hot pepper:These are from last year, we thought it might be a nice addition to your cilantro if your in the salsa making mood. If not save for later, you can grind with a mortar & pestle to make into finer chunks.

LARGE SHARE:

Head lettuce

Chard: my favorite recipe from grandma S., saute chopped garlic and the finely chopped stems of the chard in olive oil for a bit, then add the chopped leaves, cook for a few minutes and then pour scrambled eggies over. Cook until eggs are done and top with finely shredded parmesan cheese..delicious!

Cherries:  These are the first of the year ( Small shares don’t get upset..they will be coming you way next week!) There was only enough for a few baskets this week.

Pea liquidation!

dHello friends,

Well, it is sad to say but this is the end of the snap/snow peas until the fall.  You’ve been so tender and sweet Mr. and Mrs. Pea, we really appreciate you!  Candy in a green pod. 

The neat thing about fresh food is that it is perfectly in tune with the seasons and ripens up when we humans need it.  Plants store the energy of the sun and the nutrients of water and earth minerals in their tissues.  The energy is then available to us in the form of enzymes.  When we eat fresh veggies and fruits we are bringing enzymes into our bodies.   The more enzymes we can eat, the better!

So here are the energetic, enzymatic ingredients in your baskets this week.  Enjoy, my friends!

SMALL SHARE

Sweet Water Salad Mix:  The perfect base for the summer salad.

Radishes:  The perfect addition to the perfect salad

Green Onions:  Put em in a salad or stir fry or what have you

Chard:  Big, colorful leafy green related to spinach and beets.  Add to an omelete, soup, salad, or stir fry to add color, fiber, and nutrients.

Strawberries:  Antioxidants in a sweet little, bite-size package.

Oregano:  a key ingredient in pasta, breads, and sauces. If you don’t use it soon just hang upside down to dry and use later as needed. Roll the stems in your hands and all the dry leaves will fall into the bowl you have under it.

Peas:  Let us honor the last showing of these protein packed snacks.

LARGE SHARE ADDS:

Spinach:  The last of the spinach for a while, enjoy!

Raspberries:   Enjoy the concentrated sunlight.

Head lettuce:   Chop it into a salad, add whole leafs to a sandwich, or just bite into the whole head releasing all inhibitions in an act our friend Marissa calls “bad baby cow.”  I like to do this when the plant is still attached to the ground.!

Take care neighbors!

Baby broccoli, seriously

Hello amigos. 

We aim to use all open-pollinated seeds at Sweet Water Farm.  These are the seeds that have been handed down from farmer to farmer, from season to season, and have passed the test of time.   If we find a variety that grows well under the Southern Oregon conditions we can grow that variety out to seed and save the progeny.  We could then continuously select the best individuals as seed sources and the variety would become more and more adapted to this region.  And everyone would live happily ever after.

That being said, we have not found an open pollinated brocolli that has performed here.  They have either went directly to seed, formed a quarter size head, or not formed any head at all.  We will try some hybrid brocollis for the fall plantings this year.  In general hybrids are more vigorous and uniform in their growth.  The drawback to hybrid seed is that it is more expensive and you are continually at the mercy of some company from some other place for your seed source.  As well,  if you grow a hybrid out to seed the plants that you grow from those seeds will likely be nothing like the original.   So the saga continues for a proper brocolli harvest here!  I may throw in a funny little broccoli sprig to each of you so you can see what I mean. 

Either way, things are beautiful in Southern Oregon.  The rain has just fallen and although it may have damaged the strawberries a bit , any rain in June is a blessing.  I have noticed that the plants respond to rain with bountiful growth and energy in comparison to normal irrigation.  There is something special in those drops from the sky!

Here’s the goods for this week.  Enjoy!

SMALL SHARE :

Strawberries: you all know what to do with these!

 Snap and snow peas: eat fresh or enjoy in a stir-fry

 Spinach: my favorite right now…a nice big spinach salad, grated carrot, toasted sunflower seeds, thinly sliced red onion (feta if you like)

 Kale:yes, we know kale..it seems so intimidating if you haven’t embraced its power yet. Dark leafy greens are the most absent from the Standard American diet so… try kale finely chopped in a salad, throw some leafs in a green smoothie, or saute some garlic (or your garlic scapes) with olive oil and a pinch of sea salt for a great side dish (or just add some scrambled eggs to this for breakfast).

 turnips: these are tiny we know..but, you can add them to a salad (finely chopped) or put into a soup.

 garlic scapes:this is the last week so enjoy! scapes are only around for a few weeks out of the year that is why you are getting them again. Once again just use them as you would garlic (don’t use the very top that looks like an unopened flower). The bonus is there is nothing to peel …just chop!

dill: you get a little fresh dill this week. We love to put fresh dill in our salads but, it can also be used to garnish eggs with, pasta, potato salad, or mixed with garlic and butter for a great topping on fish. It you can’t find a use for it this week just hang dry it and use later.

FULL SHARE:

 half pint of rassberries…the first of the year !

1/2 lb. salad mix

red butterhead lettuce

2 artichokes: steam until tender and make a nice garlic butter and dill dipping sauce.

Those of  you who didn’t get eggs last week, they will ready for pick-up this week…try the kale eggs (with dill and garlic scapes)…seriously.

Take care and see you all tomorrow!

Sam, Denise, Ari

The view from the cedar tree... this is where your food is coming from!

The bees are alive! Hopefully one day we can offer a honey share.

C.S.A. Starts Saturday!

Hello, Neighbors!

Thank you so much for supporting Sweet Water Farm this season.  We will do our best to provide you with the most nutritious food we can pull from our soil!  There is a new baby in the family that is scheduled to be harvested some time around late January so the need to grow healthy food is greater than ever!  We are honored to be feeding you as well.

The first baskets of the season will be ready for pick-up at the Grants Pass Grower’s Market from 9:00 am-to 1:00 pm this Saturday June 6.   The earlier you pick up your basket, the sooner it returns home and the fresher your produce will be.  This event will continue every Saturday at the same time in the same place through October 31st.  You may arrange to pick up your basket at the farm if you can give us a day’s notice.

Your basket of produce will actually come in a plastic tote.  Please bring your empty tote back each week and we’ll trade you for a new one with fresh, nutritious goods.  Be as gentle as possible with the totes please.

Half of those who ordered an egg share will receive eggs this Saturday.  The other half of the egg subscribers will pick up their first dozen next Saturday.  Flower shares start next week.

Small share this week will receive strawberries, spinach, garlic scapes, snap and snow peas, radishes, collards, and head lettuce.  Large share adds salad mix, butterhead lettuce, turnips and chard. We will tentatively post what we think we will be putting in your basket, but please note this is subject to change (just a bit). When we are out there in the field we are looking for the most abundant and ready produce, so.. for example we thought we would have a herb for you all this week (parsley) and when it came down to it…well there just wasn’t enough, but there was plenty of head lettuce. So..that is what you got! It all works out in the long run and you will never get skimped on an item. Although, we always try to have a fresh herb for the boxes there are some weeks where that might not happen. Thanks for understanding!

The first recipe of the year is a simple, yet important one: the green smoothie!   Greens contain chlorophyll which cleans our blood, provides our body with oxygen, and nourishes us on a cellular level.  A great way to start the day, cleanse the body, and get energy. 

In a blender, blend 2 cups of water and the greens of your choice.  When liquefied add bananas, apples, pears, mango, or any other combination of fruit that you enjoy.  Add bee pollen, spirulina, or maca powder to your smoothie to give it more substance.  Yet even on their own, greens and fruit are a perfect  food.     

You also have collard greens in your box this week a simple way to make them is to saute some garlic ( you could use your garlic scapes)  and olive oil and then braise your finely chopped collard greens, maybe you could top with a little balsamic vinegar or just sea salt. You could also just steam your greens as well..it’s up to you! They make a lovely (and very nutritious) side dish. The other “odd” thing in your box this week is garlic scapes. This is the flowering top of the garlic, we snap them off so that the energy goes into the garlic bulb and the “scape” part is a tender, mild, and delicious different way to use garlic!  You can use it in any way that you would use garlic, it just isn’t as strong as the actual garlic cloves..kinda nice.  Chop it up and use in it in stir-frys, sautee with eggs, greens, soups,or just put them raw in your salad.  We hope you enjoy them..they are one of our favorite foods and you can only get them once a year..right now!                                                                                                                                              

You can check the blog each week to see what you will receive in your baskets, to get recipes, and read random occurrences happening on the farm.  As well, please feel free to leave comments.  They will be forwarded to our email.  You may also reach us by phone at 479.0249.

We will soon confirm the date of the first potluck/work party. 

Again, we truly appreciate your support and look forward to a tasty season.

Take care,

Sam, Denise, Ari, and ?