Eat More Greens!

SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, July 26th- Farm Day at Wolf Gulch Farm: Details to Follow


I hope you all are enjoying the contents of your first box. We are glad to have the first delivery behind us, as there are always a few mishaps with droppoints, share sizes, extra items, etc. We wait by the phone the first Thursday afternoon of CSA deliveries to find out how much damage control is necessary. Apologies to those of you at the receiving end of my organizational blunders...The weeks beyond should be much smoother. As always though, send an email or call if you are missing an item.

Anyway... your box! Did you notice how much green stuff is in there? I have discovered an easy and delicious way to eat lots of kale, spinach, lettuce, chard, and other leafy vegetables this spring, and hope you all will experiment with the many ways to make GREEN SMOOTHIES. Here in the Rogue Valley, we have an excellent resource for green smoothie making: the Boutenka family. Victoria Boutenka has written a number of books on the health benefits of drinking green smoothies, like Green Smoothie Revolution and Green for Life. Here is their website if you want to read more: http://www.rawfamily.com/index.htm. To be honest, I have not read a lot about it; I just know that greens are good for me, and though I live on an organic farm, I sometimes struggle to get them down. The gist of the green smoothie is to blend a handful of greens with some water or juice, some fruit, a natural sweetener, and ice (if you want it cold.) If you have any experiences with or thoughts about green smoothies, please post a response to this.

So why were there so many greens in your box this week? Greens love cool weather and have thus thrived so far this season. Many of the other spring crops that develop roots or pods (radishes, peas, carrots) have been growing more slowly than usual. Not only have daytime temperatures been cooler, but the nighttime lows have been well below average. The plants have been focusing their energy on leaf growth through photosynthesis, rather than root or flower growth. Most of the summer crops are far behind...

I must admit that I cringe a little when the boxes are full of so many greens. I know a few of you have mentioned in past evaluations that you just don't know what to do with all the chard and kale. Tom and I co-manage this cooperative CSA effort, and spend the season negotiating with eachother from either sides of a fine line. Since Tom coordinates the crop production plans and works more closely with all the farmers, he leans toward the belief that CSAs exist to support local agriculture. I, on the otherhand, do most of the CSA marketing, interface with members, and write the recipe page and blog, so I lean toward the belief that CSAs exist to bring high quality, varied produce to local people. There is overlap in our beliefs, but our realms of responsibility naturally incline us to be slightly different. I think the Siskiyou Cooperative CSA as a whole (farmers and members) benefit from our perspectives. We do occasionally buy produce from other local, organic farmers who are not members of the Siskiyou cooperative in an attempt to get a little more variety in a box. This week, for example, the small shares will be receiving fava beans from Whistling Duck Farm. As a whole,though, we try to keep your CSA dollars within the Coop, since we are the farmers that planned to feed you. I'd love to hear feedback from any of you on this topic, so please send in a post. In the meatime, stay cool and hydrated- with a green smoothie!