2024 CSA Season Week One

Welcome to the first week of the 2024 CSA Season! We are so excited to have you with us this year, and we’re grateful to be able to tag along on this food journey with you. We’ve got a full box for you this week, and we hope you’re just as excited about it as we are!

Just a reminder for our half-share members, you are on an alternating schedule. 10-week half share members, this is your week!

Tips and tricks for a smooth season:

• Please do not take any extras at the delivery site unless your name is on them. We appreciate your cooperation! 
• Help us keep everyone healthy by only touching your own share. 
• Don’t forget to check your name off the list, so we know you got your share! 
• Shoot me an email at least a week ahead of time if you need to change your delivery schedule. 
• Contact your site host before the 7pm deadline if you aren’t able to get your share during the delivery window.  
• Please bring your own bag or box, so you can leave the farm totes at the delivery site. We would appreciate it if you stacked them nicely to help out both your site host and your delivery drivers! 
• Keep an eye on your emails for information from the farm! Let us know if you aren’t getting them, as that’s how we communicate with you!  
• Only take a box if your name is on the list. We only pack enough for the members listed, so if your name isn’t there, please contact the farm for a makeup during the next delivery or a credit to your account.  

We’ll mostly communicate through email!

We will be sending out emails each week to let you know what’s in the box! The blog will go out on Tuesdays during the Standard Season, and Fridays during the Extended Season and off season. It will contain important announcements, what’s going on at the farm, what you can expect in your share each week, and recipes to help inspire your time in the kitchen!  

You’ll also be getting an email on Mondays or Thursdays, depending on your delivery day, with an estimate of what you can expect in your box. These lists come from the harvest crew and are more of an estimate than a final list. We also aren’t able to guarantee Tuesday/Wednesday deliveries will be the same as the weekend deliveries, but we will do our very best to get you the veggies we promised for this season. If we don’t get you one week, we’ll get you the next week that veggie is available.  

(Please note: we can’t guarantee half shares will receive all the veggies offered throughout the season due to availability, but we’ll try our best.) 

If you aren’t getting emails, please let me know! You can reach me at [email protected], and I can check to make sure you’re on our list. 

Please respect our site hosts and other CSA members! 

Our wonderful site hosts have graciously donated their time and property for the season. We are so grateful for our residential site hosts (and our market site hosts!) and we can’t thank them enough for allowing us to use their driveways, porches, and yards, as well as donating their time. Please remember to respect our site hosts by taking out everything you bring with you and not leaving any trash, stacking your boxes nicely, checking your name off the list, bringing your own bag to pick up your veggies, and being kind and courteous to your site hosts and other CSA members.  

Give your site host a call if you can’t pick up your share that day! 

If you’re unable to pick up your share the day of delivery, you will need to contact your site host to see if they are able to hold it for you. Your site hosts are under no obligation to hold your shares! The pickup deadline for residential deliveries is 7:00pm. After that delivery window passes, the leftover shares will become theirs to either eat or give away. They do not come back to the farm, and we are unable to replace missed boxes. 

Please make sure you contact your site host if you’re unable to pick up your share on delivery day. Our office is usually closed or we’re out on the farm during those pickup windows, so we will not be able to help with missed pickups the day of delivery. 

Let the farm know as soon as possible if you miss a market box! 

If you pick up at the markets, missed shares do come back to the farm. However, we only hold them until the next packing day (Tuesday or Friday), so we’ll need to know by 10am the day before (Monday or Thursday) in order to send them to another site or hold them until your next delivery. Any boxes left after those deadlines get donated to Food for Lane County. 

Please check your name off the list when you pick up your box

When you pick up your shares each week, we like to know when you get your veggie boxes. Please check your name off the list, so we can confirm you were able to pick up your share! If your name is not on the list, PLEASE DO NOT TAKE A BOX. If your name is not on the list and you think it should be, please double-check your delivery schedule, then email the farm at [email protected], and we’ll reach out to you the next business day to make arrangements for a makeup share or credit.

If you have someone pick up your share for you and they are not getting our emails, please make sure to remind them of this as well. 

Let us know if you’re going on vacation

We know the season is during the summer and we all like to go on vacation when it’s warm! We’re happy to accommodate you by either rescheduling your share, offering a double share the following week, issuing a credit for the 2024 season, or donating your share to Food for Lane County.  

(Please note: we are only able to make these changes with at least 7 days notice. If you pick up on Friday and want to change to Tuesday earlier that week, you’ll need to let me know 7 days before that TUESDAY, so we have time to make the changes.)  

Meet your farmers – Meet Chris and Shannon Overbaugh!

Chris and Shannon are the owners of Winter Green Farm and our fearless leaders in the greenhouse and the field! Both of them have their hands in every aspect of the farm, and you can find them from time to time as delivery drivers, market vendors, and everything in between! Chris handles most of the day-to-day management, and Shannon is queen in the greenhouse.

Fun facts about Chris:

• Season on the farm: 30th!
• Astrological sign: Scorpio
• Favorite vegetable: Carrots
• Something he hopes to learn at the farm: Humility

For fun, Chris goes mountain biking, and the coolest place he’s ever been is the Dolomitas in Italy.

Fun facts about Shannon:

• Season on the farm: 25th!
• Astrological sign: Capricorn
• Favorite vegetables: Carrots and kale
• Something she hopes to learn at the farm: Patience and adaptability

For fun, Shannon likes to bake and cook good food, go on long walks on the beach, and spend time with her family. The coolest places she’s ever been are Italy and Mexico, and she really wants to go to Spain!

Come see us at our farmers’ markets!

This week marks the first week of the Eugene Farm Stand at the Emmaus Church on 18th and Polk! We’re open from 2pm to 6pm on Wednesday afternoons. You can also find us at the Lane County Farmers’ Market in Eugene on Saturdays, as well as the King Market in Portland on Sundays! We would love to see you, if only to say hi and see how you’re doing!

What’s in your box this week:

• Snap peas
• Strawberries
• Carrots
• Radishes
• Spinach
• Kale
• Bok Choy (Pak Choi)
• Lettuce

Handy Tips for this week’s box:

• Snap Peas: Snap peas are best stored in a plastic bag in your fridge. You can eat them as they are, in a stir fry, or salad, or try a fun new recipe!

• Strawberries: Rinse strawberries just before eating to clean off any grit that may still be on the berries from the field. To freeze them, spread them out on a cookie sheet and place them in the freezer. Once frozen, store them in a Ziploc bag or plastic container until ready to use.

• Carrots: Cut or twist carrot tops off before storing in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. They will keep for several weeks. Clean the carrots well before eating by scrubbing with a vegetable brush under running water. Do not peel unless the carrots are damaged, as much of the nutrients are very close to the skin. Eat carrots raw in sticks, rounds, julienned, or grated. You can also add slices or chunks to soups, stews, or casseroles. Carrots are also delicious lightly steamed or sautéed, and garnished with butter or olive oil and fresh herbs. Try them grated with oil, lemon juice, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper.

• Radishes: Radishes may need a good scrubbing, even after our crew has washed them, but do not need to be peeled. Trim off any damaged areas. Store them in a damp towel or plastic bag in the refrigerator. Store green tops separately, wrapped in a damp towel. Use as soon as possible.

• Spinach: Rinse spinach leaves in cool water and pat them dry with a towel or “spin dry” as you would lettuce. Store in a damp towel or plastic bag for up to a week. Spinach can be steamed, sauteed, eaten raw, or added to soups at the last minute. For long-term storage, you can freeze spinach, then blanch it for 1 to 2 minutes. Spinach cooks quickly, so be careful not to overcook. Look for a bright green color. Two to three pounds of fresh spinach will reduce to two cups when cooked.

• Kale: Wash kale leaves well by dipping them in a sink of cool water several times to flush out soil and garden stowaways. Remove the stems from the leaves by folding leaf in half lengthwise, and stripping or slicing away the thick stems. Baby or tender young leaves may be cooked, stem and all. Steam mature kale leave approximately 4-5 minutes, depending on age, size, and amount in steamer. When it’s limp but still retains texture, it’s ready. Wrap kale in a damp towel or in a plastic bag to refrigerate, preferably in a hydrator drawer, for up to one week. For long-term storage, kale can be frozen. Wash, de-stem, and blanch leaves for two minutes. Rinse in cold water, drain, and pack into airtight containers, and freeze.

• Bok Choi: Refrigerate unwashed bok choi in a plastic container or loosely wrapped in a plastic bag. Bok choi keeps for over a week, but is firmest and tastiest if used within a few days. Store bok choi stalks loosely inside a plastic bag in a drawer of your refrigerator. To prepare, slice stalks away from the base and wash, then separate the leaves (the green part) from the stalk (the white part), as they cook better separately. Slice and cook stalks as you would celery. Enjoy them raw, or add them first to stir-fries and soups.

What We’re Making this week:

• Snap peas are delicious on their own, but if you want to cook them up for a tasty side dish, try these Quick Asian Sugar Snap Peas!

• If you love strawberries, you’re in for a treat this week. Our strawberries are delicious! If you manage to get them home without eating them, they would be perfect in this Strawberry Mango Mesclun Salad!

• Carrots are amazing raw or roasted, but just in case you’re looking for something sweet this week, give this Healthy Carrot Cake a go!

• I don’t know how you like radishes, but I struggle to get my family to enjoy them. This Butter-Glazed Roasted Radishes with Fresh Herbs recipe might just do the trick!

• I don’t know about you, but I love to put spinach in EVERYTHING, and these Crustless Mini Quiches look perfect!

• If you’re looking for a delicious side to add to your meals this week (or maybe for a quick lunch!) try this tasty Kale Pasta!

• I could get fancy with the bok choy recipe, but sometimes, there are classics for a reason. Try this Bok Choy Stir Fry recipe if you’re looking for an old favorite!

• You’re going to get tons of lettuce this season, so we’re going to start off easy with this Everyday Salad. Simple doesn’t have to mean bad!

This is the first delivery of what’s looking like a fabulous season. We hope you all enjoy the bounty this week! We’re so grateful to tag along on this food journey with you, and we hope you’ll all share your meals with us to inspire your fellow members!

Many blessings,

Chelsea and your Winter Green farmers