CSA 2014 Week #4

July 1, 2014

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  • Green onions
  • Collards
  • Beets
  • Carrots
  • Lettuce

Some sites only:

  • Napa Cabbage
  • Spinach
  • Kale
  • Fennel
  • Strawberries

 

Vegetable Storage and Preparation Tips:

IMGP4602NAPA CABBAGE: Napa Cabbage is cleverly packaged. Just stick dry, unwashed cabbage in fridge. The outer leaves may eventually get floppy, but you can remove & discard them to reveal fresh inner leaves. Cabbage can keep for a month, but once cut, store in a plastic bag.

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Harvesting your Napa Cabbage into a tote!

Rinse cabbage under cold running water just before use. Peel away outer leaves (if necessary) & cut cabbage in half through stem end. Lay flat & quarter it, again through stem end. Balance each section upright & slice away triangular core exposed at base. Then, chop, sliver or grate quarters.

Use raw cabbage to make coleslaw or sauerkraut. Stir-fry or braise until slightly browned. Use steamed or boiled cabbage leaves to wrap rice or meat fillings.

Recipes!

Seasonal Spotlight: Napa Cabbage from the kitchn

Spicy Napa Cabbage Slaw with Cilantro Dressing from epicurious

Carrot Recipes from marthastewart.com

Our Best Beet Recipes from eatingwell.com

IMGP4581News From the Field

IMGP4565This week we have a guest blogger! Jabrila wanted to share with you how your donations through your membership to the farm, help our Education Program, so she wrote this article for you…

Thank you for your support of our Education Program at Winter Green Farm. Becoming a member means you also support our Education Program, as $1 from each membership goes into our Education Fund. We also receive additional donations made from generous individuals and we thank all of you.

Spring 2014 129This spring we have hosted many field trips and I have had so much fun with the students, as well as the adults. We have been working with the Farm To School program for a few years. They do a wonderful job getting school kids out to local farms.

Spring 2014 108They are also active in the classroom, teaching the students how to prepare the fruits and vegetables they harvested from the farms.

Spring 2014 059It is so important for a child to learn where their food comes from, and how it grows. There were many questions and so much enthusiasm as we harvested carrots or dug up potatoes to see how they grow.

Spring 2014 109Farm To School typically pays for all of the field trips they offer to schools. This year they lost some of their funding but thanks to our Education Fund, we were able to help cover the cost of their field trips so they could bring the children to the farm. I would like to share their recent letter with you…

Hi Linda,

Thank you so much for your email and for the amazingly generous donation from Winter Green Farm. We are so glad to bring students out to the farm, and thank you so much for making it possible.

 I had a teacher this spring pull me aside on our last visit to Winter Green Farm and he told me that he was so moved by this trip specifically because unlike a lot of kids who might visit the farm with their families on the weekend, the students we work with are coming largely from poverty stricken homes or are in foster care and would not have access to this opportunity otherwise.

Thanks for letting us bring students out, they had such a special time!! I believe it is something that will stay with them for the rest of their lives!

 In sincere gratitude,

 Molly Bullock, Education and Family Outreach Coordinator Farm to School Program, Willamette Farm & Food Coalition

Spring 2014 125 In May we welcomed four high school students from the Waldorf School in Portland to stay and work on the farm for five days. The girls really worked hard. They transplanted vegetable starts into the fields, helped with field trips, harvested for Farmers Market, and worked in the greenhouse. It was so wonderful to watch them become comfortable with the crew and work right along side them.

We continue to offer the Pumpkin Project with Elmira Elementary School. We go to the school in the Spring and plant seeds with the students, while explaining the process from seed to pumpkin with them. They then come to the farm to plant the pumpkin starts in our pumpkin patch, and in the fall, they will return to harvest the pumpkins for their Halloween Jack-O-Lanterns. This project started when the farm children (now in their 30’s) were in second grade at the Noti Elementary School, with their teacher Bob Bruce. He is the father of Sara here on the farm.

P1010926We continue to have field trips from many different schools and organizations, and with kids of all ages. It is a joy to have a place where people can come and meet their vegetables, see how they are grown, and make a connection with the earth. It is very important to us at Winter Green Farm that we share how we learn from nature, and the respect we hold for the earth. I especially love when we get to the compost yard and talk about eco-systems and life.

We are thankful to have your support for our Educational Program, and to be able to offer such a positive experience for so many.

-Jabrila