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What’s in the CSA Share and at the Market 6/9

Fresh Cherries are our favorite!

Hi members!  Welcome to our new members this week – we are so glad to have you! Summer holidays are coming up – if you are traveling, don’t forget to put your shares on hold. Just a reminder – we have CSA vacation August 11 and 18 – there will not be any CSA those weeks. 

Home Delivery – Richmond home delivery – your delivery day is WEDNESDAY this week  

Below is the preview menu, subject to change.  Reminder – if something is wrong with your share/delivery, let us know right away so we can remedy it for you!

Happy Cooking and Eating!

~ Amina + Suzi

PRODUCE – Produce is from Flores Family Farm (George, Omar and family) Hague; , Va unless otherwise indicated. 

FRUIT share – We are really rocking the fruit now! Here is a fancy dessert – Summer Pavlova with fresh and grilled berries. 

MEATS – 

BREAD

DAIRY

  • Cheese – raw cheddar mix — Make Pimento cheese – this is the recipe for the Pasture Pimento Cheese. 1 ½ lbs. sharp cheddar cheese, grated1 medium red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, and seeded, and finely diced1 small shallot, minced2 sprigs tarragon, leaves removed, and minced1 ¼ cup mayonnaise, preferably Duke’s Mayonnaise2 dashes Worcestershire sauce1 dash hot pepper sauce1 tsp. black pepperCombine all ingredients very well in a large mixing bowl.  Chill for at least 2 hours, or up to one day.  Serve with crackers, pickles, and crudités.
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What’s in the CSA Share 5/6+7 Oysters and Clams!!

Hello members – Happy May!!  sadly rutabagas have gone away…till next year. 

This week we have oysters and clams for our Meat/Full customers – if you don’t want the oysters/clams and have NOT opted out – please send me an email as soon as you can. Otherwise you will get them. This is especially important for our home delivered members as we will not be able to swap them out.  If you are having them home delivered, PLEASE make sure you have a cooler with ice pack for them to keep them fresh as we can’t guarantee their freshness once they leave our icy coolers. Thank you! 

For those of you interested in cooking at home with your kids, or learning a few super easy delicious vegan dishes for yourself, the Sarno Bros. Wicked Healthy Food have made their Wicked Healthy Kids online cooking classes free. I love these guys – and what they are doing for plant-based meals. You will probably see a lot of their recipes here bc they are really innovative and make vegan cooking fun and exciting. 

Here is the preview menu of what we think will be in the share for 5/6+7. Remember the menu may change between now and when you actually receive it due to weather, product availability. We will try to let you know any major changes by email, and also post on our Facebook page, Facebook group, and on Instagram. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns!  

PRODUCE * indicates small share. Produce is from Flores Family Farm (George, Omar and family) Hague, Va.

  • StrawberriesAgriberry – Hanover VA – These strawberries are full of flavor! That’s one of the benefits of sourcing strawberries locally! make small batch strawberry balsamic jam
  • Maitake Mushrooms* AM Fog, Afton, VA – Maitake is perfect for grilling vegans and meatless Mondays. Here are BBQ Maitake Skirt steaks from Wicked Healthy
  • Garlic Scapes* – Garlic scapes are the tender stem and flower bud of a hardneck garlic plant and will probably have a curly coil to them. Use them just as you would garlic — so they are perfect for stirfries, pesto, and marinades. Here is a guide to them. 
  • Kale – try goat cheese lemon pasta with kale! ; kale goatcheese tart; kale caesar salad
  • Asparagus* -roasted asparagus with walnuts and goat cheese
  • Arugula – make pesto, put on pizza with mushrooms and your garlic scapes,  or sautee. we like to freeze pesto in ice cube tray to have for later! arugula is good to use early in your share, as it is pretty delicate. 
  • Bombolini Pasta*- Richmond.   Fresh pasta cooks in a flash – usually 2 minutes or less – so follow directions carefully and err on the short side of timing.  Do not multi-task or walk away from pasta cooking or you will overcook it and be sad. Try this Mushroom. Garlic, Pasta Recipe
  • Bok Choy -Otherwise known as Chinese white cabbage is a staple ingredient in Asian dishes. The tender dark green leaves and crisp off-white-colored stalks provide a nice fresh crunch. The greens have a spinach-like taste with a very mild bitterness. I like to add them to my veggie kimchi, or I like to roast them. Roasted Bok Choy or try bok choy in vinegar oyster sauce; or vegan pho with bok choy and mushrooms and garlic why not! 
  • Spicy Salad Mix – For a sweet and healthy salad, add strawberries, chopped walnuts, red onion, and goat cheese. Top with balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Its delicious!
  • Salted Virginia Peanuts – Virginia Peanut Company, Franklin, VA – oh these are so ridiculously addicting….I am not even going to give you recipes bc you are going to eat them out of the can. If you have a peanut allergy, let me know so I can sub you out. 
  • Chamomile – this is always one of our faves. You can make cake, ice cream, syrup, tea…and more

OYSTERS + CLAMS

Rappahanock oysters and clams –  Topping, VA Check our facebook group for the video I made on how to open them, but please wear gloves. Here are some recipe suggestions Grill themOven roast or try one of these . Clams – Here’s how to roast, grill, steam and chowder them. Your oysters will be in a lightly tied plastic bag — when you get home, open the bag a little more so they can breathe, and put them in a cool part of your fridge. Please use your clams quickly as they are fragile. It is also good to use your oysters as soon as possible for best fresh flavor, as they are hardier, they will be ok in your fridge for a few days if you don’t get to them.  When you are ready to prepare your shellfish – look them over carefully and discard any that may be open. 

ALT MEATS for those of you who opted out of the oysters/clams. If you have not done this, let me know ASAP, otherwise you will get oysters. 

BREAD

  • Billy Bread – Rustic Sourdough — This is the famous Billy Bread!  Don’t distress if it starts to get hard before you can eat it all, although it is easy to eat it all at once – it is so delicious. Here are some ways to revive and  use leftover sourdough bread. 

DAIRY

  • Cheese -chevre – Goats R Us, Blackstone, VA – Robin and John have been with us as farmers for many years and we love their delicious creamy cheese. It freezes well if you aren’t going to eat it right away. Here are some ways to get you started with your goat cheese. 

TOFU —Twin Oaks, Louisa, VA.  As so many of you are getting the incredible Twin Oaks tofu (available here – best tofu ever! ), I’ve decided to add in a tofu recipe. Here is an easy roast tofu with veggies.  And there are a lot of recipes on the Twin Oaks site 

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2020 Spring Summer CSA Season is LIVE! Time Sensitive Discounts now till 2/23/20

The FarmBus 2020 Spring/Summer CSA season is LIVE for subscription. It starts* the last week of March running 24 weeks thru the 4th week of September  (includes 2 one week breaks: the week of April 21/22, and the week of August 18/19th. Mark your calendars.)  Sign Up TodayDon’t delay! And please share us and these codes with your friends, family and coworkers – if they sign up and use your name during sign up, you will earn a $40 referral reward – share early and often!  Watch for a shareable social media post. *Start dates subject to change due to weather, acts of nature etc.

 FULL SHARE SAVINGS ALL SEASON – Sign up anytime this season and SAVE10% on Full Share purchase (this is for the combo produce, meat, dairy and bread share ONLY) use code: 10FullSS20 If you want any of the other modular shares, use the Early Bird code below.
ALL OTHER SHARE EARLYBIRD DISCOUNT NOW THRU FRIDAY 2/23/2010% discount on all other shares other than FULL use code: 1S20EARLY

ACTIVE MILITARY/VETERANS– Use our 10% military discount code to save on all CSA shares signing up anytime during the season. Please email with proof of your service for the code, as it has changed. 
*Make sure you are choosing Summer 2020 shares, as Fall/Winter is still up for a few more weeks. 

SHOPPING TIPS: Verify you are using the right code for your share/s to get the best value. When you get towards the end of the sign up process, you will be prompted to enter in the discount code in a field towards the top and the software will subtract it at checkout. In order to find out your price, go thru the process like you are purchasing – when you choose your frequency – weekly/biweekly in the drop down menu – your cost will also adjust. If you leave your cart and come back, make sure to clear your cart to avoid duplicate purchase.

THE DETAILS

Descriptions of each share/prices are on the website.
Add ons are available – eggs and all other dairy items, tofu, bread, certain pantry items, some meats etc.

1 time shares available for those who can’t commit/have erratic schedules.

Partial seasons available for people who may be moving (email for info – don’t sign up online. I will set you up manually.)

Memberships are modular, and flexible with payment plans and vacation holds. Credit rolls season to season.

PREFERRED PAYMENTS are cash, checks or online billypay, money orders. These should be made out to Farm to Family, LLC and can be mailed or given to Mark at Eastern Market/DC. You will be told your member/home delivery fee so you can add this to your check/cash payment. Credit/debit now have a 3.5% surcharge fee which you will be reminded of by CSAware if you choose this payment method. As a small business in an industry with thin margins and high rates of product shrinkage due to limited shelflife, along with other CSAs, farms and other food service providers, we chose to charge this fee instead of raising our prices to cover it. Choose the fee-free options provided to avoid the surcharge. 

DC

  • Starts Tuesday, 3/31 DC Eastern Market; weekly/biweekly; seasonal member fee $100/50*
  • Starts Tuesday,4/7 DC Home Delivery (Capitol Hill 20002, 20003 and Navy Yard); biweekly only, additional $10/time delivery fee charged separately; seasonal member fee $50*

RVA

  • Starts Wednesday, 4/1 Farm to Family/RVA 2817 Mechanicsville Turnpike, RVA 23223; weekly/biweekly; seasonal member fee $50/25*
  • Starts Wednesday,4/11 RVA Home Deliver (within 5 miles of Farm to Family includes Downtown, The Fan, Carytown, Church Hill, Forest Hill, Manchester, Northside, Old Mechanicsville, Ginter Park, Lakeside) biweekly only, additional $5/time delivery fee charged separately; seasonal member fee $25*

*seasonal member pro-rated if you join post-start. Member fee includes everything except cost of food. See Policies and FAQs for  more info. 

Questions? Email Suzi or call Mark at 804-397-7337.

Categories
CSA Farm Share FarmStand Get Educated Get Involved Local Food Recipes

Week 3 CSA — Recipes/New Pop-Up Capitol Hill Farmer’s Market Thursdays

Apples and Onions, Delicious!
Apples and Onions, Delicious!

HI Members, Happy November. Hope you had a great halloween and remembered to turn your clocks back!  We still have some turkeys available. Let me know if you wish to get one.

Pickup this week is Tuesday at Eastern Market, DC 4-7pm, Wednesday at Patriot’s Plaza, DC 11-6.

  • New Pop-Up Market/Job Opportunity – Mark will be doing a pop-up Farmer’s Market on Thursdays at the corner of 8th St and East Capital, NE, DC from 11-7, in front of the little pharmacy that is for rent. He is looking for someone to help him! If you or someone you know can help, email Mark at mark@thefarmbus.com or call 804-397-7337 and negotiate. Can be intern, maybe trade etc.

Here are your recipes:

PRODUCE

Honeycrisp apples – honeycrisp sangria – this is a delicious recipe I’ve shared before!
http://food52.com/recipes/7569-ginger-apple-torte
Gold rush apples – http://food52.com/recipes/31385-apple-cheddar-muffins
Colored carrots – http://food52.com/recipes/9743-roasted-carrot-soup
http://www.dinneralovestory.com/what-is-easy-illusions-part-2/
Red onion – http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/06/fresh-ricotta-and-red-onion-pizza/
Cilantro – http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/cilantro-yogurt-sauce-51154890
http://www.thekitchn.com/leftover-cilantro-quick-ways-t-126976
White bok choy
http://thewoksoflife.com/2014/06/garlic-baby-bok-choy/
Flat cabbage – http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2010/04/cabbage-and-lime-salad-with-roasted-peanuts/
Spicy salad mix
Tuscan kale – http://food52.com/recipes/33605-white-bean-and-kale-soup-with-sausage

Happy New Year


Russet potatoes – so many fun things to do with mashed potatoes, here’s a recipe for potato sliders! http://iamafoodblog.com/potato-slider-buns/
http://iamafoodblog.com/smoked-gouda-potato-pancakes/

Meat share is:

Sausagecraft San Miniato or Saturday Nite Sausage (your choice upon picking up) –  http://food52.com/recipes/33605-white-bean-and-kale-soup-with-sausage
Morning Glory chicken breast with tenderloin – http://www.dinneralovestory.com/monogrammed-pot-pies/ (this one is fun for kids as it shows how to make little monograms for each individual pot pie)
http://www.food.com/recipe/cilantro-chicken-181195
^A great way to use your cilantro!
Ground beef – http://www.saveur.com/article/recipes/shami-kebabs-spiced-ground-beef-patties
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/19644/moussaka/
http://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/one-skillet-cheesy-taco-pasta/

 

Categories
CSA Farm Share CSA/Farm Market Get Educated Local Food Recipes

CSA Week 6 – Cherries~~

10392287_10152430866170935_115419487903632828_nSo here is what we think is in the share, always subject to change.

Produce

  • Cherries – from Crown Orchard near Charlottesville, (Charlottesville is where most of our fruit comes from and has been grown and cultivated since before Thomas Jefferson’s time.) This is a GREAT year for cherres, they have been sweet and delicious. The orchard has been owned and operated by the Chiles Family since 1912. They are a low spray orchard, and use integrative pest control methods, and sensors in the orchard to keep them apprised of humidity and other environmental factors that affect the fruit. I got a cherry pitter when I got married (it also pits olives) and it makes working with cherries very fast + easy.
  • kohlrabi – is an emerging culinary star, and versatile, and it is another UFO looking veggie – you can bake, broil, roast, toast, boil, mash and don’t forget to cook the leaves like kale, make fries, risotto. grate it into slaw, turn it into fritters, mash it and put gravy on it euro style. Its a brassica, so cabbage and broccoli are its cousins, and I think it resembles broccoli in flavor, but milder. You can think of it as a vehicle for whatever you want to put with it. European customers in particular squeal with delight when they see it. Visit Huff Post’s WTF guide to CSA veggies ; NYTimes blog; and the kitchn.com
  • leeks – they are the darling of french cuisine, and aren’t just for soup.
  • black kale – one of our favorites types of kale. I made kale chips in our dehydrator last week with these and they turned out the best ever. Great to sautee, or turn into salad.
  • thai basil – try this cherry gazpacho with basil!!
  • green beans – try them thai style, with the basil and chicken.
  • zucchini – I thought this zucchini noodle with thai basil pesto sounded delicious!
  • mushrooms (Lion’s Mane I think) – Cook these with you chicken, and any of your veggies.
  • English Peas – oh these are so wonderful. My grandmother used to steam them, and put hot milk, butter, salt and pepper on them. I’ve just been eating them raw all week. LA Weekly has a few great recipes in this article, including baked ricotta with English peas from Deborah Madison, who is one of my favorite cookbook authors.
  • Red Leaf Lettuce
  • Kirby Cukes (the little pickling cukes to tasty to eat!) – these are gorgeous just to slice lengthwise into spears and eat with a little salt and pepper. they are great in salads. here is an easy refrigerator pickle from Food in Jars (great recipes for small batches – you can make zucchini and green bean pickles too!)

Meat

  • Chicken breast (Morning Glory Farm) – chicken picatta is one of my all time favorite chicken recipes, I love its combination of lemony, winey, buttery, capery goodness. I would definitely sautee the mushrooms with this, and you could add thai basil to give it a twist. This recipe from E.A.T. is easy.  Remember the MG chicken breast will have texture to it because it is pastured Freedom Rangers – don’t overcook.  E.A.T. has a ton of good recipes, and his blog is entertaining.
  • Virginia Trout Company trout – quick and easy – trout and basil in parchment
  • Sausage Craft (subject to change) – we LOVE Sausage Craft – there is NOT a bad sausage in the batch. Selections rotate, and are made fresh weekly. If you have a special request, they may make that batch just for you!  Brad and Chris are two very cool guys. Chris is the chef, and Brad is the business guy (and also one of the owners of Metzger Bar + Butchery that is receiving national acclaim).

Installment plan/Member fee questions: Some of our new members have had questions recently about payments.  We have info on this in Policies, in FAQ,and you also checkbox the installment plan agreement upon joining. We also have info on these along with a reminder in our Welcome letter. Please review these, and if you have questions or concerns, let me know.

See you soon!

Warmly

Suzi

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