Come by to See the Small Box

Tanaka Farms (TF) is now offering a smaller box option. They will continue to offer the familiar large box for $30 ($25/$5 TF/PTA split); the smaller box will be $20 ($18/$2 TF/PTA split).

The smaller boxes will contain produce staples. The larger boxes will contain staples plus specialty veggies. People who like to be surprised by unusual and heirloom varieties of produce may want to continue getting the larger boxes every other week.

But, we want to know if some of you will order more often if the smaller box option was offered.

TF is delivering a sample small box April 22. Come by Neighborhood Grinds that afternoon, Earth Day, April 22, to check out and compare the contents of the large and small boxes. (But please be gentle with the contents of my personal large box.)

Leave a comment and let me know if you would like our CSA program to offer a choice of box sizes.

In this week's Lincoln box...

Some of the beautiful contents from this week's box as delivered to Lincoln school. We got a lot of small, juicy, easy-to-peel citrus, and more avocados and strawberries, and green cauliflower and cilantro. There were also several kinds of greens, a box of snap peas, and apples and carrots.

Kale and White Bean Soup

Alternatively, you can use the greens in a soup. 

Our family loves this Kale and White Bean Soup recipe.  We use carrots and greens from the CSA box, home-made chicken broth, cook dry beans in a rice cooker and chicken & cheese sausages from  Costco.  It's way more economical than the Whole Foods version and incredibly tasty.

We cook about 2-3 times the amount of beans required for this recipe at a time.  We store the excess beans in the freezer (after they have cooled to room temperature).  A few nights before we want to make this recipe again, we move the beans and chicken broth from the freezer to the refrigerator to thaw. 

This is very energy efficient.  A full freezer uses less energy than an empty one.  Every time you open the freezer, you let out cold air and replace it with warm air.  A full freezer will have less air exchange.

When you thaw frozen foods in the refrigerator, your refrigerator becomes an icebox! You recapture the energy used to freeze the food. 

Southern Greens

I've fielded a few inquiries about what to do with the kale and Swiss chard. Here is a delightfully simple and delicious way to prepare them. You can use both the stems and the leaves.

Wash and chop the greens (kale, Swiss chard, beet green tops) into 1" long pieces
Chop the stems into 3/4" pieces and keep those separately

1. (Opt) Saute 2 strips of bacon, cut into 3/4" pieces, or bits of ham in olive oil over medium-high heat
2. Add a chopped onion and (opt) smashed garlic cloves, saute until translucent
3. Add 1-2 (washed, peeled) carrots, diced into 1/2" pieces, saute a couple of minutes
4. Add the chopped stems and saute a couple of more minutes
5. Add the chopped greens, stir, turn down the heat and cover for 5 minutes
6. Add 1/4 Cup milk and stir, leaving lid off
7. Let the milk evaporate until the sauce is thickened (1-2 minutes)
8. Serve over rice

This has a sweet and savory flavor. You can make it vegetarian with vegetable stock instead of bacon/ham and milk. Try throwing in some nuts for protein.

Smaller Size Boxes

Tanaka Farms has introduced smaller sized boxes for smaller families.  They will cost $20 ($18 to TF, $2 to the PTA).  We've been getting the larger boxes ($25/$5 split).  The smaller boxes will contain produce staples.  The larger boxes will contain everything in the little boxes, plus specialty produce (Kohrabi anyone?).

In order to gauge interest, Tanaka Farms will deliver a sample small box with our regular delivery on April 22, 2010.  Come by Neighborhood Grinds on Earth Day, April 22, to check out the boxes.  If there is enough interest, I can accept orders for the smaller boxes starting in May.

A Guest Post on the Tanaka Farms Family Day

Lincoln CSA member Lisa Bennett filed this report about her rainy but delicious morning at Tanaka Farms:

We got an invitation from Tanaka Farms to come visit on Community Supported Agriculture Day. So we started out at 9 am Saturday morning and rain was in the forecast. Half way there it was pouring, but we kept going, hoping for a break in the weather... or maybe it wasn't raining in Irvine?

Turns out it wasn't just yet. So after being greeted and accounted for by staff, we got out to the field at 10:00 and picked radishes, onions, sugar snap peas, cilantro and bok choy for our lunch. The rain started in a gentle sprinkle as we walked up the slope to the picnic area. Everything there was under cover and it was a good thing because it then started pouring.

There was a long high table fitted with overhead water spigots where we washed our veggies, then we went to the cutting station and chopped and seasoned our harvest. We added some tofu and oil to the mix and wrapped everything up in foil packets. Big barbques were ready to roast our creations. And we made some raw salads too. They had some beets and onions already roasted to sample. Oh my goodness were those golden beets good! That was really a tasty lunch. There's nothing like veggies fresh from the field.

Farmers Tanaka (husband and wife) walked around and chatted with everyone. They were very gracious hosts. Right about when we were done eating, the rain stopped and we were able to go pick some strawberries for dessert. It was a perfect morning.

2010 CSA Day, Strawberry Edition

Join us Saturday, March 6 at Tanaka Farms in Irvine.  This event is free for Tanaka Farms CSA subscribers and their families.  The Spring CSA Day is our family favorite because of the strawberries.   See pictures and a description of the strawberry tour in April 2009.

Families are greeted with a map of the farm, where things are planted and a list of produce they can pick.  Begin by taking a self-guided walk through the farm.  (There are lots of friendly staff working in the field to guide and help visitors!)  Then it is on to the washing station to scrub the soil off the veggies.  After that, visit the chop and season station, add some tofu and spices, and wrap those veggies in a foil package, ready for the grill.  Enjoy a cool drink while you wait for your veggies.  You deserve the break.

After munching on a lunch provided by Tanaka Farms and the veggies, stroll down to the strawberry patch to pick dessert!  Strawberry fields forever....

If you subscribe through Lincoln Elementary, RSVP to Kelly.  If you subscribe through Madison Elementary (Neighborhood Grinds pickup), then RSVP to Grace.  You must RSVP by 5 PM Thursday, March 4th.  Thanks.

Make potstickers with your Napa Cabbage

Potstickers and dumplings are a Lunar New Year tradition in many Asian cultures. Tanaka Farms has thoughtfully provided Napa Cabbage for us this week.

This filling can be used to make won tons (square skins), potstickers and boiled dumplings (round skins).

1. Dice the napa cabbage and cook it in a pot on medium heat.  Let the cabbage 'sweat' out some of its water.  (Some people add salt to fascilitate this.)  Set aside and let cool.
2. (Opt) Put some dried shitake mushrooms in warm water to rehydrate
3. In a large bowl, mash 1/2 pound of ground pork (Pork is traditional, but ground turkey or chicken also works.  For extra special occasions, use a mixture of ground pork and shrimp.)
4. Add an egg
5. 1 bunch of chopped scallions/green onions
6. Mince some ginger (I use a lot, ~1/4 C).  Reserve half for the sauce, and throw the rest of the minced ginger into the filling mixture.
7. If you have some shitake mushrooms, drain and mince them.  Add to the mix.
8. Strain the water out of the napa cabbage as much as you can and add to the mix.
9. Add salt, pepper and toasted sesame oil to taste
10. Mix thoroughly and you are ready to wrap the dumplings!
11. Cook the dumplings in your desired style.
12. Combine soy sauce, white vinegar, minced ginger and hot oil to make the sauce

There are lots of resources on the web showing how to wrap dumplings.

Lincoln Box contents, 11 February

Here it is, all unpacked and basking on the dining room table:
What you see is what we got: avocados, carrots, apples, cilantro, broccoli, green onions, cauliflower, spinach, radicchio (the dark reddish lettuce-like item), napa cabbage (the huge and heavy head of greens at the back), and another head of light-green lettuce.

Napa cabbage is the stuff often found in kimchi, btw. So it's quite sturdy!

A Magenta Heart!

Welcome February with a bright magenta heart, using CSA box ingredients...Four ingredients: shredded beets (from the CSA box), chopped red cabbage (from the CSA box), garlic powder (wish I had some real garlic around but I didn't), and a little mayonnaise. There are many, many variations of this traditional Russian dish online; some include nuts, or citrus or onions; some include horseradish and a vinegar-based dressing; some use ranch dressing in place of mayo. It's all good.

I did not like beets until this year. Yeah for the CSA experience! And thanks to my friend Rubi, for suggesting I try this--she was right.