Author: Tobin Fekkes

This has certainly been one of the most challenging starts to a farm season we have encountered. We intentionally started later this year, apparently it wasn’t late enough. We are starting to see crops emerge and get established. Our initial waterlogged plantings have been weathering the onslaught of colder and wetter than expected weather with grace and are starting to respond, to at least, warmer rain! 

The only critter that is really happy is slugs! Thankfully the slugs have not been a problem for our crops, but Joelle’s flower beds have been their primary target. The slug issue is primarily a perennial plant’s nightmare. In the fields we work up large swaths of land that disrupts their habitat, but flowers and berries where they are in same place for multiple seasons tend to create nooks and crannies for them to hide. But I digress. 

From our inception, we have always been a conduit to healthy farmers for you. We consciously chose to work with our neighboring farms and not to grow everything on our farm. Being vertically integrated has its advantages but also its challenges. We run a modified vertically integrated business, with a farm and our home delivery distribution business, but we are primarily a home delivery company.  

I do scratch my itch to farm by growing lettuce, cucumbers, onions, squash, beets and a few other crops for your family. But our primary focus is on being that conduit of good food from farmers who grow organically and deliver their produce to you. 

Every week we talk with our network of local farmers and our suppliers to build our weekly menus. Our focus is always on locally produced food first and then we branch outside our regions to supplement our offerings. We will never be a 100% locally grown company. Bananas, citrus and mangos are some of our most popular produce items, so we source them from organic farmers to add them to the Box of Good. 

With that said, our product shifts as the seasons shift and for the next few months till October-ish the Box of Good will become more local and our menus will be featuring many vegetables and fruit from our network of local farmers. And yes, while this farm season is off to a painfully (wet) slow start, we are seeing more and more local produce coming onboard, which means the shift to local is on! 

During this season we become not only your source for quality organically grown foods, we become your source for a lot more locally organically grown organic produce.  

Enjoy some of the healthiest and locally grown produce, 

Tristan 

We are excited to be able to offer local blueberries from Hazel Blue Acres for the next few weeks. This week they are featured in some of the boxes as well as being sold as add-ons! You can purchase extra blueberries by the clamshell or by the 1/2 flat. Just email us or add them online via boxofgood.com. We love being able to support the local farms around us! 

A Quick Storage Tip for Your Blueberries!

Hold off on washing your blueberries until you are ready to eat them. If you wash them and then let them sit in the fridge they will get mushy fast! So be sure to put them in your fridge, unwashed and then wash them off with cold water before you enjoy! 

A Quick Storage Tip for Your Chard!

The chard in your box this week is right out of Klesick Family Farm’s field! Do not wash your chard until you are ready to use it. Store it in an airtight container or bag. When you are ready to use it, run it under cold water, but do not let it sit in the water, as that will result in the loss of water-soluble nutrients!

Meal Kits – Kindred Kitchens

We have worked with Kindred Kitchens to bring you four more meal kits! Our new meal kits are Chicken Enchiladas with Spicy Black Beans, Chicken and Mozzarella Ravioli with Alfredo Sauce, and two types of Spaghetti, one with Gruyere and Garlic Sausage and one with Apple Chicken Sausage. The meal kits come with four generous serving, easy to put together and work great for a busy day! My kiddo’s favorites are the Creamy Chicken Pesto and the Chicken Enchiladas. It always takes the edge off a busy day when we come home to a simple meal kit! You can add one on to your existing order or just order a meal kit by itself!

Issues With Your Order?

Just a reminder that if you happen to have any issues with the way your order was packed or delivered, we want to know! Please call 360-652-4663 or email us at [email protected]. Sammy, Kelsey, and I are more than happy to help resolve any issues. If you receive  an item that is poor quality sending us a quick pic of the product will help us with quality control. Of course, we also love all your kudos! We appreciate ALL feedback and we believe it makes us a better company!

If we can assist in making your ordering process easier, help you create a custom order, assist with substitutions, just let us know!

We are here to help!

-Alaina

Tristan and I are grateful to get to live and work at such a beautiful place. 18 years ago we were looking for a place that we could live, farm, and run the business. Farm ground was the first priority because that’s the one thing that can’t really be changed or remodeled. When we stumbled upon this place it was “a tear down”.  It had good growing ground, an outbuilding we could work with and the house had good bones. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into! Through a lot of blood, sweat, and tears (and prayer), we made it our own! 

Klesick Family Farm grew from a vision to create a lifestyle of learning for us and our kids! We saw the value of both working hard and playing hard, of adventuring and creating! Over the years we’ve fueled our kids interests by helping them find resources to blossom in those areas. We’ve had kids take on chickens, honey bees, milk goats, a milking cow, beef cows, draft horses, dog training, flowers for fundraising, event planning, hay-baling, welding, restoring tractors and they’ve managed crops from start to finish. They’ve had great opportunities that have grown and stretched them. Over the years our farm has morphed and changed as much as our family has! Interests have come and gone and six of our nine children are grown and are writing the next chapter of their lives.  But we share memories and we’re enjoying the opportunity to share farm life with grandkids! 

During this season we’re focusing on growing vegetables and don’t have any animals on the farm except our family dog and cats. 

Farm life is a lot of hard work, commitment, and unpredictability! Neither of us grew up farming. We’ve had a lot of learning curves along the way! We’ve had both crop failures and bountiful harvests. We LOVE providing food that’s nutritious and healthy for our customers and the planet! But I think it’s the journey that really keeps farmers growing! Farming isn’t as much an occupation as it is a lifestyle. Our family has been shaped by it. It’s not for everyone. But farmers need people who appreciate their product in order to keep growing! We are thankful for each of you and that you’ve joined us in this journey! 

Follow us on Facebook or Instagram and watch our stories for extra glimpses into what’s happening on the farm this season! 

-Joelle

Each day there’s a new opportunity to pursue healthy choices! But what is a healthy choice? That’s not an easy, one size fits all, answer! When we’re presented with a choice that affects the health of our body, mind, spirit, or environment, and we choose the greater good, we’re making a healthy choice! I love the idea of celebrating each little step we take, acknowledging the good, knowing it brings us that much closer to creating healthy habits that can last a lifetime! 

A specific healthy food choice for some might be to eat 80% organic in order to cut out chemical pesticides and herbicides! A plan to make that happen could include being intentional in both food purchases and meal planning. Another healthy choice might be to add a greater variety of vegetables to one’s diet and focus on “eating the rainbow”. The fridge would need to be stocked full of several colorful choices and a goal could be to eat 3-4 different fruit or vegetables at each meal! Your Box of Good can help with that!

We can all be more mindful of our food choices but be careful not to judge others and don’t judge yourself! Negativity never sets the stage for victory! Let enthusiasm for the good choices inspire! Some people have bought the lie that what’s healthy won’t satisfy, but that can’t be farther from the truth. As we pursue healthy choices and experience the satisfaction associated with it, dopamine and serotonin are released; two types of neurotransmitters in the brain. Both are associated with happiness. They empower us to continue to make healthy choices!

What other areas besides food do we make choices that affect our health? Don’t let it overwhelm you, but the possibilities are endless! Consider some of these. We can take time to sit, pray, meditate, and just breathe. Be in the moment with those we love! Express gratitude. Pay attention to sights, smells, sounds all around! Learn to laugh at ourselves. Say something kind to a stranger. Shake up our daily routine and add a little adventure. Take time to both move and strengthen our bodies. Drink more water. Take quality supplements. Get sunshine and fresh air. Take a nap if needed. Organize and minimize “stuff.” Clean up after ourselves. Complete a project. Do something creative. Volunteer for a noble cause. Be helpful to someone in need. Plant something. Reduce, recycle and re-use. Support sustainable practices. Learn something new. 

So many opportunities to choose good! Let’s be intentional with our health, cheer each other on and watch the overall health of our community grow!

Have a wonderful week and thanks for choosing a Box of Good!

-Joelle 

I don’t know if it’s because I am a Pacific Northwest grown girl or what, but each year when autumn decides to roll around, I feel like I come alive. Maybe roll around isn’t the right word though – autumn usually appears very fast out of nowhere! And she’s so beautiful, because despite the fact that leaves are dying, plants are being pruned, and there is an all-around passing away, the world feels so fresh and vibrant. It reminds me to look at what habits of mine are not serving me well. That way I can shake them off and try something new. Autumn reminds us that even amidst death, there is also hope and color as room is made for new life.  

I have found that because of covid, and life’s struggles in general, many people right now are experiencing that sense of death, or loss – be it a season of life, a career, or a relationship. There are people in our communities and lives who could use a friend. And just maybe, we are the one equipped to bless and reach out to them! I would encourage you, sage that I am (haha, just kidding), to take a look around you. There might be someone in a season of change who you can share some of that hope and life with.

Speaking of changing seasons, let’s all give another hip hooray for it being squash season. Am I right? Squash is exciting to me for two reasons: it’s delicious and smooth, and it’s easy to cook! Literally. Just cut it in half, brush some butter on that baby and sprinkle it with salt. Then roast it at 425 degrees until it’s golden brown, and BAM. Pure golden goodness. This week, our menu is featuring petite butternut squash from the farm, thanks to Tristan and John’s hard work growing them. Alaina was just cooking one the other day (so yummy). She commented that the butternut squash tasted like a cooked nut, and I thought, “Well, it’s probably called butternut for a good reason, then!”. Kinda funny when you think about it – it’s not often a food is named for how it tastes.

As you probably know, butternut squash is super versatile to cook with. Being a more starchy vegetable option, this makes it very filling to eat. It’s also high in some key nutrients like vitamin B and C, potassium, and beta carotene. Plus, they store for quite some time if kept in a cool, ventilated place. In fact, that’s why our winter squash assortment is such a good deal! It’s 35 lbs. of squash that you can just keep in your garage as you use them over time, all delicious varieties. Check it out on our website! And lastly, as always, know that we so appreciate each and every one of you.

We hope you have a joyful and blessed week!

-Joanna Pruiett

Enjoy summer’s local harvest salad-style!  Organic salads are the perfect summer meal!  They’re cool and light on a hot day (it’s coming!).  You don’t have to heat up the oven or stove top and you can prepare most of it ahead of time and be ready with a nutritious meal after a long day of work or play!  

There are basically 5 types of salads with endless possibilities.  There’s the green salad, the fruit salad, the rice and pasta salads, bound salads, and the dinner salad.  Each uniquely highlights different produce items perfectly!

The green salad is often referred to as a garden salad and usually consists of lettuce, spinach or leafy greens of any sort.  It’s often topped with a vinaigrette or light dressing.  In American restaurants we’re usually served green salads before a meal.  In some European countries the green salad is served at the end of the meal and thought to improve digestion.  Maybe we pick to have it first so that we’re sure to eat it before we’re too full! Some parents pick to serve salad first, because the kids are more likely to eat it if it’s served before carbs.

Everyone loves a delicious fruit salad!  There’s no fussing to get kids to eat it and could be added to every meal or as a dessert!  Fruit is high in fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants and has a low energy density level.  There’s no right or wrong way to create a fruit salad. Simply chop up and put together your favorites! Adding a little lemon, orange or pineapple juice to your fruit salad will help keep the colors of the fruit bright and prevent them from browning. Fruit salad is best consumed shortly after preparation to maintain freshness.

Rice, quinoa and pasta salads are a great base for adding all sorts of diced up veggies, increasing the nutritional value of your more filling meal or side dish.  They can be prepared ahead of time and will even take on more of the flavors as they rest in the refrigerator for a bit.  If you dice up the veggies small, you can keep them raw and pack in a lot of nutritional density, filled with lots of beautiful colors, and yummy crunch!  

The bound salad generally is made of hearty, non-leafy ingredients bound together with a thicker dressing and can even keep its shape if scooped with an ice cream scoop.  Bound salads are often used to make a delicious hearty sandwich by topping a piece of whole wheat bread with a scoop of something like a chicken salad or chickpea salad and topping it with lettuce.  Or a bound salad could be a side dish of potato salad, combined with a variety of veggie crunch!

Last but not least, is the dinner salad.  The dinner salad is a hearty stand-alone that fills your plate with a combination of delicious and nutritious produce items and usually includes an added protein. Some popular dinner salads include taco salad, Buddha bowls, Asian salad, salmon salad, but the sky’s the limit! Variety is also multiplied when you factor in salad dressings! They deserve their own spotlight and we’ll talk more about that later!

We’d love to see some of your favorite salads and be inspired by your creations!  Share on social media and tag “Klesick’s” and we’ll reshare for all to enjoy!

–Joelle Klesick

“The peas are coming on strong.   My nine-year-old son, Micah has beaten his dad with the first blossoms of the season.  Come to think about it his carrots are coming on sooner than mine, too. Around here there’s a healthy amount of weeding to do, and it is just plain work.  Some can be done with hoes, but a good portion is done by hand.  A few weeks ago the kids and I made a game of it.  We all started weeding and then after a bit, I would yell “tag” and then everyone would start running, very carefully of course, and I would try and catch them.  It was a “hoot”.  The other day we had some more weeding to do and the first thing Emily asked was, “Can we play that tag game, again?”  ~Tristan, May, 2000 

“I love Sugar Snap Peas. We like to grow big juicy peas that are bursting with flavor.  I remember one year when we farmed in Snohomish and Andrew was about 2 years old (that was 6 years ago, my oh my!!!!!).  Anyway, that little rascal had wandered off to the garden, without us knowing it.  After a headcount and a short panic, we went looking for him.  Guess where we found him?  He was smack in the middle of the Sugar Snap Peas, holding on to two fistfuls of peas and he had one in his mouth.  The whole scene was quite a sight!  We were all relieved and decided to sit down and join him for a nice evening snack.  And when we were done, Andrew got to ride back home in Dad’s arms.”  ~Tristan, May 2006

There’s something special about looking back and reading the newsletters my dad wrote to our customers over the last 22 plus years. There are so many fun memories I cherish. I was blessed to grow up with parents who were family-focused and passionate about health and farming! And now I don’t take for granite being able to bring MY kids to the farm and watch them enjoy all that grows during the summer. Hadlee, (4) is so excited for summer!  At each glimpse of sunshine, she excitedly asks if it’s summertime yet. She remembers last year running out into the fields and eating strawberries, raspberries, peas, and just about anything she could get her hands on.  She would often use the bottom of her dress like a basket and bring her finds to the house to share.  I think I can speak for all of the grandkids and say that one of the best things about summer is being able to go to grandma and grandpa’s house -AKA- “the farm”. This will be our 5-month-old son, Bazil’s first summer, and Hadlee is so excited to show him everything that grows on the farm. It brings me joy seeing my little ones enjoy the farm; from the pea patch to watching the sunset. I only hope we can continue to teach this generation, at a young age, the importance of organic farming, eating healthy foods and just simply enjoying the freedom of frolicking in the great outdoors! 

Thank you for allowing our family to bring you organic produce over all these years!  We appreciate each one of you!

–Alaina Klesick

Unlike any period of time in the past, we have access to countless food options, as well as unlimited information on how that food works within our bodies. We know more now about specific nutrients, what purpose they serve inside of our bodies, which foods contain them, and how to eat in order to help target our specific ailments or needs. And while there are certainly all kinds of new and inventive options for processed, sugary, and packaged foods, more and more people are choosing to leave those on the shelves and opt for healthier options for their families.

The reason? When you know better, you do better!

At the same time, there are things about our food culture that still baffle me. Such as recently, when a new set of policies were proposed to update the USDA food system for American public schools. Among other things within this proposal, there were new guidelines suggested for classifying foods offered to students with their meals. One such change would allow for hash brown patties to now be classified as an option for fruit in a school-offered meal.

That may surprise you, but it is only a portion of the proposal that looks to minimize food waste in schools by recategorizing foods and ultimately, removing or reducing a great deal of healthy options for students. However, while I’m saddened to see this proposed as an option for the children in our school system, I am not all that surprised. Our nation’s food system is struggling and is in desperate need of some help!

This is why I think Klesick’s is such an important part of our local Western Washington community. When we see how the “standard American diet” is failing our nation’s overall health, we have the ability to make better choices right here at home. We can make healthier lifestyle choices, like taking the stairs instead of the elevator or going for a walk on our lunch break. We can choose to drink water over other beverage options that are laden with sugar or artificial ingredients. We can choose to incorporate more whole fruits and vegetables into our diet and limit our intake of processed items. And in an era where convenience is key, what better way to do that than to have an affordable box of organic produce delivered to your door?

As a mom of three young boys, I am thankful to have access to quality fruits and vegetables to fill their bellies and sustain their bodies. It is a challenge to nourish little people and ensure that they are offered the best that I can give them, but it is worth it. It is my hope that we don’t find ourselves discouraged about the big food decisions in our world that we cannot control, but instead feel empowered about the small choices we can make at home. They truly do make all the difference!

-Emily Marie Klesick

Hey, Klesick customers, Alaina here! I am excited to announce our brand-new “Family on the Go” box. We know life can get busy, so we wanted to create a simple box of good that allows your family to still eat healthy while doing all the things!

This assorted box has easy to eat fruit and vegetables that can simply be washed and cut, and ready to serve throughout the week! This box avoids items that typically take more time to prep or cook. The Family on the Go box has higher volumes of fruit and will consistently have easy to eat vegetables! A sample of a Family on the Go box would include approximately 10 apples, 8 pears, 8 oranges, 3lbs bananas, carrots, broccoli, cucumbers and celery. So, if life keeps you moving and it’s difficult to find time to meal prep, you don’t have to sacrifice feeding your family nutrient rich foods!  If you want your kiddos to get fresh fruit and vegetables, this might be the perfect box for you. The items in this box are simple and easy to take in the car, use for school lunches, or to throw together a quick snack or meal!

I always find my little one eats healthier when I chop up all the items and have them ready to eat. On the day I get my box I set aside 20 minutes to chop up the veggies, so they are ready for the whole week. This box takes little to no prep time to get healthy food ready for the whole week.

Also, one other thing I wanted to highlight! You may have noticed on the back of your newsletters there have been more recipes. We wanted to start highlighting a variety of ways you can use your box, aside from the typical one recipe. The recipes will start being posted on Friday for the upcoming week, so you can always go to klesicks.com, click the blog tab and then click the “Recipes” option. You can check out the recipes before your box comes and add on any extra items you may like to include in your order. I will be adding some of my favorite recipes to the back, as well.

And most importantly, THANK YOU for choosing to support local and for choosing fresh organic produce. We are thankful for every one of you, and here at Klesick’s, we are always here for YOU. We are happy to help you when it comes to customizing your own box, substituting items out of your box, adding items onto your order, or just figuring out what works for your family! We are just a quick call or email away. ?

-Alaina