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Love

I think this time of year is a powerful reminder of what was, is, and what can be. All of us find ourselves at different places than we were last year. Some of you have moved and are getting accustomed to new environs, establishing new relationships, and building community. Others have moved back to “home” and are reconnecting, reestablishing old relationships and rebuilding a sense of community.

Some of you are welcoming new family members—a new son in law or daughter in law or maybe a new future prospect for marrying into the family. Others are welcoming new children and introducing them to the wonder and awe that is life and life at Christmas. And a few more of us are welcoming grandchildren to their first Christmas’s.

Like many of you, I find myself experiencing life at warp speed. But one thing that is not lost on me is that I am a year older this Christmas and so are most of the important people who are in my life–except Arlo and Nathan our newest grandsons experiencing Christmas for the first time and joining our other grandchildren Kaden, Hadlee and Grayson. It is going to be a lot of fun around the farm this holiday season.

Joelle and I are in that middle spot. We have grandchildren, and children and older parents. It is a beautiful season in life, but a full one. It makes me think about Grandpa Hank. It has been years since he passed away, but what is forever etched in my memory are his eyes. If there ever was a tinkerer or inventor, it was Grandpa Hank. He built a riding lawnmower that could also be used to split wood and another attachment to mow the hillsides. Good old-fashioned ingenuity!

Funny thing about Grandpa Hank, his great grandson Aaron got the “bug” one day and took two riding lawnmowers and found a way to attach them and make an articulating lawnmower that was steered using pulleys and a winch. In many ways Grandpa Hank still lives and his talents and gifts are passed on, just like each of our talents and gifts will be passed on.

But back to Grandpa Hank’s eyes. As dusk was setting on his earthly life, I would watch his interactions with the family—all those little ones running around, stopping by for a hug or the newest little one landing in his lap. His eyes were always focused and taking in the entire scene. I think he was still a big kid, with an even bigger appreciation for life. The wonder and awe of life was not lost on him.

Love is a gift and is best passed on, but we will have to keep our eyes open to be able to not only share our love, but also to receive love. We can love and be loved because a baby boy born on that Christmas morning first loved us.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and the most blessed of Holiday seasons,

 

Tristan

Farmer, Health Advocate

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Keep the Holidays Healthy

Does anyone else think that this is a lofty goal?! Everywhere you turn there is an advertisement to buy something, do something, donate to something, plus all the running around and mental energy to keep up with it all! To complicate matters, our will power is severely depleted when it comes to food because we have already made another 100 decisions that day. We just don’t have the energy, time or will power to cook or prepare a healthy snack. And the winner is…. Sugar and Processed Foods! The loser is….

But there is an antidote to the food traps. Planning! We have to plan to eat healthy or most of us will have a lot more to “lose” in January. It is the same with our finances. If we don’t want to owe VISA/MC for this holiday, we will have to plan where our money goes and how it gets spent. Otherwise, come January, we will have two crises, a visa bill crisis and a “I ate too much in December?!?!”-crisis. But personally, I want to have “0”, NADA, no, crisis in January. Not a financial crisis. Not a weight crisis. And I want that for you, too.

With Thanksgiving down and Christmas coming, I am going to have to be diligent. It is hard enough to eat well, but during this season there is SUGAR everywhere and for a lot of folks, sugars and flours are addictive. If you are one of those people and honestly find yourself craving sugar, this season is especially hard. Just saying “no” probably hasn’t worked in the past and it probably won’t work now either.

I personally don’t believe that this is a will power issue. Many of us have elevated insulin levels in our bodies and elevated insulin levels block a hormone called Leptin whose primary job is to let us know that we are full and to stop eating. This means that for a whole lot of people, the natural processes of eating and feeling full aren’t working. This is due in part to a diet with too much processed foods in it. The other challenge is that in order to make this switch, a person will need accountability—firm, loving, compassionate accountability–to help them hold on to the new way of eating.

The good news is that our body is so resilient that we can lower our Insulin levels so Leptin will begin to work again. The solution is simple, we will need to eat whole foods and less processed foods, and, yes, eliminate Sugar (except that which is found in fruit and vegetables.)

Look for more information next week on eating better during the holidays. Until then continue to eat healthy and be healthy,

 

Your Health Advocate and Farmer,

Tristan Klesick

 

 

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Food is Culture

Does our food define us? Does it define us as a family, a community, a state, a nation? Can we define our culture by the food we eat? If we could, what would that tell us? These are not easy questions to answer. And, what kind of answers would we give to these questions? Types of food? How we prepare the food? How often we eat? By our health numbers like blood pressure, insulin spikes, or cholesterol? Or, by cancer, obesity, or mental health?

In many ways Americans have access to the healthiest food systems anywhere. For one, because we have a lot of resources. For another, because of the many different ethnic influences that have shaped this nation. Oh, the choices. Every ethnic group has brought a part of their culture and food with them and today, because of our global economies, we have access to it. And, I believe, our taste palette likes the new flavors and our mind is excited to try new things.

Of course, if we are what we eat, then our health will also inform us as to what we believe about food. Everyone I know believes that we should be eating more fruits and vegetables. Everyone I know also knows, and correctly, that a whole host of today’s maladies are attributed to “lifestyle” choices–not drinking enough water, eating too much sugar, eating bad carbs, not eating fruit and vegetables, or not getting enough sleep.

Sadly, the American mentality towards food and health is, “I can have my cake and eat it, too.” And we believe this about foods we “know” are not good for us. But, because our bodies are so resilient, we borrow against the future. Our future health bill as a nation is coming due and for some, it is already personally coming due.

For us as a nation, a community and as individuals, this trend can change and has to change, but it will only do so one bite at a time. One determined bite at a time that sends a message to the institutional food system, “You can’t have my money or my health!”

As a local farmer and business owner, I want my contribution to the local food culture to be life giving and life changing. It makes my life work more meaningful knowing that I am working with nature to grow food for local people who are defined by not “only” what they eat, but by where they choose to source their food.

Together we are building a healthy food micro-culture.

 

Cheers,

 

Tristan Klesick

Farmer/Health Advocate

 

 

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Thanksgiving

It’s that time of year when we are supposed to pause and be thankful, reflect, enjoy family and friends, and good food. For those of us who live in northern regions of the world, enjoying this season is a little easier because the weather and the day length lend themselves more to a warm fire and a good book. Even though my morning start time of 5am doesn’t change much with the season, I am getting more sleep, thanks in part to the shorter daylight hours and getting to bed earlier.

Anyone else out there, ever say, “Sleep is overrated!”? Definitely not teenagers! I will confess that I have at least thought that a time or two, but now that I am north of the half century mark, sleep is important and building that discipline going forward is new goal -trying to be asleep by 10pm, wish me luck! 

Habits are so hard to break and bad habits are the hardest. Over time, those bad habits are more like addictions than habits.  Eating is one of those categories that can be a sore spot for many of us. So much food and so many choices, and our will power to eat well and avoid processed or sugary foods can derail in spite of the best of intentions. 

This week is one of those food “traps” that will be foisted upon Americans. Yep, Thanksgiving, a time to be thankful will be greeted with a barrage of pies, ice cream, jello, lots of gravy and, and, and. Just the sheer amount of food will be immense and the selection on most tables will be enough to feed a family for a week.  Most of us are not going to be in control of how much food gets set on the table, but we can control how much food gets put on our plates.

Tristan’s plan to eat a successful Thanksgiving Meal:

To be a successful eater at the Thanksgiving table, I would encourage a few Non-Negotiables. 

Choose to eat better so you will feel better and not bloated or stuffed. It is a choice.

Limit snacking and choose the fruit and veggie snacks.

Plan to eat at the main meal, whether that is lunch or dinner for your family, but be reasonable with your portions. 

Just one plate, not one plate at a time, not heaping (wink, wink). Just one plate, it will be enough food. 🙂

Remember, dessert will be coming, so pick none or just one. I know this is a hard one, because there will be lots of selection and a sampling will be tough to turn down.

These simple non-negotiables or guidelines will help anyone enjoy family, friends and the Thanksgiving meal with energy and enthusiasm. Imagine feeling full and thankful this Thanksgiving. That’s my goal!

 

Enjoy!

 

Tristan

Farmer/Health Advocate

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2017 Thanksgiving Holiday Delivery Schedule

2017 Thanksgiving Holiday Delivery Schedule

 

Our office will be closed November 23-25 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Because of this closure, our deliveries for that week are scheduled as follows:

 

For delivery Monday

Mill Creek, Silver Firs, Everett, Snohomish, Mukilteo, Lynnwood, Woodinville

For delivery Tuesday

Oak Harbor, Anacortes, Lake Stevens, Monroe, Mt. Lk. Terrace

For delivery Wednesday

Camano, Marysville, Stanwood, Seven Lakes, Arlington, Burlington, Mt. Vernon, Sedro Woolley

 

Please remember to let us know if you will need to skip your delivery that week!

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Time to Make Some Plans

Is it hard to believe that it’s already time to be planning for Thanksgiving? Those of us in the farming and food business have already been planning for this major food holiday, but now it is time to share with you what we are “cooking up” on our end for deliveries.

Delivery Schedules:

For the week of Thanksgiving, all deliveries will be happening Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Which means if your normal delivery day is Thursday, Friday or Saturday, your order Thanksgiving week will be before the Holiday. Don’t worry about it now, we will email and communicate the delivery changes well in advance.

Holiday boxes: 

For the Last 20 years we have been helping families with their Thanksgiving meal planning. This year will be no different, except, we have two ways to order your Thanksgiving items.

1.            You can either order the Holiday Box (with my regular order) or the Holiday Box (replacing my regular order). Either way, the Holiday Box is the same box, but inevitably Mike will be thinking about Holiday box orders that also have your regular boxes still being ordered. Many of you intend to order a holiday box and your regular order and conversely many of you intend to only order a holiday box, but forget to move your current order out. This change in how you order the Holiday Boxes, will make it easier on Mike to get your order perfect and make sure you get exactly what you ordered perfectly.

2.            The Holiday Boxes are available for the weeks of November 12th through December 2nd. The Holiday box is a popular box all month.

3.            You can also send a Holiday Donation Box to one of our 8 food banks that we partner with weekly and make this Holiday Season even more nutritious for a family in need. For each donation box purchased, we send out end of year tax receipts.

4.            And as usual, you can order all your Thanksgiving ingredients “a la carte“.

5.            The Holiday Box menu and prices are available below. 

Changes to the Box of Good Menus

Starting the week of November 12th, we are adding two new boxes of good and will be ending the Seasonal NW Box. The Seasonal NW Box will resume in May/June next year when the local farm season gets going again.

Our Essential line of boxes consists of 4 boxes: Fruit, Fruit/Vegetable, Fruit/Salad and Vegetable/Salad. These options have been very popular with many of you, but there are a lot of you that need/want more quantity than the Essential line has to offer. So, we are now offering the same options at our Middle Tier, which we are renaming the Family Tier.

The Family Tier already consists of the Fruit Box, Vegetable Box, and Family Box. We are adding a Fruit/Vegetable Box and a Fruit/Salad Box. The beauty in this restructuring is it will give you more options to tailor your orders to your families eating preferences. Of course, shopping online at klesickfarms.com is a great way to get exactly what you want, but many of you, also, love to get a box of good and leave the menu planning to us. 

 

Thank you,

Tristan,

Farmer/Health Advocate

 

 

Holiday Box Menu—$40

Granny Smith Apples, 5 each.

Green Beans, 1 lb.

Cranberries, 7.5 oz.

Garnet Yams, 2 lbs.

Satsumas, 1 lb.

Carrots, 2 lbs.

Breadcubes for Stuffing, 1 lb.

Yellow Potatoes, 2 lbs.

Celery, 1 bunch

Yellow Onions, 1 lb.

Acorn Squash, 1 ea.

Navel Oranges, 2 ea.

 

The Holiday DONATION Box—to Food Banks 11/17

Purchase a Holiday Donation Box for only $32 (reg. Holiday Box price $40), to be given to local food banks the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Last year 130 Holiday Donation Boxes were distributed and this year we’d love to have a greater impact!

The volunteers at the food banks have expressed again and again how wonderful and satisfying it is to be able to supply people with fresh produce.

You can order a Holiday Donation Box online or by contacting our office.

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Eat Better and You Will Feel Better

Anybody else ready to move on from the Sugar Manufacturer’s lovefest, AKA Halloween, and start focusing on eating better? I for one am no fan of what the Sugar Manufacturers are doing to America’s population. Let’s be honest, no one really considers Halloween to be a healthy event.

Thankfully, we don’t have to eat that way. We might choose to eat that way, but nobody is forcing us. It is by choice. One of my goals for the next 2 months of holidays is to create some non-negotiable rules.

I am choosing natural sugars and mostly whole fruit. You won’t find real honey or maple syrup in a candy bar. That nonnegotiable alone will limit the majority of your sugars. I am mostly not eating processed foods that have sugar in them.

Eating 3 meals a day is my next non-negotiable and only filling my plate once (important especially on Thanksgiving). I am going to fill my plate with organic vegetables, salad items, and meats. I am not going to be snacking, but will let my digestive system rest between meals.

And lastly, I am going to (loosely) preplan my meals for the next day. I am going to have a plan for my food based on what is in my refrigerator and the pantry. Nothing derails eating well more than letting the moment dictate your meal options. Ever try to find something healthy to eat at a convenience store???

Healthy eating made simple is my goal, and given what seems to be the normal hectic unsustainable pace of life, having a few non-negotiables will help. It certainly helps that I usually have more energy, feel better and my blood pressure stays in the normal range when I follow these “non-negotiables”–and these are just a few of the “incidental” blessings from eating well.

Next Week 

Next week we will be gearing up for the Thanksgiving holiday and publishing our menu for the Thanksgiving Holiday Box. It will have all the ingredients for a great meal and you will be able to order a box, shop for individual items or a combination of both.

And, as you already experience every week, we will hand select the freshest ingredients (many from local farms) and save you the hassle of shopping at the store, especially during a holiday week. Doesn’t that sound nice? No parking hassles, no long lines and no time spent looking through the already picked over produce.

The Klesick Farm team is excited to be your partner in good health by delivering high quality produce at fair prices and saving you precious time that you can use for whatever you want!

 

 

Tristan Klesick

Farmer/Health Advocate

 

 

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From Wet Dust to Wet Flooding

In August of 2003, Joelle and I purchased our current farm. That seems like a lifetime ago! The 1892 old farmhouse was in pretty bad shape and the bank wouldn’t let us move into until we remodeled it. Having sold our home in Machias, we were stuck in that awkward state of nowhere to live. In hindsight, the bank was right. The old farm had “good bones”, but was in serious disrepair.

It was hard, but rewarding. We were finally on our own farm and everyone was pitching in, both family and friends. So much work but we found amazing treasures too. Treasures that you would never find unless you rolled up your sleeves and got to work! There was so much lathe and plaster and wall paper and more wall paper. The whole place needed to be rewired and replumbed and insulated. I remember when we were started to “attack” the lowered ceiling that was made up of acoustic tiles. As soon as we pulled out those tiles, everything stopped. We were in awe. Untouched and as beautiful as the day they were first installed 10’ up in the air was a 20’ long cedar 1” x 4” tongue and grooved bead board.

We were stuck. We knew it had to come down in order for us to do the wiring and plumbing, but we also knew that you just can’t buy that stuff anymore. I remember the moment like it was yesterday. We just stopped working in that room for a whole month! There was no way to patch it up and do all the upgrades. It had to come down, but yet it was a part of this home, its history, its craftsmanship. Eventually a plan came together. We removed the ceiling and broke boards, but we were able to save lots of good useable pieces. We repainted that beautiful rich dark green cedar bead board the same color and used it as wainscoting.

Why all this reminiscing? Well, October of 2003 was also the first year we were introduced to the Stillaguamish River and from that day on, we understood who the valley really belongs to. And this week we have our first flood watch for the season. Hopefully a nonevent, but in 2003 it was supposed to be a nonevent too but turned out to be the largest flood on record. Thankfully, technology has gotten better, and the forecasts tend to be more accurate, but that first flood, oh my! 

This month we have also been talking about Cancer and asking people to share their stories. In some ways our old farmhouse and the valley we live in serves as reminder of how precious and how fragile life is. That old farmhouse was in need of some love and care and it couldn’t do it on its own. People battling Cancer or any major disease also need love and care. They need a team filled with hope to “carry” them at times and help them win this very real fight.

At Klesick Farms we are privileged to be a part of your team. We believe in you and we want you to be healed. If you would like to share your story or the story of someone you know battling cancer, please click the link and submit a prayer request. It can be anonymous or not. We pray on Thursdays for the prayer requests we receive.

 

Your Health Advocate and Farmer,

 

Tristan

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The Path Less Travelled

I read an interesting article about Agriculture in Holland last week. The gist of it was how a little country like Holland can be the #2 exporter of food in the world. A country 1/270th the size of America. You can find the article here. 

It was a refreshing article. Also, all their food is NON-GMO! (Which is unlike a lot of the United States’ export crops.) Holland became an Agricultural power house because of vision and a desire to have food security. Their goal was to produce twice as much food on half the inputs (fertilizers, water, herbicides, etc.)

They did it! Unlike American agriculture’s goal to export more GMO’s. The American food system is broken. To prove my point, in 2012 ZERO states had average obesity rates above 35%. In 2016 there were 5 states above 35%. Also interesting is that in 2012, 10 states were below the 25% average, but now only 4 states remain below the 25% threshold.

Several factors account for the obesity numbers, but I would contend that we are not going to shed those pounds just by hitting the gyms. We need a food revolution to take back our health. We need a different goal.

Thankfully, American agriculture and its food manufacturing partners can’t tell us what to eat. That is on us. We still have choices. I will concede that the processed food manufacturers are experts at marketing and lobbying. Sadly, even the healthy options merely replace one form of sugar for another, which only improves the food in minor ways. This is because many of those same companies are owned by the General Mills or Pepsi’s of the world. And they expect us to believe that their company missions are to provide healthy sustainable products that improve your health. (sarcasm intended) Anybody out there switch to the “Organic” version of the American diet and basically see no appreciable results?

Merely switching to the Organic American diet will have little or no impact on our personal health or our Nation’s health. If we are going to see lasting meaningful health benefits from the food we eat, we need to switch: 1. how we eat and 2. what we eat. Saying yes to fresh vegetables, fresh fruits and quality proteins and grains is a great start.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Congress set an “Every American Healthy” Goal for our Country to reduce the National Obesity rate by 5% by year 2023? The by-products of this goal alone would save millions of dollars in health costs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans. It would shift our food system from profits to health and from sugar and grains to vegetables and fruits and quality proteins. The environmental gains would be great because of the non-GMO and Organic farming practices implemented to produce better foods. A simple goal, but alas, it will never see the light of day because of the way our political campaigns are financed. But, as I mentioned earlier, they can’t tell us what to eat. And in the words of the poet Robert Frost, “I chose the path less travelled.” We can choose the path with little or no sugar, a path filled with hope and a better quality of life. And thankfully, we can make that choice every day. Every time you get a “Box of Good” delivered, you are on the path less travelled.

 

Eat heathy, Be healthy,

 

Tristan Klesick

Health Advocate and Farmer

 

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Bald and Beautiful

The other day I was at a middle school soccer game and one of the players had obviously been through cancer treatment recently. She was thin as a rail and bald, but she was out there and she was competing–with not an ounce of backing down. She was a fighter – a cancer fighter. I could tell that our team was unsure how to play/engage that young lady on the field. I told my daughter that if she is on the field, she wants to play and, her parents, her doctors and coaches have given her the green light. Admire her for getting out on the field and show her respect by letting her compete, but now is not the time for charity or kid gloves.

Some of you might be thinking, “Hang on. She has had a huge battle with cancer and, and, and, ….” My daughter got to guard her a fair amount during that game. After a few minutes into the game, it was plain to see that this beautiful, bald cancer fighter wanted to play and didn’t want to be treated any differently than any other player.

Cancer fighters are tough people, but you know who else are tough people? The families, her friends, the care givers, the doctors and nurses. Cancer wreaks havoc on families and it takes a coordinated team effort to support the cancer fighter.

As a farmer, it brings me no greater joy than to come alongside a cancer fighter to grow and deliver to them organically grown fruits and vegetables. If you are battling Cancer, please let us know. We would consider it an honor to pray for you and put a Health Discount on your account. I also want to say that everyone on the Klesick team believes in you, believes that you are precious in the sight of God and that you are fearfully and wonderfully made to do good things both today and in the future. Keep fighting.

Here is the Klesick Farms Cancer Fighting Plan:

1. We believe in prayer. If you would like us to pray specifically for you or someone you know who is fighting Cancer (or anything else) email [email protected]. He organizes our prayer time and customer interactions. All of us care, but Mike is gifted when it comes to caring. Or, you can use this link to submit a prayer request or share your story.

2. Everything we sell is a part of the solution. We don’t carry GMO products and 95% of what we provide is fruits and vegetables. Some customers have joined together to fund a Cancer Fighter’s account, so that they don’t have to shop or think about it. Home delivery is great way to come along side and add tangible help. Call us to set up an account for a friend, co-worker or family member. 360-652-4663

3. Lastly, we have a discount program for families fighting cancer or heart disease. If you are in the fight of your life, let us know so we can add the health discount to your account. If you would like to donate towards this, we will make sure your donation gets applied to a family fighting Cancer. We are here to help and be a part of the solution.

 

 

Tristan

Farmer/Health Advocate

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Breast Cancer Awareness Month

The Month of October is dedicated to Breast Cancer Awareness. In doing research for this article I came across this article from Everyday Health. Cancer is complicated and if you or a someone you know is battling cancer, any type of cancer, you are in a fight. I have copied and pasted the opening paragraph from the article below.

A cancer diagnosis can often be directly linked to your family medical history, your lifestyle choices, and your environment. You can’t control your family medical history, and only some aspects of your environment are up to you. But lifestyle choices like diet, weight, activity level, and smoking are yours to manage.

“Preventive measures are so heavily underutilized by people. And yet they work. Everything in moderation really works”, says Richard R. Barakat, MD, chief of the gynecology service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. (Emphasis mine)

Diseases like Cancer are heart-wrenching and emotionally, physically and financially devastating. I hate what it does to individuals and families. I know that hate is a strong word, but what Cancer does to an individual and their family is devastating.

At Klesick farms, we have a plan to come along side and help. Our Klesick Farms Cancer fighting plan is:

1.We believe in prayer. If you would like us to pray specifically for you or someone you know who is fighting Cancer (or anything else) Email [email protected]. He organizes our prayer time and customer interactions. All of us care, but Mike is gifted when it comes to caring. Or you can use this link to submit a prayer request or share your story.

2. Everything we sell is a part of the solution. We don’t carry GMO products and 95% of what we provide is fruits and vegetables. Some customers have joined together to fund a Cancer Fighter’s account, so that they don’t have to shop or think about it. Home delivery is great way to come along side and add tangible help. Call us to set up an account for a friend, co-worker or family member. 360-652-4663

3. Lastly, we have discount program for families fighting cancer or heart disease. If you are in the fight of your life, let us know so we can add the health discount to your account. If you would like to donate towards this, we will make sure your donation gets applied to a family fighting Cancer. We are here to help and be a part of the solution.

 

 

Tristan

Farmer/Health Advocate

 

 

Support Healing Through Nutrition

$5 from each purchase goes to our Healing though Nutrition program.

For Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October) we are offering Fruit Baskets with Pink Ribbons for $30 delivered to you or directly to the person you want to bless.

 Click Here to add a Basket

 

 

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Potatoes and Leeks

Nothing shouts Fall louder than these two winter staples. They just go together and this week we are featuring them in a recipe that consistently ranks as one of the all-time favorite Klesick Farm recipes – Potato Leek Soup. Soups are efficient, nutritious, and can make a great multi day family meal option. The great thing about soups is that you can jazz them up from day to day by adding a protein or more or different vegetables. Greens like Kale and Chard or Spinach can be easily added, too.

As Fall has officially started, many of us farmers are just like you, wishing for a few more days of warmth to put the finishing touches on our crops. These cool nights and warm days send a signal to the plants to switch gears and focus on ripening their fruit. And alas at the same time, production drops off on tomatoes, zukes, cukes and beans. In some ways it is a welcome change and other ways you are back to wishing for a few more days of that fleeting heat.

I think it is about right, the weather, the crops, and the fall season. A good chunk of the farm has been tucked in for the winter with cover crops, which desperately needed the moisture we have received recently to germinate. Cover crops are aptly named, because their primary purpose is to cover the soil and protect it from the winter storms that can cause soil compaction, soil erosion and nutrient leaching. That is an important function on any farm and the benefits definitely outweigh the costs.

For a cover crop to be successful it has to get established and be at least a few inches tall going into the winter. This is why we try and get them planted in early September (check) and then get some water (check) and then some more nice weather (Jury is still out, but hopeful). Cover crops begin to pay for themselves, because as the crop starts to grow it uses any extra/unused nutrients to grow pulling them out of the soil and storing them in the plant. By doing this the plant is essentially acting as a living storage system and keeping the nutrients on the farm and not being leached away with floods or rain.

You might ask why is this so important, the simple answer is because we don’t want another Dead Zone like the one in the Gulf of Mexico that has been caused by the leaching of excess fertilizers/nutrients from agriculture soils. Cover crops wouldn’t have completely prevented the Dead zone, but it sure would have helped to not create the problem.

Cover crops are important and organic farmers have really embraced the use of them.

 

Tristan,
Farmer/Health Advocate

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Cukes and More Cukes

This has been the best year for cucumbers and tomatoes. They just keep coming. Ironically, they also take a while to get established, but when they do – oh boy! This season I planted an early crop of cukes in the greenhouse and then direct seeded a crop outside in early June and with another planting in mid-July. The greenhouse cukes are done, the June cukes are slowing down and the July cukes are hitting their stride.

Look for Klesick Farms cucumbers till the first hard frost. We absolutely love the flavor of the Silver Slicers. Those yellowish white cucumbers have great flavor and provide a nice break from the traditional green slicers that come most of the year.

However, we also plant the classic green slicing cucumber “Marketmore”. Whenever Marketmore’s are brought up in grower circles, you should hear the poetic waxing, “Those are beautiful.” or “The disease resistance is incredible.” or “They just keep producing!” or “They taste great!”. Jeesh, all this gushing about a cucumber! It is well deserved.

And when you plant a Marketmore or Silver Slicer in organic soils it tastes even better, but, really every crop tastes better when it is grown organically. The healthier soil combined with ample water and sunshine is a recipe for a bumper crop bursting with nutrition and flavor!

Fennel
This week I am switching gears in the “boxes of good”. Our friends at Highwater farms have some excellent Fennel and I have a good quantity of beets, so we are pairing the two together and offering a roasted fennel beet salad for the recipe. Fennel isn’t on the dinner plate often, but every so often I like to stretch a few taste buds.

You can follow the recipe here or google how to use Fennel, or you can do what I do. I grab every root vegetable that has been hanging around waiting to be eaten (think: carrots, sweet potatoes, beets, potatoes, garlic, onions, and fennel), chop them up into 1″ chunks, coat them with olive oil, sea salt and a little pepper, toss them into a pan and roast them all at 425 degrees for about 40 minutes. YUM! The tricky thing about eating good vegetables is that you have to eat them to get the nutrition. I know the produce is beautiful and you just can’t bring yourselves to cook them, it’s okay, but their beauty really shines when you eat them.

 

Tristan

Farmer/Health Advocate

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Back to School!

I have this tension that revolves around the school calendar. Every Spring I need help with planting and weeding and the kids are still in school. Then, every Fall I need help with harvesting and the kids are back in school, though I do appreciate the return to a normal schedule that comes with this time of year. But, unlike the Spring where the work is more tractor and less harvesting, the Fall is more harvesting. What typically gets planted as tiny seeds in the Spring will be harvested by the ton – think pumpkins, winter squash, potatoes, beets. So, if I could choose the ideal school calendar, it would be: out in mid-May, back in July, out in September and back in mid-October. That would accommodate a vegetable farmers schedule nicely!

But that is not the School calendar and I am not going to attempt to change it either. Farmers represent 1% of the population and an even smaller percentage of the 1% are vegetable/fruit farmers. Of those who are smaller vegetable/fruit farmers an even smaller percentage of those actually hire school/college kids to work on their farms. Which makes me a really small percentage of the farming population and an even smaller percentage of the overall population. Suffice it to say, it would be a better use of my time to work on solving the Salmon/habitat/farming issues that affect local food production in the Puget sound area than to try and change the school calendar!

Which is precisely where I have been investing my time for the last few years as a Co-Chair of the Snohomish Sustainable Land Strategy. In addition to parenting, running a home delivery company and a 40-acre vegetable/fruit and grass-fed beef farm, I also donate about 10-15 hours a week on environmental issues. So, when Fall rolls around and the farm begins to slow down, I also get to a little more sanity in my world. One reason is that the kids are going back to school, but mostly it is because my farm is requiring less of my time. Yes, it is a crazy life, especially during farming season! But each of us has a crazy element to our lives and managing the “crazy” goes with the territory.

Even though farmers are a very small part of the population, I hope is goes without saying that we need more local vegetable and fruit farms, not less; and those local farms need more places to sell, not less. Which brings it back to you. Because you choose to buy from a local farm, who also buys from other local farms, you get super fresh food, while supporting a different food system, a smaller more intimate food system.

 

With your help we are changing the food system one nutritious bite at a time.

 

Tristan

Farmer, Health Advocate

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My Cooking Identity Crisis

Interesting title, huh? Well, bear with me. Most of you know me as Peruvian Chick from Instagram or Facebook, the Peruvian Gal that loves to cook, post recipes, loves traveling and cherishes time with friends, family and dogs. What many of you don’t know is that as much as I love cooking, I love business. I first earned an engineering degree before I went on to earn a master’s degree in international business management. I currently run a successful business consulting and branding agency which I co-founded over 12 years ago and guess what? I LOVE cooking just as much!

When my parents discovered this new passion of mine was taking such a pivotal role in my life, the occasional “Oh my, all that money invested in education and all you want to do is cook?” would find its way into conversations. But then they tasted my food, started sharing my recipes and then told their friends that I was famous on “The Facebook.”

If we’re honest, the world at large still tends to be judgmental about women who don’t cook. But society can also be judgmental about women who do cook. Have you ever heard someone commenting on a Facebook or Instagram post: “Who has time for that?” or “I wish I had time to cook, I work.”

These types of comments took me to the unconscious (and unreal) conclusion that these two passions were mutually exclusive. For the past few years I have been living a double-life being a self-proclaimed Business Consultant by day and Peruvian Chef by night. Depending on the crowd, I would either wear my chef’s hat or my consultant hat. At times, I was embarrassed to admit I loved to cook out of fear it would make me look weak in the business world. Other times I was embarrassed to admit that I am an excellent business strategist out of fear people would not find me relatable anymore. Let’s face it, that was not only silly, it was arrogant of me.

I’ve come to believe that business, as an investigative science, as a practical discipline and as a creative art, shares many characteristics with the culinary world. Cooking is my love language and keeps me connected to my roots. It gives me satisfaction to know where my food comes from and is my form of meditation. On the other hand, business fulfills my insatiable need for research and learning. I love doing a deep dive into a business, begin the problem-solving process and then create the strategies that lead to growth. Both cooking and business feed my creative soul. Getting seasonal fresh produce excites me as much as presenting a new marketing strategy for a client. Have you ever tried to make a meal for 12 stretch into a meal for 30? You do the math. It’s about getting the right ingredients, at the right temperature, at the right time. It’s an analogy with many parts, and it has consequences.

Ultimately, cooking or not-cooking is a choice for both men and women. There’s no right or wrong and I am not here to judge. If for any reason, (out of fear that others will think you are bragging you have hesitated to post a homemade meal you made from scratch after a hard day of work, or a full day of home-schooling and watching the kids; believe me, you are not. You are just living your truth and that is your business!

 

With love and gratitude,

 

Sara Balcazar-Greene

(a.k.a. Peruvian Chick)

peruvianchick.com

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P.S. As I write this article my thoughts and prayers go to those affected by Hurricane Harvey.

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The Days Are Getting Shorter

This is the season where I just run out of gas, figuratively and sometimes literally. The one thing you never want to run out of is DIESEL. Nope. Never run a tractor out of DIESEL. Gas yes; Diesel no. But sometimes, I personally just run out of gas. I have been at this farming season for 7 months so far and there are a few more to go.

And this farm season has been hard. Wet early and well into June. Then DRY! The weather pattern has stressed some of the crops and blessed others. Great year for cucumbers and tomatoes; lettuces and spinach, marginal at best. Blackberries and raspberries were happy, as were the birds that descended on them like locusts. Farm years like this one require so much mental energy.

Twenty years ago, I made a choice to not farm with chemicals, to focus on soil health, biology and habitat. Which means that I have to work with nature. When the weather is too wet or too dry, the crops can get bug and disease pressures. But, if you are going to choose to not farm with chemicals/poisons, you are going to have “those” years that remind you how fragile the farming and the food system is.

But this is the time of year when local farmers have lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. We will be into peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers till the first frost and soon we will be harvesting our pears and plums. Potatoes and winter squash will be coming after that. And then we will start to put the farm to bed with cover crops of wheat, rye, oats and vetch to protect our soils and feed the biology.

As the days get shorter and Summer marches towards Fall, so does my outside work and I am grateful for that. Yes, life is returning to normal and I can get back on a schedule. Anybody else feel like you can’t wait for school to get out and you can’t wait for it to start? I know as a farmer, summer is just crazy. Your life is ordered around the day length and chores, but when school starts, life takes on a different rhythm.

It is a more peaceful rhythm like the “Resolve” at the end of a great symphony. Still very intricate, but as the seasons change from Spring to Summer to Fall, this farmer senses it is time to begin to hush the horns, percussions and, eventually, the winds and let the farm I partner with rest, rejuvenate and get ready for next season.

 

Tristan

Farmer, Health Advocate

 

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Hand in Hand

Being a first-generation family farm has been an amazing journey. For nearly 20 years, Joelle and I have been supplying, growing, and delivering our produce and produce from other farms. As we near Fall and the Fall harvest, I am reminded that what was a little seed a few months ago is ready for harvest now. Time flies by.

For Joelle and I, our farm has transitioned from being the young farming family to being a multigenerational farm family. Time has flown by. With each season there are so many rewards and riches to be had, but some of the most precious are the excitement and wonder of children.

Our youngest, Joanna (7), still excitedly reminds us to look at the sunset every night. She hasn’t quite figured out how to remind us to look at the sunrise, though. ? Sunsets and sunrises are spectacular, but seeing another grandson or granddaughter join the family – that is life changing.

Joelle and I are both parenting and grand parenting. The older children have gotten married and are having children and our little Joanna is now an Auntie 4 times over with one more coming in November.

A few weeks ago, we welcomed Nathan Lee Klesick to the world. I haven’t got him on the tractor yet, but it will happen sooner than I can say scalafragilisticespcalldocius. Because, well, time flies by. And before I know it that little guy will be under foot harvesting strawberries alongside his grandparents, just like his older brothers and cousins, and just like their parents did.

Seeing your third generation is a gift. Having them grow up near the farm, spend time on the farm, and experience the farm, that is priceless. Right now, those little ones are more likely to get a taste of the dirt on our farm, but that taste could very well lead to a future taste for farming.

For me, I am going to work a little slower and take a little more time to get the chores done, because I will have the third generation trying to keep pace with grandpa’s footsteps. To hear “Grandpa, Grandpa” and turn around and see a little one toddling as fast as those little legs can go is all the motivation I need to slow down, bend down, and swoop them up!

Maybe it is just me, but I think that locally grown food tastes better, because a local family on a local farm is growing it and quite possibly, as it is with our farm, another generation of future farmers, too.

 

Teaching another generation to farm,

 

Tristan

Farmer, Health Advocate