Tag: organic produce

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How to Eat Your BOX (Week of 11/13/16)

Parsnips:

Parsnips are like carrots with attitude. They have an almost peppery sweet flavor to them that comes out nicely when cooked. They don’t eat well raw….at all, they’re much too dense, but they cook just as well or better than a carrot in my opinion. Parsnips are a great alternative to the more traditional baked or sautéed root vegetables!

Try them diced into bite size chunks or julienned, drizzled with olive oil and tossed in a bowl with a little salt and cayenne. Bake in a parchment-lined baking dish on the bottom rack in your oven at 450° for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until edges are browned and crispy. If you received Kohlrabi in your box, you can add those in the mix as well. I recommend cutting kohlrabi into slightly larger pieces for this dish because they cook faster than parsnips.

Red Bell Peppers:

These bright red veggies pair well with most savory dishes and can be added to soup, stir fry, salad, shish kabobs, or simply eaten raw. They are also commonly used for stuffing because of their perfect cup shape. It’s best to eat your peppers right away, while still fresh. I don’t like to let them sit around in my fridge very long because they can lose their crunchy appeal and become rubbery.

Try adding red bell peppers to your chicken salad. I love making chicken salad and using it for sandwiches…or eating by itself…or serving at parties (it makes a great dip with crackers or pita bread!)

What makes the chicken salad option so great is that you don’t need an exact recipe. You can put whatever you want in there! Just cut up your veggies (e.g. pepper, onion, radish, cilantro and apple) into small pieces and add to diced or shredded chicken. Mix in a couple tablespoons of mayonnaise, Dijon or regular mustard, vinegar, and spices, etc.) Traditionally, mayonnaise is used, but you can substitute with sour cream or Greek yogurt.

Kohlrabi:

Mike here in our office is Kohlrabi’s biggest fan so if you need some convincing to try this alienistic vegetable, give him a call! Kohlrabi is typically eaten raw—peeled, sliced, salted, and added to a salad or used for serving with a dip. You can also steam, boil, bake, grill, or roast it. Just peel away the thick outside skin first. Try adding kohlrabi to soup or stew or grate them up and toss with grated carrots or apples to make a slaw! You can also boil and mash them with potatoes or other root vegetables. Stir-fry them with other vegetables, or julienne them and fry them like potatoes. Look for Indian recipes using kohlrabi as they are often used in Indian cuisine. The leaves are also perfectly edible, and can be cooked up like kale.

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What’s New?

What’s new is that it’s July and I am wondering what happened to June!? It looks like chilly June is going to carry over into July. Sorry tomatoes and peppers, maybe August will be your month!

After last year, I made a conscious decision to plant heat-loving crops early and take advantage of the changing climate. That decision has not worked out so well. The tomatoes and peppers look like they want to put on my wool sweater, but I am not giving up :).

Speaking of tomatoes, I planted 200 Early Girl/Stupice type red tomatoes. I got them all caged up and cleaned up and growing in the right direction and now there are a few starting to ripen, but they are ripening orange! I apparently transplanted orange tomatoes. They taste great, but that is not what I was expecting to grow.

For the last few months, I have been looking at those plants and wondering about them, I knew they were “setting” fruit differently, but with the cool, wet weather, I just chalked it up to climate change. So this year we are growing Klesick Farm’s tasty orange colored tomatoes. #ithappens #ohmy #atleasttheyarestilltomatoes

Another telltale sign indicating that I guessed wrong about the weather this season was the cucumbers. They were direct seeded in early May…and GERMINATED LAST WEEK! Seriously, that is a head-scratcher, but they are up and growing now. Thankfully, I planted some cucumbers in the greenhouses also, and they are happy – really happy. I mean, they are rivaling Jack-and-the-Bean-Stock happy. Long story short, cucumbers are going to be in the boxes of good food, picked daily and delivered daily.

This week we are putting a lot of Klesick Farms-harvested good food in the boxes. We use a KF next to items from our farm on the newsletter, and an * next to other local NW farms’ fruits and veggies. So this week, my crew and I are picking, packing and delivering chard, chives, zucchini, cucumbers, peas, lettuce and a few raspberries.

We are also getting cherries and carrots from two other organic growers that I have been working with since 1997! Those are some seriously long relationships. All of our customers – some since 1997 – have nourished their families with these farmers’ produce as well.

We are a different kind of food system; a more sustainable, more earth-friendly option – as we have been for the last two decades – helping families to eat better food and feel better about the food they eat.

Bon Appétit!

Farmer Tristan

 

Recipe: Indian Roasted Potato Salad with Chard

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 ½ lbs. potatoes, halved and/or quartered

3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbs. ground turmeric

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 bunch chard, shredded (or cut into thin ribbons)

2 Tbs. Greek yogurt

2 Tbs. lemon juice (more if desired) salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Place the diced potatoes on a large baking sheet, covered in foil. Toss with 1 tablespoon oil, turmeric, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Slide into a 400°F oven and roast for 30-40 minutes, or until browned all over and tender, tossing halfway through.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, remaining oil, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

3. In a large bowl place the ribboned chard and roasted potatoes. Drizzle with the lemon dressing and toss to coat.

4. Serve garnished with fresh parsley or basil, if desired. Or even bacon bits!

Recipe from bevcooks.com

 

Know Your Produce: Chard

Chard has large, fleshy but tender deep green leaves and thick, crisp stalks. Although they’re unrelated, chard is similar to spinach, but with a stronger, more assertive (some think, bitter) flavour.

Different types of chard have different coloured stalks and ribs. Some stalks are white, some are a golden orange and some are red (called ruby or rhubarb chard) – there’s even rainbow chard. There’s very little difference in taste, but ruby and rhubarb chard can have a slightly stronger flavour.

Prepare: The leaf and the stalks should be cooked separately. Wash, then cut the stalks from the leaves and either leave whole or chop, depending upon your recipe. On some older leaves you may need to cut the ribs out of the leaves, too.

Cook: Leaves: boil (1-2 minutes); steam (3-4 minutes). Stems: stir-fry (around 2 minutes); boil (3-4 minutes); steam (4-5 minutes); roast (10 minutes).

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I Really Like Farming!

I can hardly contain my excitement! Every year I get a little winter’s rest and then the first crocuses show up and I am chomping at the bit to get out there and get going. As a matter of fact, I already planted my two green houses to spinach and radishes. I am planning on another early and warmer spring.

Do you know what my favorite crop is to grow? The one I am harvesting! If my plantings make it to harvest (most do), that is always my favorite crop at the moment. Picking it at the height of nutrition and flavor, packing it, and getting to you—that is exciting! And the nice thing about growing vegetables and fruit is there is almost always something to harvest.

I was just out in my fields, checking in on some overwintering curly parsley and chives, and you know what I found? Beets! Those beets were too small to harvest last fall, so we left them in the ground and now they are ready. The tops aren’t in the best shape, but the beets are solid and tasty. I wish I had planted more! Which is another nice thing about farming—I get to try it again next year! So, I will plant beets a little earlier (mid-August) and I will plant more of them, then I will have more beets to sell in the spring.

Now I might be the only farmer writing this newsletter, but a whole lot of you are chomping at the bit to grow some vegetables, too. Which is why Klesick Farms is now carrying vegetable seeds from High Mowing Organic Seeds. This is where I buy most of my seeds. I recognize that if we are going to have healthy food for generations to come, we are going to need genetic diversity in our seeds.

There are two ways to support organic seed production:

1. You can buy vegetables from growers who use organically grown seeds (if you are reading this letter you can check

that off!).

2. Or you can plant them yourself and still buy some of your vegetables from me.

If you are a gardener and would like to support organic seed production, you can buy them through our website or you can go to: highmowingorganicseeds.com/klesick and order them directly. Either way, shipping is free.

Also, we have arranged with Michael, at Rents Due Ranch, to have organically grown tomato, peppers, basil, and strawberry plants available this spring, so stay tuned for updates in early March for their availability.

Bring on spring!

tristan-sign

Tristan

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Eating Successfully this Holiday Season

You made it through the Thanksgiving celebrations—were you successful in eating well? I know that I had to try all three pies! Seriously, this season is brutal on healthy eating. The amount of sugar that is going to be given as gifts, devoured at schools, parties and work will be off the charts. I also know that January is coming and I really do not want to arrive there with extra holiday pounds to have to try and lose (now that I am 50 those pounds are a lot harder to chase away). So I have decided to share with you my strategy for avoiding those extra pounds, feeling better and having more energy (a.k.a. not feeling stuffed or lethargic) during the next four weeks. I invite you to join me in making eating healthier a little easier this holiday season.

Use this simple guide to eating successfully this holiday season:

  • The first thing we have to do is admit it is going to be hard! Shake your head back and forth, sigh and then say, “It is going to be hard, but I can do it!”
  • The second thing we need to do is get on the scale, yes the scale! Record your weight ________.
  • Next, write down where you want your weight to be each week. The only rule is that it can’t be more than 5 lbs in the wrong direction and it can’t be more than 10 lbs. in the right direction. This is what I call a BRAG (Best Realistically Attainable Goal). What is your holiday BRAG for weight _______? Even on the scale or a few pounds less is my BRAG for the next four weeks.
  • Choose real food first (e.g., fruits, vegetables, meat and cheese) at family gatherings or holiday parties.
  • Bring real food to parties, someone else will really appreciate it too!
  • Next, skip the treats at least once a day (saying “no” gets easier the more you practice).
  • Eat your veggies, they won’t show up on the “scale” like cookies, donuts, etc. will.
  • Drink water, smoothies or fresh pressed juices.
  • Keep getting your Box of Good Staying out of the grocery store this season will not only save you money, but limit your temptation to buy those treats.

Remember, enjoying ourselves, plus feeling better and having more energy are the real prizes this holiday season. The “scale” will only serve as a reminder that we won!

Cheers to your success!

tristan-sign

Tristan Klesick

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Pre-Order Your Local Berries, Canning Veggies, and Herbs!

bulk produce 2015

 

For 17 years, we’ve been bringing the local harvest to you.

Each season, while the Northwest harvest is at its peak – we deliver it to your door!

How can you get your share of the local good? It’s simple. Contact us to let us know which of the bulk fruits and/or veggies you’d like, and we’ll put your order on our reservation list. When the harvest is at its peak. We will contact you before sending out your order, so that you can prepare for its arrival.

locally and organically grown

 

Please note, all harvest dates are approximate and are subject to the laws and whiles (and wiles!) of nature. 

  • Strawberries: Half Flat (6×1 pint): $24 – Available now!!
  • Harvest dates: June-August (note, some gaps in between harvests to be expected)
  • Blueberries: Full flat (12×1 pint): $40
  • Half Flats (6×1 pint): $22
  • Harvest dates: late June-August.
  • Raspberries: Half-flats (6×1/2 pint): $22.
  • Harvest dates: late June-August.
  • Pickling Cucumbers: Order as many as you need!
  • 5-lb. units. $7.50/ 5 lbs.
  • 40 lb. boxes. $50
  • Harvest dates: August-September
  • Dill: 1 bunch is a 2-3 inches in diameter. $4/bn.
  • Harvest dates: August-September
  • Green Beans:
  • 5 lbs. $15
  • 20 lb. boxes. $45
  • Harvest dates: August-September
  • Bulk Basil: available in 1 lb. units (about a grocery bag full). $8.50/lb.
  • Harvest dates: August

Click here to email us your order.

*Important note: delivery week for these bulk orders are determined by harvest dates. If you will be away on vacation during specific weeks this summer, please let us know so that we don’t schedule your delivery while you are away. 

These items are served on a first-come, first-serve basis. Availability may be limited. 

Bulk orders will be delivered on your regular box of good delivery day. 

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Passing the Baton

John, Gordon, and Hugh come by every week and pick up some of our food bank donations. They are a part of a team that, for Klesick Family Farm (KFF), begins with you. Yes, you. Through your partnership with KFF, we are able to bless hundreds of families throughout our delivery areas. We are currently serving eight different food banks in Island, Skagit and Snohomish Counties weekly through our Neighbor Helping Neighbor initiative. With your help, so far this year we have been able to donate upwards of 650 boxes of organically grown produce and would love to see that number grow to 1,000 boxes of good for the year.

John, Gordon and Hugh are the middle legs of a relay race, where good food ends up in their vans on the way to the Stanwood Camano Food Bank or His Pantry food bank at Camano Chapel. Once there, the baton makes its way to many more volunteers who sort, merchandise and finally help our neighbors in need. But it all begins with the donation of a $26 box of good. For just $26 a month you can purchase a Neighbor Helping Neighbor food bank box and begin an act of compassion—one that will send a message of hope (and good food) all the way through the channel of volunteers on its way to a family in need.

Around Thanksgiving and the holidays, in particular, the sting of hunger hurts a little more. So for more than a decade KFF has sponsored a $26 donation Holiday Box. This is the same Holiday Box that we offer to our customers for their Thanksgiving meal, but we discount the donation Holiday Box in order to make it easier for customers to bless others in  our community.

Klesick Family Farm is committed to serving our neighbors in need. We are thankful to partner with you and John and Gordon and Hugh and the hundreds of other volunteers to offer a good food solution and an act of compassion to help others.

Would you consider joining us this Thanksgiving by starting another relay race and investing $26 to help our neighbors in need? We have made it super easy, just order online or contact our office and we will do the rest.

Thank you in advance for your continued partnership.

 

tristan-sign

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FARM DREAMS

Originally Published in The Herald: Sunday, November 23, 2008

Story and photos by Dan Bates, Herald Photographer

THE HEART

Tristan Klesick may not be able to feed 5,000 people with a couple of fish and five loaves of bread, but he does possess strong Christian faith, unusually good food-growing skills and some great ideas for helping people bless other people.

“I know others have the heart to bless people with food,” Tristan says. “And with our farm staff and products, and our delivery vans, we have the means to help them do it.”

Tristan started a program called Neighbor Helping Neighbor about 10 years ago, but it isn’t advertised. He is low key about it and he won’t pressure others to use it. He merely would like to provide a conduit that people can use, by their own choice, to bless others with food.

It’s a not-for-profit function of the farm, something Tristan and his family believe in. They would do it themselves, anyway, but providing a way for others to use them increases the bounty for everyone. So far this year, about 340 family boxes and 100 holiday boxes have been donated.

People can purchase a box of food and have it delivered to someone they know who needs it. Or, what is more often the case, people ask the Klesick Farm to donate it to the food bank. The Klesick Family Farm matches every fourth box that customers donate.

THE SOUL

She is all too young, and alone, holding a baby in a carrier. She avoids drawing attention to herself as she nervously looks over the food at the Snohomish Food Bank.

It’s clear she can’t carry groceries and hold the 2-week-old baby at the same time.

Ed Stocker, 82, kindly invites her to set the baby down next to him. He’ll gladly watch the child.

She is reluctant to separate from that baby, even for a minute. Yet, she finally leaves the child, quickly gathers some food and carries it to her car.

The next time she arrives, she takes the baby right to Stocker and sets the carrier down next to him. Each time she returns, the women volunteering fawn over the baby while she gathers food. Her guard lowered now, the young mother chats happily with the women, and the old man.

The young woman hadn’t been afraid in the beginning, Stocker explained. She was embarrassed.

It’s not easy to seek help. It can be an art to give it.

THE BLESSING

Gail Brenchley of Snohomish donates Klesick boxes because she feeds her five kids produce grown by the Klesicks and sees the difference in how they eat.

“If people are getting fresh vegetables, they’ll eat them,” she said. “Their kids will eat them because they taste better.

“I like to give others the same thing I feed my own family.”

Eva Burns donates the Klesick Farm boxes because, she said, it’s the way she would like to be treated if she were in need.

The delivery is key, she said. Somebody else doing the lifting is what makes it possible for the 82-year-old Everett woman to bless others in this way.

Michele Payton said the Klesick Farm’s pre-order holiday box is a bargain at $30.

“You can donate a second holiday box to some family you know, or to the food bank for $25,” she said. “And you should see it!”

Still, the Camano Island woman cancelled her own Klesick Farm deliveries.

“Because of economics, I e-mailed the Klesick Farm saying I needed to suspend deliveries for a while, until things get better,” Payton said. “Tristan not only called and lowered the cost of my food box, but he counseled me on the economic situation; he’s very knowledgeable.

“It touched me. I was personally surprised by the generosity.”

“It isn’t ‘business as usual,’” Payton said. “It’s not just another good value, food-wise. What other place would call somebody?

“I’m not going to get a call from some CEO at Costco to say, ‘Hey, let me help you out for a while.’ ”

Vicki Grende, whose husband, Don, was on strike at Boeing for eight weeks with the Machinists union, recently e-mailed the Klesick Farm to thank them for charging them half-price throughout the strike and to let them know they would like to pay full price now.

The majority of the donated Klesick Farm boxes go to the Stanwood Camano Food Bank. Ed Stocker will pick up about 60 holiday boxes for the Snohomish Community Food Bank this week.

The food banks are accustomed to stocking fruits and vegetables from the big stores, product that is near the end of its shelf life, yet still good if consumed right away.

The Klesick boxes are different.

“The thing about the Klesick boxes is they’re fresh vegetables,” Stocker said. “They’re not culls. They’re strictly the best — the same food they deliver to their customers is what they send with me.”

“I will go any distance to pick up produce,” Stocker said. “With Tristan, that’s my trip because his kids and I like to talk duck hunting and goose hunting. Those kids, they’re just like my own.”

He thinks Tristan is OK, too. He notes that Tristan began farming as an adult, rather than growing up on a farm like everyone in the Stocker family.

“He has a different slant on agriculture than someone who grew up on the dirt,” Stocker said. “And that’s good!”

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Know Your Produce: Collard Greens

Collard greens are part of the cruciferous vegetable family, which also includes kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, rutabaga and turnips. These nutrition powerhouses pack in lots of nutrients for a little amount of calories. If you are trying to eat healthier, cruciferous vegetables like collard greens should be at the very top of your grocery list. Collard greens are a great source of Vitamins A and K, as well as folate, manganese, and calcium.

Store: Loosely wrap greens in slightly damp paper towels, then place in a plastic bag and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Wash just before using.

Prep: Hold each leaf by the stem. With the other hand, zip the leafy part off the stem. Discard the stems. (Chard stems may be cooked.) Cut the leaves into strips. Swirl the greens in a salad spinner filled with water. Lift out the basket; discard the water. Repeat until no dirt remains.

Use: Sauté tip: Heat oil in a large skillet. Add as many greens to the skillet as will fit, season with salt and pepper, and cook, tossing frequently. As the greens wilt, add more greens to the skillet. Cook until tender.

Note: dark leafy greens pair very will with savory items such as garlic, onions, and bacon (traditionally, they were paired with ham hocks or pig jowels), and balance out well when served with a dollop of coconut oil or a cultured whole milk dairy, such as sour cream or crème fraîche (or even butter) – saturated fat helps the body assimilate the fat-soluble vitamins, calcium, and minerals contained in the greens.

 

For more extensive information on Collard Greens, check out this article on Mercola.com

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The Year in Review

Supporting Local Farms  Since the inception of our home delivery business in1999, we have always focused on purchasing our fresh fruits and vegetables from local farmers first. Every week, I contact my farmer friends to find out what they currently have available that I can add to our boxes. If I need to find more produce, I then source it from farms outside our area. As your personal farmer, I really appreciate your dedication to the local farm community. With your purchases this year, you have blessed several local farm families:
 
Bartella Farm, Beld Family Farm, Blue Heron Farms, Bunny Lane Fruit, Filaree Farms, Fuentes Blueberries, Garden Treasures, Hedlin Farms, Highwater Farm, Horse Drawn Farms, Living Rain Farm, Motherflight Farms, Neff Farm, Okanagan Producers Marketing Association, Paul & Janice Madden Orchards, Ponderosa Orchards, Ralph’s Greenhouse, Rents Due Ranch, Skagit Flats Farm, Viva Farms, and of course, the Klesick Family Farm. 
 
Helping Local People  Another core principle at Klesick Family Farm is to give back to our community. One of the ways we do this is by offering our customers the opportunity to donate a box of good to local area food banks. We currently support food banks in Anacortes, Stanwood, Camano Island, Marysville, Lake Stevens, Everett, Monroe, Snohomish, and Edmonds. For every four boxes donated by our customers, we donate an additional box. This year, with the generous support of our customers, Klesick Family Farm delivered over 834 boxes of good (approximately $20,850 worth of quality organic fruits and vegetables) to local area food banks! This number includes the donation of 127 Thanksgiving Holiday Boxes and 40 Christmas Blessing Boxes. There is no way our farm could meet this need without your help. This is one of the most satisfying aspects of our business. I love meeting local needs with local resources! Thank you for partnering with us. 
If you would like to join us in helping provide quality organic produce to local food banks, either give us a call or order a food bank box under the Boxes category of the Product page of our website.
Thank you for a great 2012! We look forward to next year!