Summer CSA Week 9
This week’s email is written by Tristan
Tristan is our is one of our Apprentice Farmers this summer.
Where are you from?
I am from California and Japan but my parents raised my brother and I in Bali Indonesia.
How did you find yourself at Rainshadow?
I found myself at Rainshadow volunteering during the fall to help build some greenhouses. I saw the kitchen and fell in love with it and could not stop asking how to get involved! Now it’s been a year of me in the kitchen and I couldn’t be happier!
What is your goal for the season?
I have many goals for the season but a big one to make is delicious baked goods from our flour and to keep practicing making 100% Rainshadow meals!
Where do you find your inspiration?
I find a lot of my inspiration eavesdropping on CSA or full diet members talking to Melody or Al in the store about how they are cooking Rainshadow foods!
What do you like to do when you aren’t farming?
When I’m not farming I prefer to be on a river! Floating down the McKenzie is my favorite leisurely activity! But when winter comes I’ll be skiing!
Farm News
Hey y’all!
Tristan here giving you an update from the kitchen! A big part of my kitchen duties is to feed our hard working farmers. Everyday at 2:00 the farmers finish their day and dust themselves off outside, and come in to eat some lunch! This is my favorite part of the day. I get a high thinking about our farmers growing the food and then coming into the kitchen to eat the food they grew.
It is really magical this relationship we have with the land and each other. We get to experience every moment of what we grow from planting to harvesting to cooking and, my favorite part, eating! I make something new for lunch daily and try to use the newest sexiest vegetables. My current pride and joy is the eggplant, ham, and rosemary quiche with a side of braised chard and beets I made last week!
As the farm is growing and producing more delicious food, it is also cycling through some of our storage crops that we cherished so much. A good example is our awesome potatoes, onions, and garlic. All of the sudden we are out. How is a cook supposed to make delicious food without potatoes, onions and garlic! This challenge is what keeps my creativity alive in the kitchen.
Very often we host weddings over the weekend. When someone is celebrating their love we want to feed them delicious food! As you might find in your own kitchen, with every meal there is a side dish that carries the flavor. You know, potatoes. With a lack of potatoes we have started to dip more into our wheat berries and barley for this delicious job. It is awesome hearing guests express joy about their first wheat berry and barley bite. This constant change of what is available to cook provides opportunities to challenge our pallets. I would have never known I loved wheat berries and barley if I didn’t have potatoes!
As everything is just starting to ramp up, preservation is upon us and we are going to be pickling and canning all sorts of things. This year we are taking a slightly different approach to preservation, we took an inventory of the canned items that sold best and will be focusing on making more of those! If you are ever in the store or at Market and really enjoyed something speak up and let us know! I’ve heard the hype about the kimchi, and it is currently fermenting and on its way to y’all!
~ Tristan
Top Pic: Homemade olive oil pie crust with ham, eggplant, and green onion quiche. Check the Wednesday email for this crust recipe and an easy quiche recipe! (Photo Credit: Leah Salmon)
Next Pic: Here is one of our wheat berry dishes from a wedding recently: wheat berries seasoned with herb butter topped with roasted seasonal vegetables. In this case, carrots and zoodles. (Photo Credit: Vanna Rasmusen)
Final Pic: Pickles, pickles, pickles! Pickling season is starting to ramp up. Check out our add-ons. We’ll be adding new ones there as Tristan makes ’em! (Photo Credit: Melissa Harmon)
Veggie CSA
Every week, we include this section with what we think will be coming out of our fields and hoop houses for the CSA pick up. Keep in mind, that we send this email on Monday just as we start harvesting for the week. That means this is a guess/estimation/extrapolation of what we think we are seeing in the fields. Sometimes we are spot on, but other times we are not.
Harvest List will probably include:
asian greens & napa cabbage
green onions
kale & chard
head lettuce, salad mixes, arugula
radishes & salad turnips
kohlrabi & beets
tomatoes & tomatillos
zucchini
cucumber
basil
fennel
broccoli & cauliflower
beans
ground cherries
Meat CSA
Each week we will let you know what you can expect in your meat CSA. Occasionally (although we try very hard for this not to happen), we do the math wrong and your CSA might look different then what is here. Embrace the surprise, we really tried not to have that happen.
Check the links below and the Wednesday email for recipe ideas and more information.
Small Meat CSA:
1 package beef short ribs or korean style short ribs/flanken ribs (check out the Wednesday email for recipe suggestions
1 quart beef stock
+/- 2 packages ground beef
Medium Meat CSA:
1 package boneless pork chops
2 packs ground pork (could be hot or sweet italian sausage, plain, chorizo, or breakfast sausage)
1 quart beef stock
1 package beef stew meat
+/- 3 packages ground beef
Large Meat CSA:
2 packages stew meat
2 packages cube steak
4 packs ground pork (could be hot or sweet italian sausage, plain, chorizo, or breakfast sausage)
2 sliced ham
1 quart beef broth
+/- 2 packages ground beef
We did it! Finished the week off with a bang and got all our garlic harvested. First crop in (last Halloween) and first crop harvested. 8 months in the ground. Now we wait for it to dry out and cure and then you will get it all winter long in your Winter CSA! Haven’t purchased your Winter CSA yet? Click HERE and check that item right off the to-do list!
