SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

I have a couple of “housekeeping” issues to discuss with you all….

WHAT’S IN YOUR SHARE THIS WEEK:

• Kale
• Corn
• Carrots
• Eggplant
• Lettuce
• Pepper
• Tomatoes
• Onions
• Beets
• Cherry Tomatoes

RECIPES:

Fresh Corn Quiche

Bacon Wrapped Corn

Quick Pickled Corn

Anything Goes Kale Salad w/Green Tahini Dressing

Nacho “Cheese” Kale Chips (Paleo)

In my quest to help you enjoy beets more, I’m including this recipe from your fellow member, Jack Baker from Florence:

Hacker’s Beets.

1.  Oven roast beets at 350 to 400 degrees until done but remaining firm.
2.  In wide mouth quart jars, drop a couple, or so, whole dried bay leaves, one to two dozen black pepper corns, and a small palm of dried rosemary.
3. Cool, peel and chunk the beets.
4. Peel a couple, or so, garlic cloves and lightly crush.
5. Pack the beets and garlic tightly in the jars. Add a mix of 1/2 Chardonnay and 1/2 live apple cider vinegar.
6. Seal and Refrigerate (…for the far side of Winter.)

Happy Labor Day! Well, a day late but hopefully you had the day off and were relaxing with friends or family, or off for a last camping trip before school starts. If only vegetables knew how to take a day off! They just keep on laboring, so we do too….we couldn’t have had a better day to work outside though. Cool in the morning, sunny and breezy in the afternoon. Heavenly….

I don’t know about you but it feels like I went to sleep in Summer and awoke in Fall. The sky looks different, the air smells like Fall, the temps are certainly cooler, and the crops are beginning to reflect the changes as well. As we begin to say goodbye to some of our summer, warm weather favorites, we can look ahead to those cooler weather crops. This is the exact mid point for the full CSA experience and we hope that you have been enjoying it so far!

Jabrila Via, who has been one of our owner/farmers for over 30 years, has taken a big step back from the farm this year. She has certainly been using her time to travel, hike and climb and enjoy her new grandson, Malaki. While she used to run the CSA and help to manage the greenhouse, now she is mainly handling the Field Trips on the farm. We love to host “kids” of all ages, offering Field Trips from PreSchool right up to college classes, and some adult “kids” as well. There is nothing like seeing the wonder in a young childs eye when they see that their vegetables were “grown in dirt!” or being able to pick their own strawberries from under lush green leaves, or see them heft a carrot from the soil….here is what Jabrila would like to share with all of you…..

Farmer Jabrila Via:

This summer we had over 250 kids come to the farm for field trips, with ages ranging from preschool to high school. Thanks to you, our members, for the donations you made to our Education fund. These donations enable us to offer field trips on a sliding scale, which allows more classes to participate. In the past we have had enough in subsidies to allow us to give some schools the opportunity to come out to the farm with funding totally from our Education Fund. It looks like we will be able to do that again this year. Thank You…thanks also to Wali, Chris, Shannon and Jeremy for all of your help making the field trips happen, from tractor driving to readying the hay wagon. It’s definitely a group effort…

It is a joy to be with the kids as they explore the farm. This year I began each field trip sharing artifacts that we have found on this land. I have received permission and information from Tribal members to offer this opportunity to the kids. It is important to start at the beginning with respect to the Kalapuya Homeland we are on. We talk about the food that was harvested and the respect for all life. That moves us to talking about our environment and ecosystems. The children always inspire me with the ways they come up with how to care of the earth. The big Fir snag, also known as Mama Tree, gives us great teachings. We stand below her watching the birds on her branches as we talk about the ways nature helps us on the farm. As we walk the fields checking out the

different crops, harvesting some, eating some, we are learning about the plants, their roots, flowers, fruits and seeds. The talks go on from there in many different directions……farming practices, GMO, crop rotation, beneficial insects on and on…With the little ones we play as we learn and with the older kids we can explore more serious and meaningful discussions. I learn so much from the kids and feel it an honor to share with them. They love the cows. Organic farming is new to many of the students. It is always a fun conversation when we get into compost and the important role the cows play in giving their manure to the compost, helping to keep the soil alive and healthy. It’s great to watch as a few students smell the compost and then with great relief they smile at the wonderful rich smell. Often others join in with laughter and learning.

Let your schools know about our field trip programs. It is always fun to have members joining in on field trips, especially when the kids speak up and share that they have been on the farm before, the that we’re their farmers!

 So once again thank you very much for being apart of Winter Green Farm and supporting our Education Program.

Jabrila

We all hope that your week goes smoothly….and that you enjoy your veggies!

Linda and all of your Winter Green Farmers…past and present!