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Creekside Gardener, No. 4, May 19 2010

Wed, 26 May 2010 05:09:18 +0100

The sun is shining and the air is warm, the start of a beautiful day is upon us! May is full of diversity and pleasant surprises; some days it is warm enough to wear a T-shirt while I am feeding the animals breakfast, while other days snow flurries land on my back while I am digging in the garden. Thankfully, the frost has subsided and our more tender annuals are making way in the gardens. Now is a great time to get your tomato and herb starts into the ground. Cucumber, squash, and basil seeds can be directly sowed now with out the danger of damaging young seedlings on a cold night. When transplanting your tomatoes, remove the cotyledons (first leaves that emerge on seedling), and bury them deep, all the way up to the first true leaves. If your garden space does not allow a deep dig, try a trench. Dig a long trench and lay the tomato plants down, with just the tops from the first leaves up sticking out. The plants will start to right themselves within a week. Borage is a companion plant of tomatoes, and is known to make the fruit more flavorful!

    Heavy rains followed by warm afternoons are sprouting seeds and plumping up the greens at Coffee Creek. The first tender spinach of the year is included in your box this week! Please be sure to wash your produce before your enjoy it fresh or cooked in your favorite recipe. Chop the fresh chives to garnish soups and baked potatoes. The chive flowers may be removed and soaked in balsamic vinegar; toss with your spinach salad for a unique and tasty treat! The light green bundle is Moroccan mint, and the darker is a mix of chocolate and ginger mints. These make a great addition to iced green tea, homemade ice cream, or salads. Dry them by hanging the bundle upside down in your kitchen; pour one cup boiling water over one teaspoon dried mint to sooth an upset tummy.

    This batch of kombucha is naturally carbonated by process of fermentation. It contains English breakfast tea and pure, organic cane sugar cultured to promote digestion and immunity. Enjoy two ounces at a time, noting that it is especially beneficial on an empty stomach.

    Roasted hazelnut and mango truffles from Blissful Wunders Truffles are here to tantalize and transfix your taste buds with their hand-crafted chocolate power! The wait is excruciating, I know, but please take the time to let them reach room temperature for maximum enjoyment.

One pint of chicken soup with wild Minnesota rice has a number of possibilities. A quick and easy meal calls for a simple addition of one cup of water or broth. Heat and serve with crackers or a crusty bread. To make the most of your meal, saute chopped garlic in 2 tbs. butter in a large saucepan. Add celery, 2 cups water or broth and soup base and bring to as boil before adding chopped kale, chard or other hardy greens and one tablespoon of dried squash. Remove from heat and serve hot with crackers or crusty bread. Chicken, basil, and oregano used in this soup were all grown at Coffee Creek, the onions are from Boistfort Valley Farm in Curtis, WA, and the wild rice was hand harvested in Minnesota and given to us by family in the mid-west. I, for one, find a meal much tastier after a proper introduction and history!

    Some of the ways that we use dried summer squash in our everyday cooking: tossing into soups and sauces for added flavor and texture or adding to stir fry to help soak up any extra moisture from frozen veggies used. It is also a great addition to a morning scramble with eggs and other vegetables, or try baking it into breads, muffins and pancakes for added nutrition. Enjoy a new way to use an old favorite!

    In addition to the edibles, there is a special gift from my intern, Kalee. Felted soap, made from local, hand-crafted, natural soap covered with a felted layer of wool for a built in scrubby! Choose one from the basket above your CSA box. Kalee is a great helper in the garden, as well as a talented painter, toy-maker and all around crafty and artistic mama. Check out her website for other hand made and recycled goods: Mamatrashheap.etsy.com

    I want to once again thank you for your patience and understanding in accepting this late delivery. I am feeling much better after last week's illness and forced down-time. Kalee has now had a chance to prepare and deliver CSA boxes, so all of our bases are covered in case this ever happens again.

    I am sure you will enjoy the collection of treats available for you to pick up now. Next week we will have a regularly scheduled delivery on Wednesday the 26th, available for pick-up after 10am at the Loveday residence. Don't forget to make an extra trip by their home this weekend, as they are having a huge, multi-family yard sale both Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 4pm, with lots of treasure for your finding!

Enjoy this day, and enjoy this food!

                                                                   Be well,
                                                                                                                                                                                   Mokey Skinner

Creekside Gardener, No. 3 April 22, 2010

Wed, 26 May 2010 05:06:13 +0100

Greetings from the gardens! The celebration of life is so much more apparent when the sun is shining. The preparations must be accomplished no matter what the weather, and, with the right outlook, they can be enjoyed during a downpour. But when the blue sky is above me and the sting of the sun is upon my skin, duties become festivities. Children are shirtless and covered in mud, chickens are pecking at fresh blades of grass, goats munch down the incessant blackberry brambles, and the transplants find new homes where they can spread their roots deep and bask in the sunlight.

Each of the gardens established during our first year are now planted in beneficial rotations of seeds and transplants, and the new spiral garden is beginning to take shape. Plants and seeds that will assist each other as well as build the soil for gardens to come are carefully introduced to each new section of garden before spiraling on, mounding with compost, soil and manure until we reach the center. Upon the completion of this spiral garden alone, our growers’ footprint will almost double! Build it and they will eat.

I am not the only one at Coffee Creek who feels the spring time in all of its glory. The chickens are out and about and on the prowl, and they are great company in the garden when they find and feast upon bugs and grubs that would soon be munching on the plants. They are, however, quite pesky when they themselves munch on the fresh plantings! Just after the over-wintered kale was pulled up for crop rotation, the chickens found the fresh crop and had a little taste. My apologies for the lack of greens: my master plan of an overlapping harvest was foiled by fowl. They are hard to argue with - you, too, have tasted their eggs. The plants will recover, thankfully, and you will be up to your ears in hearty greens before you can say, “roughage.”

The new kombucha batch is a little off schedule as well, so I do not have any to include in this basket. By the next delivery I will have had some time to bottle ahead and there will be more of a selection of fruits and herbs to flavor the beverage and enhance the medicinal properties. I hope that you have been enjoying the benefits of this elixir, and if anyone is feeling as adamant about regular intake as my three year old is, I would be more than happy to make a special delivery next Wednesday, the 29^th. Please send a note if this is something you desire.

As you may know, I teach children’s yoga in Pierce County as well as at home in Centralia. Commuting can be troublesome when there is so much to be done on the farm, so I have condensed my CSA and yoga teaching schedule into one convenient summer-sized package! I now have the rest of the season’s city trips planned out, and you may pick up your boxes as follows: May 12 and 26 (half shares available on the second date given for each month), June 9 and 23, July 14 and 28, August 11 and 25, September 8 and 22, October 13 and 27, and November 22 (whole shares only). On these second and fourth Wednesdays of each month, we will share in the bounty of the season, from the winter preserves to the fruits of fall. Our region is so diverse and our climate so unique, that many amazing crops can be grown here. I specifically designed your shares to supplement, not replace, your own gardens and trips to your neighborhood farmers’ market. Whenever my son and I have a chance to visit a farmers’ market as a patron and not a vender, we do not simply shop, but make a morning of it, snacking, learning and networking all the way down the street. Find out when the opening day of your favorite market is, get involved, and have a great time!

Featured truffles from Blissful Wunders are Espresso and Milk Chocolate. These are the traditional cream based recipe, but in case you had not noticed, the last batch was a coconut milk based vegan recipe! All of the truffles varieties are available with or without dairy ingredients, so if you have a preference, just let me know. Of course, they are all organic, handmade and delectable.

Beginning next month, orders for extra eggs may be made by the preceding Monday. You will continue to receive one half-dozen eggs with each box, but if you desire more (on a regular basis or for a special occasion) they are available. Purchase eggs one half-dozen for $2.50, or a dozen for $4. To receive a full dozen with each box for the rest of the season you may pay $32 in advance.

Dried tomatoes and basil are wonderful tossed with pasta and olive oil, or sautéed with mushrooms and served atop an Alfredo. Fresh Chocolate mint is a great addition to a refreshing glass of water or iced tea, or chopped and served in salad or sprinkled on vanilla ice cream. Chives dress up almost any bowl of soup or roasted vegetable dish when chopped and sprinkled just before serving. While chives are best used fresh, a bundle of mint may be hung up to dry out of direct sunlight. Stored in an air tight bag or jar, dried herbs keep for years. Mint is a great digestive herb and a warm decoction is very helpful for upset stomach and indigestion. It also promotes mental clarity and can be quite energizing.

One jar of freshly canned, salt-free garbanzo beans makes a bowl of hummus fit to be shared. Use the fresh mint to flavor a tabouleh salad and you will have a Mediterranean feast!

Basic Hummus Recipe

One jar prepared garbanzos, drained

2 tbs. tahini

1 tbs. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp. cumin

Salt to taste

Make paste of beans with potato masher or in food processor. Mix in tahini, garlic and cumin. A couple teaspoons of water may be added for consistency. Fold in olive oil before serving with warm pita bread and fresh veggies. Tasty additions include: roasted sweet peppers, kalamata olives, pine nuts, or cayenne pepper.

Enjoy these goodies, enjoy the spring, for as more sun shines, more freshies I will bring!

Mokey Skinner

Creekside Gardener, No. 2 April 8, 2010

Wed, 26 May 2010 05:04:41 +0100

"Spring Showers." A cute name for the torrent April just floated in on. There has never been a better way to keep curious chickens and goats from upsetting freshly planted gardens as the eminent soaking - seedlings burst forth to seek the sun, but the critters have to plan their takeover from the forested creekside. I'll call that team work and splash on over to the next bed for weeding and seeding!
     Transition is in everything and growth is the game as our children, plants, trees, and schedules bloom and begin to reflect the longer days that will lead us into summer. (Someday. No really, it will happen.) The perennial herbs are beginning to shake off the sleepy winter just as many of the overwintered greens are ready to be turned in for this season's bean beds. The greenhouse is greener ever day, and some of the first sprouts are poking up in the garden! As usual, I find myself talking plants with everyone I meet and imploring every woman, man and child to start up a garden. This is the time to plant, and these Shuksan strawberries will quickly liven up your patch. They are highly recommended by northwest gardeners for their early harvests of large berries that are great for fresh eating as well as canning and freezing. Quinalt, Fern, and Hood varieties are also available with your next box, keep an eye out for a complete list of plants available from Coffee Creek.
     The goodies this month are symbolic of the season, as the storage that has kept us happy and healthy throughout the winter are shared and celebrated knowing that the season's bounty will soon refill the pantry for winters to come! Kraut, a live cabbage ferment, will activate your digestive and immune systems, coupled with kombucha's mild detoxifying properties create a great environment for fresh herbs and eggs. Oregano is a natural germ-fighter; the chopped, fresh herb sprinkled onto meals not only adds a savory and slightly spicy appeal, but can also help to fight off the sniffles that often accompany a change in weather.
     The truffles are again provided by Blissful Wunders on Steamboat Island. The selections of the week: one Hazelnut and one Blueberry with Portuguese Sea Salt. There will be different flavors each time truffles are featured, giving you the full spectrum of amazing hand-crafted treats. Check out Bliss's website for a complete line-up!
   Kombucha contains English breakfast black tea, organic cane sugar and filtered water and was bottled right here at Coffee Creek on the 6th. Keep bottle closed and at room temperature for three to five days to carbonate, refrigerate to stop fermentation at any time, or enjoy some now. Biologically active kraut should be kept cool, and solids should be pushed down below level of brine after opening. These are not processed or pressure sealed, as heat would destroy important enzymes. Please enjoy these living foods in moderation until you are accustomed to cultured foods (yogurt and miso are other examples of living, cultured foods that may be part of your diet already).
   Waylon, my three and a half year old son, loves a snack that poses a challenge (to his mom). Grandma's walnuts top that list of favorites! He bagged these walnuts up himself to share in the cracking and picking pleasure with you all. These nuts will stay fresh for quite a while in the shell, or they may be shelled, bagged, chopped and frozen for later use in breads and other baked goods.
   Thank you for enjoying the bounty of our gardens and community with us! As you enjoy your goodies, contemplate not only the gardens at Coffee Creek, but the one waiting in your backyard or neighborhood.

                                                                                 Yours,
                                                                                 Mokey

Creekside Gardener No 1, March 2010

Wed, 26 May 2010 05:01:22 +0100

Happy Spring! Welcome to the 2010 growing season and thank you for participating in Coffee Creek Community and Gardens' C.S.A. As a shareholder you will receive bi-monthly boxes of farm-fresh produce and eggs, home-style preserved and fermented goods, naturally raised meat and other various treats from the Coffee Creek Community and friends. With each delivery you will receive this newsletter to keep you up to date with progress on the farm and in the community.
     Being quite early in the season, this first box is more of a welcoming basket, a mere taste of the pleasures to come. The greens and leeks were over-wintered in the garden, proving to be quite the survivors, as the freezes of December wiped out many hopes of winter gardening and food storage. The unseasonably warm winter that followed has provided much inspiration toward catching back up, and the greenhouse is packed with seedlings soon to transplant into my garden and yours. Your early investments have enabled me to triple the productivity of the greenhouse, as I prepare to double the size of last year’s garden!
     Each day is getting longer, warmer and fuller and I find myself buzzing along with the bees, enticing all that I see to grow. Each garden is planned and planted with precision and care, rotating crops and planting companions to ensure health and vigor in the soil and the plants. Stewardship of this land means much more than growing a few vegetables to bring to the market, and I am committed to raising fine food and maintaining a sustainable ecosystem for our children and our animals as well as the flora and fauna that preceded us. The raised-bed gardens are not only extremely productive, but also enable me to keep the ground intact, not breaking the existing sod or encouraging erosion. As peas and carrots are planted, invasive blackberry brambles are removed from the creekside and forest surroundings. Fret not! There will be plenty of berries to pick in the summertime, and I hope you will enjoy the Blackberry Raspberry preserves or Concord Grape syrup (check your basket to make your choice, both are low- sugar recipes) with your next pancake breakfast or over vanilla ice cream.
     Early day-light savings hours coupled with the mild weather has ramped up production at Chez Poulet, the house of the rising chicken, where our laying flock is in full swing. The nature of the chicken tractor provides a rotating supply of tender spring grass and grubs for our hens to forage, in addition to their take-over of the farm each afternoon, when the doors swing open and chickens cluck freely. I believe you will taste the farm-fresh difference immediately. In fact, you may be so convinced of their superiority that you decide to raise a home-flock of your own. The next generation of layers and broilers are on the way with the arrival of spring chicks next week. Started chicks will be available with your next order; look for your first broilers in June.
     Enough about my gardens… let’s talk about yours! You may be contemplating a vegetable garden or landscape project for the year and you will be happy to know that shareholders have first priority when it comes to nursery stock, starters and garden consultations. You will receive a list of plants, starts and services very soon. Trees, shrubs, plants, herbs, and veggie starts can be included with your regular CSA order.
     I hope your family enjoys these goodies as much as my family has enjoyed preparing them for you. I look toward this season with you as an extension of our farm and of our family: we may be sharing our meals around different tables, but we are breaking bread together.

                                                                                  Enjoy, and be well.
                                                                                  Mokey Skinner
                                                                                  and the Coffee Creek Community

Recipe for EGG FLOWER SOUP

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cook time: about 10 minutes

You will need:
2 T sesame or hot sesame oil
2 medium leeks, sliced 1/4inch thick
1-2 cups washed and finely chopped kale
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
3 eggs
¼ t white pepper
Chives to garnish

Directions:
In a large pot, sauté leeks and kale in sesame oil until kale turns bright green. Pour stock over veggies and bring to a boil. Add white pepper. In a bowl, beat eggs lightly so that bubbles do not form. Turn off heat under soup pot, and pour a steady stream of eggs (pouring through the tines of a fork helps to slow the flow) into hot soup. Stir quickly in one direction for one minute to form shreds of egg. Sprinkle with chopped chives and serve immediately.

Tips on preservation:
Both kale and leeks freeze well for later use. Just wash, dry, chop, and bag. Use by the handful in soups and stir fries.

Herbs:
Sacred Basil is a savory, floral herb that can be used for culinary and medicinal purposes. Highly regarded in ayurvedic medicine, it is used to treat fever, pain, nausea, and depression. For tea pour hot water over 1 teaspoon crushed, dried herb and steep for 3 minutes. May be used as Italian basil in the kitchen.
Sage is high in vitamins A and C. It can be used sparingly to flavor meats or pastas and pairs well with other strong herbs such as rosemary and oregano. Try sprinkling some in your next grilled cheese sandwich, or use in sausage gravy.

Kombucha:
This batch was made by my dear friends, Nat and Lisa Boggs, with black tea, sugar, and fresh pressed apple juice. Keep sealed jar unrefrigerated for 3 days to carbonate, or refrigerate to stop the fermentation process. I suggest drinking a 2 ounce serving to stimulate digestion, boost the immune system, and please the pallet.

Truffles by Blissful Wunders, Olympia.