Hello Members!
The first box is here! If you are in need of info on how and where to pick up your box go in to your account and look under "Next Delivery" where you will find all of the info.
This weeks box includes: ( some of you may not have items due to you customizing them or rating them really low on the preferences chart)
Salad Turnip- great for fresh eating like an apple, sliced into a salad or for a crunch on a sandwich. They are great grilled, or sliced and tossed in salted water for a crispy table snack. They taste like a mild and sweet radish or very sililar to kohlrabi. Don't forget to eat the greens, too! Fresh or cooked.
Spinach- 1/2 lb bag. This is fresh from the field! We prewash all of our greens, but it is also a great idea to wash them again. We never do, but then again we like a little dirt crunch now and then! This spinach can be stored right in the bag in your fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Baby Red Russian Kale bunch-This is a hearty bunch of tender first cutting kale. it is GREAT in smoothies, or tossed in a salad or wilted into a pasta dish Yesterday we had it with a wonder corn risotto! Keep in a plastic bag in the fridge for longer storage.
Romaine Head Lettuce- Straight from the hoophouse, this is a beautiful romaine great for rolls, salads or sandwiches. Best kept in a plastic bag or container in the fridge.
Butterhead Lettuce (some got Crispino head Lettuce)- Also straight from the hoophouse. This butterhead is so...buttery! We were short aboubt 50 heads, and the remaining folks got a nice big heavy head of iceberg. I love it because it is sweet and watery! Keep in a container in the fridge.
Pac Choi (bok choy)- These are an Asian green great for slicing and grilling, chopped in to a peanut noodle salad or stir fry. SO many uses for this mild green.
Napa Cabbage- This cabbage is best known for being made into kimchi. You can also add it fresh into a peanut noodle salad or make a quick Asian slaw with it, soy sauce and sesame oil, rice vinegar, sugar and any other greated or chopped veggies (think carrot, cabbage, onion, beet,etc...)
Herb Pot- This is our annual herb pot that should mostly consist of basil (tall and fragrant-start using right away, as it will start flowering soon!), oregano, thyme, sage and parsley. I would recommend transplanting these to a garden plot or 5 different containers soon. They will become stressed out and not produce. However, if you transplant them and give them space they will do great! Enjoy herbs in every meal!
Kale salad with Tahini dressing and brussels sprouts (optional) use the baby kale!!
A few things to know:
We are Certified Organic. This means we do not use chemical sprays, treated seed, fungicides, post emergent sprays, the list goes on. This ALSO means that there will be bug damage from time to time. Especially in the spring when the cold stress is making our little veggies not as vigorous as we would like, ie pac choi and napa cabbage. There will be some holes here and there. It's OK, they don't taste like anything (ha!) and the turnips many have some worm damage on some of them. We do lots of other things to prevent this from happening, but happen it does. Thank you for understanding!
ALWAYS take the box with your name on it that is from BLACKBROOK FARM! If someone is picking your box up for you, please tell them to take the box with your name on it from BLACKBROOK FARM! This is very important.
Please return your box either the same week (bring a bag to empty your veggies into) or the following time you pick up your box. Please collapse your box and neatly stack it or put it where the other boxes are.
REMEMBER TO SET YOUR PREFERENCES!!! This is the only way this CSA platform knows what you like! Do this today or tomorrow, please. Log in to your account and click on "my preferences" on the left hand side.
Please note that the first couple boxes will be a little light and there are not as many crop options. This is a typical spring thing. That means crops are growing slowly and there is less variety than we would like. That being said, you will be getting items in your box that may not hit you 5 star preference. This is what CSA means! We will make it up by putting in more value in the summer boxes.
We are delivering a 1 BU box this year. All previous year we have delivered in a 3/4 bushel box. This is because we want to make sure there is enough room for you to be able to add-on extras at any point. This includes pork (we will put the meat in a foiled package in the box!), your mushroom share if you get it and any other add-ons (at this point we do not have extra veggies, but we will!!). So, the boxes will not be as full because it is a bigger box.
We have pork add-on extras starting next week! You will find extras to add-on during your customization period starting today. Yummy! Note that we intend for you to probably eat the meat this week, so that being said. When we pack it into the foil and put it in your box it is at -30 degrees, but by the time you get it it may start thawing out but still very cold! You can put it straight in the freezer, but hopefully you can put it in the fridge and enjoy it that week! I would love to know how this is working for you-this is a new system for us and we want you to be satisfied!
Make sure to go into your account and add any other contacts that you may not have that are sharing your box with you. You can easily do this by "add contact" under your profile. We don't want anyone missing out on emails! Put them in there!
We are excited to start out year!
Please email with any questions and enjoy your first box of the season- it only gets better from here!
Best,
Blackbrook Farm
