June 1, 2009

Dear Fairview Gardens Community,

I wanted to thank you for being a part of our Summer CSA season. We are looking forward to a bountiful harvest of melt in your mouth peaches, crisp cucumbers, and warm from the sun heirloom tomatoes. For those of you who do not know, Fairview Gardens is in the middle of many changes and we are grateful for your support more than ever. We are busy with a construction project and a July 1^st deadline and also experiencing changes on our staff. We hope you are patient as we adjust to this restructuring.

As the season begins, I wanted to introduce myself as someone that you can contact with questions, concerns, and suggestions. I will be your new contact for CSA and am also the Farm Stand Manager.  My name is Jen Corey. I grew up in Santa Barbara, left for four years to study sociology at Wheaton College outside of Chicago, and then quickly moved back to the town I love. As a Japanese American I was raised to value family and good food and the two were never separated. My grandfather was born and raised on a farm in Hilo and continued to grow produce throughout his life (my favorites were his homegrown tomatoes, green beans, and Japanese cucumbers). He and my grandma moved to Santa Barbara to live with my family and I remember his many lessons about how to pick the fruit or vegetable that was “just right.” We called him the Green Grocer because he worked in produce for the wholesale Chinese markets of Los Angeles. I decided to follow in his footsteps and join an urban farming community, dedicating my time to bringing you the best, locally grown organic produce around.

As the Summer CSA begins I wanted to let you know of a few changes that will be affecting you. Due to our staffing changes, price of copies and amount of paper used, we are no longer offering a formatted hardcopy newsletter. Instead, you will receive a sneak peak, recipes, and farm updates though your email each Monday. For those who do not have email access we will have a notebook of printed out emails so that you can write down recipes and read about the farm when coming to pick up your share. We hope that you understand our current limited staffing resources and our need to cut back this part of our program

Toby and I are happy to announce that we will be having a CSA Summer potluck on June 20^th. We hope that you will attend this great opportunity to get to know others in our CSA community as well as the rest of the Fairview Gardens staff. We ask that Tuesday pick up members bring a main dish or a salad and that Thursday pick up members bring a side dish or a dessert. Fairview will provide beverages. It is important that EVERY CSA MEMBER bring their own plate, utensils, cup, cloth napkin, and a set to share with someone who forgot. There is no need to RSVP or let us know what you are bringing. We are excited for this opportunity to bring our community together. Bring your kids, meet us at the farmhouse, and hope for a sunny day.

Since I am often out and about around the farm, the best way to contact me is through email, jen@fairviewgardens.org. You can also try me at the office and if I am not there leave me a message at 805.967.7369. Thank you for your feedback and your ongoing support.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Emiko Higa Corey

SNEAK PEAK

 

Small Share

Carrots                                   

Lettuce                                   

Strawberries                

Beets                           

Spinach

Kohlrabi

Green beans

Peaches or Nectarines

Large Share

Carrots

Lettuce           

Strawberries                

Arugula

Beets               

Peaches or nectarines

Squash                                                

Spinach                      

Green Beans   

Kohlrabi                      

RECIPES:

Marinated Green Beans

Prepare the green beans by snapping off the stem end. Serve immediately or chilled

Lemon marinade: combine 1 Tbs. olive oil, the grated zest and juice of one lemon, salt, pepper and some chopped basil.

Soy marinade: combine 1 Tbs. olive oil, a splash of sesame oil and soy sauce, 2 tsp. rice vinegar, chopped cilantro and some toasted or black sesame seeds.

From http://www.primrosecommunityfarm.net

Spinach-Strawberry Salad with Goat-Cheese Bruschetta

Dressing:

¼ cup sugar

2 Tbs. sherry or white wine vinegar, can also use orange juice

1 ½ tsp.  olive oil

1 tsp. minced red onion (can use shallots, bunching onion… all sold at the Farm Stand)

Pinch of salt

Salad:

6 cups spinach

2 cups sliced strawberries

Handful of slivered almonds, toasted (careful not to toast these guys too long)

Goat cheese (log, sliced)

Baguette, sliced and toasted (if you’re lucky you can snag one from D’Angelos sold at the Farm Stand)

Shake Dressing in a tightly sealed jar and toss gently with spinach, strawberries and almonds. Serve with goat cheese spread on toasted baguette.

Stir-Fried Kohlrabi

3 kohlrabi

3 medium carrots

4 Tbs. peanut oil

3 cloves garlic (garlic and green garlic sold at the Farm Stand), peeled and thinly sliced

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

3 green onions (bunched onions sold at the Farm Stand)

1-2 fresh chili peppers, sliced

Salt to taste

4 Tbs. oyster sauce, optional (can also use Tamari or Yoshida Sauce)

Slice kohlrabi and carrots diagonally into thin, elongated ovals. Heat oil in a wok or large skillet; when it begins to smoke toss in garlic and ginger. Stir once and add kohlrabi and carrots toss and cook for 2 minutes. Add green onions and chilies; cook for 1 minute, then pour in 1/2-cup water. Cover and reduce heat, letting simmer for 5 minutes. Remove cover, toss in salt to taste and oyster sauce and serve.

From Asparagus to Zucchini 3rd ed., MACSAC, 2004.