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This Christmas, leave the running around to us!

Let us help you get some names checked off your Christmas shopping list this holiday season. Food is just one of those universal gifts that everybody enjoys. Even those people that are just hard to find something for will be pleased with a gift of produce or a food gift basket. Even more, gifts from Klesick Family Farm send the message of care for the recipient (organic), our communities (local), and our environment (sustainable practices). For delivery the week of Christmas, orders need to be received by 12/16.

Produce Gift Boxes


A delivery of healthy organic produce makes a thoughtful gift! You can have us deliver a one-time gift of one of our standard produce boxes or give away a month’s worth of deliveries to be enjoyed throughout the season. We can either make the delivery for you (subject to our delivery area) or we can deliver the box to you so that you can give it away yourself. When placing your order please specify which box you would like to give.

Gift Baskets
All gift baskets come in a decorative 7.5” x 10” x 3.5 “ chocolate scroll print tray and packaged up in a clear cello bag, tied up with a ribbon. Eco-friendly gift card included…just let us know if you want a message sent with your gift!

  • Gift Basket  –  Fruit Medley


Contains a beautiful assortment of fresh organic fruit. A perfect gift idea for the office! Unique and a refreshing change from the usual holiday sweets!

Contains an assortment of the following: Northwest pears*, Granny Smith apples*, Pink Lady Apples*, Ruby Grapefruit, Satsumas, Bananas, and Kiwi.

  • Gift Basket –  Coffee Break*


A special holiday selection, with a sampling of two Camano Island Coffee Roasters’ delicious holiday blends, the Papua New Guinea Coffee is a delightful blend of light, medium, and dark roast beans,  the Midnight Holiday Blend is a special, extra dark roast Brazil. A delicious array of handmade cookies from Renee at the Breadfarm finishes out this charming basket. Perfect to for the coffee lover in your life, or treat the office break room!

Note: coffee is drip grind.

Contains:  1/2 lb. Holiday Blend Papua New Guinea coffee, 1/2  lb. Holiday Blend Midnight Dark  Coffee, 1 Biscotti Sampler 6-pack, 6 oz bag of Cocoa Niblets,  8-pack of Cranberry-Pistachio cookies.

  • Gift Basket  –  Snack Time


Packed full of organic goodies…this one is meant for munching! Tasty snacks, but without the sugar load, so you can feel good about giving this one to families with small kiddos. Note: the candied pepitas are pumpkin seeds tossed with a small amount of organic cane sugar, cayenne and allspice, mild…and addicting!

Contains: 12 oz. bag of CB’s Peanuts*, 8 oz. bag of Pistachios from Terra Firma Farm, 6-oz bag of candied pepitas from Breadfarm*, 24 oz jar of peach –apple nectar, 6.4 oz bag whole wheat crackers from Breadfarm*, and we had to include a 24 oz jar of peanut butter* from the Breadfarm –it’s the best EVER.

* Denotes items grown, and/or produced in the Pacific Northwest

Other Gifts

  • Holiday Cookie Box – $30.00
A variety of Breadfarm’s most popular holiday favorites, including Cocoa Nib shortbread, Lemon Crumiri, Hazelnut Espresso, Almond & Chocolate Biscotti, Cranberry-Pistachio cookies and Double Chocolate Ginger Spice.
  • Holiday Wreath $45

Beautifully handmade wreaths from Sunrise Holly Farm on Camano Island. A combination of several different types of English hollies combined with silver tip holly, cedar sprigs, red berries, and a red bow. A festive treat for yourself or as a gift!

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Know Your Produce: Kohlrabi

Have you ever eaten a kohlrabi? These little sputnik-shaped vegetables come in green or purple, can be eaten raw or cooked, and taste a lot like broccoli stems. The word kohlrabi is German for cabbage turnip (kohl as in cole-slaw, and rübe for turnip) though kohlrabi is more related to cabbage and cauliflower than to root vegetables. We usually eat them raw, just peeled, sliced and added to a salad, but they are also delicious cooked and are often used in Indian cuisine.

From www.simplyrecipes.com

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Holiday Meals

Are you rushing around yet? It’s the season for holiday plans, schedules, trying to find that perfect gift, and entertaining friends and family. It’s also a time of dietary excess, increased stress, and let’s not forget colds and flu. Statistics show that December is the most stressful month of the year. That and the cold weather alone can wreak havoc on a person. Rest assured! There are things you can do to prepare yourself for the holidays and prevent certain discomforts that can accompany this season.

Growing up, in my family, it was considered impolite to not sample food being offered, especially if Grandma made it. We would eat and eat, sometimes having three to four holiday meals in one day! Some of you can no doubt identify with this situation. To help you avoid overeating during the holidays, here are some tips. First, avoid starving yourself early in the day to “save room” for the holiday meal. The easiest way to overeat is to create maximum hunger this way. Small frequent meals are always better. Second, remember to drink plenty of water. This will prevent you from serving and eating a huge portion which you will “have to finish,” since you “don’t want it to go to waste.” Third, decide on a maximum and reasonable portion size for the meal and stick to it. After eating, drink some hot herbal tea to promote relaxation.

With too much good food comes heartburn. To decrease your chance of getting the discomfort and pain of heartburn, start the meal with apple cider vinegar. This helps increase digestive enzymes and break down foods faster. Another way to avoid stomach upset is to use deglycyrrhized licorice (abbreviated DGL). Licorice is an herb that stimulates the cells lining your digestive tract to produce mucus. The mucus, in turn, protects the stomach and esophagus from digestive acid. DGL can help tremendously with heartburn or food-related excess stomach acid or if you have esophageal reflux (backflow of stomach acid). A typical prescription is to chew and swallow two 400mg tablets 10 minutes before each meal to help keep your digestive tract in order. Talk to your ND to find out what’s best for you.

by Rebecca Dirks, N.D.
Associate Physician, NW Center for Optimal Health
Marysville, 360-651-9355
Producer & Co-Host, Healthy Living, KSER FM 90.7

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Reaching Out

So far this year, KFF and our customers have donated a record 500 “boxes of good” to local area food banks! The volunteers at the food banks have expressed again and again how wonderful it is to be able to supply people with fresh produce.

Every Thanksgiving we partner with our customers to donate traditional Holiday Boxes as well. Last year our customers donated 100 Holiday Boxes and this year we’d love to reach a new record here also.

To find out how you can contribute, please read the holiday information on back

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What a Storm!

Like most of you, we really felt the house being buffeted by the wind.  Joelle and I have a date night with one child every Monday night. Last night on the way home it began to rain in earnest.  Once home Andrew went to feed the Labs and I went to feed the horses.  It was quite a thunder and lightning show and the horses were fairly unsettled with all the activity.  I am sure glad that I was feeding them on the other side of their stalls, because every time lightning flashed they would back up, turn around and head out the other side. Then they would calm down and come back in and start munching again.  After I had finished feeding them, it was about the time that the wind and rain came down in torrents. Naturally, I am nowhere near the house, where it is warm and dry!?!?!? Every gutter was overtopping and I said to myself, “I am going to get wet!” Just as I was beginning my dash to the house a huge gust of wind blew the main horse gate wide open.  EEEEK! Change of plans, secure the gate.

So now I am getting drenched, securing the gate and thanking the Lord that the gate blew open while I was still out there! I have chased lots of livestock in my farming career and I, thankfully, only have to imagine trying to find 3 scared, 1 ton, critters in the morning. They could have been hit by cars or cut themselves on a tractor implement or run through neighbors fence. But all that is purely conjecture because the horses were contentedly waiting for breakfast this morning.  Now we can head out to the fields and do some work.

Tristan

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A plea of for common sense to prevail.

Currently, there is a food safety bill working its way through Congress.  Apparently, Congress has decided to push this through before the change and balance of power is equalized in January.  Food safety is not a partisan issue, but if this bill passes, it will definitely discourage and make it almost impossible for small family farms to comply.

Please consider calling Senator Cantwell and Patty Murray’s offices and asking them to support the Testor Amendment excluding small farms for this legislation.

As supporters of local farmers this bill will make it harder  for small farms to stay in business and if the country needs anything it needs more farmers and lots of them dotting the landscape.

Let our Senators know know that you like supporting and eating food grown on small family farms.

Please email or call today! Thank you

Tristan

ACTION ALERT: Act by Nov. 17 on Senate Food Safety Legislation

November 13th, 2010

Call your Senators MONDAY or TUESDAY— Urge their support for the Tester Amendment
The Cornucopia Institute

It now appears that the Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) will be voted on in the Senate during the “lame-duck” session as early as Wednesday, Nov. 17.

This bill, as we have noted before, would impose extremely burdensome and unnecessary requirements on the thousands of small farmers and food processors who are producing safe, nutrient-dense foods for their local communities — in fact, it may force some of these producers out of business.

A key amendment sponsored by Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) would exempt small farmers who direct market more than 50% of their products.

These famers must have gross sales (direct and non-direct combined) of less than $500,000, and sell to consumers, stores, or restaurants that are in-state or within 400 miles. This amendment is especially important for off-farm retail locations such as farmers markets and CSAs.

Please call your Senators today (most offices have voice mail where you can leave a message) and ask them to support the Tester Amendment on the Food Safety bill.

If you are a farmer this is important to protect your livelihood. If you are a consumer, where will you buy your safe and nutritious food if your local farmers are forced out of business?

It’s easy to call. Go to Congress.org and type in your zip code in the box in the upper right hand corner. Click on your Senator’s name, and then on the contact tab for their phone number. You can also call the Capitol Switchboard and ask to be directly connected to your Senator’s office: 202-224-3121. Once connected ask to speak to the legislative staff person responsible for agriculture. If they are unavailable leave a voice mail message. Be sure to include your name and phone number.
The message is simple:

“I am a constituent of Senator___________. I ask that he/she support the Tester Amendment to the food safety bill. The Tester Amendment will exempt the safest, small, owner-operator farms and food facilities and farmers who direct market their products to consumers, stores or restaurants. Food safety legislation should not create inappropriate and costly regulatory barriers to family farms and the growing healthy food movement in the drive to crack down on corporate bad actors. Please support the Tester Amendment and market opportunities for small and mid-sized family farms, and small food processing facilities.”

Thank you for your help and support for those producing some of the nation’s safest and most nutritious food!

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Fresh This Week Tips, Week 11.14.10

Pinova Apples
STORE: Pinova apples are crisp and juicy with dense flesh. Their mild, well-balanced sweet-tart flavor improves in storage so don’t worry about using them right away. Just store your apples in the coldest part of your refrigerator and use within two months.
PREP: Wash your apples prior to eating under cool water. Peel, core and chop them for your desired recipe.
USE: This apple is good for eating out of hand and cooking. Why not enjoy a healthy dessert by making a simple apple crisp with oatmeal, a little organic evaporated cane sugar and sliced Pinova apples? http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=11935

Pomegranates
Though the ancients used pomegranate skin and bark for medicinal purposes, only the seeds are edible. Fresh pomegranate is usually available from September until January.

STORE: When refrigerated in a plastic bag, pomegranates will keep for up to 2 months.
TO SEED: Wash fruit under cool running water. Slice off the top and the tail of the pomegranate. With a sharp paring knife, score as you would to peel an orange. Submerge pomegranate in bowl of cold water (so any juice that sprays out won’t get on your clothes- pomegranate juice stains) and peel away rind. Break into sections, and pull seeds from the pith with your fingers. Drain seeds in a sieve and throw away the pith. Be sure to drain well.
USE: Pomegranate seeds can be safely stored in the refrigerator or even frozen, for later use. However, this fruit is so delicious that it is most often consumed in one setting. Have you eaten YOUR pomegranate, today? The seeds are a brilliantly colorful addition when tossed on a salad. Check out this website, dedicated to only pomegranates for more recipe ideas and preparation tips http://pomegranates.org/recipes.html

Persimmons
STORE: Store ripe Fuyu persimmons at room temperature for up to three weeks. They will keep in the refrigerator for up to two months. Persimmons are ripe when they turn a dark orange, they will still be fairly firm.
PREP: Prepare ripe persimmons by hulling them (cutting out their top and its attached flesh), slicing, and peeling them. Remove and discard the large black seeds as you encounter them.
USE: Add sliced persimmons to a salad, whip up a smoothie or make a festive persimmon pudding.
Image from blog.fatfreevegan.com.

Lactinato/ Green Kale
STORE: Wrap unwashed kale in paper towels and keep it in the crisper of your refrigerator for up to five days. You can also freeze your kale by washing, chopping and storing in it in a freezer bag.
PREP: To wash kale, submerge it in water and swish around to remove dirt. Break or cut off tough stems and chop to your preference.
USE: Kale can be steamed, blanched, boiled, braised, stir-fried, or sautéed. Lacinato kale (also called dinosaur kale or tuscan kale) is especially delicious when added to a minestrone soup or cooked in extra virgin olive oil with garlic, a pinch of red pepper flakes and salt.

Image from chow.com.

Green Onions
STORE: Store green onions in a plastic bag in your crisper for five to seven days. Be sure to keep them away from fruits and veggies that absorb odors easily like mushrooms, corn and apples.
PREP: Rinse your green onions in cold water; trim off roots and the very tops of the greens. Dice into thin or slightly thicker rounds depending on your preference. Don’t be afraid to use the entire green onion!
USE: Green onions, also called scallions, make an excellent garnish to soups, salads, noodle or rice dishes. Check out the Farmgirl Fare blog for recipes that showcase the wonderful flavor of green onions: http://www.farmgirlfare.com/2008/06/wanted-your-favorite-recipes-ways-to.html. Scroll down to the comments section of her post to see what her readers have to say–scallion pancakes, pickled scallions and green onion soup, yum!

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Trumpeter Swans

These majestic birds have returned to the valley.  When we see these marvelous wonders of creation it is a sure sign that the farming season is nearing its end.  Their ever distinctive trumpeting can be heard clearly as they grace the skies above our farm.

As a farmer, I find that the longer I farm in this region the more I am tied to the nuances of its local ecosystem.  In the spring I am reminded that it will be time to work the ground when I see the early bulbs start to emerge and the grasses wake up. It is the same when that fall air begins to grace the end of August—I better hurry up because the season is coming to a close. And with winter right around the corner, early November brings the swans.

I can be walking in the field, or sitting at my desk, or working with the draft horses and I will inevitably stop and listen and then look up.  I love that sound on a crisp fall morning as they fly eastward over the farm to their morning feasting grounds. And conversely, at about dusk on their return flight to Port Susan, I am reminded to head in myself and enjoy my family.

Nature has been embedded with a whole lot of wisdom and farming that keeps that wisdom in mind always succeeds.
As for now, I am looking forward to our farm’s winter rest and the music of the trumpeters till spring.

-image from tufts.edu

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Thanksgiving News

Thanksgiving Newsletter

The holidays are upon us again and along with them come good food and fond memories. Following are some items that we will have available to help make your Thanksgiving celebration a special one.

Delivery the week of Thanksgiving

Your normal delivery day is Wednesday. However, if you are scheduled for a delivery the week of Thanksgiving please note that due to the holiday your delivery day will be Tuesday for that week only. If you are not scheduled for a delivery the week of Thanksgiving then your regular deliveries will not change.

Special holiday items for your celebration

Whether you are hosting your own holiday meal or contributing toward someone else’s, we can help!

Holiday BoxEvery year at this time we offer an additional special Holiday Box ($35) full of organic traditional Thanksgiving meal items for your celebration. This year, not only can you schedule a Holiday Box to be delivered the week of Thanksgiving, but also the week before and the week after (available Nov. 15-Dec. 3). You can have this box delivered along with your regular order or in place of your regular order (when you place your order please specify). The box menu is as follows:

Granny Smith Apples, 2 lbs.

Cranberries, 8 oz. bag

Satsumas, 2 lbs.

Breadcubes for Stuffing, 1 lb. bag

Celery, 1 bunch

Acorn Squash

Green Beans, 1 lb.

Garnet Yams, 2 lbs.

Carrots, 2 lb. bag

Yellow A Potatoes, 3 lbs.

Onions, 1 lb.

Holiday ItemsFollowing is just a sampling of holiday products available online:

Traditional holiday produce items

Pies (pumpkin, apple, and pecan)

Rolls (multigrain, white, potato, and rosemary with sea salt)

Jams & Apple Butters

Honey

Salad Items

Pickles

Apple Sauce

**Coffee (try the coffee of the month: Holiday Blend)

Snacks (nuts, crackers, dried fruit, etc.)

Eggs

Remembering Neighbors in Need: If your celebration includes helping the less fortunate who live in our community, we would like to partner with you by giving you the opportunity to purchase the same Holiday Box, to be given to local food banks the week of Thanksgiving, for a discounted price of $29. Please call or e-mail us to set up this donation.

Ordering: You can place your holiday order online, via e-mail, or by giving us a call. We are here to answer any questions you may have.

**Please note: Coffee and bread orders for the week of Thanksgiving need to be received by 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, November 18. Coffee and bread orders received after this time will be scheduled for your following scheduled delivery.

Wishing you all the best this holiday season!

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Potlucks With a Purpose

Sunday, November 14,  2010 12:30-3:00 p.m.

Everett United Church of Christ at Rockefeller and Everett Avenue

A Zero Waste Event

Potlucks with a Purpose brings people together from all over our community to share good food, fun and conversation along with a free movie to stimulate our thoughts and discussion. Sustainability is our theme. Second Sunday of the month.

Bring a dish that serves about 6 and your own utensils and plate. If your food is local, so much the better! (And remember, if you do not bring your place setting, you will need to use disposable plates and cups and utensils – not good for the environment!)

Some of us receive food from Klesick Farm. Some of us are interested in knowing more about where our food comes from and how we can eat locally, organically, or just eat more healthy foods. Does it make a difference? How do local farmers get food to us – is it possible to eat locally all year round?

Come and hear Tristan Klesick speak to us about local farming and the different ways we can eat locally in the Everett, Port Gardner area.

This is the day the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!