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Labor Day Holiday Delivery Schedule

Our office will be closed September 5th in observance of Labor Day. Because of this closure, our deliveries for that week are scheduled as follows:

For delivery Wednesday:

Tuesday customers and Wednesday customers in Monroe and Anacortes.

For delivery Thursday:

Thursday customers, except south Marysville (south of 100th St NE) and remaining Wednesday customers.

For delivery Friday:

Friday customers and Thursday customers in south Marysville (south of 100th St NE).

If you are planning on being away during the holiday week, please inform us if you will need to skip your delivery or, better yet, consider having us deliver your Box of Good to a local food bank through our Neighbor Helping Neighbor Program.

Have a happy Labor Day!

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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.

If the kohlrabi leaves are still attached to the bulb, trim the  m and store separately. If the leaves are in good shape—firm and green—they can be cooked but will need to be used within a couple of days. The bulbs should be stored, unwashed, in a plastic bag. They will hold for about a week in the refrigerator.

Simple preparation: Tender, young kohlrabi is delicious eaten raw. Peel the outer skin with a paring knife. Slice, dice, or grate, and add to salads. Use on raw vegetable platters or serve with a creamy dip. Substitute in recipes calling for radishes. Grated kohlrabi can be added to slaw, but lightly salt it first and let stand for several minutes. Squeeze to remove any excess water before adding dressi  ng. Kohlrabi can also be steamed or boiled. For this preparation don’t peel until after they are cooked. Steam or boil until bulbs are tender, peel skin, and season with butter, salt, and pepper, a cheese sauce, or just enjoy plain.

If the leaves attached to the kohlrabi bulb are fresh and green, they can be enjoyed as a cooked green. Wash the leaves and remove the ribs. Blanch in boiling water until just wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain and squeeze excess water from leaves. Chop leaves, then sauté in a little olive oil or butter. Season with salt and pepper. Add a splash of vinegar or squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

From www.care2.com/greenliving/how-to-use-kohlrabi

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Old-Fashioned Farm Celebration! August 20, 2011

You are invited to come out to Klesick Family Farm for our annual old-fashioned farm celebration this Saturday! A fun and wholesome event for the entire family! Free admission!


Meet the people behind your “Box of Good” and celebrate the season with us. We will enjoy a fun-filled day with live music, wagon rides, a pioneer play area, face painting, tug-o-war, a balloon toss, a gunny sack race, a pie-eating contest, volleyball, wiffle ball, raffle prizes, farm walks with Tristan, good food, an espresso stand, and a produce stand. Bring a kite to fly, as we’ll have the room. Please bring your own picnic blanket or chairs.

The weather is going to be great, so jump in the car and enjoy the drive to our little spot in the picturesque Stillaguamish River valley!

Saturday, August 20th

10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

24101 Miller Rd

Stanwood, WA 98292

Schedule of Events

10:00     Let the Fun Begin!

10:30     Demonstration: Potato Digging

11:00     Raffle  –  Farm Walk: Orchard, Vegetable, Cover Crop

11:30     Raffle  –  Music: Ben Booher (at the Hay Maze)

12:00     Demonstration: Juicer & Dehydrator

12:30     Raffle  –  Games: Tug-o-War, Balloon Toss, Gunny Sack Race, Pie Eating Contest

1:15        Raffle  –  Music: Ryan Foxley (at the Hay Maze)

2:15        Raffle  –  Farm Walk: Vegetable, Permaculture, Cover Crop, Beef

2:45        Demonstration:  Making Hay & Potato Digging

3:30        Raffle  –  Music: Spencer Clem (at the Hay Maze)

4:00        Ciao!

Please call us if you have any questions: 360-652-4663

We look forward to seeing you!

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Klesick Family Farm Festival

Come on out to Klesick Family Farm and join us for an old fashioned farm celebration!

Saturday, August 20th 10:00am-4:00pm


Celebrate the season with us by enjoying a fun-filled day with live music, wagon rides, a pioneer play area, tug-o-war, balloon toss, gunny sack race, raffle prizes, farm walks, good food, and a produce stand – all set in the picturesque Stillaguamish River Valley.

We’ll also have a farm tour with Tristan so you can see exactly where your fruits and veggies are grown.

Directions: Klesick Family Farm, 24101 Miller Road, Stanwood, WA

For more information, check out our Facebook event and be sure to RSVP!

We look forward to seeing you at the farm!

*Please bring your own picnic blanket or chairs.

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Fresh This Week Tips-August 5, 2011

BLACK FRIAR PLUMS

STORE: Refrigerating plums before they’re ripe results in a mealy texture, so allow firm fruit to ripen at room temperature up to 2 days, until the flesh is soft and the skins develop a silvery, powdery coating. After that, store them in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

PREP: Remove the pit by slicing all the way around the fruit, starting at the stem end. Rotate each half and the pit should come free.

USE: Plums pair well with both sweet and savory foods and make an excellent accompaniment for cheese, chocolate, and dessert wines.

PERFECTION APRICOTS

STORE: To ripen, keep apricots at room temperature in a paper bag until soft and fragrant. If you’re not eating them immediately, they’ll keep refrigerated in a paper bag for up to 5 days. Dried apricots can be kept in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

PREP: To pit an apricot, cut around the seam, then twist the 2 halves. The pit should pop out easily.

USE: Apricots are delicious in sweet tarts and other desserts, add a fruity touch to savory stuffings, and complement lamb, poultry, and pork especially well.

RASPBERRIES

STORE: Refrigerate unwashed in a single layer on a plate, covered loosely, up to 3 days.

PREP: Raspberries are very fragile. Right before using, rinse off with your sink sprayer or give them a quick dip in a bowl of water; don’t soak too long or they’ll get waterlogged and turn to mush.

USE: Raspberries are best eaten raw but also make delicious jams, muffins, and desserts.

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Planning For Gray

Imagine yourself sitting inside this winter, watching the rain drops race one another down the windowpane. The constant drizzle and gray days have come and you now wonder if you’ll remember what the sun looks like or if you’ll ever see it again. The thought of roasting another root vegetable is too much to bare. You dream of drinking cold lemonade on bright green grass, where a sudden shock of cold spray from the sprinkler refreshes and quenches under the heat of the sun. For some reason, the drizzly rain of our winter is nothing like the welcome sprinkler in the summer.

I want you to really think about your future self, sluggishly meandering through those long gray months, when you long for a taste of summer – one of the tastes that we presently have in abundance.

The saying is true: “Live in the moment.” Eat raspberries right off the vine. Bite into a peach so juicy you are forced to eat it over the sink. Pluck peas off the vine. Eat a tomato that has fully ripened on the plant with just a whisper of salt. These are the summer moments you will cling to when the sun fades. Preserve these moments. Soak up as much of our northwest sun as you possibly can. Eat a sweet, juicy apricot now and freeze the rest in order to attain a taste of summer in the winter. Stock up on this bounty, then can it, jam it, pickle it, or freeze it. Your future self will thank you.

Recently, I spotted a 20-pound box of apricots. I had to have it. My husband, ever the realist, pointed out that this is a very busy week and we are leaving on vacation next week. Would I have the time to deal with 20 pounds of fruit? Valid question. But these are apricots – fresh, sweet, local apricots. They might not be around by the time we return from our week-long trip. In my mind there was no option.

I immediately set out to work and a mere two days, pounds of jam, bags of frozen fruit, and three tarts later, I paraded an empty box in front of him.

With a freezer full of rhubarb, strawberries, apricots, and jam I anticipate the cold, gray mornings! I’ll be there, hot coffee in hand, with a slice of butter wheat toast slathered with apricot jam.

by Ashley Rodriguez

Chef, food blogger, and full-time mom. Read more of her writings at www.notwithoutsalt.com

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Mango & Avocado Salad

Ingredients

1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and cut into 3/4″ spears

1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and also cut into 3/4″ spears

3 or 4 big handfuls of leaf lettuce

1 shallot, minced

1 tablespoon lime zest

2 tablespoons lime juice

4 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons yogurt

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2  teaspoon ground cayenne

1 or 2 turns of pepper

Directions

Place the greens in a serving bowl.

Whisk together the shallot, lime juice and zest, and olive oil.

Once the dressing is emulsified, whisk in the yogurt, cayenne, and salt.

Pour half the dressing over the greens and mix with your hands.

Arrange the mango and avocado in an alternating circle on top, and drizzle with the remaining dressing.

Finish with a turn or two of pepper and serve.

Serve up, and enjoy!

*Recipe taken from Gojee.com