Week 3, June 27 – July 1

Your Box This Week – Saturday Deliveries:

Salad Greens — Lettuce

Cooking Greens — Bunched Swiss chard, Chinese cabbage, mizuna (in bag)

Root Crops — Beets (red and/or golden and/or chioggia) with greens

Brassicas — Broccoli

Fruiting Crops — Zucchini

Herbs — Dill, cilantro (in bag)

Overheard
Husband: So many of our friends are renewing their wedding vows.
Wife: Our wedding vows seem like they auto-renew.
Husband: Agreed. Still, I keep thinking: Renew our vows? Renew our vows…I think we are supposed to review our nows.
Wife: Yes, our nows need a review.

Farm Field Days, Saturday, July 15 and Saturday, September 16 (Open to Shareholders and Their Friends)
If you are a shareholder, we hope you will attend one or both of our Farm Field Days, Saturday, July 15, and Saturday, September 16. (Your close friends are also welcome to attend.) Plan to arrive late morning for hayrides, a potluck feast, a visit to the animals at the Angelic Organics Learning Center, and a trip to the U-Pick garden for a bouquet of flowers. It’s a great day for all. (Sorry—due to the cold, wet spring, the beans and peas won’t be ready yet.)

Please arrive by 11 a.m. We like to complete the hayrides by lunchtime at 12:30 p.m. It doesn’t work for us to provide hayrides during the lunch period. For those who show up at lunchtime with kids wanting a hayride—that hayride will probably take place later in the afternoon. Check out Farm Field Days for details on the Field Days.

After the Farm Field Day—Family Pizza Night Hosted by the Learning Center
From 4:30 p.m – 8 p.m. after the July Farm Field Day, enjoy Pizza Night at the Angelic Organics Learning Center. $20 per person. Click here to learn more and to register. 

Is it Oh, Shoot, Peas Again! or is it Hey, Pea Shoots Again!?
Our pea shoots generated quite the controversy recently.

Yay “I just read the box insert saying you almost discontinued pea shoots due to people who don’t like them.  Count me in to the contrary.  We love, extra love, your pea shoots.  They are delicious in a stir fry with ginger root, soy sauce, heat, and a little maple syrup, chickpeas, tofu, etc.  Please keep providing them.  Thank you.”

Nay “The pea shoots were a disappointment. I’m not sure if they needed to cook longer than just what the recipe called for, leaves needed to come off stems or they were woody. I cooked them for at least 10-15 minutes and still difficult to chew.”

Yay “We are loving the pea shoots! Thank you for still having them. Veg like that and the garlic scapes, that are short season and hard to find, are why we finally went for a csa. We’ve made the bhan mi, the frittata, and a couple salads with the soy vinaigrette so far, and even my 8.5 year old is happily eating it all!”

Nay “… it is too much work to pick off the stem for too little edible mass and that [I] was just going to throw out the rest of the bag. ”

Yay “We sauteed the pea shoots, spinach & garlic scapes together and it was delicious!”

This pea shoot controversy highlights why some people abdicate their CSA commitment and opt for a meal kit service. About 20 years ago, we tried to customize people’s boxes a bit around their vegetable affinities and aversions (prejudices?). The technology was not in place at the time to really get it to work, but the technology is probably available for it to work today.

I have to add, though, that even if we figured out how to keep pea shoots out of the boxes for people who don’t like pea shoots and in the boxes for people who like pea shoots, we don’t have the technology available to prevent mixups at the sites where our shareholders pick up. We’d need some sort of system in place that ensured that people take home the right box. We’ve had shareholders take home the swap box instead of the vegetable box, and the fruit box instead of the vegetable box. Actually, it’s not usually the shareholders who make this mistake; it’s a friend or relative who helps out by picking up the delivery for them. I think if we were to customize boxes like this, we’d have to have all the sites monitored so that the right box would go home with the right person—could happen…might not happen…won’t happen this season, for sure.

Coming Soon
Cabbage
Cucumbers

Bounty
We’re going to have a hard time fitting this week’s harvest into the CSA boxes. Please tell your friends that we are continuing to sell shares as we enter the harvest season. Send them to www.angelicorganics.com/receive-our-vegetables

Sign up for the Free Recipe Service
Make sure you sign up for the Local Thyme recipe service we offer with your share. Local Thyme offers storage and handling tips and recipes customized to each week’s share. It has received many great reviews from our shareholders in previous seasons. Find the instructions for signing up for Local Thyme here: www.angelicorganics.com/local-thyme

Please Fold Your Boxes Properly and Return Them to Your Site
The farm re-uses the vegetable boxes. Please watch this video to see how to easily flatten your vegetable box. Flaps are easily torn when the boxes are dismantled improperly, and then the box bottom might later burst open with fresh, organic local produce heading towards the floor. Please return your empty, flattened vegetable boxes to your delivery site.

Have the Best Shareholder Experience
For the best shareholder experience, visit www.angelicorganics.com/best-shareholder-experience

Let us Know
Let us know anything you’d like to share about this week’s box at email hidden; JavaScript is required. Please note the week and day of delivery, your site, when you picked up your box, and any comments about your box.

More from Shareholders
Visit us often at www.facebook.com/angelicorganics where we post exciting farm developments regularly, and shareholders post recipes, tips, and photos.

Warmly,
Farmer John

Summer Fun at Angelic Organics Learning Center
Angelic Organics Learning Center is your summertime place for workshops, pizza nights, day camps, campouts and events for all ages! Our educational partner, the Learning Center, offers opportunities to immerse yourself in the farm, while creating edible delights that start in soil and become part of your well-being!  You’ll also learn more about our organic & biodynamic farm, make new friends (including adorable farm animals) and unwind while breathing in the fresh country air. Check out all the summertime activities at www.LearnGrowConnect.org/attend.