Week of January 30th, 2012

In This Week’s Box

• Navel Oranges, Fuerte Avocados, Olsen Organic Farm, Lindsay, CA
• Meyer Lemons, Tarocco Blood Oranges, Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, CA
• Kiwis, Chiechi Farms, Gridley, CA
• Fuji Apples, Cuyama, New Cuyama, CA
• Satsuma Mandarins, Twin Girl, Yettem, CA
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From Farmer Al

Dear CSA Members, Seize the Moment Something farmers must do often! We’re always scrambling to 1. Beat a weather system coming in (as in getting some task done before the rains hit!) 2. Respond to an outbreak of something bad, like insects or disease 3. Respond to equipment failures 4. Respond to a drought 5. Respond to untimely rain (like last Summers’ rain on our cherries!) 6. Respond to new information (e.g. new science) 7. Respond to old information we’d forgotten about. This week the new thing is “paint the cherry trees white.” Our cherries are planted on a new dwarfing rootstock from Germany called “Gisela”. Dwarfing means that the trees grow less large (but still pretty tall) and less vigorous. But this means more exposure of scaffold limbs to direct sunlight, which causes sunburn. So, the “theory” is, paint the exposed portion of the branches white to reflect the rays of the sun (we use a lime/calcium product that is not harmful to humans or the trees) and thereby prevent the bark from burning. It’s just another one of those “seize the moment” moments! On the “seize the moment” subject, this week we’ll be reaching out to all of you for help. We really need to grow our CSA membership, for a whole long list of reasons. We’re asking each of you to refer us to one or two (or many!) of your friends for us to talk about becoming CSA members. Please look for our call or email, and give us your help. Thanks, [/print_this] Grilled Feta with Blood Orange, Red Pepper and Mint Salsa–adapted from a recipe at tastefoodblog.com Feta cheese lends itself well to grilling; it browns nicely and softens somewhat, but doesn’t lose it’s shape. Serves 4 as an appetizer. I’m not sure how many of you watch the Super Bowl, but if you do, why not do it in tasty style! For me, it’s all about the food/dip! Touchdown! For the salsa: 1 blood orange, skin, seeds and membrane removed, cut in 1/4″ pieces 1 small sweet red pepper, stemmed and seeded, finely diced 1 small red onion, finely diced 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves juice of one Meyer Lemon Salt and Pepper to taste For the feta: 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 1 teaspoon coriander seeds 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns 1/2 pound block of feta cheese 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil Fresh whole mint leaves for garnish Toast cumin and coriander seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a mortar with pestle. Add peppercorns. Grind until fine. Preheat oven broiler. Drain feta and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Pat spices on all sides of feta. Cut in 1/2″ slices. Arrange feta slices in a baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil. Grill in oven until edges turn golden. Arrange slices on a serving plate. (Try and return it to its original block shape for a nice presentation.) Spoon olive oil around feta. Top feta with salsa. Garnish with mint leaves. Serve immediately with pita bread, crostini or peasant bread.