3/13/24 Goodbye Lisa - Hello Harmony School (also Hello Ceres Project and CSA Reminders)
Next week we will saying goodbye to a Lisa who after three years farming with us will be taking on managing the operations of the farm at Harmony School in Occidental. Her farming will provide not only educational opportunities for their school but also fill the kitchen with healthy food for their school lunch program.
Lisa started out as a CSA member and after two years we got an email from her saying, "you know me as a CSA member but I’m actually a farmer, I’d like to apply for a job”. She was hired almost instantly as she certainly is a farmer to the core. Lisa farmed in Vermont prior to moving out here for family reasons and was finally in a space with her young kids to take on a farming again.
Lisa has worked part time and yet she’s absolutely been a core of the farm. She’s ever positive, balanced, ready for anything, and has amazing insights on farming and life.
She’s lead all aspects of the CSA, she’s been in charge of root crops and direct seeding, for years now she’s been the face of the farm at the Sebastopol Farmers’ Market, and in the last year she took on the lead role as our Flower Manager. She has really loved flowers and loves designing with flowers. (No worries flower lovers, Lisa has and is setting us up for a fantastic flower year with all her planning and planting and we have several of our amazing new crew members who are learning from her with Elizabeth in the lead on flowers again.)
Lisa is torn to leave as she loves this job, but this is the right decision for her on many a level. We’re tremendously sad to see her go, and yet we absolutely support her, are thrilled both for her and for all the families that will benefit from her amazing Farmer Juju at the Harmony School. Plus this isn’t a total goodbye, we’ll still get to see this amazing farmer.
Hello Ceres Project
Noah, started almost the same day as Lisa and although he resigned last year, he has has certainly been around. He popped back in this winter to help us when our labor was low AND to jump start our on farm education. Last week, Noah together with Elizabeth lead a super successful Farm Workshop for farmers from SLO, Fresno, the South Bay, Redding and of course Sonoma County. We’re thrilled that he will be continuing with more tours and workshops very part time. And we’re also thrilled he was recently hired to be the Garden Coordinator for the Ceres’ Project new 1.5 acre farm in Petaluma! He’ll be starting Monday.
CSA Reminders:
CSA Price Increase. April 17th we’ll be raising the price of the CSA. Your subscription payment will be switched over to the new rate. This week at Olivers I tallied up what our CSA box would have cost if purchased there… $35 for our $30 box. Yes, this is a nice box but it was a confirmation that we need to charge more. Thanks for your support, we do hate doing this and certainly need the funds which primarily go to pay our awesome crew. Our Classic $30 box will increase to $32 and our Family $38 box will increase to $40.
CSA Member Pollinator Event!
April 14th 10:00-12:00 or 1:30-3:30
Email Charlie to RSVP - max 20 cars per time slot
Come dressed as a favorite pollinator or insect
Bring a picnic snack or meal
Discover who lives in our hedgerows
Take a sensory or micro hike (with magnifying glass)
Explore the Enchanted Bamboo Forest
Test out some tasty produce right from the field
Learn about Bluebirds and their Nesting Boxes
Learn about pollinator plantings
Take some pollinator friendly flowers home to plant!
Take a Farm Tour with one of our Farmers (at an adult level of discussion).
Produce Notes & Recipes!
This Week’s Box
Little Gem Lettuces
Rainbow Kale
Pea Shoots
Mixed Beets
Bulb Fennel
Queen Jessica Potatoes
Meyer Lemons (Pretty Mike Farm)
Family: Baby Bok Choi
These Little Gem Lettuces are lovely, they came from our hoop houses, an amazing spot to grow spring lettuces. The bed that held these had Carrots for your January 31st CSA box, and early next week will get some of our first Summer Squash planted in them!
That is intensive farming for you!
We are thrilled with our over wintered Beets! We’re not always able to successfully grow them as they have to have enough sunlight over the winter (last year’s failed due to too much cloud cover), they were planted back in October. Their roots are a little gnarly as a result but they’re full of flavor. When these are done, we’ll be planting Cherry Tomatoes in the beds!
We love our Mixed Beet bunches. All three beets can be cooked the same way. I love roasting chopped into quarters in coconut oil (it brings out the sweetness) and serving as a simple side or cooling and slicing onto salad. Or here is a Beet and Fennel specific recipe.
The Beet Greens are bountiful on these overwintered beets, make sure to use them as you would Chard.
Chioggia (or any color) Beet & Fennel Salad with Lemon
2-4 chioggia beets 1 head fennel
Juice of one orange Juice of two lemons
Zest of one orange 3 Tbs olive oil
Kosher salt ¼ cup walnuts
6 cups lettuce greens
4 ounces crumbled goat cheese
2 Tbs minced scallions
Cut the greens off the top of the beets and reserve for later use. Peel the beets and cut into julienned strips (aka narrow strips). Place in a medium bowl.
Remove the fennel fronds. Remove the tough outer layers and cut in half lengthwise (from the top, where the fronds were, through the core end.) Remove the triangular shaped core at the base. Slice into julienned strips similar to beet and add to the bowl with the beet strips.
Place the orange juice, lemon juice, orange zest and olive oil in a small, sealable container. Shake vigorously. Season with salt.
Place the walnuts on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt. Toast in a preheated oven (or toaster oven, when it is 100° outside.) Allow to cool, and coarsely chop.
Place the greens in a large bowl. Dress both the greens and the beet and fennel strips with the citrus vinaigrette you just made. Taste, and season each with salt if needed.
Distribute the greens on 4 plates, topping each with a quarter of the beet and fennel slaw. Top with the crumbled goat cheese, chopped walnuts, and minced chives.
We have Bulb Fennel for you again from our largest hoop house the Enterprise. They are huge and luscious. We’ve been enjoyed them chopped into slices and dipped in hummus, sliced thin on salads and roasted
We have our second of three rounds of Meyer Lemons. Now we don’t usually put in sweet recipes in the newsletter but thanks to Lola for reminding us it’s Lemon Bar season! Our family made our first batch last week, this is our go to recipe. We used half whole wheat flour and it worked great.
Meyer Lemon Bars (loveandoliveoil.com)
For Shortbread Layer:
1/4 cup (30g) powdered sugar
1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, at room temp
1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
pinch kosher salt
For Lemon Layer:
2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk, at room temp
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
powdered sugar, for topping
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter an 8-by-8-inch baking pan, then line with parchment paper (the butter will help the parchment stick to the pan).
In a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and powdered sugar until fluffy. Add flour and salt and mix until incorporated. Break into pieces and press evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan.
Bake for 20 min or until top is matte and puffed and edges are just starting to brown. Remove from oven.
While shortbread is baking, wipe out mixing bowl. Combine eggs, egg yolk, and sugar and beat on medium speed until lightened in color, about 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla, then sift flour and baking powder over top, mixing until just incorporated.
Pour lemon mixture over hot shortbread, then return to the oven and bake for an additional 18 to 20 minutes or until top is crackly and set. Remove from oven and set pan on a wire rack to cool completely. For easier slicing, refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Dust liberally with powdered sugar just prior to serving.