The Featherstone Crew
By Sarah Stone

I just wanted to take this opportunity to tell you a bit about the folks who pick your produce. The Featherstone crew consists of Featherstone farmers, Jack and Rhys, myself and 11 other guys. Estaban, Sergio, Pedro, Salvador , Saul, Hugo, Ole, Benito, Juan Jose, Evan and Jesse. Evan drives tractor and mainly works in the shop as our mechanic. He’s like our resident MacGyver. Able to fix anything with a bit of bubble gum, a couple rubberbands and some twigs. Unbelievable. Jesse works part time on the farm, coming out for our major pick days on Monday and Tuesday. The rest of the guys have been with the farm for years, coming back every season from their home in Central Mexico . Picking produce, as you can see from the picture above, is very time consuming. The produce needs to be picked, and heavily cleaned before it can be bunched and boxed. The Featherstone crew makes your beautiful box possible. They are the ones out in the field day after day, transplanting, weeding, picking, and washing. It’s hard work, but the job definitely has bonuses, as I can attest to. Example: Picking strawberries for your boxes. I try to control myself, but inevitably a few berries end up in my mouth. They are usually the ones that sport a few bruises, though. I happily sacrifice myself for the good of the boxes, weeding out the sub-par berries J So, thanks to the crew at Featherstone for working so hard to grow our incredible food. We couldn’t do it without you. You make the labor intensive but satisfying journey of organic farming possible.

Produce Info, Storage and Tips

Oregano is a member of the mint family, and its name means, “Joy of the Mountains”. It’s one of the few herbs that is stronger when dried than when fresh. Interesting fact: Oregano was virtually unused in America until returning World War II soldiers heightened the popularity of pizza. In fact, sales of oregano increased by 5200 percent between 1948 and 1956 due to pizzamania. Drying and freezing oregano: To freeze: Wash and dry oregano sprigs. Strip whole leaves from stems and place in plastic bag loosely without crushing, but remove all air. Freeze and keep in a location where it will not get crushed. No need to thaw before using. You can also mix chopped leaves with a small amount of water and freeze in ice cube trays. Once frozen, pop out the cubes into a plastic bag and seal tightly. Use frozen oregano within one year. To dry fresh oregano, tie sprigs into a bunch and hang in a cool, dark place with good ventilation. Once dried, seal tightly and store away from sunlight.

Radishes: We decided not to put radishes in your box this week. Unfortunately, two things conspired to bring our radishes down. One was flea beetles. They attacked our radishes with relish, and no amount of work could dissuade them from their tasty lunch. The second was the incredible heat in early June. The heat caused the sugars in the radishes to build rapidly, which rendered them supremely bitter and spicy. Not the best for eating. We did plant a second run, which should be ready by early fall. Fall radishes tend to be much sweeter. The cool weather allows their sugars to develop slowly, giving them a sweet and mild flavor.

Kale has one of the highest levels of antioxidants of any vegetable. It’s at the top of the charts nutritionally. Use kale instead of lettuce in your salads for a nutritional boost! For a quick kale salad, chop up one bunch, squeeze an orange over the salad and grind black pepper over it.

Updates and Upcoming Events

Strawberry and Rhubarb Jams

For great jam recipes, I recommend using Pomona's Universal Pectin . It is a sugar-free, low-methoxyl citrus pectin that is activated by calcium. Since it does not require sugar to jell, jams and jellies can be made with less, little, or no sugar. The box comes with some great recipes, too. You can get it at your co-op or online at http://www.pomonapectin.com/.

Polenta 'Pizza' with Kale Topping  

(from http://www.vegetariantimes.com/ serves 8 to 10)

1 recipe Basic Polenta (soft version)
1 large bunch kale
1 1/2 cups homemade or store-bought tomato sauce
2/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese or soy cheese

Directions: Lightly oil a large nonstick baking sheet with sides. Set aside. Make soft polenta. As soon as it is quite thick but still pourable, immediately scrape warm polenta into center of prepared baking sheet, tilting sheet until mixture forms large circle not quite 1/2-inch thick. Cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. Strip kale leaves from stems; tear leaves into large pieces. Transfer to large bowl or sink of cool water and swish vigorously to remove sand and grit. Lift out leaves. In large pot, combine kale and 1 cup lightly salted water. Cover, bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until tender but still somewhat chewy, about 10 minutes. Drain and cool, then squeeze out some but not all water. Transfer to cutting board and coarsely chop. Preheat oven to 400F. To assemble, spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce over polenta crust, leaving 1/2-inch border. In medium saucepan, heat remaining tomato sauce; stir in kale and heat through. Spread kale mixture over polenta, then sprinkle with mozzarella (if using soy cheese, add a minute or two before pizza is done). Bake until polenta crust is heated through, 15 to 20 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve right away.