This Week’s Share

Share Notes

• Just a reminder that all the produce we distribute is considered a raw product and needs to be washed before consumption. 

• Napa Cabbage: Also know as Chinese Cabbage, it has a delicate and mild flavor and texture that is great raw or cooked.

Reminder: 4th of July Delivery Moved to Tuesday 7/2

All Thursday pick-up sites that would fall on Thursday, July 4th have been moved to Tuesday, July 2nd next week. All pick-up times and locations will remain the same.

Check out the Urban Farm Table

Ever wonder what other members are doing with their CSA share once it’s home and in the kitchen? Long time CSA Member Teri Simpson has been sharing what she’s been doing with her veggies on her blog Urban Farm Table (www.urbanfarmtable.com). Check out her weekly post that includes a menu planning guide, recipe links, and other simple ideas for using up your share in delicious and meal friendly ways. Teri’s hope is that fellow members find the blog interesting, and another option for inspiration and ideas as you all enjoy your weekly CSA shares. You can also follow Teri’s culinary ventures on Facebook at Urban Farm Table.

Save the Date

Your Invited to the SIO Annual Potato Harvest Party & French Fry Feast
Saturday August, 10th 10am-2pm

Mark your calendars to join us for our annual Potato Harvest Party & French Fry Feast. This is a very kid friendly event, and in addition to potato harvesting we’ll have fresh french fries at eat and sprinklers to cool you down. Please bring a potluck dish to share. Join us anytime during the event, even just for lunch!

This Week’s Share

Share Notes

• Beets: The red beets in your share this week have their tops on. You may notice beets greens resemble chard, and you can use them anywhere you would use chard in your cooking

• Mustard Greens: The Red Giant mustard greens in your share this week are a bit more mild than the all green variety you received a couple weeks back, so give them a try fresh or lightly cooked. 

The Sauvie Island Center invites you to join them for…

This Week’s Share

We are proud to you all introduce our newest delivery truck (in background of the photo above). Remember to give the driver a wave if you see either of our trucks driving around the Portland area.

Share Notes

• Fennel: Your fennel this week comes with some of it’s fronds attached. Florence style fennel like this is cultivated for their bulbous and succulent root, although their greens are edible and delicious used as an herb, too. Fennel bulb can be eaten either cooked or raw, and the entire bulb can be eaten except for the tough stem at the base. It has a slightly sweet flavor similar to anise or licorice, but a bit milder and with a pleasant crunch like celery.

• Fresh Garlic: You will notice your garlic this week is more mature with more pronounced clove development then that you received the first week. Treat it as you would cured (dried) garlic, peeling off the outer layer to expose the clove. Store fresh garlic in the refrigerator as it has not been cured for shelf stable storage.

• Kale, Lacinato: Also known as dinosaur kale, this is a black Italian kale variety with deep, blue green ovular leaves. A wonderful, healthful, and cold-hardy crop, kale will be in your share frequently in the early summer and again in the fall.

Important Things to Remember When Picking-up

Excited for Spring? So are we!

Members Jack (left) and Cora (right) wear their SIO t-shirts with pride and hold on tight to their last winter squash of the season. They pick-up at the Lincoln Street Church site along with their mom Emily.

Late Winter on the Farm

It’s March, and with some lucky days of sun in February we have been able to get into the fields to turn in fall and winter sewn cover crops and make first passes for tillage in beds that will be planted into earliest this spring. Onions, leeks, and lettuces are busy setting roots in the comfort of greenhouse. While early mornings of harvest and packing up the truck with your shares are still couple months away, the farm is bursting with activity as we gear up for the busy and bountiful season ahead.

Now is the time–Sign-up for 2013

Although it’s only the beginning of March, the first week of the season will be here before you know it. Sign-up now for the coming season before we fill up. Know someone that kept eyeing your share last year? Have a friend/neighbor/co-worker that missed out last year? Let friends, family and co-workers know about the joys of being an SIO CSA member now so they don’t miss out again, and if they mention your name in their sign-up form comments then we’ll send you a $5 gift card to Food Front Cooperative Grocery. Food Front has been a long time customer of SIO, purchasing a variety of our crops throughout the season. In just the last year we harvested and delivered over 2,900 heads of lettuce and 250 pounds fennel to our friends at Food Front, and with their commitment to quality local producers and a delicious products we look forward to years of working together in the future.

Toast the Farm with Cory Schreiber!

Join the Sauvie Island Center on Tuesday, March 12th as they raise a glass in celebration of farm-based education. Renowned chef Cory Schreiber and his students from The International  Culinary School at The Art Institute of Portland will prepare hors d’ oeuvres inspired byDishing Up Oregon, a collectionof recipes celebrating Oregon’s farm-to-table flavors. Cookbook author Ashley Gartland will discuss the featured recipes.  Best of all, we’ll pair these tasty morsels with Cooper Mountain‘s certified organic and biodynamic wines. Tickets start at just $25. What? Toast the Farm! A benefit for the Sauvie Island Center Where? Sharp Restaurant at The International Culinary School, 1122 NW Davis Street When? Tuesday, March 12th 5:30 to 7:30 pm TicketsTickets are $40 with a signed copy of  Dishing Up Oregon or $25 without the book. Ticket prices increase to $45/$30 begining Monday, March 11th.Hors d’ouevres, wine and beer are included in the ticket price.

Save the Date: Come Join Us for the Spring Farm Tour & Potluck

Join us Saturday, May 18^st to kick-off the season with a tour of the farm and a CSA Community Potluck. This event is from 11am to 2pm. Tours of the farm will happen at 11am & 1pm and we will share a potluck lunch at noon. Bring your family, friends, kids, neighbors, and anyone you think would enjoy a day on the farm, and don’t forget to bring a potluck dish to share. The farm fields are located at 13615 NW Howell Park Rd, just a mile past the Sauvie Island Bridge.

Calling all CSA Containers!!

Do you have any black CSA container laying around your house, office or car? You are not alone, so get it off your chest and let us know. We are happy to figure out a way to get it out of your way and back onto the farm.

Wishing you a Happy, Healthy and Carrot-ful 2013!

Show Your SIO Spirit–Sign-up for the 2013 Season

It’s hard to believe we’ve entered a new year, but that means we that much closer to the beginning of the season. For those of you already longing for fresh spring greens, crisp radishes, and pungent green garlic you can sign up for your share of the 2013 season now. Complete and submit the Community Farm Agreement at http://sauvieislandorganics.com/join.php and send in your $100 deposit to secure your spot. If you have not yet signed up for the 2013 CSA season now is a great time to do so. Sign up in January and you will receive a thank you loaf of bread from our business partner Grand Central Bakery. Grand Central Bakery has been a long time customer of SIO, purchasing a variety of our crops throughout the season. In just the last year we harvested and delivered over 6,400 heads of lettuce to our friends at GCB, and with their commitment to quality local ingredients and a delicious product we look forward to years of working together in the future.

Mail deposits & payments to:

Sauvie Island Organics
20233 NW Sauvie Island Rd
Portland, OR 97231

Or call us in the office 503.621.6921 to pay over the phone by credit card.

We look forward to growing for you in 2013!

Wanting a sweet taste of SIO now? Order Bulk Carrots & Pick-up at the Farm after January 16th

We all love SIO carrots, and we know many of you juice, pickle, and love to chomp chomp chomp those carrots down, and if you fit that description the Bulk Carrots option may be for you. We will be selling 20 pound boxes of carrots (no tops) for $25. To order reply to any email from the farm, include your name, number of 20lb boxes you’d like to receive. We will email back confirming your order and to arrange the date for pick-up at the farm after January 16th.

Family Share shown in photo above

This Week’s Share

Share Notes

• Storage Tips: Carrots, beets and leeks store best in a plastic bag in the refrigerator or other cool dark location (garage, basement, cellar, etc), and should keep well if stored properly for 2 to 4 weeks. Winter squash stores best in cool, dry, dark place (garage, basement, cellar, etc), and should keep well if stored this way for 3 to 6 weeks.

2012 Season Comes to a Close: Thank You & See you Next Season

That’s right, it’s here, the last week of the 2012 CSA season has arrived. Thank you to you, our members, for another great season. Thank you to our generous and patient site hosts and site coordinators for offering their space and time for another season of successful pick-ups. And thank you to our awesome and hard working crew for seeding, planting, weeding, harvesting, irrigating, tractoring, washing, packing, and delivering all season long in order to bring you your share of the harvest each week.

Box Share Members: Please Return Your Containers

Please return your final empty bin (and any others you may have collected) to your site within 1 week of your final pick-up. We will be by to collect them on your usual delivery day next week. We are charged a fee by the company we rent them from for each container that is not returned, so please please please search your house, garage, trunk, and porch for any containers on the loose and return them to your usual pick-up site. Thank you in advance for returning your containers.

Recipe Love: Thank You Katherine for a Season of Cooking

We just couldn’t close out the season without giving a big THANK YOU to our weekly recipe extraordinaire Katherine Deumling. We will be teaming up with Katherine Deumling (pictured above) and her SE Portland based Cook with What you Have (www.cookwithwhatyouhave.com)  again in 2013 to bring you weekly recipes and other cooking tips related to your weekly share.

Katherine says “I help people cook more often and have fun in the kitchen by becoming confident, creative cooks using what grows in our fertile region. By offering tips, recipes and simple and creative ways to use the produce I hope to eliminate any fear or guilt of not using all the produce or the boredom of making stir-fries every night”.

You can always look back at Katherine’s recipes and tips from the season in our blog archives, but we also suggest following her on her blog (http://cookwithwhatyouhave.wordpress.com/) where she talks about the ups and downs and the whats and whys of feeding a family well in this busy world. Katherine also teaches classes focusing on what’s in season. The classes typically focus on straightforward weeknight dinners, and you can find her current offering on her website.

Show Your SIO Spirit–Sign-up for Next Year

It’s hard to believe the end is here, but wow, what a great season of eating is has been. For those of you already longing for fresh spring greens, crisp radishes, and pungent green garlic you can sign up for your share of the 2013 season now. Complete and submit the Community Farm Agreement at http://sauvieislandorganics.com/join.php and send in your $100 deposit to secure your spot.

• PAY IN FULL by December 15th, 2012 and receive a THANK YOU BOX of STORAGE VEGGIES
• 20lbs for Full Share and 10lbs for Half Share of mixed roots vegetables and winter squash
• Thank You Box can be picked-up out at the farm by arrangement throughout the month of December
• Pay your deposit by December 15th, 2012 to guarantee the 2012 share pricing.

Order Bulk Carrots– Pick-up at the Farm in December

We all love SIO carrots, and we know many of you juice, pickle, and love to chomp chomp chomp those carrots down, and if you fit that description the Bulk Carrots option may be for you. We will be selling 20 pound boxes of carrots (no tops) for $25. To order reply to any email from the farm, include your name, number of 20lb boxes you’d like to receive, and what week in December you would like to come pick-up your box. We will email back confirming your order and to arrange the date for pick-up.

This Week’s Share

Show Your SIO Spirit–Sign-up for Next Year

It’s hard to believe, but there is just one more week left in the 2012 CSA season. For those of you already longing for fresh spring greens, crisp radishes, and pungent green garlic you can sign up for your share of the 2013 season now. Complete and submit the Community Farm Agreement at http://sauvieislandorganics.com/join.php and send in your $100 deposit to secure your spot.

• PAY IN FULL by December 15th, 2012 and receive a THANK YOU BOX of STORAGE VEGGIES
• 20lbs for Full Share and 10lbs for Half Share of mixed roots vegetables and winter squash
• Thank You Box can be delivered to your site with the last pick-up, or picked-up out at the farm by arrangement throughout the month of December
• Pay your deposit by December 15th, 2012 to guarantee the 2012 share pricing.

Order Your Bulk Carrots– Last Chance

We all love SIO carrots, and we know many of you juice, pickle, and love to chomp chomp chomp those carrots down, and if you fit that description the Bulk Carrots option may be for you. We will be selling 20 pound boxes of carrots (no tops) for $25. To order reply to any email from the farm, include your name, pick-up site and number of 20lb boxes you’d like to receive, and we will email back confirming your order. You must pre-order your Bulk Carrots, and they will be delivered to your CSA pick-up site with the final CSA delivery next week.

Help the Farm–Return Your CSA Containers

Please return any CSA Share Containers you may have accumulated so far. We are charged a fee for each container that is not returned after 30 days, and appreciate your help in doing so in a timely manner. Thank you in advance.

Family Share shown in photo above

This Week’s Share

Share Notes

• Brussels Sprouts: This week in your share you will receive your sprouts off the stalk. You may notice some aphid and/or slug damage on the outer layers, so make sure to peel those back before preparing your favorite way.

• Potatoes: The tasty German Butterball and/or Bintje yellow potatoes in your share this week may show some surface damage from wire worm and other soil conditions, and  is easily removed with peeling or cutting out as desired.

• Winter Squash, Pumpkin: Yes, I am a Baby Pam pie pumpkin and would love to be used in your Thanksgiving pumpkin pie.

Thanksgiving Thoughts from the Farm

As you get together with friends and family this holiday and give thanks for the bounty that the harvest season has to provide we at Sauvie Island Organics want to give you a BIG THANK YOU for supporting community agriculture. We take pride in nourishing hundreds of families around the Portland area, and hope you are proud to call your self a member of SIO. We have just two more weeks of the season together, and definitely want to see you back in the spring .

Thanksgiving Pick-up Schedule

There will be changes to days and/or times to some of our pick-up sites this week.

• All Tuesday pick-up sites will be as regularly scheduled on Tuesday, November 20^th and pick-up times will be the same.

• All Wednesday pick-up sites will be delivered on Wednesday, November 21^nd by 12pm (noon). There will be no next day pick-up on Thanksgiving (Thursday, Nov 22nd).

• All Thursday pick-up sites will be moved to Tuesday, November 20^th and pick-up times will be the same as usual.

Show Us Your Thanks–Sign-up for 2013!

Show us your thanks and sign-up for the 2013 season. You can go to http://www.sauvieislandorganics.com/join.php, fill out and submit the community farm agreement, pay the deposit and reserve your share of the harvest.

• PAY IN FULL by December 15th, 2012 and receive a THANK YOU BOX of STORAGE VEGGIES
• 20lbs for Full Share and 10lbs for Half Share of mixed roots vegetables and winter squash
• Thank You Box can be delivered to your site with the last pick-up, or picked-up out at the farm by arrangement throughout the month of December
• Pay your deposit by December 15th, 2012 to guarantee the 2012 share pricing.