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Splendor Apples |
Pablito.... 
CAN’T GET ENOUGH VACATION
Here we are, just a few hours back from our wonderful 4 day Thanksgiving
break, and we are already thinking about Christmastime. Please note
that Terra Firma will take our two-week annual hiatus from delivery the
weeks of December 25 and January 1st. The final box delivery will
be on Friday, December 22, and the deliveries will resume on Tuesday, January
9th.
Nonetheless, the monthly price for December and January are identical to the other 11 months of the year, as per our pricing system based on 50 deliveries per year. If you are a very recent subscriber, three months or less, you may be exempt from this policy — contact Valerie if you’re not sure.
BIG, BIG HOLIDAY BOX
We recognize that many subscribers are happy to give us a two week
vacation, but nonetheless may suffer through the absence. This year,
as in the past, we will be offering a jumbo holiday box, packed with extras
of the stuff that is often featured at holiday meals and will easy keep
an extra week — sweet potatoes, potatoes, winter squash, carrots, rutabagas,
citrus and apples. Not coincidentally, this holiday box this year
will cost exactly what the new 2001 jumbo box will — $24. If you
are interested let us know seven days before your final delivery date for
the year.
2001 APPROACHES
Remember that your January check to Terra Firma will take a little
more thought than usual. You will have to decide which box size you
want — Mini, Standard, or Jumbo — and how much to pay accordingly.
If you don’t note which option you want, we will assume that you want to
continue with the medium sized box. Remember, though, that the new
price for that box is $78 monthly. If you haven’t seen the new price
schedule yet, you can look at it on our website. In two weeks, we
will change the prices on page 2 of the newsletter to reflect the 2001
info.
DECEMBER PAYMENTS
If you happen to be a quarterly subscriber whose next payment is due
in December, we ask that you make life easier for yourself and us by sending
a monthly payment check, and then returning to quarterly payments with
the January check. This will avoid us having to recalculate your
balance based on the new 2001 prices.
LOOKING FOR HOLIDAY GIFTS?
Remember our bulk mandarins, in 10 lb. Bags. Orders for each
week must be received: for Tuesday delivery, by the prior Thursday;
and for Thursday and Friday delivery by Monday of the same week.
You can also include requests for multiple weeks with your monthly check.
The price is $9 for ten pounds.
I don’t usually use this space to advertise, but I will put in a plug for a really ecologically and socially responsible product. If you know a rabid coffee drinker or two but hate Starbucks, try ordering coffee by mail from Café Mam. They are a Mexican cooperative in Chiapas that produces shade grown organic coffee at a very reasonable price. They sell exclusively through Royal Blue Organics, and you can get a brochure or order by calling 888-223-3626, or on the Web at www.cafemam.com.
YOLO COUNTY— IT’S NOT JUST FARMS AND SUBURBS
Sunday I had the pleasure of spending the day hiking in the hills and
mountains of Northwestern Yolo County. The western part of our county
is relatively uninhabited and pristine, although most of it has been grazed
for a century. The BLM and local land trusts are currently engaged
in efforts to buy and rehabilitate key parcels along the Blue Ridge Mountains
that make up the eastern flank of the Sacramento Valley. And a local
hiker has organized weekly hikes and trail building days to explore the
areas and scout out future routes for public access trails.
The next time you are thinking about spending a day or a weekend hiking in the mountains, you might consider the Blue Ridge as an option to crowded Mt. Tam and distant locations in the Sierra. Because this area is relatively unknown to hikers, you’re likely have it all to yourself. And northern Yolo County is less than two hours from the Bay Area, with much less traffic than the highway routes into the Sierra. Since heat in the summer makes hiking unappealing, this area is an Oct.-May destination. There is no snow in the winter, although nighttime temps do drop into the high 20s in mid-winter. You can get a list of current hikes with mapped routes and directions at www.yolohiker.com. Group hikes meet on Sundays at 9 a.m.
ALL ABOUT KALE
Kale is a cooking green that grows very well in the winter here at
Terra Firma, but which many people are unfamiliar with — for this reason
we don’t put it in the boxes all that frequently. When grown here
in cold weather, kale is not bitter or harsh, as it can be in warm weather.
It is, however, fairly chewy and needs to be well-cooked. Kale is
absolutely loaded with nutrition — with around 5 times the iron and calcium
of spinach as well as many other vitamins and minerals.
We grow two kinds of kale. Red Russian Kale is light green with dark purple edges, and frilly, fairly tender leaves. Lacinato, or Dino Kale, is an Italian heirloom variety with crumpled, dark green leaves. It is much tougher and is best in soup, where it will absorb lots of flavor and soften.
You can eat kale sauteed as you would spinach or chard, but you will want to add significant amounts of liquid — broth, wine, or water. I generally use kale in soups, where the vitamins leached out through cooking are not lost and where the kale can absorb and diffuse the flavors of the soup and add to the texture.
Our Chard field was decimated by a combination of insect and wind damage. We mowed off all the leaves three weeks ago, and the plants are regrowing — very slowly. We hope to have some chard in late winter and early spring, but probably not before.
WATERMELON RADISH
This is a mild Japanese Radish with a brilliant pink inside.
Like most radishes, it is best eaten raw with some sort of salad dressing.
You can either grate it, or peel it and slice. For crudite or kids,
you can quarter it, leaving the peel on, and eat like watermelon slices.
Thanks, Pablito
New Small boxes make wonderful gifts, every week boxes for only $52 a month! |
CSA Item and Price list for 2001
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Recipes 
Butternut Cheese cake with Cranberries —
This is a wonderful holiday recipe by my fiance Melina, who does all the
baking in our house. It makes two cheesecakes.
Cut a butternut squash in half and cook,
face down on a baking sheet at 400, until very soft. Meanwhile, combine
2 C. finely crushed gingersnaps with 6 T. melted butter and mix well.
Press onto the bottom and sides of two 10 inch pie pans. Refrigerate.
Preheat the oven to 325. In a small saucepan,
bring 2 C. frozen cranberries, 1/2 C. sugar, and 1/4 C. water to a boil.
Cook for 10 minutes, then let cool.
Beat 16 oz. Cream cheese with 2/3 C. sugar
until smooth. Add 3 eggs and 2/3 C. sour cream and beat until smooth.
Scoop out the cooked squash and add it to the mixture along with 1 t. ground
ginger and 1 t. nutmeg. Mix and pour into the crusts.
Bake for 1 hour or until filling is set.
Let the cheesecake cool for 2 hours. Top with the cranberries.
| Produce 101: preparation & storage
CILANTRO is stained by frost on its leaves, but is perfectly usable. It keeps best in a glass of water at room temperature during this chilly time of year. SATSUMA MANDARINS in your boxes today come from our neighbors the Bruins. They are organically grown, but are not CCOF certified. GOLDEN DELICIOUS APPLES come from the Apple Farm in the beautiful Anderson Valley of Mendocino County. They are CCOF certified. |
Terra Firma Basics
San Francisco/Sacramento/Davis Prices
* See new prices for January
Every Week: Every Other Week:
$70 Monthly $37 monthly
$200 Quarterly $106 quarterly
$780 Yearly $412 Yearly
$16 weekly vacation adjustment
Subscriptions automatically renew
Vacations & Billing Inquiries
We need seven days notice before a vacation hold
or other change of service.
Contact Valerie through voicemail at (530) 756-2800,
or e-mail Goldenbell@aol.com
MAILING ADDRESS:
Terra Firma Farm
P.O. Box 836
Winters, CA 95694
(530) 756-2800
www.terrafirmafarm.com
Goldenbell@aol.com
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