This Week’s Share

Share Notes

• Corn: It’s been a hot summer and we’re ready for sweet corn. Unfortunately this morning’s lightening storm prevented our crew from harvesting corn for our Tuesday pick-up sites, so it’s going out on rotation this week. We keep close track of what each site receives, so if you miss out this week it will be made up in the future.

CSA Pick-up Reminders

The summer heat is on and we thought it was about time to remind you all of some pick-up site etiquette to keep in mind as you continue to pick-up and enjoy your share this season.

• Please only take the share size you have signed-up for. If you take the wrong share type then that leaves another member without a share to pick-up. 
• Please COLLAPSE and NEATLY STACK your share container at your pick-up site.
• Please place white plastic lids in the recycling bin at your pick-up site.
• Please pick-up any vegetable debris you may have dropped while picking up your share.
• Please check-in on the clipboard each week, it is our only way of tracking who has (or hasn’t) picked-up each week.
• Vacation Reschedules must be arranged by contacting the farm.

SIO Annual Potato Harvest Party & Potato Salad Feast
Saturday August, 16th 10am-2pm

Join us for our annual Potato Harvest Party & Potato Salad Feast. This is a very kid friendly event, and in addition to potato harvesting we’ll be cooking up offering up fresh potato salad and green salad for eating, and have sprinklers running to cool you down. Please bring a potluck dish to share, as well as blankets and/or chairs for lunch, and a water bottle to keep hydrated.  Join us anytime during the event, even just for lunch!

• 10am-12pm Harvest Spuds
• 12pm-1pm Farm Tour
• 1pm-2pm Potluck Lunch

Location:
Sauvie Island Organics (Farm Fields)
13615 NW Howell Park Rd
Portland, OR 97231

Parking: When you turn right onto Howell Park Rd. drive down the short hill and you can park in the grass field directly on your left just past the mailboxes. Then walk up the road another 100 yards and you’ll see the sign for Sauvie Island Organics at the end of our driveway. Make your way to the end of our gravel driveway and someone from the farm will be there to greet you.

This Week’s Share

Share Notes

• Eggplant: We have both Japanese style (slender type) and Italian Bell (round type) varieties going out this week. They can be used interchangeably for the most part, but their different shapes are also better suited for certain preparations.

• Potatoes, Carola: You may notice some surface damage on your potatoes this week, but just peel/cut any unsightly spots away and use as usual. We have included a hefty amount to make sure you still have plenty once you get through peeling.

Fennel for Dinner. Fennel for Desert.

We are excited to announce that we have teamed up with Portland’s very own Salt & Straw for their farmer inspired flavors for the month of August. Go to one of their three scoop shops in  the Portland area and try out the Green Fennel & Maple flavor featuring fennel from your very own SIO.

This Week’s Share

Share Notes

• Basil: We are blowing out the basil in our covered house this week, and that means a big bag for you. This is definitely your chance to make some pesto for freezing and saving (try making them in to ice cubes for easy portioning and thawing in the future). Of course used fresh it’s the perfect friend for your heirloom tomatoes as well.

• Beans: This is the first of several rounds of fresh beans this summer, so enjoy them your favorite way now or later. You’ll see them for the second time in the next few weeks. This variety this week is called Provider, a delicious and crisp green type bush type.

• Cucumbers: You may see our green-skinned Marketmore cucumbers or white-skinned Silver Slicer cucumbers in your shares over the next several weeks. If you already received a Silver Slicer in the past week, we hope you enjoyed it’s more tender skin and subtle sweetness.

• Eggplant, Japanese: We are starting out with our Orient Express Japanese eggplant this week in the shares. The harvest yields are not quite as high as we hoped, so that means this crop is going out On Rotation. That means some pick-up sites will receive it, and other will not. We keep close records of crops going out on rotation to make sure each member receives the same amount over the course of the season. For those sites not receiving eggplant, you will receive an additional amount of cucumbers.

This Week’s Share

Share Notes

• Cilantro: Pungent, fresh, and down right tasty. Your cilantro this week comes with it’s root attached will help with keeping it fresh for longer. The root has a milder flavor and aroma than the leaves and stems and are used in many  Thai dishes, such as curry.

• Kale, Lacinato: Also known as dinosaur kale or black Italian kale, this dark green variety is delicious raw in a robust kale salad or cooked up in your favorite kale dish.

• Onions, Walla Walla Sweets: As the name suggests, these onions are much sweeter than your typical white or yellow storage onion. They can be used in any recipe calling for onion, but try using them in recipes that will let their flavor shine through. For true onion lovers, they can be sliced and eaten raw on salads and sandwiches. Nothing tastes better than sweet onion rings, or use them in stir-fries, stews, pastas, or on pizza.

Get Connected with the Portland Area CSA Coalition (PACSAC)

Our friends at the Portland Area CSA Coalition (PACSAC) have a new email newsletter, and we’d like to invite you to connect with this great monthly resource for CSA members and anyone who loves local farms and good, seasonal food.

Each month, PACSAC’s newsletter will feature area farm events, seasonal farm news, recipes, and more. To connect go to: http://eepurl.com/Y-T9H

PACSAC connects consumers with local CSA farms by providing information and outreach about Community Supported Agriculture. You can learn more at www.portlandcsa.org. Thanks!

Your Invited to the SIO Annual Potato Harvest Party & French Fry Feast
Saturday August, 16th 10am-2pm

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 be cooking up fresh from the field french fries and have sprinklers running to cool you down. Please bring a potluck dish to share, as well as blankets and/or chairs for lunch, and a water bottle to keep hydrated.  Join us anytime during the event, even just for lunch!

• 10am-12pm Harvest Spuds
• 12pm-1pm Farm Tour
• 1pm-2pm Potluck Lunch

Location:

Sauvie Island Organics (Farm Fields)

Parking: When you turn right onto Howell Park Rd. drive down the short hill and you can park in the grass field directly on your left just past the mailboxes. Then walk up the road another 100 yards and you’ll see the sign for Sauvie Island Organics at the end of our driveway. Make your way to the end of our gravel driveway and someone from the farm will be there to greet you.

This Week’s Share

Share Notes

• Carrots: Rejoice! Sweet, crisp, fresh SIO carrots are here. We had planned for this first round to include their fluffy green tops, but with the HOT weather in the forecast decided to remove them as they are prone to drawing the moisture out and creating a rubbery carrot.

• Lettuce, Romaine: Try a traditional Cesar Salad with the garlic and Romaine in your share this week, it’s sure to cool you off in heat.

• Onions, Red Long of Tropea: These beautiful fresh onions, also known as Torpedo onions, are an Italian heirloom variety with elongated shape with sweet mild flesh that is tender with light purple color. You can also use the vibrant green tops.

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

• Summer Squash: Our first planting of summer squash has both Yellow Scallopini and Green Zucchini, and you will see both in your shares for the next several weeks. They can be used interchangeably in nearly any recipe, and will be in your share regularly for the summer stretch ahead.

This Week’s Share

Share Notes

• Basil: It might be time to get out the food processor for pesto making, because basil is back again and even more bountiful than last week.

• Fava Beans: You will receive Fava Beans in your share this week and next week. They are a crop that is here and gone quickly, so enjoy them while they are around. WARNING– There is a rare genetic deficiency that affects some people and can lead to health problems if they eat fava beans. This condition is relatively rare and usually detected by childhood, but if you have never eaten fava beans before we recommend you check out www.g6pd.org to learn more.

• New Potatoes, Red Gold: Another round of delicious new potatoes. You may notice they are unwashed, and that is because we didn’t want to further peel their delicate “new” skins. Also, make sure to keep them refrigerated as they have not yet developed a thick and protective skin.

• Scallions (Green Onions): Enjoy the last early season round in your share this week.

CSA Split Payment Reminder

This is a friendly reminder that those of you set-up for split payments, your second installation is due by July 15.

Please send checks to:

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

Beat the Heat

We’ve got some hot days in the forecast, and with that here are a few reminders for making sure your veggies  don’t get cooked early.

• Pick-up on the day of delivery. Picking up on the day of delivery is always your best option for optimal quality of your share, but this is even more true with summer heat.
• Don’t leave your share in the car.  Greens can go from happy and crisp to a sad and wilted in a matter of minutes in a hot car.
• Cool it off. Once home give your lettuce, chard, and bok choi a cool douse of water before they go into the fridge to keep them hydrated and perky.

Can You Help the Farm? We Need a Vehicle

Do you have an older (but loved) pick-up truck, mini-van, passenger-van, or car that is looking for the perfect place to retire. Send it here to SIO and we’ll happily welcome your old baby into our family of work vehicles. We are in search of a well-used, well-loved, no-longer-needed, automatic or manual transmission vehicles that can be used to transport people, produce and/or equipment from different sites. We are open to donations, or low-priced offers. Rest assured knowing that on our farm only rewarding work filled days and peaceful calm nights on the island lie in wait for your much deserving engined friend. Please email (csa@sauvieislandorganics.com) or call (503.621.6921) if you have just the right member for our team.

This Week’s Share

Share Notes

• Basil: We hope you enjoy the first taste of basil in your share this week. This first “pinch” allows us to get to the plants before they set flower, encouraging abundant leaf growth so we can enjoy even more of their delicious aroma and flavor in several more weeks.

• Broccoli: Abundant once again this week; enjoy it while it’s here as the season for broccoli is brief yet prolific.

• Collard Greens: Enjoy the last early season round of collards in your share this week.

• Napa Cabbage: Also known as Chinese Cabbage, this crop is delicious used raw, lightly sauteed or in a batch of Kimchi.

Can You Help the Farm? We Need a Vehicle

Do you have an older (but loved) pick-up truck, mini-van, passenger-van, or car that is looking for the perfect place to retire. Send it here to SIO and we’ll happily welcome your old baby into our family of work vehicles. We are in search of a well-used, well-loved, no-longer-needed, automatic or manual transmission vehicles that can be used to transport people, produce and/or equipment from different sites. We are open to donations, or low-priced offers. Rest assured knowing that on our farm only rewarding work filled days and peaceful calm nights on the island lie in wait for your much deserving engined friend. Please email (csa@sauvieislandorganics.com) or call (503.621.6921) if you have just the right member for our team.

Save the Date

Your Invited to the SIO Annual Potato Harvest Party & French Fry Feast
Saturday August, 16th 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

• Broccoli: Rejoice for bountiful broccoli in the share this week. Our yields came in so high we decided to leave the Lacinato Kale in the field to size up a bit more and enjoy in another week. Enjoy raw, steamed, roasted, grilled or sauteed, but be sure not to over cook. Feeling like the broccoli bounty may be too much for one week? Just blanch and freeze what you won’t use this week and save for using another day.

• Mustard Green, Red Giant: If you are new to mustard greens then give these a little nibble fresh first as they tend to be packed with spicy kick. The mustardy hot taste mellows when cooked.

• New Potatoes, Red Gold: Your Red Gold’s this week are young with tender skins. You may notice the potatoes are a bit muddy, and that is because we didn’t want to further peel their delicate “new” skins with abrasive washing. Just give them a gentle rinse to reveal the beautiful spuds.  Also, make sure to keep them refrigerated as they have not yet developed a thick and protective skin.

The Buzz: It’s National Pollinator Week

This year marks the 8th celebration of National Pollinator Week (June 16-22). Pollinating animals, including bees, birds, butterflies, bats, beetles and others, are vital to the earth’s delicate ecosystem, supporting terrestrial wildlife, providing healthy watershed, and more. Here at SIO we couldn’t farm with our the help of our pollinating friends, and we regularly include beneficial flowers in our row crops, as well as large beds of mixed beneficials called “insectory” plantings.  So flap your wings and dance like a bee, because it’s time to celebrate your favorite pollinators.

Pollination Celebration with the Sauvie Island Center

Join the Sauvie Island Center on Saturday, June 21st from 10 am to noon for our annual celebration of these hard-working friends of the farm. Pollination Celebration will offer attendees a sneak peek into the world of pollinators, the challenges they face and the important role they play in farming and our food supply. While everyone is welcome to walk the farm and native hedgerow with us, the event will feature games and interactive learning opportunities for kids from Pre-K to 5th grade. For more information and registration visit Pollination Celebration.

This Week’s Share

Share Notes

• Lettuce, Magenta: The Magenta lettuce in your share this week is red summer crisp variety. The prolific heads are tinged with red, just the right amount of frilly to hold on to that yummy dressing, and still pack a bit of the Romaine like crunch.

• Turnips, Hakurei: The Hakurei turnip is a Japanese turnip that is truly best eaten raw. Its delicate flavor and crisp texture are perfect as is, and cooking tends to make it soggy. Just slice it, thick or thin as you prefer, and add it to salads, appetizer platters, or serve it on its own as a snack or side dish.  They are also great for pickling, so long after CSA season is over you can continue to enjoy the fresh crisp of turnips. The fresh turnip greens are also edible, and lightly sauteed will have a pleasant and slightly spicy flavor.

• Scallions (Green Onions): We are trying several new varieties of scallions this season in an effort to see which are best suited for our spring climate. The variety in this week’s share is called Parade, and it’s a Organic variety that we sourced from High Mowing Organic Seeds out of Wolcott, VT.

Behind the Scenes at SIO

Here at SIO we are lucky to have an amazing crew of individuals that come together each day as a team to harvest, wash, pack-out, delivery, tractor, weed, irrigate, transplant and otherwise help operate the farm. In the photo above is a snapshot of some of the SIO crew while on a morning break at the end of May.

The Blog: It’s Always Worth a Second Look

We try our best to make sure the blog is complete as possible when we post for the week, but from time to time notes are edited or recipes are added. Remember to check back later in week to see if there are any new recipes, or news from the farm you may have missed.

Save the Date

Your Invited to the SIO Annual Potato Harvest Party & French Fry Feast
Saturday August, 16th 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!

Sauvie Island Center Offering Summer Farm Camps for Kids

Sauvie Island Center is a non-profit educating kids about food, farming and the land. They are offering several Summer Farm Camp programs in July, and you can find more information about those and how to register on their website (www.sauvieislandcenter.org/camps).