Wednesday, April 20, 2011
If you haven’t joined a CSA* yet, spring is the season to join, friends! I’ve written bits about my experiences with CSAs before – both in San Francisco and in Los Angeles. I’ve been excited about the idea since my first box of vegetables + fruits – and I still get excited each Tuesday morning when our weekly box arrives from Farm Fresh to You.
This week’s box arrived yesterday, and the assortment of local+organic produce included a bunch of asparagus, a bag of mixed baby lettuces, a box of trumpet mushrooms, and a few last-of-the-season kiwis. We usually supplement our weekly Valley Box with a trip to the farmer’s market and the local market – but the CSA box is the heart of our weekly cooking. It’s sometimes challenging to cook through everything, but always satisfying.
One thing that I love about Farm Fresh to You is that, although they’re really large compared to most CSAs, there’s some great personality in the business. Each week, the box includes a letter from the farm and a few new recipes to try. There’s a story behind the business that they’re doing, and it makes them worth sharing.
If you’re in the Bay Area, FFTY is an easy service to try out. If you’re elsewhere, visit LocalHarvest to find a CSA in your area. And let me know how it goes!
* CSA stands for Community Sustainted Agriculture. Learn more here!
Photographs by Farm Fresh to You
The smell of spring is in the air. Walking around our neighborhood this week, there are wildflowers popping up everywhere. The colors are pretty awesome – especially those orange California poppies. Wow!
I just found a website dedicated to tracking California’s wildflower season. Now I’m tempted to go on a colorful roadtrip.
What’s growing up in your neighborhood this month?
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Last night, I jumped on a the last-minute chance to attend an event with Joel Salatin, a sustainable farming advocate and the “beyond organic” farmer of Polyface Farm. Joel is like a rock star of local farming. He and his farm were featured in the bigtime documentary Food Inc. and in Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and he’s published a series of “how to” books and manifestos on sustainable farming.
So last night Joel was in Point Reyes Station, visiting Point Reyes Book Store (my new favorite bookshop) and speaking at Toby’s Feed Barn (love that place!) about his new book The Ecstasy of Being a Lunatic Farmer (yes to that title!). It was great hearing Joel speak in person about letting “pigs express their pig-ness” and how the world would be a better place if everyone “got their hands dirty” a bit more. He’s a super entertaining character, whatever your food politics may be.
So if you’re driving through Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, his Polyface Farm is always welcoming visitors and you should go feed some chickens! In the meantime, I’m going to daydream about sunrises over the organic farm fields and dinnertimes of local produce around a big farm table. Happy eating!
PS If you haven’t already seen it already, go watch Farm Inc sometime soon!
listening to: For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver (listen)
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Our apartment has a small shared porch, which was unused until we moved in last summer and filled it with plant pots and boxes. Now even in the wet cold winter, it’s still growing and full of color!
Growing greens is one of the easiest ways to be backyard (or balcony!) gardener. Rosemary (it grows like wild in California), parsley and thyme are tasty + easy starter herbs. Some baby tomato and hot pepper plants were happy here in the summer sunshine.
And of course, kale + lettuce! Those happy greens push up right on through the winter. Mischa has some kale and lettuce starts sprouting on the side porch now.
It’s always fun to snip some herbs or “harvest” some of the tomatoes or kale or lettuce. The fruits of growing green!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Labor Day was hot and sunny in Point Reyes Station for our work day at Little Fork Farm – a small organic farm started up this year by the hardworking and ever-crafty Jessica.
Our crew of happy volunteers spent the day digging and weeding, making beds and planting a few seeds. We snacked on a pile of farm-fresh plums and peaches, tasty cheeses, spicy heirloom tomato salsa from Happy Girl Kitchen, and a few local brews from Lagunitas Brewing Co.
All in all, a beautiful day on the farm – and looking forward to going back again soon!
listening to: I Hear Them All by Old Crow Medicine Show (listen)
My name is Lillie Dignan. I'm a designer and maker, living and working in the Bay Area.
