Welcome to a new season and your share in the farm’s bounty. We are so pleased to be harvesting for all of you this week. Those big beautiful carrots were started from seeds in the deep darkness of February. We were thinking of this harvest long ago, thinking and planning and planting, then watering and weeding, and waiting and hoping. We become better planners, better farmers with each passing year of experience, and we are constantly learning the art of changing the plan to accommodate the weather and its effects.
We always plan to have varieties of vegetables in rotation for the CSA, so that each week you can all experience a new kind of treat. Sometimes, they don’t all grow at the same rate, and we end up giving some of you red lettuce and some of you green lettuce. This means not so much to you, receiving a great head of some kind of lettuce, but it makes it awkward for me to write a newsletter describing them all to you. Usually we get it right, but if, on occasion, what is in your box does not match the newsletter, you can be sure that it is still a good something. And if it is truly mysterious, you can always call the farm to find out what it is.
Having said all that, this week we got it right and all of you are getting the same things in your shares. Hurrah!

Most of todays harvest can be eaten plain, washed up and tossed into a simple salad. Kale and Baby bok choi can be steamed just a bit and served with butter and salt. Or soy sauce. Bok Choi is commonly stir fried, wash, chop, push around a hot pan for a minute, maybe with oil, maybe not. When ever you come across a new item in your box, I suggest you try a bite of it and see what you think. If you like the bite, take another bite and keep going, no further instructions or recipes required. If the first bite doesn’t please you, look for a way to prepare it that may alter it’s character or disguise it. The disguising is something we sometimes do for the kids more than our own tastes. But baby bok choi is so sweet and crunchy, even children with discriminating tastes seem to enjoy it.

More news and information.

Our pastured poultry operation is in full swing, with our broilers out on the pasture, growing nicely, a mere six weeks away from harvest day. There are still birds available for you, to call and reserve for our July 18, and September 19 chicken harvest days. You can read more about it, and print an order form on our website, kirsopfarm.com. Our first batch of turkeys arrived today from Farmer Ron, who personally drove them from his farm in Kingston, WA, to our farm in Tumwater, WA. This is remarkable because normally poults arrive in a box after a cross country journey in an airplane!



Fresh Spring Rolls Farm Style
2 oz. Rice vermicelli 8 rice wrappers
chopped fresh mint, shredded or grated carrots and radishes, chopped radish tops, if you had some fresh basil and cilantro, you could chop those and add them as well.
Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Boil vermicelli 3-5 minutes, and drain.
Fill a large bowl with warm water. Dip one wrapper into the hot water for 1 second to soften. Lay wrapper flat. In a row across the center, place a handful of vermicelli, mint, radish tops and bottoms, carrots, and any other goodies you like, leaving about 2 inches uncovered on each side. Fold uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper. You may accidentally tear the wrapper. That’s OK, keep trying, by the third one, you’ll be a pro! Fresh spring rolls are great dipped in hoisin sauce or fish sauce, both available in most grocery stores. Here is a recipe for mixing up fish dipping sauce: 4 tsp. Fish sauce, 1/4 cup water, 2 tbsp. Lime juice, 1 clove minced garlic, 2 tbsp white sugar, 1/2 tsp. Garlic chili sauce. Some spring roll recipes call for shrimp or peanuts, but I am not so fond of those things so I leave them out. You can chop or shred almost anything and incorporate into a spring roll. Have fun!


At the risk of oversimplifying things, I simply must say that Kale and Bacon were made for each other. Put those two together somehow and you will be pleased. Unless you do not eat bacon, in which case, you should sautee your kale in olive oil with some garlic and onions. You might like Kale steamed and served with a splash of balsamic vinegar. You might like to visit our website, kirsopfarm.com and check the recipe section under kale to see if there is a recipe there that you might like to try.