TWO LOCAL FARMS LAUNCH '04 SUBSCRIPTION SEASON

Published on June 2, 2004

© 2004- The Press Democrat

BYLINE:    Michele Anna Jordan'

PAGE: D1

COLUMN: Seasonal Pantry

This week, two local farms with weekly produce subscriptions are launching their '04 season. Two others operate year-round, one by planting cool-weather crops, another by supplementing their own harvest with purchased produce.

As the CSA -- Community Supported Agriculture -- movement matures, there are more farms offering subscription programs, and existing programs are getting better as farmers learn what works and what doesn't by listening to their customers. But it's not just the farmers who learn; subscribers, too, make many discoveries when they receive a bag, basket or box of produce week after week.

When your produce comes from a specific farm, you develop a sense both of place and of seasonality. There may be peaches at our farmers' market in May, but they likely travel at least an hour or two from their place of harvest. If you subscribe to a west county farm, in early June you're probably getting lettuce, kale, chard, carrots, turnips and, if you're lucky, berries.

Seasonality is just one reason to subscribe to a farm. When you sign up, you're helping keep Sonoma County agriculture healthy by supporting a family farm. If you're concerned about issues such as organic, sustainability, biodiversity and genetically engineered seeds, you can chat with the farmer and see firsthand the approach used. You're also getting yourself and your family much closer to the land than you might realize at first.

Most farms encourage you to make your pickup at the farm itself, and once you're there, a certain magic takes place. It may be that there is a particularly inspiring slant of light when you happen to stop by or an aroma carried on the wind that reminds you of your childhood. Maybe your attention is caught by a Southdown or Shetland sheep or frolicking baby goat. Or perhaps those few moments of farm life each week will be so appealing that you will seek out the pastoral quiet at other times, too. These are the kinds of things that change a life, for the better and in a good way, before something unfortunate forces you to stop and smell the sweet peas.

And maybe, just maybe, you'll find yourself eating all those vegetables your mama has always encouraged.

Young zucchini is always so delicate and wonderful; I like the small ones because I enjoy the high ratio of skin to inner flesh. This dish is best when you cook the zucchini well past al dente, so that it is very tender.

Little Zucchini with Mint, Basil and Cilantro

Makes 4 to 6 servings

8-10 small (about 4 inches long) green zucchini

-- Kosher salt

-- Black pepper in a mill

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons loosely packed basil leaves, shredded

2 tablespoons loosely packed mint leaves, shredded

1 tablespoon loosely packed cilantro leaves, minced

Cut the zucchini into 1/2 -inch rounds, put them in the top of a steamer set over simmering water, and cook until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Shake off excess water, transfer to a warm serving bowl and use a fork to gently smash the zucchini. Do not reduce it to a puree, just crush about half of the pieces. Season with salt and pepper and add the lemon juice and olive oil and toss gently. Add the herbs and toss again. Taste the zucchini, correct the seasoning and serve within 15 minutes, with hot bread alongside.

Radishes and goat cheese are beautifully suited to each other, and there are many ways to enjoy them together. In this recipe, they are combined to form a condiment that is perfect on toast or toasted bagels.

French Breakfast Radishes with Chevre and Chives

Makes 3 to 4 servings

1 bunch French breakfast radishes, stems removed

-- Kosher salt

-- Black pepper in a mill

5 ounces fresh chevre, such as chabis, at room temperature

2 tablespoons half-and-half, optional

2 tablespoons fresh snipped chives

Cut the radishes into small dice, put them in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the chevre and fold together; if the cheese seems too firm or crumbly, stir in the half-and half. Add the chives, taste and correct the seasoning.

Serve with hot bagels or toast.

``Mouthful with Michele Anna Jordan'' can be heard each Sunday at 7 p.m. on KRCB 91.1 FM. Jordan can be reached at michele@micheleannajordan.com.

Infobox:
PICK A PLACE TO PICK VEGGIES FOR YOU
Canvas Ranch begins its second season of Community Supported Agriculture farming with a lofty goal, to increase enrollment from its current 80 subscribers to 200 subscribers.

A basic subscription is $18 a week, with a 10 percent discount offered if you sign up for the entire season, which lasts through Thanksgiving. This is recommended for a family of two to three adults or two adults and two kids. Produce is packed in a handsome sack made of, you guessed it, canvas.

The farm offers several drop-off locations in Sonoma and Marin counties; there is no home delivery, but you can pick up your weekly bounty at the farm on the Marin-Sonoma border near the Coast Guard station on Tomales Road.

The ranch has several options that can take your weekly subscription as high as $46 a week. For $6 you can add flowers and sunflowers; another $6 will get you eggs from the farm's Aracauna chickens. For fresh fruit, some of which is purchased from other organic farms, add $8 a week. For an extra $24, you'll receive a locally produced cheese -- something you won't find at your local market -- and a jar of Bloomfield Bees honey; this is a once-a-month option.

Courtney Delello, who has a master's in CSAs, manages the farm. During her research, she found that the biggest complaint subscribers have is the guilt they feel about throwing away produce. Sometimes it is, indeed, hard to keep up. Canvas Ranch now offers a recycling option; if you don't use something, you can return it and the farm will donate it to a food bank if it's still good or compost it if it's past its peak.

Early June bags are filled with lots of greens, including unusual varieties of microgreens; sugar snap peas; carrots; French breakfast radishes; Daikon radishes; and spinach.

Canvas Ranch, 755 Tomales Road, Petaluma, 766-7171, info@canvasranch.com

Laguna Farm in Sebastopol offers one of the most long-lived CSA programs around and is able to do so because it augments its harvest by purchasing produce from other organic farms and, sometimes, from the wholesale market in San Francisco. If you've ever visited the farm in the middle of winter, you understand owner Scott Mathieson's reasoning: In wet years, much of the farm is either under water or too wet to plant.

A basic subscription is $15 for farm pickup; add $2 for delivery to a drop-off location and $5 for home delivery. Bread and extra salad mix are $3.50 each; fruit is $8. There is a waiting list for eggs.

Laguna Farm has always had a trading table where you can put those turnips you hate and take something of comparable value. Laguna Farms' CSA program operates year round.

Laguna Farm, 1764 Cooper Road, Sebastopol, 823-0923, info@lagunafarm.com

Orchard Farms in Sebastopol sells most of its produce at farmers markets around the North Bay. Its CSA program is fairly small, with room for about two dozen subscribers. There is currently a waiting list. A basic subscription is $13 for farm pickup; with home delivery in Sebastopol, it's $16 a week, in Santa Rosa, $18. The basic subscription is ideal for two people, and the farm offers a four-person option, $21 for pickup, $24 delivered in Sebastopol and $28 delivered in Santa Rosa.

Subscriptions at the end of May included carrots, green leaf lettuce, tatsoi, turnips, chard, fennel and either escarole, dandelion greens or rhubarb. There have been raspberries recently and strawberries soon to come.

Orchard Farms, 10951 Barnett Valley Road, Sebastopol, 823-6528.

Tierra Vegetables begins its CSA season with about 40 subscribers and is hoping to increase to at least 100 this year, in part to make up for no longer attending the Marin County farmers market. A basic subscription delivered to one of the farm's established drop-off locations is $24 and feeds 2 to 4 adults. For home or work delivery, add $5 a week. A smaller box is available for $16. Tierra Vegetables will add a new drop-off location, including in Sebastopol, with a minimum of ten subscribers.

Early-season boxes contain turnips, spinach, broccoli, lettuce, radishes, black beans, cabbage and parsley. Corn will be early this year, and soon there will be tomatoes, basil, zucchini, beets, strawberries, arugula, peas, peppers and more. Tierra Vegetables' weekly baskets have a reputation as remarkably bountiful. They offer several drop-off locations in Healdsburg and Santa Rosa, including at their farm stand on the west side of Airport Boulevard. The farm stand is a great location for picky eaters, as you can swap things you don't like for things you do. Not to mention that you can always buy some chipotle powder, dried shell beans or hot pepper jams while you're there.

Tierra Vegetables, Airport Boulevard and Highway 101, 837-8366, tierravegetables.com.

Keywords: FOOD LIST AGRICULTURE COST

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