Mushrooms---Shiitake. Once again from New Carpati Farm in Sebastopol. We got good reviews the last time we put Steve’s mushrooms in, so here we go again. Grown right in Sonoma County by a really good guy. Enjoy them sauteed with a bit of butter, with some squash or even red onions.
Red Onions---These are SWEET! Eat them raw, grill them up, saute with this or that, add to sandwiches, salads, pastas, soups, stews.
Beets---You get lots of beets this week. We gave you a couple of recipes if you need some ideas. It’s easy to boil, steam or roast and snack on them all week.
Summer Squash---A variety of summer squash for you to enjoy. More to come. Grill up with an onion, saute with the same partner but throw in some chopped mushrooms. Blanch, chill and slice up into your salad.

Broccoli Side Shoots (Thursday)---Steam or saute with or without the squash.
Lettuce---Speaking of salad. This is a new batch. Sweet and tender. Make some salads, add to sandwiches.
Dried Beans---Potluck either Petaluma Gold Rush, Mrs. Keeney’s Pintos or Montezuma Red. Any variety that you get will be really great. These were grown by us and harvested last fall. They should cook quicker than any store bought beans. I always do a “quick soak:” Cover the beans with lots of cold water, bring to a boil, turn off, cover
and let sit for at least an hour. Then dump that water and begin with the recipe. Here’s my recipe: saute onion/ garlic, add the beans, water to more than cover, and spices of choice. I usually use a few kinds of chile powders, maybe smoked onions and a bit of cumin. Bring to a boil and simmer until tender. When tender, I like to add some canned
or frozen tomatoes and salt/ pepper. I use a pressure cooker so it only takes about seven minutes. It should take less than an hour with stovetop. Use as a meal in itself or use on tostadas, in burritos, tacos, etc. Yum, yum.

More on Mom and Dad: It’s thanks to Esther and Walt (Mom and Dad) that we have the farm at all. Wayne and Lee were taught at an early age to love plants by their mom who owned a florist shop. Later on they ( Mom and Dad) purchased retirement land on Chalk Hill Road near where Wayne and Lee first began farming. The rest, as they say, is history.

Rochelle's Beet Salad
It's fast, easy and healthy from Mariquita Farms website
Trim ends off beets, then steam until soft rinse with cold water, so that the skin peels right off. dice up, mix with thinly sliced onions, (red, white or yellow), add crumbled crostini, and plenty of balsamic vinegar, salt/pepper to taste with a dash of extra virgin olive oil. Toss, EAT.

Balsamic-Dressed Roasted Beets
from the Mariquita Farms website

6 medium beets (about 2 1/2 pounds)

1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1 star anise

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400°. Leave root and 1 inch of stem on beets; scrub with a brush. Wrap beets in foil. Bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender. Cool beets to room temperature. Peel and cut each beet into 8 wedges.
Combine juice, vinegar, sugar, and star anise in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/3 cup (about 10 minutes). Discard star anise. Combine beets, vinegar mixture, salt, and pepper; toss well.

Note on Mariquita Farms: Mariquita Farms is a CSA farm near Watsonville. They have lots of recipes on their website that are organized and look pretty good. Check them out if you need more inspiration.
Coming up: Next week you will be getting freshly dug potatoes for 4th of July. Within the next couple of weeks we will have tomatoes. Hooray!!!












Gift Certificates/ Other Gifts: We will have Gift Certificates available for both the Farm Stand and CSA if you are interested for all
your gift-giving needs. We also have gorgeous wool scarves and blankets as well as beautiful chile vinegar to name a few items.


Wool Products: We have some gorgeous hand woven scarves and blankets/ throws from the WE Tierra Shetland Sheep. Stop in the Farm Stand for a look-see.









Come visit: Please all of you who pick up at drop off locations, come visit. We are open Saturdays from 11 to 6 and you are all more than welcome to come take a walk in the field and visit with your vegetables/ fruits.

HONEY: We’ve got honey from the field: Tierra Vegetables Estate Honey. It is really sweet and flavorful. Scott, our beekeeper at Nelson Family Apiary, is using it for his honey of the month! We can put it in your box. We’ve got two sizes: 10 oz for $8.50 and 20 oz for $12.00. Let me know.



PLASTIC BAGS; We need lots of CLEAN plastic bags, please. We go through a lot and are not ordering any more until we can get the non-GMO biodegradable ones.










PICK UP POLICY NOTE: We are experiencing an issue with boxes not being picked up at various locations, including the Farm Stand, on a timely manner. We understand that sometimes you forget or something comes up that you can’t get your box of vegetables. If this happens, please call me at 696-8148 and we will bag it up for those picking up at the farm or hold it at the drop off locations. Otherwise, boxes left over 24 hours will be donated or used by our hosts. Thank you.

Reminder: The Farm Stand is open Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11 to 6:00.

VISIT THE FARM: Please come on in for a visit whenever you can and bring the kids!


.


EGGS---Our chickens are starting to lay their eggs! Hooray. These beautiful and delicious eggs are available at the Farm Stand. Better watch out, though: the customers at the Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market would take them all if we'd let them. You all get priority! Come check them out and see what a really fresh egg looks and tastes like.




Calling all loyal CSA members. We would love to put your recipes in the Menu. If you have anything that you'd like to share, please e-mail me at evie@tierravegetables.com and most likely your recipe (or comment) will make its way to this little Menu.

Regular Season starts May 29th. If you want to sign up and you haven’t yet, please call or e-mail.

Reminder: The Farm Stand is now open Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11 to about 5:30. Come on in. Bring the kids!