What’s In The Box? September 14-20
Fresh & Flavorful
With a vivid assortment that includes Persian cucumbers, green beans, Jerada carrots and not one, but two different varieties of smoky peppers, the late-summer harvest continues here at the farm. This week’s box also continues to sing with such additional highlights as earthy Shiitake mushrooms, Chojuro Asian pears and baby bok choy; combine these beauties with fresh stir-fry noodles and spicy pork dumplings, and allow these fresh, seasonal flavors to shine.
Here’s what you’ll find in your box this week:
Fresh Stir-Fry Noodles
These chewy, toothy, perfectly-crafted fresh noodles are ready to roll in your next stir-fry; simply heat in a skillet, and add in your favorite sauce and selection of veggies to finish.
West Coast Dumpling Company Spicy Pork Pelmeni
Crafted according to the traditional Russian method that utilizes a simple dough made of flour, water, eggs, and salt, these petite pelmeni made by local farmer’s market favorite, West Coast Dumpling Company, are filled with a unique, spicy-savory pork filling.
Shiitake Mushrooms
With their curled umbrella-shaped caps and tender stalks, beautiful Shiitake mushrooms release a garlic-pine aroma when cooked and are beloved for their rich, earthy flavor.
Sliced Multigrain Bread
Crafted in nearby Snohomish by our favorite bakery, this healthy freshly-baked loaf is made with locally-milled Shepherd’s Grain flour and seven different whole grains, plus a hint of honey and toasted sunflower seeds.
J. Mourat Collection Vin de France 2022
Comprising vineyards spanning 120 hectares, Vignobles Mourat represents one of the largest viticultural plots dedicated to organic agriculture in the Loire Valley. This eclectic red wine blend composed of Cabernet Franc, Négrette, Gamay, and Pinot Noir grapes is generous and mouth watering, with aromas of cherry, blackcurrant and a touch of graphite.
Farm Fresh Eggs
As they spend lots of time outdoors in their run, our small flock of heritage breed laying hens are enjoying succulent popweed pulled from the gardens along with an extra helping of grain to supplement their diet to give us fresh eggs in beautiful shades of brown, beige and cream.
Steven Smith Teamaker Jasmine Silver Tip Tea
For this beautiful tea blend, delicate green tea leaves from China’s Fujian Province are packed amid just-picked jasmine buds that open slowly to share their fragrance as your drink steeps.
Farm & Larder Chicken Stock
Made from roasted Bella Luna chickens, our flavorful stock is simmered slowly for hours with carrots, onions and celery and seasoned with a dash of sea salt.
Seasonal Fruit
Chojuro Asian pears.
Fresh Organic Greens
Red Cloud Asian greens, pea shoots and baby bok choy.
Seasonal Organic Fruit & Vegetables
This week’s beautiful bounty of produce also includes green onions, Lesya peppers, Walla Walla sweet onions, Shishito peppers, Persian cucumbers, Shiitake mushrooms, green beans and Jerada carrots.
Fresh Garden Herbs
Parsley, garlic, thyme, rosemary and mint from the walled garden at Bella Luna.
What’s In The Box? September 7-13
SEPTEMBER 7-13
Rise n’ Shine
It’s breakfast time! This week’s lineup stars a bevy of late-summer favorites—cherry tomatoes, Persian cucumbers, Japanese eggplant, green beans, sweet corn and more—all complemented by breakfast-ready ingredients such as organic link sausages, cinnamon-raisin bread and farm-fresh eggs. Also including organic Greek yogurt, apple-pear cider, crisp salad greens, ripe yellow peaches, melon and Italian prunes, plus fragrant garden greens, this box will help you start the day off right—so pour yourself a cup of locally-roasted coffee and greet the day.
Here’s what you’ll find in your box this week:
Skagit River Ranch Breakfast Sausages
With a flavor profile that includes hints of sweet maple syrup and savory spices, these incredible breakfast sausage links are made from the all-natural pork raised on the Skagit River Ranch in Sedro-Woolley. These pampered pigs roam outdoors in certified-organic pasture land to root and dig, thriving on a diet of flax seed, corn and wheat.
Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Baked just for us by our favorite local bakery, this fresh-baked cinnamon raisin loaf makes for a delicious base to French toast.
Island Time Coffee Deception Dark Roast
Crafted specifically for the Northwest aesthetic, Island Time Coffee Company sources only the finest, farm-direct, sustainable coffee beans from Latin America and Indonesia. All of the Whidbey Island-based company’s coffees are small-batch roasted, ensuring the best possible freshness. This particular dark blend features a mixture of Italian-roasted Latin-American beans and boasts distinctive bittersweet notes and rich, earthy tones.
Allview Orchards Honeycrisp Apple-Pear Cider
This crisp cider from Chelan’s Allview Orchards is made from a wonderful combination of Honey Crisp apples and Bartlett pears plucked straight from the orchards. Unfiltered for a clean flavor, the pasteurized cider is both smooth and sweet, with a mellow finish courtesy of the pears.
The Vincent Board Track Racer Rosé 2022
Crafted from a combination of Grenache, Mourvedre and Syrah grapes, this crisp, dry wine from Mark Ryan Winery features a supple finish, with refreshing acidity and a lithe texture.
Farm Fresh Eggs
As they spend lots of time outdoors in their run, our small flock of heritage breed laying hens are enjoying succulent popweed pulled from the gardens along with an extra helping of grain to supplement their diet to give us fresh eggs in beautiful shades of brown, beige and cream.
Samish Bay Organic Greek Yogurt
This perfectly-creamy, yet delightfully-tangy pure strained yogurt hails from a certified-organic, 200-acre dairy farm in Skagit County that produces gorgeous artisan cheeses and yogurts crafted from the milk of their herd of Milking Shorthorn cows.
Summer Fruit
Farthest North melon, yellow peaches and beautiful Italian prunes.
Fresh Organic Greens
Mini red Romaine, red and green Shiso, cantaloupe shoots and Little Gem lettuce.
Seasonal Organic Fruit & Vegetables
This week’s beautiful bounty of produce also includes Rio de Oro peppers, Lesya peppers, mixed summer squash, cherry tomatoes, Persian cucumber, Chioggia beets, Japanese eggplant, green beans, fennel and Honey Select corn.
Fresh Garden Herbs
Italian parsley, thyme and Tualco heirloom garlic from the walled garden at Bella Luna, as well as roselle, an ornamental edible plant related to okra whose burgundy calyxes can be used to add a hibiscus-like tart, fruity flavor to dried teas, jellies, syrups, and sauces.
Hi, September! The Latest News from Farm & Larder and Bella Luna Farms
Fall is in the air! Here at Bella Luna we are enjoying the best that September has to offer with dewy mornings, cooler evenings and yet still warm and sunny afternoons. We sure hope you and yours are well as the kids head back to school, the late-season produce comes off the vine in the gardens, and the official start to fall approaches.
We are enjoying the antics of the blue jays and squirrels dashing noisily about, competing for the chestnuts and hazelnuts that they are beginning to hide away for later, and the honeybees are busily collecting pollen and nectar, and filling their hives with honey for their winter sustenance.
In the next few weeks we will harvest the apples and pears in the orchard. The crisp, tart Honeycrisp and Akane varieties will be the first to be plucked; next up come the Asian pears, along with the continuing Italian plums and last of the grapes. In the garden, we continue the everyday ritual of harvesting fresh tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and summer squash from the beds and hoophouse. The Lacinato kale, cabbage and Purple Sprouting broccoli seedlings are going into the ground to overwinter (under a covering of Reemay fabric to discourage the pesky rabbits), right as the garlic and storage onions are coming out of it. Cover crops will be sown in the fallow plots along with a healthy dose of compost for turning over in the spring, enriching the soil with nutrients for when we once again begin to prepare for next years’ crops.
We’ve been kept busy with summer with weddings and other special events, and the kitchen continues to bustle even on non-event days with pickling, preserving and canning as we put away the summer’s bounty. September is always spent crafting big batches of Nonna Pat’s tomato sauce to carry us through the winter months and we are also putting our favorite Parisienne Cornichon de Bourbonne cucumbers to delicious use in small-batches of our signature French-style cornichons. Made using the traditional recipe that we’ve shared with you below, each jar is packed with a Grapehouse grape leaf during pickling to keep these tiny pickles crunchy and crisp.
We hope you enjoy both the recipe below for those very pickles—and this most pleasant start to September!
French Cornichons
These crisp pickles are incredibly fresh-tasting thanks to the addition of pearl onions, peppercorns and even a fresh grape leaf.
Makes about 4 pints of pickles
Ingredients:
2 pounds garden-fresh Parisienne or other cornichon-style tiny cucumbers
3 tablespoons kosher salt
12 fresh pearl onions, peeled
1 quart of champagne or white wine vinegar
Black peppercorns
Fresh tarragon sprigs
Mustard seeds
Fresh grape leaves
Method:
1. Gently wash and rub the spines off the cucumbers. (They should only be 1-2 inches long.) Place cucumbers in a colander and toss with the salt. Leave to drain for about 4 hours, then rinse and drain.
2. Sterilize a potful of pint or half-pint jars and their lids by placing them upside down in a pot of water, covering and boiling for 10 minutes. (Add a splash of vinegar if your water is hard.)
3. Bring the vinegar to a vigorous simmer or low boil in a medium stockpot.
4. Without touching the inside of the jars, remove each jar from the water with a pair of tongs and flip it over on a clean work surface. Place ½-1 teaspoons peppercorns, ½ teaspoon mustard seeds and a large sprig of tarragon in each jar. Add a small fresh washed grape leaf. Add 2-3 pearl onions and cucumbers to within ¾-inch of the top of the jar. Cover with hot vinegar.
5. Wipe the rim of each jar and screw on the lid tightly, removing the lids from the water with the tongs. Wipe off any excessive moisture from the outside of the jars, then store in a cool, dark place for at least one month before eating.
What’s In The Box? August 31-September 6
AUGUST 31-SEPTEMBER 6
Summer Harvest
From juicy tomatoes and crisp greens to sweet corn and ripe melon, the summer harvest continues apace this week as these beautiful garden-grown all-stars are complemented by such Southwestern favorites as all-natural chorizo sausage and hand-pressed tortillas. Inside this box, you’ll also find freshly-baked challah bread, fragrant herbs, eggs from our heritage breed hens, and unique ingredients like fresh papalo, Poblano peppers and heirloom purple tomatillos to help you kick things up an extra notch. Enjoy!
Here’s what you’ll find in your box this week:
Skagit River Ranch Chorizo Sausage
This pig has kick: Spiced with cumin, coriander and Ancho chili powder, these flavorful sausage links from our friends at the Skagit River Ranch in Sedro-Woolley are crafted from their famous all-natural pork and make for a spicy addition to any Tex-Mex fare you choose, from tacos to frittatas!
Patty Pan Cooperative Wholegrain Flour Tortillas
The locally-made, hand-pressed tortillas from this Shoreline-based worker-owned coop are crafted from just four stellar ingredients: Olive oil, salt, water and organic flour from Cairnspring Mills located in the Skagit Valley.
Challah Bread
Baked just for us by our favorite bakery in Snohomish, this fresh loaf boasts a sweet, rich flavor thanks to a traditional base of silky eggs and Shepherd’s Grain flour, plus a touch of sugar.
Caliche Albariño 2022
With a bouquet of citrus and tropical fruit on the nose, this crisp wine features luscious flavors of tangerine, melon and pineapple that come through on the palate, plus a superb minerality and a refreshing aromatic finish.
Farm Fresh Eggs
As they spend lots of time outdoors in their run, our small flock of heritage breed laying hens are enjoying succulent popweed pulled from the gardens along with an extra helping of grain to supplement their diet to give us fresh eggs in beautiful shades of brown, beige and cream.
Summer Fruit
Ripe red watermelon from Caruso Farms, plus beautiful Italian prunes, and yellow peaches.
Fresh Organic Greens
Mixed mini lettuces.
Seasonal Organic Fruit & Vegetables
This week’s beautiful bounty of summer produce also includes sweet corn, onions, mixed cherry tomatoes, mixed summer squash, Poblano peppers and Oaxaca heirloom purple tomatillos.
Fresh Garden Herbs
Italian parsley, garlic, basil and papalo, an aromatic herb native to Mexico with a flavor reminiscent of cilantro and arugula, all harvested fresh from the walled garden at Bella Luna.
