What’s in the Box? March 23-29
Southern Charm
From organic Andouille sausage and Rosita red beans to spicy Cajun cracklins’ and cornbread mix from a famous Seattle eatery, the soulful flavors of the South await this week, blending beautifully with Pacific Northwest produce like mixed baby beets, red Brussels sprouts, spring salad mix and collard greens. This comforting box also includes our own housemade pickles, pimento cheese spread, a sweet lemon loaf cake and crisp apple-pear cider to complement the most-classic, down-home spread. Enjoy!
Here’s what you’ll find in your box this week:
Skagit River Ranch Andouille Sausage
This pig has some kick: spiced with fresh-cracked pepper, hot paprika and cayenne pepper, this flavorful sausage from our friends at the Skagit River Ranch in Sedro-Woolley is crafted from their famous all-natural pork. These pampered pigs roam outdoors in certified-organic pasture land to root and dig, thriving on a diet of flax seed, corn and wheat.
Alvarez Organic Farms Rosita Red Beans
Cultivated by a 2nd generation family farm in Mabton, Washington, these dried red beans not only pair beautifully with this week’s Andouille sausage in classic Southern fare but also make for a standout addition to your favorite chili recipe!
Cajun-Spiced Cracklins’
Crunchy, crispy and utterly addictive, this popular Southern snack is tossed with a signature Cajun spice blend that really brings the heat.
Junebaby Red Flint Cornbread Mix
Make the famous cornbread from Seattle eatery Junebaby right at home! This mix contains a winning combination of Oregon red flint cornmeal, Washington wheat, brown sugar, baking soda, salt and buttermilk powder—baking instructions are included; all you need to add is the oil, eggs, and water!
Lezíria Vinho Tinto
Crafted from Grenache grapes grown in central Portugal, this brilliantly red, highly aromatic wine is mature and fruity with multifaceted notes of red fruits like strawberry and raspberry. It’s round and well-balanced, with a smooth start and well-balanced tannins.
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.
Farm Fresh Eggs
Our small flock of heritage breed laying hens give us fresh eggs in beautiful shades of brown, beige and cream.
Pimento Cheese Spread
The Southern classic! Made with sharp Cheddar cheese, pimentos and fresh herbs, this housemade spread is delicious slathered on bread or crackers.
Housemade Pickles
Our own crisp pickles, crafted in the farmhouse pickles from garden-grown cucumbers.
Callie’s Charleston Biscuits’ Cocktail Pecans
Perfectly-toasted and salted pecans fit for snacking, salads and beyond!
Fresh Organic Greens
Baby salad mix and collard greens.
Seasonal Organic Fruit & Vegetables
This week’s produce selection also includes baby red and golden beets, red Brussels sprouts, orange carrots and Walla Walla sweet onions, plus Cara Cara oranges.
Fresh Garden Herbs
Thyme, bay, garlic and parsley from the hoophouse and walled garden at Bella Luna Farms.
Lemon Loaf Cake
This buttery loaf cake is kissed with lemon zest and topped with a lemony-sugar glaze.
What’s In The Box? March 16-21
St. Patrick’s Day Feast
Just in time for St. Paddy’s Day, this week’s box bursts to life with beautiful spring ‘greenery’—from green cabbage and leeks to arugula and garden-fresh herbs. Complementing this beautiful bounty are all the ingredients for a feast inspired by the Emerald Isle: Pre-brined corned beef and raisin-flecked Irish soda bread, plus organic rolled oats, a vanilla-caramel nut butter and other produce such as Granny Smith apples, Huckleberry Gold potatoes, Brussels sprouts, carrots and more. As they say in Ireland, sláinte (to your good health)!
Here’s what you’ll find in your box this week:
Corned Beef Brisket
This all-natural, grain-fed beef brisket has been seasoned and pre-brined, arriving oven-ready for your feast.
Irish Soda Bread
Baked in nearby Snohomish by our favorite bakery, this beloved quick bread is crafted in the traditional style with buttermilk, flour, sugar, raisins, and egg.
Steel Wheel Farm Rolled Oats
These farmer-style organic rolled oats hail from Steel Wheel Farm in Fall City. Milled to order and full of fresh flavor, they feature a darker-than-usual hue and are slightly thicker than average grocery store oatmeal.
Big Spoon Roasters Vanilla Caramel Almond & Cashew Butter
This gorgeous nut butter from North Carolina-based Big Spoon Roasters is chock-full of organic cashews, heirloom Mission almonds, organic maple syrup, organic coconut nectar, vanilla, and a touch of Jacobsen sea salt for a combination that’s indulgent, comforting, and downright delicious. As an added bonus, the duo of maple syrup and coconut nectar creates a rich and toasty caramel taste that’s also 100% vegan and free of refined sugars.
Boundary Bay Irish Red Ale
This easy-drinking seasonal ale from Boundary Brewery out of Bellingham highlights the arrival of spring with earthy, floral and toffee-like characteristics. A light-body, low hop bitterness and clean malty finish also help this ale go down smooth.
Farm Fresh Eggs
Our small flock of heritage breed laying hens are on an early-to-bed, later-to-rise schedule with the short daylight hours. As they spend more time snug in their coop, the “girls” are enjoying an extra helping of grain to supplement their diet, continuing to give us fresh eggs in beautiful shades of brown, beige and cream.
Seasonal Fruit
Tart and crisp Granny Smith apples.
Fresh Organic Greens
This week, enjoy baby arugula greens, baby Romaine and rainbow Swiss chard.
Seasonal Organic Vegetables
This week’s produce selection also includes Winter Density cabbage, Jerada carrots, Huckleberry Gold potatoes, Brussels sprouts and leeks.
Fresh Garden Herbs
Italian parsley, dill and thyme from the hoophouse and walled garden at Bella Luna Farms.
What’s In The Box? March 9-15
MARCH 9-15
Good Morning
Rise and shine—it’s breakfast time! This week, cozy up to a brunch-themed box that stars such farmhouse favorites as organic pork breakfast sausages, cracked farro porridge and dry apple cider, plus cinnamon-raisin bread, maple syrup and farm-fresh eggs from our heritage breed hens to help you whip up a sweet baked French toast for the centerpiece of your meal. Also accented by Austrian Crescent fingerling potatoes, Brussels sprouts, juicy Cara Cara oranges, Fuji apples and a beautiful mix of early spring greens, as well as fragrant herbs, this lineup is sure to help you start your day off right.
Here’s what you’ll find in your box this week:
Skagit River Ranch Breakfast Sausage
With a flavor profile that includes hints of sweet maple syrup and savory spices, these incredible breakfast sausages 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.
Bluebird Grain Farm Organic Cracked Farro Porridge
Used in Northern Italy as a savory porridge, this milled-to-order organic cracked farro porridge from Winthrop’s Bluebird Grain Farm is a nutritious whole-grain cereal that can be used as a hot cereal or prepared polenta-style with fresh herbs and roasted vegetables or meat. Cracked in a fine grind from the farm’s signature whole-grain Emmer Farro, this porridge is an excellent source of protein, fiber, phosphorus and trace minerals, plus it’s naturally sweet, rich, and nutty with a creamy texture.
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.
Republic of Vermont Maple Syrup
Pure Vermont sweet maple syrup for all your breakfast needs.
Greenwood Cider Company Dry Apple Cider
This signature libation from Seattle-based Greenwood Cider Company is crafted from a blend of Washington-grown apples and finished with heirloom and wild apples sourced from local farms, small homesteads, and abandoned orchards to minimize food waste. Unfiltered, light-bodied, and very dry with hints of apple peel, lime, and fresh straw, this cider is ultra-refreshing; we bet you can’t stop at just one glass.
Farm Fresh Eggs
Our small flock of heritage breed laying hens are on an early-to-bed, later-to-rise schedule with the short daylight hours. As they spend more time snug in their coop, the “girls” are enjoying an extra helping of grain to supplement their diet, continuing to give us fresh eggs in beautiful shades of brown, beige and cream.
Seasonal Fruit
Fuji apples, Cara Cara oranges and fresh lemons.
Fresh Organic Greens
This week, enjoy baby rainbow Swiss chard, Little Gem lettuce, baby greens salad mix and cantaloupe microgreens.
Seasonal Organic Vegetables
This week’s produce selection also includes Austrian Crescent potatoes, parsnips, baby red beets, leeks, Walla Walla sweet onions and Brussels sprouts.
Fresh Garden Herbs
Italian parsley and thyme from the hoophouse and walled garden at Bella Luna Farms.
Hi, March! The Latest News from Farm & Larder and Bella Luna Farms
Spring is coming: After a gray, cold and wet February, we are greeting the arrival of March with extra enthusiasm this year as we hope it will soon bring more encouraging glimpses of spring-like weather with the first official day of the season just around the corner. The pop weed in the garden has certainly woken up despite the cold, providing fresh greens for the hens to enjoy!
We’ve been spending more and more time out of doors, as are our resident animals. The chickens are busy daily scratching for bugs in their outdoor enclosure and the ‘girls’ and the donkey are starting to shed their thick winter undercoats in favor of a sleek new look.
Each day we keep an eye out for the postman: Seeds continue to arrive daily, including lots of new varieties we are excited to try. Strawberry, onion and asparagus plants are on their way, as well as seed potatoes and artichoke starts, and the kale, broccoli, and cauliflower seeds are just starting to emerge in the hoophouse. Later this month the spring peas and onions will be planted outdoors under row covers, and we hope to begin harvesting our first crops of flavorful baby spring greens from the hoop house by the end of the month. (Fingers crossed!)
Plans for spring are picking up in the gardens we care for away from the farm too. Our gardening and landscaping company, Parterre, is busy planning new designs for the installations of both food and ornamental gardens. These combine year round seasonal color—think: edibles such as blueberries, tree fruits, savory herbs and even edible flowers can give a garden a four-season appeal—as well as food for the table! Each garden we design, plant, and care for is unique and personal; it is so gratifying to see each one come to life in the spring and summer.
As the days continue to lengthen, we look forward to saying good-bye to winter and hello to spring and all the fresh and bright flavors it provides.
