What’s In The Box? December 23-29

DECEMBER 23-29

Home for the Holidays
Take a break from the holiday hustle: In the grand tradition of our Nonna Pat’s long-standing Sunday suppers, this week’s box includes fixings for a simple, satisfying meal to share with your nearest and dearest—from Nonna’s own handcrafted marinara sauce and fresh semolina spaghetti to fresh pillowy focaccia bread and a lovely French Pinot Noir to serve alongside. Also included: Nutty Grana-style cheese from the creamery, sweet and spicy Italian-style cookies and a plethora of winter’s produce that includes curly kale, hybrid winter squash, pomegranates, apples, pears and more. Happy holidays!

Here’s what you’ll find in your box this week:

Nonna Pat’s Marinara Sauce

Crafted in our farm kitchen with organically-grown local tomatoes (and lots of love), the key to this beloved family recipe is in its simplicity: juicy, ripe tomatoes, a handful of hand-torn basil leaves, fresh garlic, a swirl of first-press Italian olive oil and then sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

Bellingham Pasta Co. Spaghetti

This fresh semolina spaghetti is hand-crafted in nearby Bellingham. Cook it al dente for the perfect bite!

Focaccia Bread

This soft, chewy Italian-style loaf is baked just for us by our favorite local bakery. Kissed with fragrant fresh herbs, it is delicious served warm and dipped in olive oil.

La Petite Perrière Pinot Noir

This lovely Pinot Noir from the Loire Valley in France boasts an intense aromatic richness, making it a perfect choice for a chilly winter’s night. Featuring a bright garnet robe with purple shades and a very Burgundian earthiness opens to notes of wild cherry, it also boasts an outburst of freshness on the palate, with a body full of momentum and tension ending in a hint of vanilla.

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.

Grana-Style Cheese

Made in our farmstead creamery, this hard Grana-style cheese is crafted from part-skim cow’s milk to allow for longer aging of 24 months or more, and is turned and rubbed with olive oil during aging to create a smooth, golden rind.

Ancient Roman Style 9-Grain Cookies

These sweet and spicy cookies combine ancient grains like farro, rye, millet and barley, plus heirloom Italian wheat varieties and exotic turmeric, ginger, and cumin. Lightly sweetened with dried fruit and a touch of sugar and agave syrup, they are baked until crisp with organic Italian extra virgin olive oil.

Seasonal Fruit

Lemons, Jonagold apples, Asian pears and pomegranates.

Fresh Organic Greens

Gorgeous curly kale.

Seasonal Organic Vegetables

This week’s produce selection includes Chantenay baby carrots, Walla Walla sweet onions, leeks and Badger flame beets. Also in your box: Tetsukabuto squash, a Kabocha/Butternut variety bred in Japan during the middle of last century. (The translation of the Japanese name is “iron helmet,” after the famed hardness of the flesh and rind.) Sweet and nutty, it is extremely versatile in a variety of cuisines.

Fresh Garden Herbs

Garlic, thyme, shallots and fresh sweet bay from the walled garden at Bella Luna Farms.