What’s In The Box? March 19-25

First Days of Spring
We did it: Winter has waned and spring is officially here. In such a tough and challenging time, we are extra thankful for the longer daylight hours, offshoots of green and peeks of sunshine this year, as well as the bright spring ingredients included in this week’s lineup—think: micro arugula, pea shoots, leeks and Cosmic Queen Oyster mushrooms. Complemented by locally-crafted bucatini pasta, Pain au Levain bread and our Nonna Pat’s signature tomato sauce, plus Grana-style cheese, blueberry jam and salad-ready Italian vinaigrette, this box is a fitting welcome to the season.

Nonna Pat’s Tomato Sauce

Crafted with organically-grown local tomatoes (and lots of love), the key to our housemade 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 to taste.

Fresh Bucatini Pasta

Hand-crafted in nearby Bellingham, this spaghetti-like semolina pasta has a hole running through the center—hence the name bucatini, which comes from the Italian buco, meaning “hole”, while bucato means “pierced”.

Pain au Levain Bread

This slightly-nutty, slightly-sweet sourdough loaf embodies country-style French baking with a chewy crust and light, airy interior. Baked just for us at a small bakery in Snohomish, this traditional Pain au Levain is crafted using the bakery’s own sourdough starter.

Dei Rosso di Montepulciano 2017

Made from 90 percent Sangiovese grapes, plus 5 percent each of Merlot and Canaiolo Nero, this Rosso di Montepulciano is a youthful wine with a lively ruby-red colour. Full of fruity fragrances, it is dry to the taste, fresh and pleasantly tannic.

Blueberry Jam

Our housemade jam is crafted from juicy Northwest blueberries hand-picked each morning during peak season. To preserve the wonderful fresh flavor and color, we make this jam with blueberries, organic cane sugar, fresh-squeezed lemon juice and pectin.

Farm Fresh Eggs

Spending their time dodging raindrops on wet spring days, or strutting around their enclosure on sunny ones, our heritage breed laying hens are now also enjoying the tasty green popweed we pull from the garden, in turn supplying us with 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. Ideal for grating over pasta, the drum-shaped cheese is turned and rubbed with olive oil during aging to create a smooth, golden rind.

Housemade Italian Vinaigrette

A light, flavorful salad dressing crafted from fresh garlic, minced shallots, and a variety of fresh herbs blended with sherry and red wine vinegar.

Seasonal Organic Greens

Micro arugula, pea shoots and both red and green mustard greens.

Cosmic Queen Oyster Mushrooms

Locally-foraged Oyster mushrooms, which boast a beautifully-meaty, mellow flavor when cooked in a little butter or chicken stock.

Seasonal Organic Fruits & Vegetables

This week’s produce selection also includes purple sprouting broccoli, Chioggia beets, carrots, leeks, baby red potatoes and crisp-sweet Pacific Rose apples.

Fresh Garden Herbs

Thyme, rosemary and garlic rom the walled garden and greenhouse at Bella Luna Farms.