What’s In The Box? November 30 – December 6

Hearty, Healthy Italian
This week’s box is packed with the vibrant flavors of Italy, found in the forms of fresh bucatini pasta, Italian sausage from Skagit River Ranch, and rustic bread—plus health-boosting, vitamin-rich produce, too, from hearty kale to beautiful locally-foraged mushrooms, plus crisp carrots, winter squash, bright radicchio and fresh leeks. Enjoy these seasonal beauties alongside farm-fresh eggs, fragrant herbs and both crème fraîche and fromage blanc from our own creamery; mangia!

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

Skagit River Ranch Italian Sausage

The pampered pigs raised on the Skagit River Ranch in Sedro-Woolley roam outdoors in certified-organic pasture land to root, dig, and cavort as only happy pigs can, thriving on a diet of flax seed, corn and wheat. Spiced with savory herbs, this delectable Italian-style sausage will add a flavorful, savory note to a hearty bowl of pasta this week.

Fresh Bellingham Pasta Co. Bucatini

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”.

Locally-Foraged Mushrooms

With a rich, smoky flavor and pleasant, fruity aroma, this trio of locally-foraged Black Trumpet, Hedgehog and yellow Chanterelle mushrooms are wonderful served sautéed with butter and fresh herbs.

Italian Rustica Bread

This freshly-baked loaf is made at a small bakery in Snohomish using a wild yeast starter, which creates an airy, chewy bread and a delightfully-crisp crust. This bread is wonderfully sliced and toasted for crostini—simply rub each lightly-charred piece with a cut clove of garlic for extra flavor and then enjoy them with some of this week’s fromage blanc!

Cavatappi Sangiovese 2021

This beautiful Columbia Valley red features notes of red currant, raspberry and cranberry. The flavors are fresh, with plenty of tart, puckering cranberry notes throughout, making it a light and lovely pairing to this week’s suggested pasta recipe.

Farm Fresh Eggs

As they spend more time snug in their coop, our heritage breed laying hens are enjoying an extra helping of grain to supplement their diet, and continue to give us fresh eggs in beautiful shades of brown, beige and cream.

Housemade Crème Fraîche

This rich and silky crème fraîche is crafted by our in-house farmstead creamery, Bellsong, from pasteurized organic sweet cream.

Fromage Blanc

Also crafted in our own in-house creamery, this beautiful fromage blanc cheese is made from locally-sourced milk. Wonderfully-creamy and just slightly tangy cheese, it can be used in place of ricotta or mascarpone in recipes—and we heartily recommend adding it into whatever pasta recipe you cook up with this week’s ingredients!

Seasonal Organic Greens

A veritable rainbow of radicchio—including Treviso, Rosalba and blonde Chioggia varieties—plus crisp Romaine lettuce and a mix of kale, including Lacinato.

Seasonal Organic Fruit & Vegetables

This week’s produce selection also includes Mashed Potato winter squash, carrots, fennel and leeks, plus a rainbow mix of New York, Sweet Louise and Candy Crisp apples.

Fresh Garden Herbs

Italian parsley, thyme and sweet bay from the walled garden and hoophouse at Bella Luna Farms.