News from Terra Firma Farm

Boxes are charged on Monday for the week's deliveries at:

$14 Small
$24 Medium
$32 Large

For a payment of $300, get a 3% bonus. Your account balance will be $309.

For a payment of$850, get a 5% bonus. Your account will be posted as $892.00

For a payment of $1,400, get a 7% bonus. Your payment will be posted as $1,498.

Vacations are charged weekly when notice is given as a fee, no charges occur during the vacation week.

$4 Small
$8 Medium
$11 Large

Bulk Items

From time to time we have bulk bagged carrots available, 10 lbs. for $12. If you are interested, let us know and we will put you on the list.

Pledge of Authenticity

Terra Firma is a real farm. We grow 99% of the produce that goes into our boxes on our 220 acres of certified organic land in Winters. If we do buy produce from other farms, it's almost always from a neighboring farm and we give them full credit in the box list.
The owners of Terra Firma are involved in every aspect of making your boxes a reality: walking the fields, planting the crops, selecting and checking what goes in the boxes and finally delivering them to you. We eat the crops from our fields every day, just like you do. Thanks for supporting our efforts and enjoying the food we grow.
Paul, Pablito, & Hector

Payments, Billing, and Changes

Schedule vacations, change box sizes, make payments or sign up for autopay by logging in to your subscriber account at terrafirmafarm.com

News From Terra Firma Farm

Community Supported Agriculture

Greetings!

I hope everyone had a nice holiday and enjoyed the beautiful sunny weather that came along with it. There's a big, very wet storm headed our way now and we are trying to make the most of the two dry days we'll have this week to harvest our crops.

Big storms like the one forecast for this week make everything we do around here very difficult. Picking vegetables in the rain and wind while trying not to slip in the mud is no fun. We do our best to minimize the workload and get everyone out of the storms and home early. Friday and Saturday this week we won't work at all.

Still, it's not every year that we get a storm that drops a foot of rain over just a few days. This type of dramatic weather event offers lessons for folks like farmers who spend years studying the landscape around them.

Normally dry arroyos come to life as surging, roaring streams or even rivers of muddy water. Our farm -- elevation 85 feet -- is located just a few miles from the coast range, and hundreds of miles of waterways here drop two thousand feet of elevation in that distance, draining tens of thousands of acres of runoff. Many of the low spots that used to convey water in the heaviest rain events have been filled in or leveled off to make farming easier or crossed by public roads that act as dams.

The primary waterway in our area is Putah Creek, which is dammed 10 miles from our farm to form Lake Berryessa. That keeps the creek pretty tame most of the time, but once the lake is full, any additional runoff goes through the spillway known as "the Glory Hole" and the creek below turns into a different creature completely. With the current level of the reservoir, it will only take one more storm like this one for that to happen. The drought of 2012 could be very short lived indeed, at least in Northern California.

It's tempting -- and maybe prudent -- to hunker down inside when it's pouring rain outside for days. But it's also a chance to see in action the forces that shaped the world around you. So put on your raingear and head to your nearest waterway or drainage ditch and check out the action.

Thanks,

Pablito

Gift Subscriptions

Do you know someone who needs to eat more vegetables? Who keeps saying they are going to sign up for TFF but never seems to get around to it? Maybe you just have a friend that is hard to find a gift for?

Well, we've finally gotten around to making it easier for our existing subscribers to give the gift of a TFF CSA subscription. Just go to the Web Store and select from the "Gift Subscription" options we have available, provide us with a few key details about the recipient, and we'll do the rest! If they end up subscribing themselves, you will get a referral credit on your own subscription.

Holiday Gift Baskets

We will once again be offering TFF subscribers an opportunity to share some of our organic products with your friends and family this holiday season in a festive gift basket.

The baskets this year will have Satsuma Mandarins, Pistachios, and Walnuts (no apples). Baskets are $29 to locations in California and $39 shipped out of state (shipping included).

To order a gift basket, simply head over to your online TFF account and go to the Web Store, then select "Holiday Gift Basket". In the "comments" section, enter the name and address of the recipient, as well as any short message for them. If you are ordering multiple baskets, you must place a separate order for each.

In order to guarantee that everyone gets their basket on time, we need to ship them out on time -- remember, we a farm, not Amazon.com. All orders for gift baskets must be placed by midnight on December 12th. Late orders will not be accepted!

In your boxes
Lots more Satsuma Mandarins your boxes today. You can also get 5 lb. boxes of the ez-peelers delivered to your dropsite, one time or every week for the rest of the season. First delivery is next week; go to the web store to sign up.

The Broccoli in your boxes today might be a different color than you are used to...Purple. Technically a type of Cauliflower, Violet Queen tastes just like broccoli. It will even turn green if you cook it long enough.

As usual the week after Thanksgiving, we've loaded up the box with fresh veggies for salads and light meals. There's a bag of Salad Mix, but also one of medium sized Spinach that is tender enough for a salad but can also be cooked.

Tokyo Turnips can be sliced or grated into a salad, or quick-cooked in a stir fry or saute. The leaves are peppery but are tender when cooked.

Every year I learn something new about cooking vegetables. This year, I learned that when cooked the right way, the skin of Acorn Squash is completely edible. In the recipe below, you cut the unpeeled squash into thin slices and roast it with leeks and sliced lemons.

Recipe: Acorn Squash with Leeks and Lemons
This recipe was inspired by one in the New York Times, in which you cook chicken thighs on top of the vegetables. I made it once and found the chicken to be almost completely unnecessary. The caramelized lemon slices are like little flavor bombs.

Cut one Acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Trim off the stem. Cut the squash into slices along the sections/ribs, then slice each section into 2 or 3 thinner slices.

Clean and trim 1 large or 2 small leeks. Cut the shanks in half lengthwise, then slice them thinly lengthwise into a julienne.

Cut 1 lemon in half and remove the seeds. Cut both halves into quarters, then slice into half rounds.

Toss the leeks, squash and lemon slices (and juice!) with 3 T. olive oil, salt, pepper, and 1 T. fresh rosemary leaves.

Arrange in a cast iron skillet or baking dish so that the squash slices are in a single layer. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove the foil and continue baking until the vegetables are nicely browned.

Serve atop or alongside spinach and turnip greens sauteed in olive oil with a little garlic.

Recipe: Thanksgiving Leftovers Cabbage and Kale Salad.
This is an easy way to give your leftovers a makeover and turn them into a slightly more healthy lunch the next day. Obviously this is a very free-form recipe; once you have the cabbage/kale base and the dressing, you can add whatever you like.

Combine 1/4 C. dried cranberries (sweetened) or currents with 6 T. balsamic vinegar. Heat in a microwave or pan briefly, then allow to soak for 15 minutes.

Clean and dice 1 large or 2 small leeks. Heat 4 T. olive oil in a skillet and add the leeks. Saute over low heat until the leeks are soft and beginning to brown. Add a little water if necessary to keep them from burning. Remove from heat and stir in the cranberries and vinegar. Season with salt, pepper and a little mustard if you like.

Cut one head of cabbage in half horizontally. Place the cut side of one half down and shred it.

Remove and discard the thickest stems of 6 leaves of Dino Kale. Shred the leaves very finely.

Combine the cabbage and kale in a large bowl and toss with half the dressing. Grate 2 carrots and add to the salad. Let sit for at least 15 minutes, tossing to coat a few more times.

Meanwhile, hand shred cooked turkey meat to make 2 C.

Toss the salad with the turkey and 2 C. of whatever roasted vegetables leftovers you have: potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter squash, broccoli, etc. Taste the salad and add more dressing if necessary plus salt and pepper.