Every year, we tweak our delivery schedule the week of Thanksgiving to make sure that all of our subscribers that want their produce get it in time for the holiday.

Wednesday boxes are delivered as normal.

Thursday (Bay Area) and Friday (Sacramento) boxes are delivered instead on Tuesday -- November 26th this year.

This switch makes for a busy few days at the farm, but also gives us a rare opportunity to shut the farm down (mostly) for a long weekend and give ourselves and our employees a much-deserved break for a few days.

If you are not going to get your box Thanksgiving week, please let us know as soon as possible-- especially if you pick up on Thursday or Friday.  If you don't tell us until Tuesday night, your box will already have been delivered -- and your account charged.

The first Satsuma Mandarins of the 2013 season are in your boxes today.  We've never had this many ripe mandarins so early before, and never had them be so flavorful.

Better yet, we have another bumper crop on the trees (last year was a good year as well).  That should translate into a nice long mandarin season -- probably a full 2 months.  Which is great, because some of the other citrus is not looking very promising this year.

We don't have bulk mandarins (5 lb. boxes) available on the Web Store yet, but they should be there in time to order some for next week if you're interested.

Spinach is generally one of the staples of our boxes in the fall, but we've had a few problems this year -- until now.  There's' a beautiful bag of "salad spinach" in all the boxes today, and you can expect to see more over the next few months.  At some point we will also be harvesting larger spinach better suited for cooking.

Remember that we don't attempt to sterilize our spinach during the washing process.  We wash it in small batches and change the rinse water frequently.  If you are concerned about food safety, you should soak your spinach in water with a very small amount of bleach added.
And if you keep the spinach for more than 4 days, it's probably best to cook it first.

Recipe: Soup

No, that's not a typo.  This is a guideline for how to make soup with vegetables. 

To make a good soup, you need to start by slow cooking aromatic vegetables until they are soft and nicely browned.  This is even true if you are using a Crockpot or other slow cooker.  Heat 2-3 T. oil or butter in a pot and saute diced 2 C. or more of leeks or onions, and 3-4 diced carrots.  Diced celery or bell peppers are other common components.  If you are using aromatic herbs such as rosemary, sage, thyme or oregano, add them as well.  Same goes for chile pepper. Use a wooden spoon to stir the vegetables over low heat until they are nicely browned.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Now it's time to add liquid ingredients: water, broth, diced tomatoes, coconut milk, etc.  For the amount of aromatics above, you will want 6 C. of liquid for a thick soup and 8 C. for a brothier one.  Bring the liquid to a boil, then simmer.  The longer you cook the soup, the more flavor the liquid will be able to absorb from the aromatics.

This is also the time to add creamy vegetables:  potatoes, cauliflower, winter squash, or sweet potatoes.  But only if they are raw.  They will absorb the flavors of the soup as they cook and gradually start to fall apart, adding texture to the broth.  2 C. of diced vegetables will add nice texture to a soup; 4 C. or more and you are making a thick soup or stew.

If you're using lentils or split peas, they should also go into the pot now -- not more than 1/2 -1 C. of dried.  However, if you are making soup with larger beans like kidneys or navy beans, it's generally best to cook the beans separately until they are tender -- they soak up lots of water while they cook.  On the other hand, if you are planning on pureeing all the beans anyway to make a creamy soup, you can throw them in now.

Once the creamy vegetables are soft, it's time to make a decision.  If you want to thicken the soup, puree a cup or two and return to the pot.

If you are using cooked beans, add them to the soup now.

This is also the time to add the stiffer green stuff:  Green beans, broccoli, kale, cabbage, 1-2 C.  Chop them up and throw them in, then simmer for 4-10 minutes, until they are the texture you want.  Turn off the heat.

If you want to include spinach, cilantro, or fresh basil in your soup, do it now.  The heat of the soup will wilt the greens without destroying their delicate texture or flavor.

This is also the right time to add lemon juice or vinegar to your soup, if you think it needs it.  For the most part, these acids will boil off if you add them earlier in the cooking process.