3/16/26 Logistics, New Pick-Up Site @ Green Valley and Happy Birthday to our Goats!
How to Contact Your Farmer
We’re thrilled to be starting our main season CSA and we have 32 new members joining us this week and next plus more coming in our next round May 6th and the last June 1st. This late spring newsletters will have lots of little bits of logistics.
Farmhand vs the Farm: Farmhand will be helping us with the software, billing and also is there to help with basic logistics. Don’t hesitate to reach out to this team of real, friendly folks based here in Sonoma County. Reply to any CSA email (hello@gofarmhand.com) or reach out by text 707-595-9859 for any subscription level questions.
We are still here at the farm, but the less time we spend doing logistics, the more time we can spend growing you food and flowers. If you have any question specifically for us (Farmhand won’tbe able to answer your question about the Chicory Mix) or if you have an urgent question “I’m at my pick-up site and can’t find my box” please call/text Farmer Elizabeth 707-536-7170. And for less urgent but use email charlie@singingfrogsfarm.com
I can’t emphasize enough that the Handbook goes over a lot of details. You should see a link to it at the bottom of most emails. We’ll keep sending you little notes on Logistics and always feel free to reach out!
Different Share Sizes: This Week’s Box
You’ll note our newsletter’s “This Week’s Box” we have the items listed that are in the Classic Box, then the additions that are in the larger Family Box. Classic boxes contain 6-7 items and are great for those who eat fewer veg. Family Boxes usually have 7-9 items or more of the main items in the boxes.Then, on the back page we list what’s in our Extra Shares. These are for people who want a slight customization (eat lots of lettuce, greens, herbs, want flowers) but don’t have the time to do manual add ons. You can add these on at any time.
New West County Pick-Up Site @ Green Valley Farm & Mill
Starting today we have a new pick-site with our friends at Bramble Tail Homestead. Years ago, Aubrie worked here and now she runs a variety of land based businesses from their site. The CSA boxes will be delivered to the porch in front of the Marketplace where she curates many amazing local food and handmade items.
13024E Green Valley Rd is the exact address (this is not the main event site of GVFM but the 4th entrance). If you currently pick-up elsewhere and this makes more sense please let us know and we’ll switch you or you can just try it out.
Happy Birthday Goats!
Our two adult goats Roma and Flower turn 6 years old today!! Born 4/15/20 at the height of the COVID lockdown these two goats are almost like pets to the Kaiser family but also do the important property task of helping us keep down grasses and weeds in 6 pastures which we have around our fields and keeping our vegetative fuel load for fires down. They are an Alpine & Oberhasli mix.
Roma the Goat (short for Romanesco) is the Alpha of our small heard and she can be a little bossy, if you don’t know goats well please stay away as she may say hello with her horns. She’s also sweet and inquisitive as she is here looking up at someone on a ladder.
Flower the Goat is a big boy and goofy and sweet. He was born without horns as his dad had half horned kids and half not. As such we have a female with horns who’s our Alpha and a male without who’s not. Without horns, Flower has always been the goat that’s been able to stick his head through our fences and so sees them as irrelevant. He’s probably 200 lbs and he can jump any fence on the property if he wanted to. At the moment he does want to so he’s tied up a LOT of the time.
Flower and Roma were born two of triplets. Their brother Cauli passed away last summer as did their mom. Together the tree were Romanesco Cauli & Flower. This past fall and winter we’ve been working to try to increase our herd just a little. First we got two alpaca and they were cute but not the right fit (we couldn’t easily get them to pastures even after much patience and training) and then we took on two kids from Goatlandia: La Manche goats who we have named Sunna & Loki.
This Week’s Box
Panisse Oak Leaf Lettuce
Escarole (Classic) OR Chicory Mix (Family)
Rainbow Chard
Pea Shoots
Stone Ground Polenta (Shone Farm)
Oregano
Family: Bulb Fennel, Dill
Produce Notes & Recipes
This week’s box is heavy on leafy greens (next week we’ll have some fennel and radishes/turnips) but that is the season. This is the time of year we like to augment with some storage crops from some of our friends. This week we’re excited to have Stone Ground Polenta that is from our friends at the SRJC Shone Farm, grown and processed with students. I’m including how I usually make polenta (based on NYT). Braised Chard with Garlic and White Beans would be amazing on it as would be Escarole or Chicory Mix
Basic Recipe:
1 cup polenta
Butter
Parmesan for soft polenta
For firm polenta use 4 c water; for soft polenta use 5 c. Bring water to a boil in a medium, heavy saucepan over high heat. Add 1 tsp salt. Pour cornmeal slowly into water, stirring with a wire whisk or wooden spoon. Continue stirring as mixture thickens, 2 to 3 min.
Turn heat to low. Cook for at least 45 min, stirring every 10 minutes or so. If polenta becomes quite thick, thin it with ½ c water, stir well. Add up to 1 c more water as necessary, to keep polenta soft enough to stir. Taste. Grains should be swollen and taste cooked, not raw. Adjust salt and add pepper if you wish.
For firm polenta, lightly butter a baking sheet or shallow dish, approximately 8½ by 11 inches. Carefully pour polenta into pan. Using a spatula, spread polenta to a thickness of ¾ inch. Cool to room temperature to allow polenta to solidify. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
For soft polenta, add 6 Tbs butter to pot and stir well. Serve immediately or transfer to a double boiler set over low heat, cover and keep warm for up to an hour or so. Stir well before spooning into low soup bowls. Sprinkle with Parmesan, if desired.
Our Oregano plants are going wild. This herb does fantastic dried, so please dry whatever you don’t use fresh, it’s much better than the store bought oregano, I’m still using ours from last spring and it’s full of flavor. I just leave it on the counter for a few days until fully dry, crumble and put into an herb jar. It is super nutrient dense, especially in vit K and is highly anti-microbial and anti-oxidant. I add fresh or dried oregano to our scrambled eggs whenever anyone is sick in our family. You need 2-3 times more fresh than dried oregano. It has a very strong flavor so goes well with other strong flavors, ideas her from thekitchn.com:
Oregano + Chicken: roasted, baked, poached or grilled. Try whisking minced oregano into a marinate or stuff whole springs inside chicken before roasting
Herbed Dinner Rolls: either by itself or with other fresh herbs, mincing a few tablespoons and kneading into dough makes for a lovely flavor (and aroma!)
Burger Seasoning: a tablespoon or two worked into ground meat
Oregano + Beans: chop a few tablespoons and add to a pot of home cooked beans in the last 15 min of cooking and it will infuse the whole pot with the earth oregano flavor
Oregano Pesto: this makes a particularly robust and savory pesto, drizzle over salad, toss with roasted vegetables or brush on flatbreads.
Lemon oregano chicken (thekitchn.com)
1 c fresh oregano, chopped
juice and zest from two lemons
1/4 c olive oil
salt & pepper (lots of pepper!!!)
Combine all of the above and let it sit for about 20 minutes. Rub it all over either a whole chicken for roasting, or cut up chicken pieces. Pour an extra into the chicken's cavity or just over the chicken in a baking dish.
Roast pieces at 400F for 20 minutes, flip and bake about 20 minutes more. Roast a whole chicken at 400F for about an hour, or until it's done.
Serve with whatever sides you like. We did mashed potatoes and a green salad.
Extra Shares
Flower Share: Icelandic Poppies and the first Larkspur
Lettuce Share: Red Leaf + 2 Little Gems 🥬
Bunching Greens: Toscano Kale (new crop)
Herb Share: Mint 🌿
Eggs: 🥚