CSA@Work partner farms are busy planting and preparing their fields to bring farm fresh local produce to King County employees this summer. To get mouths watering, we asked each of our four CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program partners to talk about the crops they are excited to share with members and their favorite meals to make with a CSA box.
If you want to receive a CSA box at one of 13 King County worksites, sign up by June 1 for a guaranteed spot in the program. Read more on the Healthy Incentives blog and sign-up for the program that serves your preferred building.
About King County CSA@Work partners
Oxbow and Mezza Luna are single-farm CSAs located in the Snoqualmie Valley that grow all the food in each box (though you can add local fruit, honey, or mushroom shares through Oxbow’s program). Pike Place Market and Snoqualmie Valley Co-op are cooperative CSA models that include food grown from over 20 different local farms.
Tell us one or two crops you are excited to share with CSA subscribers this season.
- Oxbow Farm: We can’t help but pick fava beans and sugar snap peas. Many members are not familiar with fava beans, but learn to love boiling then drizzling the protein-rich legume with olive oil and salt for a delicious snack. Sugar snap peas are loved by all ages and taste buds and are delicious raw or cooked.
- Snoqualmie Valley Co-op CSA: Cauliflower, broccoli and Romanesco are magical when they come out of the ground, and delicious. We are also excited to include shitake mushrooms from Sno-Valley Mushrooms in CSA boxes this year.
- Mezza Luna Farm: We are big fans of sweet peppers and grow quite a few varieties to share with our CSA. Mini bell peppers are currently in the greenhouse, and soon we’ll plant up to six varieties of full-size tomatoes and five kinds of cherry tomatoes, because we love those too.
- Pike Place Market Farm to Go CSA: More herbs will star in CSA boxes this year like fresh basil and rosemary. We are also excited to include additional varieties of fall and winter squash later in the season like carnival winter squash and spaghetti squash.
What is your favorite meal to make with a CSA share?
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Shred cabbage, kohlrabi, carrots, even broccoli stems to make a colorful slaw from your CSA box. Oxbow Farm: Stir fries are delicious and a great way to use whatever vegetables are in season. One of our farmers also introduced us to a tasty meal with delicata squash and kale. Few ingredients, but full of flavor!
- Snoqualmie Valley Co-op CSA: CSA box contents like cabbage and kohlrabi make excellent slaws, and adding carrots makes for a colorful green, purple, and orange salad.
- Mezza Luna Farm: Our family got a spiralizer – a kitchen tool that cuts vegetables into long strips or noodle shapes – for Christmas last year, so we love using it to make zucchini into “pasta”. Garlic scapes make an excellent pesto, so that goes atop the zucchini to make a filling, low-carb meal.
- Pike Place Market Farm to Go CSA: We love vegetable fajitas with fresh herbs and cream sauce. Grill or sauté peppers with zucchini and onion and add tomatoes or fresh herbs to the top for a little extra flavor, and cream sauce for a finishing touch! This is a quick recipe that can easily be adapted depending on what vegetables are in season.
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