Produce Guide:

1) Celtuce

2) Celery

3) Meyer Lemons

4) Easter Egg or French Breakfast Radish bunch

5) Pomegranate Crunch & Newham Lettuces

6) Oregano bunch

7) Live Oak Farm Braising Greens Mix

8) Green Garlic

9) Leeks

Friends of the Farm-

Happy Friday and welcome back to another week of Live Oak Farm CSA...

Our first week in a new season! The weather outside today sure doesn't feel it, but as far as we're concerned it's the unofficial start of summer with the roll out of week one of our Summer Season of CSA.

It's a loose science. Much like that glorified groundhog in Punxsutawney. Our outdoor tomatoes are planted, so we're calling it!

As farmers, we love the creative side of vegetables and introducing new discoveries, or lesser known varieties to our community. We also love the education for both us and you! (Join us this weekend for our Sonoma County Farm Trails open house & tours if you'd like more, info below). All this to say, you're probably asking yourself tonight, "what are these weird stalks in my box"?

CELTUCE! Also called Celery lettuce, stem lettuce, Chinese lettuce, or Asparagus lettuce its found across China & the Mediterranean. Similar in taste and functionality to Jimicia, water chestnuts, or a cross between turnip / celery, they must be peeled before enjoying and are great pickled, seared or stir-fried.

For our recipe this week we feature Celtuse in a simple sauté combining leeks, green garlic, and a fresh piece of seared Halibut in butter to bring all the flavors together.

Lastly, we welcome you to enjoy our weekly music playlist...

Many a mood in this week's mix. Much like Celtuse, there are new discoveries here too. Take Fanny for example and their track Place in the Country. Based in LA in the early 1970's Fanny was an all-female rock group that broke barriers for women in the genre. David Bowie is on record saying this was his favorite band. Albums Charity Ball (1971) & Fanny Hill (1972) are favorites of mine, and great places to dig for more. With yesterday being May the Fourth, you'll find a 15-minute long Star Wars disco mix in the middle. (For those listening via a desktop Spotify web-player you'll discover a bonus easter egg in your playback bar turning into a lightsaber). Feelings of Sonoma County spring bring us home with a reminder to "roll away the dew" by way of a Franklin's Tower finale. Do enjoy!

All our best from the farm,

Tom & William and Live Oak Farm team

Seared Halibut with Savory Sautéed Celtuse

Ingredients:

all Leeks

all Green Garlic

3 stalks Celtuce, peeled & diced

Halibut fillets

2 Tbsp Butter

1/2 Meyer Lemon, juiced

fresh Oregano, minced

Salt & Pepper to taste

Method:

Begin by preparing your Celtuse by peeling the stalk, reveling the bright green stem. Dice into quarter-sized rounds. Wash and cut leeks and green garlic (greens and bulbs) down to bite-sized pieces. Combine and set aside in a bowl.

Rinse, pat dry, and season your fish fillets

In a large sauté pan heat butter to high heat. Begin by sautéing your vegetables. Cook until browning and tender. (Feel free to add additional butter or splash of white wine as you cook). Sear fish fillets on high heat, crisping both sides while keeping the center flesh tender and being sure not to over-cook.

Season with salt & pepper to taste, and garnish with fresh oregano and Meyer Lemon.

Plate and serve.

CSA Pick-Up Member Housekeeping

a note regarding pick-up timeline....

With respect to CSA pick-up we strongly encourage pick-up when vegetables are at their peak. We put a lot of care into these harvests to ensure produce is at prime form for our customers. Our pick-up option is intended to be completed by Friday evening. We understand busy lives, but in the care of the veggies you pay for feel free to give us a heads up (email is great) if you know you aren't going to make pick up. We can either move your box to our cooler overnight or look to move you to home delivery option to ensure peak freshness as your needs / schedule dictate. 

Going forward we will be donating any boxes that aren't picked up by Saturday morning from the farm stand. We simply can't stand behind having produce sit until Sunday night, especially with only warmer days ahead. Thank you for your understanding.

Our partnered pick-up locations also thank you for timely pick-up.

Let us know if you have any questions or care to make edits to your current CSA membership (pick-up / delivery).

Space Remains to join us in our weekly

Vegetable Mission!

Our new 13-week season is underway today, Friday, May 5th. We welcome returning members & new members joining us for the first time in a new season.

If you haven't yet secured your membership or care to refer someone to our CSA program, space remains to still join us. Pro-rated rates available to jump-in, mid-season.

SUMMER CSA Season Schedule

Refer above for the breakdown by week of our full season schedule.

Going to be out of town for some summer travel? Or can't make it for pick-up one week?

Email tom@liveoakfarmpetaluma.com to arrange deferred pick-up or arrangements to gift your produce to a friend or neighbor in your absence or donate your box.

Sonoma County Farm Trails - Spring Tour 2023

This weekend!



Reminder to join us and other participating farms in this Spring's edition of Sonoma County Farm Trail Tour. Join us Saturday + Sunday, May 6 & 7 for farm tours and open house! Be sure to register to support our county's robust network of local farms & their farmers. Click the banner above to visit Sonoma County Farm Trails event page to view participating local farms and plan your weekend today!

We will be offering farmer-led farm tours Saturday & Sunday at the following times:

9AM, Noon, & 2PM

Reminder - We Recycle! 

We encourage you to return your CSA boxes to your pick-up location, or leave cartons, boxes, and other farm CSA reusables at your doorstep for exchange on Friday delivery days. A big thank you to the many of you that already participate in our recycling efforts!

We thank all those who have recently joined us in this practice as well. Your recycling efforts are noticed & appreciated! Thank you!

Dinner with Your Farmer

Dates & Tickets Dropping Soon...

We are excited to return to our season of Farm Dinners here at Live Oak Farm! We are just working on finalizing a few of our last partnerships and tickets before announcement to you our CSA members and farm newsletter subscribers. Stay tuned!