Colinwood Courier
Our newsletter is here to keep you informed and to give you ideas about how to use and store the fresh produce. Check back every month for the latest news! Would you like to receive a copy every month? Use our Contact Us form to subscribe.
Colinwood Farms Baby Chickens
Farmer John and Farmer Jesse introduce a new wrinkle to Colinwood Farms - Chickens! And Ducks Too! The idea is to sell certified organic chicken and duck eggs. Here the chickens and ducks enjoy their 'play pen' of the old milk house at the farm.
Introducing Papa
The only thing missing at the farm in Chimacum was a rooster crowing in the morning. Roosters also protect the hens so now we have Papa, the beautiful rooster who is the latest addition to the chicken house.
New Greenhouses Extend the Growing Season
Jesse, Willie, and John have been busy constructing new greenhouses that will be impervious to the winds that have caused problems for the greenhouses in the past. A new design with shorter sides and better horizontal support should eliminate the problems that blew down the longest greenhouse last fall.
The new design also makes it easier to use trellises to train the tomatoes and cucumbers leading to nicer looking fruit and better yields.
We have been producing tomatoes and zucchini for more than a month now which is very much appreciated at farmers' markets.
Farmers' Markets
We are currently selling produce at the Ballard Farmers' Market and the Port Townsend Farmer;s Market and we hope to add the Poulsbo Farmers Market in the next few weeks.
Recipes
Here are a few ideas for the new season's produce:
Zucchini stuffed with Quinoa and Mushrooms
4 small or 3 large zucchini halved lengthwise
1 cup quinoa
2 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 tsp minced garlic
2 T chopped shallots
2 cups sliced or chopped mushrooms
sage
rosemary
1 cup ricotta or cottage cheese
parmesan or mixed italian cheese
Heat oven to 350.
Hollow out zucchini halves and place on a greased cookie sheet.
Toast quinoa in a hot dry frying pan until nutty and light brown. Heat two cups chicken broth to a boil (or use water for a vegetarian dish and add a little salt). Add toasted quinoa and simmer and cook until quinoa is soft and done. Fluff quinoa with a fork.
Toast pine nuts in the same pan used for quinoa.
Shred the inside of zucchini. In same pan used to toast pine nuts, saute garlic and shallots for three minutes, then add zucchini and mushrooms. Saute until zucchini and mushrooms are tender. Sprinkle with fresh or dried herbs. Put into a large bowl. Add quinoa, ricotta, and pine nuts. Mix and season to taste. Stuff mixture into zucchini boats and sprinkle with cheese.
Bake 35 minutes or until done.
Mixed Greens/ Beet Salad
This is tasty and healthy too! Everything should be very fresh. You can use fresh beets in this salad or if you have frozen beets, you can steam them and use in the salad.
In a large bowl (you can rub the sides with garlic if you like) mix salad greens, spinach, mustard greens and chard. Get colorful varieties such as rainbow chard. Slice beets on top of salad. Add rings of red onion.
For salad dressing: Mix 1/3 cup olive oil or hazelnut oil, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (cherry balsamic vinegar is nice) 1 t mustard, 1 T honey or rice syrup, salt and pepper.