Oakhill Organics

Apple blossoms!

There are certainly times of year when we have more sweet things in our fields — late summer is a cornucopia of sweet fruits: sweet corn, sweet peppers, apples, cherry tomatoes, melons, plums, blackberries. But, spring is sweet too, in its own way. As I noted last week, it is simply a gorgeous time of year. I love that we get these breathtaking glimpses of the warm season for a few days followed by rumbling days of chilly storms. The combination makes it hard to take anything for granted.

But there are literal sweet foods in our fields now too. As you have probably noticed in our vegetable selections of late, spring is the season for greens. Many of these greens will grow in our fields year-round but are at their peak of perfection right now.

Our little growing baby Dottie still has a rough hour before bed, when she is too tired to be settled but not tired enough to fall asleep. Being outside is very calming for her, so she and I have been making a nightly ritual of walking to an overwintered kale patch, where I pick us both tender stalks of kale rapini and we eat them as we walk around. Each time, I am amazed at the sweetness in the stem — and I remember so many springs before. I ate loads of kale rapini in the fields when I was newly pregnant with Rusty, because I discovered it was one of the only green foods I could stomach at the time. Every year is different.

Spring is, of course, often a challenging season here on the farm. So much change, growth, and unpredictability inevitably bring surprises. There are days when work just piles up, because calves are born, ground needs to be worked, etc. And, then we have days when the routine is simply routine. The quickly changing weather and landscape also means that we need to pay careful attention to what we are harvesting — a crop that was perfect last week may already have gone past that point this week. We are constantly recalibrating everything, especially with the knowledge that every subsequent day just speeds it all up — longer days equal more growth. Seeds sowed three weeks apart in March may produce plants that are ready to pick just two days apart in May. Weeds pick up their pace. Grass needs to be mowed or grazed. It is a fleeting, at times maddening, but beautiful season.

And, I can’t help but think of this season in our life as similar — the season of having these two very young kids in our family. At three, Rusty reminds me so much of spring weather — he can fluctuate between stormy and sunny “weather” in just a few minutes (or the opposite!), leaving me constantly adjusting my own responses. And Dottie is simply growing and changing so quickly. She is seven months old now, and already has seven teeth to show for her age! She has discovered the fun of games with Mama — repeatedly throwing an object off the table at dinner (the fun being watching Mama pick it up), knocking down towers as quickly as we can build them, and pulling up her shirt to play peek-a-boo. Where did this child come from?

I know that in a blink of an eye, it will be summer here on the farm, and I have a feeling this summer will find us with a toddling baby racing as quickly as possible after her older brother. I know many mothers who want to hit a ‘pause’ button at stages of their children’s growth, and I sometimes appreciate this sentiment. But mostly I enjoy the growth, the constant surprise, the feeling that we are all working toward something both here on the farm and in our family.

There’s a paradox in all of this — I strive to enjoy each day and yet so love the motion and change too. I think this is why I deeply appreciate the cycles in life — spring is gorgeous while it lasts, but I’m happy for summer dryness to arrive so we can ride our bikes whenever we want and watch fruit ripen on the trees. But I embrace the arrival of each new season with the full knowledge that we’ll be back here again. This weekend, the four of us walked to the newest orchard to see the apple blossoms opening, and oh how perfect they were in that moment. There’s nothing quite so delicate as the pink of an apple blossom. I probably won’t have time to get over there again before they are finishing blooming, but if the universe is willing to give me more seasons, I look forward to seeing those blossoms again and again.

And, with the children, these stages may be passing for the older child, but the younger one will be there soon too (although I can’t say I’m excited about revisiting mercurial three, but we are surviving it now and will do so again). And perhaps our life will have more children in it in the future. And, if not, we are part of a larger community of family and friends, and beautiful babies and children will continue to be a part of our life.

Plus, if those apple blossoms never faded, we would never get to enjoy the sweetness of their fruit. And, as we finish the very last of last year’s crop (only a handful left!), Rusty and I are already looking forward to this year’s.

Enjoy this week’s vegetables!

Your farmers, Katie & Casey Kulla

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We’re not moving! You may have heard that the Public Market (where we currently host the pick-up) is closing shop temporarily, starting this next weekend. You may have wondered whether this affects our CSA pick-up — it does not! We are continuing our relationship with the Granary District but working directly with the manager now. He sees no reason why we cannot continue hosting veggie pick-up there for the foreseeable future — hoorah! No changes, for now!

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How we eat loads of greens: I can’t remember whether or not I’ve shared this bit of information this spring, but it certainly can’t hurt to repeat it. Casey and I have — amazingly — upped our greens consumption over the last six months. I say amazing, because I thought we ate a lot before. But we have a new favorite cooking method that works well for all kinds of greens, from cabbage to rapini, and it’s fast, easy, reliable, delicious and highly nutritious.

Start by chopping the greens and putting them in a large open pan with a bit of fat (butter, coconut oil, lard). Then add broth so that the bottom of the pan has about half to one inch of liquid. (We try to make some broth every time we eat meat with bones — you could do this with water too, but it would be much less tasty and nutritious. Leftover soup or tomato sauce work too.) Turn the heat up to high so that the broth starts to boil and simmer. Stir a few times to immerse the greens in the broth and then cover with a lid and let the greens steam and wilt (this usually takes just a few minutes). Remove the lid, and then let the pan continue to simmer until it is almost dry of liquid, stirring occasionally. Watch it at the end, because if all the liquid boils off, you could burn the greens. At this point, we also like to add a lot of fat (because we have enjoyed eating low carb high fat) — I will stir an entire stick of butter for Casey and me into a full pan of greens, and we will eat it at one meal. Cream is nice too. But if you are on a lower fat plan, the greens are tasty without (especially if good broth was used, the reduced liquid will be incredibly savory and nourishing). These easy cooked greens are the base of almost every meal we eat — we eat them at breakfast with scrambled eggs; at lunch with meat stirred in; or at dinner as a side dish. Using this method, we eat a lot of greens of every kind every week. When we go away for a day or two, greens are what I miss the most from our diet, because they are so rare to find elsewhere (especially cooked this way). If you’ve been at a loss with cooking greens, give this a try!

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Meet this week’s vegetables:

• Salad greens
• Asian greens
• Collards
• Kale rapini
• Potatoes
• Carrots
• Sunchokes
• Parsnips
  

New calf! She is less than a day old here ... resting off the birth.

Our second (and final) calf of the season was born this Saturday! Her mom, Poppy, was a first-timer, so we were relieved that the birth was easy-peasy. Just as with Spring, our calf born three weeks ago, we walked out to find a healthy calf in the paddock with the cows. That’s the best scenario for all of us.

We named this new calf Blossom, which is fitting for the season of her birth in general, but step outside her cozy shed and look up right now:

A seedling cherry growing tall above the shed!

And, then look at the grass below:

Cherry blossoms on the grass.

I must say: it is an amazingly beautiful season here on the farm right now. The time of spring is one of the highlights of the year. The cherry orchards to the north and south are both in full bloom, and when I look out the windows from our house right now I see a lush green grass field (with a moving paddock of sheep and lambs jumping around on it) and behind it a line of snow white cherry trees. And, behind the orchard, I see tall newly green Cottonwoods in the distance. Often, by some magic, the pasture and tress in the foreground are lit up with glowing sunlight, and in the distance the sky is dark with rain clouds, which frame it all with a hint of gorgeous drama. It’s a classic spring sight around here, and I like to think that we have a special little “sun bubble” over the island, but most likely I just notice the phenomenal beauty whenever the conditions line up just so (certainly, there must be times when it is rainy here and sunny elsewhere!). But, this is the exact sight I see right now, so I’m just going to enjoy our “magic sun bubble” for now.

The babies on the farm certainly contribute to the aesthetic appeal of the season too. Since we have chosen to bottle feed both calves, we are interacting with them several times a day. Nature sure has ensured that babies are well cared for by endowing them with such endearing features. We recently moved Spring (our older calf) from the protective shed to a very small fenced pasture because she wanted to romp in the sun, and oh boy does she romp! Her joy in being is so contagious. The lambs in the field fill us with delight as well. I watch them each evening as they have a pre-sleep “sproinging” session that often involves jumping on the backs of the larger ewes. It is ridiculous and makes me smile every time.

With a bit of chill in the air again, the kids and I are definitely spending more time inside than I prefer, so these little sights out the windows are cherished parts of my day. The pear tree outside our kitchen window is just finishing its bloom as well. Blossoms, blossoms, everywhere … including in our calf shed!

Enjoy this week’s vegetables!

Your farmers, Katie & Casey Kulla

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Tomato & pepper seedlings! It’s that time of year — we’ll be bringing our extra tomato and pepper seedlings for folks to “pot on” and take home for their own gardens. If you are interested in taking home some of these small plants, we’ll provide the potting mix, but please bring your own containers. This doesn’t count as one of your “items” — it’s just a freebie, for fun!

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Meet this week’s vegetables:

• Rapini mix
• Asian greens
• Broccoli
• Salad
• Collards with their rapini
  
• Potatoes
• Celery root
• Scallions
  

Casey: farmer, employer, father.

The kids have both been sick lately. The parents out there will read that one sentence and sigh knowingly. For those of you who don’t know what this means, I’ll make it more explicit. When the kids are sick, we experience: a lot less sleep, more cranky tantrums, longer time to get anything normal time, more crying, less time for anything luxurious (like talking) … have I mentioned more crankiness?

In the midst of bouncing  a baby and wiping a boy’s nose (and coughing myself), I’ve been reflecting a lot on what it means to be a responsible adult. As we become independent people, we can choose to take on any number of roles in life, which bring with them more or less responsibility. Casey and I have chosen a few doozies for ourselves: farmers, parents, and employers.

We were farmers before parents or employers, and certainly this carries some big responsibilities. Care for the land, commitments to our customers, bills to be paid, etc. Honestly, it’s hard in retrospect, to appreciate our stress level back then. Time passes, and we become more comfortable with these kinds of responsibility, so that fulfilling them becomes almost like breathing. Similarly, Casey and I spend very little time contemplating our roles to each other as husband and wife — thirteen years in, and we know this relationship quite well. But, in the early years of our marriage, there were many challenges. Married at 19 and 20, we were among the first of our peers to tie the knot, and we counseled many others along the way: “The first year or so is really tough. But it’s worth it.” Now, almost by instinct, we know what kinds of small changes we need to make and when to keep it strong (good knowledge to have with littles in the house!).

Now, there are new relationships and responsibilities to learn and grow into. The three that take up much of our energy and mental energy are our roles as: parents, employers, and animal farmers. Again, I don’t want to dismiss the stress we may have felt in early years of the farm. I know that there were some very hard moments indeed (one that stands out in my mind is learning in mid-summer that our irrigation well had broken beyond repair!!!!!), but time does soften such old pain. However, one big difference between our roles today and back then: our time was ours to spend as we thought best. Certainly, we had work to do, and the seasons dictated much of it. But, on a day to day basis, we set our schedule and filled the hours with work (or rest) as we thought best. In the winter, Casey might still have gotten up before light (because he is naturally as early riser), but then he would lazily build a fire, make some coffee, and sit with the newspaper for an hour. I’d join him a bit later, and we wouldn’t necessarily rush outside until we deemed it necessary (maybe 8 am or maybe 10 am).

Oh, how our daily life has changed. Gentle flexible rhythms of our life have solidified into necessary routines and schedules. Rusty wakes up at 6 am (or earlier, but Casey lets him get out of bed at 6). Work starts at 7:30 am sharp when the employees arrive. Lunch sometime between noon and 1 pm. Work ends at 4:30 pm. Dinner at 5:30 pm. Bed for Rusty at 6 pm. Dishes and Dottie’s bedtime routine after. And, then, maybe (if Dottie isn’t sick or teething), an hour or two of time for Casey and me to just be together before we head to bed at 9 pm. Lather, rinse, repeat.

It may seem rather rigid to outsiders, but having a clear expectation of the day is how we survive, because in every day there is just so much to do. Animals to be fed. Fences to be moved. A baby to nurse. Laundry to be washed. Meals to be cooked. Employees to be taught. A boy to be read to. Vegetables to be harvested. Trucks to jump start. Noses to be wiped. Strong emotions to be soothed. Bills to be paid. Cows to be milked. Etc etc etc.

While parenting, tending animals, and managing employees are all unique responsibilities, they have much in common. Children, animals, and employees are thrive on having clear expectations for their days, feeling well cared for, etc. But, above all else, they all require Casey and me to be our best possible selves all the time. And, we have to constantly be making our best self better — learn how to best communicate with others, how to manage our own reactions and emotions, how to keep up with it all, etc. If something is amiss in any of these scenarios, roles, relationships, it is ultimately up to us to initiate fixing things. There are plenty of days, when kids are sick (and maybe one of us too), and when we are so tired, that part of us still wants to say: “Phooey. I’m going back to bed.” Or, to throw a tantrum of our own.

This Sunday morning, we woke up (after a very sleepless night) to a cranky Rusty and stormy weather outside. As dawn slowly arrived, Casey looked out to see our sheep out of their paddock (it had partially fallen over in the strong wind). Yes Rusty and Dottie were both crying, and yes Casey and I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet, but the sheep were out, and they needed to be in. So, Casey put on his boots, and I put on a volcano video for Rusty and sat down to nurse Dottie. Because, if we did go back to bed, the sheep would still be out (at least until our weekend employee showed up), and the kids would still be crying. Fifteen minutes later, thank goodness, Casey and I were seated and eating breakfast in a mostly calm house. These things pass.

As will this season of our life. Or, more accurately, our children will grow a bit more independent and meanwhile we will grow more competent in our roles — a double positive direction. When we gather with our far-flung farmer friends at Breitenbush in February, I am always happy to look at the older farmers — the ones who raised families on their farms and have managed hundreds of employees over the years. To me, they seem so calm about it all. I know that this calm is hard-earned — they have felt frustrated with their inability to properly communicate; seen animals die from mysterious causes; lost crops to frosts and floods; and survived infinite childhood tantrums. They still deal with challenges, but with deeper perspective — the kind that can only be gained through time spent in the trenches of life.

I see a similar dynamic to ours in the life of our friends and peers. The collision of career and young kids and keeping house is a challenging one in any form and at any age. We are past that hard work of finding identity, purpose, and mate (oh, how I don’t envy those much younger than me!), but now we’re deep in the dirty work of getting it all launched and keeping it moving (and maybe staying sane too).

It’s hard work. When kids are sick, it feels extra hard (all of it). But, without a doubt, just like the early years of our marriage, it all feels more than worth it. We are laying a foundation in all of it — loving, caring early years for our children; healthy systems for healthy animals; a community of people who sustain all of this work on our farm. Relationships are worth it. We are not just laboring for labor sake but to enrich the farm, our family, the community. Our lives are richer for taking on these roles, and we hope that we are enriching the lives of others as a result too.

And, certainly, they are not one-directional relationships. We deeply appreciate and enjoy the people who work on our farm these days — we so appreciate the laughter and energy they bring to the farm every morning. They do absolutely wonderful work, often coming up with ideas that surprise us and benefit the farm. They allow Casey to take weekends with our family, with the knowledge that the farm is still be cared for well. Our farm is fundamentally a more alive, thriving place because of these people who have chosen to work here with us. Yes, it is more complicated than when it was just the two of us doing the work ourselves, but that complexity is what allows our farm to produce a wide variety of abundant food. It’s pure magic.

And, the children … Oh, the children. What joy. I feel bad at times when I read my Facebook feed, which is often full of funny or serious posts about the challenge of parenting — I am sure it can frighten a childless adult out of ever making the leap into parenthood. It’s true that parents (especially of young children) enjoy sharing our hard times (misery loves company) … but even children as young as ours (3 years and 7 months) already contribute to the world and their families. Yes, yes, yes, having children makes our lives more challenging at every single step (brushing my teeth is harder, for goodness sakes!). It’s so true. But, our children are these amazing, thriving people who force us to be less self-centered and slow down and cuddle a lot. Sometimes Rusty’s observations on things are the most accurate. When all four of us are together, he will stop and note: “We are all here. We are a family!” I think he is seeing the same thing that Casey and I experience at these moments — that in our togetherness, we become something bigger and more beautiful.

So, there are definitely moments when we just want to take a sick day to lie in bed with a snot rag and watch “Downton Abbey” all day — which we don’t get to do. But, it’s a good season of life with amazing rewards, here in our house and on the farm. We feel insanely blessed by all this beautiful chaos.

Enjoy this week’s vegetables!

Your farmers, Katie & Casey Kulla

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Meet this week’s vegetables:

• Cabbage, kale, turnip rapini
• Purple sprouting broccoli
• Mustard greens — These are spicy when raw but mellow out when cooked. Our favorite way to cook all greens these days is to chop and put them in a cast iron skillet with some good quality stock or bone broth. We let it simmer until the greens and cooked and the broth is reduced almost to the point of being dry. Then we stir in some good butter to melt, and serve! This method works well with all greens: mustards, kale, chard, cabbage, rapinis, etc.
• Salad mix
• Potatoes
• Carrots — Precedent says I’m about to blow your mind — at least, our friends always seem surprised by this revelation … we peel our carrots. Every time we eat them (even cooked), we first peel them. We first started doing so after eating them peeled at my parents’ house and realizing how much sweeter and refined they taste without the skin. Also, often there is dirt that is very hard to scrub off but easy to peel. We think it’s always worth the extra effort, whether we’re putting the carrots in soup or eating them raw.
• Beets
• Cabbage
• Leeks
  

How can I not share this photo? Two beautiful babies outside in makeshift baths with hats askew. Sweetness!

It’s my job to build fires for our house, and a couple weeks back, I noticed this year’s firewood supply was getting perilously low. Right now we only have enough seasoned, split wood for about half a dozen more good fires. When I mentioned it to Casey, he and I agreed that we — oddly — weren’t very concerned.

And, no wonder. This morning, as I turned our calendars to April, I reflected upon what a truly amazing month had just passed here on the farm (and in the Northwest in general). As March progressed, I found myself more often than not skipping the fire. Some mornings it was still a bit chilly first thing, but the days brought plenty of warmth by bedtime, so we put on an extra sweater and went on with our days. But, this last weekend was truly unprecedented — highs in the upper 70°s, blue skies, warm sunshine, and the perfect light breeze to make it such a heavenly Easter weekend.

I cannot immediately remember such warm weather so early here on the farm — I heard geese honking overhead as I was sweating and realized that for me, these two sensory experiences do not usually line up! It was a moment of severe disconnect, but in a happy way!

We thoroughly soaked it all up — lounging in our yard, visiting the river, eating meals outside, going on bike rides a plenty. Meanwhile, all over the island, there were sounds and sights of farmers at work. Big tractors, sprayers, planters — all out earlier than we’ve come to expect around here! Casey kept pausing to wonder whether he too should be on a tractor, but we checked the weather and saw that there was still time in this predicted window of weather. Waiting another day or two would just help us prevent working it too early (i.e. while still too wet below), which is often a risk on warm days in the spring. The warm air can cause us to forget the months of rain and cold still lingering in the soil. Soil worked too early is a very sad thing; the texture is off all season long (and often even beyond — it is very damaging!).

And, we also kept remembering that work was happening even without Casey’s help. All the green things were in major growth mode — newly sown pastures, over-wintered cover crops, sugar snap peas, and more! Spring warmth brought with it major activity regardless of tractors doing their work. The greens in our high tunnels are getting close to picking size; orchards are blooming everywhere (including the first of the cherries in the orchards to our north and south); robins are building nests; sheep are shedding; and houseflies have started circling in our house again (that was fast! hard to keep screen doors shut with littles around).

After two very hard springs indeed, I find myself continually knocking wood and adding caveats to all my exclamations of wonder. Rain can and will come. But every day that goes by without inclement weather brings us closer to summer.

On a particularly exciting note for us: our earliest plums were in bloom during the warm weather, and we witnessed a great buzzing of pollinators in their branches. Most years, these trees bloom too early for good fruit set (pollinators just don’t fly when it is cold or wet), giving us just enough to gorge ourselves once or twice. This year, all of the plums were loaded with blossoms, and we have great hope for trees similarly loaded with fruit later this July. That would be a very special treat!

On the homefront, the weather has inspired some major rounds of spring cleaning. It’s amazing how a new baby can bring a tide of stuff and chaos into a living space. Thankfully, Dottie is now getting old enough that she’s not growing out of her clothes every five seconds. And, now that she’s fully mobile (sitting up, crawling, standing, climbing stairs!), the baby gear is less relevant too. I’m also now fully out of anything resembling maternity clothes (and then some!), but many such items were still hanging in my closet and taking up space. Plus, we all needed to pull out warm weather gear! Time to take off the wool long underwear and put on short sleeve t-shirts.

And, so, in spite of the lure of the weather, I did spend more than a few hours inside sorting and making piles for giving away and putting things away in new places. Casey and I even took a few hours to totally move around furniture so that the kids are now in our old bedroom and we’re in the one Rusty used to sleep in. These projects can be crazy making while they’re in progress but are so worth it for the sanity they bring to a space.

It’s funny to be living outside more and more and yet bringing more harmony inside. But I suppose this is the inspiration behind spring cleaning — once we can leave these spaces empty for a few minutes, the work can be done. Plus all that beautiful sunshine streaming through the windows is inspiring!

So, a very happy April to you! Here’s to more beautiful spring weather and very possibly a more forgiving and generous farming season than we have had in a while (knock on wood!). Enjoy this week’s vegetables!

Your farmers, Katie & Casey Kulla

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Meet this week’s vegetables:

• Stinging nettles — This feels like one of the earliest nettles harvests we’ve ever done, but they are on, on, on! For the uninitiated, stinging nettles are a wonderful spring culinary herbal treat. They are delicious in place of any strong flavored tender green, so consider using them in place of spinach or basil in dishes such as omelets, pesto, etc. They also make a delightful nourishing tea. BUT, please be aware that when they are fresh and uncooked, they do sting! Handle with gloves until they are cooked. Most cooks address this by quickly blanching or steaming the nettles and then preparing in a dish (they can be handled once they are wilted). But have no fear: they are totally worth the careful handling.
• Kimchi
• Rapini — This week’s rapini is a mix of the many kinds of plants that are throwing up buds and shoots right now: turnips, radish, kale, Brussels sprouts, etc. Remember that you can eat all of this plant. Just trim off the ends if they have dried in your fridge and then roast whole, chop and sauté, add to soups, etc.
• Broccoli — Also a plant that you can eat all of — the leaves are as delicious as the sprouts and tender stalks!
• Salad mix
• Carrots
• Sunchokes
• Potatoes