GREEN LIT
Hello Chimacum Corner Community!
As Kermit once said, “it isn’t easy being green,” especially when you are a tender sprig of arugula or baby lettuce, just a-hoverin’, at the mercy of any passing pest. Fortunately for us, we have stellar local farms that prioritize healthy soils to grow vibrant vegetables that can withstand the pest pressures that come their way. Whether bunched, bagged, or by the head, local greens are coming on-line, and will be here to stay for months to come. Spinach and raab are the chief producers of the day. Whether you grow your own or prefer them pre-stacked in a delectable sandwich, the Corner is your stop for all things “Mr. Green Jeans.”
LOCAL RAABS & GREENS
What’s raab? At CCF, we loosely define it to be the budded flower stalk of a brassica family plant. Raab is always a sign that spring is right around the corner. Raab also represents a second chance for the farmer. If a brassica was left unharvested in fall, harvesting the raab is a chance to make a sale in early spring. When you buy a bunch of raab, you are saying to your local farmer, “I see you, I support you, and I’m grateful for non-storage-crop local produce on my plate again.” Right now we have pretty much every variety you could ask for: kales, cabbages, and purple sprouting broccoli. We also have had a good run of local baby greens from the masters of season extension, Spring Rain Farm. Last week John and crew harvested 90 lbs of spinach from the hoop houses! Support the abundance and pick up some spinach from Spring Rain on your next visit. Or if you are on team brassica all the way, we have local Stir Fry Mix alternating between Red Dog and Chimalow. Needless to say, we are seeing green (and purple!) out on the Produce Porch, and are quite pleased.
MIDORI LEAFY STARTS
If you want to eat your local greens and plant them too, the Corner Nursery has you covered! There are many options for greens to plant out there in the greenhouse, all courtesy of Midori Farm. Get some mixed mustards and spinach in early, and follow that with some plugs of lettuce, swiss chard, and lacinato kale. You’ll be eating fresh greens out of your yard all season long with a homegrown greens program like that! Pepper some cabbages around the plot too, for summer slaw. Yeehaw! We are so grateful for the vigorous, gorgeous veggie starts that Midori farm provides for our community. Did you know that they have a bustling farmstand of their own down in Quil? Be sure to stop on your next trip to south county to enjoy the Olympic outdoors.
LOCAL LINKS
As with our local DJs, so with our local meat producers: plenty of “bangers” to go around! If you are craving some bangers and mash, we have plenty of pork-based links on tap from hometown protein heroes, One Straw Ranch. Hot links, bratwurst, ginger pear sausage, or sweet italian, there is much to pork out on in the meat department. CCF has committed to purchasing a portion of One Straw’s spring hog harvest, and that means “whole hog”! Purchasing the whole animal from the farmer ensures that the farmer is not stuck trying to market the less desirable cuts, and reduces waste in the meat processing flow. Another way to support a local meat producer is to buy ground meats from them, as they are able to control their blend and use as much of the animal as possible. Food systems talk aside, we have some extremely delectable local links in our meat set at CCF, and you would do well to line the freezer with some of these bad boys.
THE ITALIAN STALLION OF SANDOS
If you have a hankering for a good old fashioned sub sandwich flavor, look no further than the Tapenade & Tomato sandwich on house-made Focaccia bread. Generous portions of tapenade nestle between slices of monterey jack and spinach, all rounded out by the fluffy salty pillow of focaccia flanking either end. A bit of capers and red wine vinegar adds a nice bite to the tapenade. This sandwich will have you trotting up the steps of the Philadelphia museum of art, triumphant.
JOIN OUR KITCHEN TEAM!
We’re looking for two experienced KITCHEN ASSISTANTS. One position will focus on our expanding selection of grab-and-go breakfast goodies. The other position will be responsible for deli production, making sandwiches, wraps, and salads. Duties for both roles will include production, prep for the following day, assisting other team members, and cleanup. We are looking for folks who are passionate about fresh, local ingredients and preparing food for the community with love and attention.
SLATHER ME UP SCOTTY
Last call on the generous deals on salad dressings of this deals program! Stock up now to enjoy your local greens with your favorite dressing all month long. Whether it’s the Green Goddess dressing from Annie’s, the Cilantro Lime dressing from Primal Kitchen, or the Balsamic Vinaigrette from La Tourangelle, there is a deal to get excited about in the leaf-sauce department. Local arugula with local chevre and some balsamic vinaigrette? Sign us up immediately!
PARKING LOT DISRUPTIONS FOR ELECTRICAL UPGRADES
The highly anticipated time has finally come! After over a year of communications and planning with PUD and Frederickson Electric we have a date set to trench through the parking lot for impending electrical upgrades. There is no real easy way to do this, so we’ve done our best to plan to have the work done on the slower days of the week to avoid shortage of parking lot space and to lessen the disruption in deliveries. Half of the parking lot will be blocked off and we are asking customers to please use the Chimacum Road entrance during that time.
Trenching will begin Monday, April 14th
Conduit to be installed Tuesday, April 15th
Backfill to happen Wednesday, April 16th
Believe it or not, the entire store (retail and back of house) is powered by a single 200 amp / 3 phase panel, which has reached max capacity. In order to upgrade our panel and increase our amps a larger sized conduit is needed and new lines pulled from the transformer along Chimacum Road. This round of work will be for the installation of conduit only, but will be literally be laying the groundwork for the electrical upgrades to happen over the following weeks. Thank you for your patience during this work!
