Hey there locavores! Check out what we’ve got in this week’s Dogma Box, a box of produce that’s organic and sourced as locally as possible.

This week’s Dogma Box includes:

• Carrots  -  Winter Moon Farm (Hadley, MA)
• Beets  -  Nature’s Circle Farm (Houlton, ME)
• Red Potatoes  -  Foote Brook Farm (Johnson, VT)
• Yellow Onions   –  Porter Farms (Elba, NY)
• Sunchokes  –  Deep Root Organic Coop (Johnson, VT)
• Parsnips  –  Deep Root Organic Coop (Johnson, VT)
• Rutabaga  –  Deep Root Organic Coop (Johnson, VT)
• Black Radishes -  Deep Root Organic Coop (Johnson, VT)
• Empire Apples  -  Dwight Miller and Son Orchards (E. Dummerston, VT)
• Mutsu Apple - Dwight Miller and Son Orchards (E. Dummerston, VT)

Here are some recipes that you might want to try out with your Dogma Box this week:

Mashed Potato, Rutabaga, & Parsnip Casserole w/ Caramelized Onion
This casserole features the hearty flavors and textures of potatoes, rutabaga, parsnips, and onions. With very few extra ingredients, it’s easy to make and a great-tasting way to cook up those root veggies!

Cream of Sunchoke Soup
A flavorful use for your onions, sunchokes, and potatoes!

Braised Radishes
Braised black radishes make an excellent side dish.

Simple Cinnamon Stewed Apples
Stew down those Empire apples for a sweet side dish, dessert, or pancake topping!

Happy eating from your friends at Boston Organics!

Happy President’s Day! We’ve got some fun presidential food facts to help you celebrate, and we also have some very special California citrus add-ons: Blood oranges and Meyer lemons! Check out this week’s news, produce, and recipes in the newsletter!

Hey there locavores! Check out what we’ve got in this week’s Dogma Box, a box of produce that’s organic and sourced as locally as possible.

This week’s Dogma Box includes:

• Carrots  -  Winter Moon Farm (Hadley, MA)
• Beets  -  Winter Moon Farm (Hadley, MA)
• Turnips  -  Winter Moon Farm (Hadley, MA)
• Yellow Onions   –  Porter Farms (Elba, NY)
• Daikon Radish  -  Deep Root Organic Coop (Johnson, VT)
• Rutabaga  –  Deep Root Organic Coop (Johnson, VT)
• Rainbow Potato Mix  -  Misty Meadows Farm (Grand Isle, ME)
• Butternut Squash -  Lakeside Organics (Hadley, MA)
• Empire Apples  -  Dwight Miller and Son Orchards (E. Dummerston, VT)

It can take a little more effort to cook all these root veggies from week to week, but don’t worry – we’re here to help! Here are some recipes that you might want to try out with your Dogma Box this week:

Rutabaga and Greens Fritatta - A fritatta is always a great way to use a variety of veggies. This is a simple recipe that calls for rutabaga and cooked greens such as kale or collards. As always, you can adapt this recipe based on what you have on hand. Use your imagination!

Sausage and Turnip Gratin Pasta  - Who said turnips had to be a side dish? You can take turnips to the next level in this hearty recipe (and use veggie sausage if meat isn’t your thing!).

Herbed Winter Vegetable Roast - A great recipe to adapt with any root vegetables you have lying around! This recipe calls for butternut squash, carrots, parsnips, and onion.

Roasted Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce – Sage and butternut squash are a match made in heaven, and this recipe really brings that out.

Every week we put together a local box (called the Dogma Box) to help people eat food that’s both organic AND local! The Dogma Box includes produce that has been sourced as close to Boston as possible, and this week we’ve got some delicious items to satisfy your locavore tastes.

This week’s Dogma Box includes:

• Carrots  -  Winter Moon Farm (Hadley, MA)
• Forono Beets  -  Winter Moon Farm (Hadley, MA)
• Parsnips  -  Winter Moon Farm (Hadley, MA)
• Red Onions   –  Porter Farms (Elba, NY)
• Scarlet Turnips  -  Atlas Farm (S. Deerfield, MA)
• Rainbow Potato Mix  -  Misty Meadows Farm (Grand Isle, ME)
• Mung Bean Sprouts  -  Jonathan’s Organic (Rochester, MA)
• Cranberries –  Jonathan’s Organic (Rochester, MA)
• Empire Apples  -  Dwight Miller and Son Orchards (E. Dummerston, VT)

What are Forono beets?
If you received the beet mix from Winter Moon Farm last week, you may have noticed that some of the beets were long and thin. These are Foronos! They are tender and juicy inside, and their shape means they slice into evenly sized pieces and will roast up perfectly. No need to peel ‘em – all of the beets from Winter Moon Farm are very thin skinned varieties. We have a bunch of recipes for beets on our website, so feel free to check them out!

Cranberry update!
We got the word this week from Jonathan’s Organic that their cranberry growers have packed up and frozen the remaining crop of the season, so this is the last week that we will have cranberries in the Dogma Box. This has been a great season for the cranberry growers on the Cape, and we’re thankful that Jonathan’s helps package and distribute these cranberries so that we can support local cranberry growers as much as possible. If you’re feeling overloaded with cranberries, you can freeze them or dry them so that you can savor that fall New England flavor throughout the rest of the year!

Starting this week we’re offering Berry Cherry Acai and Strawberry Pomegranate Teather snacks from Brookline-based NEFS Products. This is some of the best “fruit leather” we’ve tasted, and it’s great for lunch on the go! You can order them in the Snacks and Specialties section of our add-on order form. Check them out!

Availability is still a bit up in the air for next week, but we wanted to post a few pictures of the unique items we have this week anyhow!  We’re offering tomatillos grown by Chamutka Farm in Hadley, MA; edamame beans grown by Pedersen Farms in Seneca Castle, NY; jalapeno peppers grown by Full Bloom Farm in Whately, MA; and Rosa Bianca eggplant from Atlas Farm in South Deerfield, MA. Check them out!

The first local heirloom tomatoes and Maine wild blueberries of the season are here! The heirloom tomatoes are from Atlas Farm in South Deerfield, MA; and the wild blueberries are from Burke Hill Farm in Cherryfield, ME.

Over the weekend Jeff stopped in at Atlas Farm in South Deerfield, MA. Check it out!

Gideon Porth

Owner @ Atlas Farm
South Deerfield, MA
http://atlasfarm.com/

FAVORITE FRUIT OR VEGGIE?
Lettuce for growing, Cherries for eating

WHY FARMING?
My first farm job was in 1996. I was always very interested in the environment and once I started farming I felt it was the most intimate connection between people and the world around them. I also like driving tractors and getting dirty!

CHALLENGES THIS SEASON?
So far, rain seems like a persistent challenge this season.

Rick and Laura Pedersen

Owners @ Pedersen Farms, Inc.
Seneca Castle, NY
http://pedersenfarms.com/

FAVORITE FRUIT OR VEGGIE?
Tomatoes

THE STORY:
We began our own farm in 1983, celebrating our 25th year last year. Laura grew up on a vegetable farm and Rick’s family had a hobby farm. He was always interested in growing things, so after Cornell, Rick worked on Laura’s family farm until the time was right for us to start on our own.

CHALLENGES THIS SEASON?
This year feels like the recession year for agriculture, kind of like 2008 was for the rest of the country. Prices for most of our products are flat or decreased from last year, yet our costs have stayed the same or gone up for most inputs with fuel being the only major exception.

Labor, year in and year out, is our biggest concern. We have a great crew now, but immigration reform is needed to be sure we can get and keep the workers we need.