Please forward this to any list serves in the Bethesda Area.  Thanks!

This week at the Farm Stand

Come out on Saturday morning 9 AM- 1 PM.
 
We are located in the upper parking lot of the UU Church   9601 Cedar La, Bethesda.  Check us out!



We  have great SWEET CHERRIES 

SOUR CHERRIES are here!  Get them now - remember they have a short season

PEACHES!  The first of the year.  Very Sweet!

BLUEBERRIES AND BLACK RASPBERRIES- here now!

APRICOTS!

We  have SNOW PEAS this weekend. Try grilling snow peas.  They are great.

We have ENGLISH SHELL PEAS!.  Remember those peas that you have to shell.

We will have early TOMATOES -Red Alert and the Fourth of July - great tomatoes for sandwiches and salads! 

We will have ZUCCHINI, YELLOW SQUASH, and CUCUMBERS including pickling cukes.

RED BEETS!  Great size, Great taste and GREAT greens. 

We  have salad mixes, fresh herbs including BASIL and DILL and spring onions.

New Red Potatoes!  Good Summer Sweet Onions!

Don't forget Swiss Chard, Collards, Fennel and Kale!


CHICKEN - free-range chicken.   These chickens are fresh, local, grown on grass, no hormones or growth enhancers.  Try it!

BEEF -  Buy grass fed hormone- free beef for your cookouts!  Our own beef. 
       ground beef, round steak, sirloin and sirloin tip steaks, Delmonico steaks, fillet mignon, 

PORK -  We have free-range pork for all occasions.  Chops, 7 inch links for the grill, breakfast links, fresh pork steaks, and our own pork bologna.  This bologna is very smooth and deliciously sweet.  

 CHEESE- including dill/bacon, cheddar, smoked cheddar, sharp cheddar, smoked jalapeño, farmers, baby Swiss, tomato/basil and goat Gouda  the list of ingredients for this cheese is simple:  unpasturized milk, vegetable enymes, sea salt - refreshingly short.

Free range eggs  Our own eggs from our own chickens.

BLUEBERRY PIE and CHERRY PIE - We have our own pies, sweet breads, honey and jams.

Gregg and Louise Keckler -Orchard Country Produce
 Gardners, PA

Dear Folks,
   This week's shares will include:  Blueberries, Sour Cherries, zucchini/summer squash, cucumbers, lettuce mix, black/red raspberries, red beets

Last week only one fruit - this week 3.  That evens the score.

    Blueberries are in and heavy.  Use them in muffins, pancakes, with shortcake or just plain with honey or sugar.  Sour cherries are a very short season.  These are the old Mortmorency variety so they will turn brown (or brick red) quickly.  Don't worry they are still great to cook with.  Make a pie, cobbler, or crisp.  Mix them with blueberries, rhubarb, or strawberries.  Don't be afiiad to mix fruits.  I rarely make a crisp or a pie with only one fruit.  I made a strawberry/raspberry sauce for a torte this weekend - delicious!

   This week you will either get zucchini or summer squash.  We have the long neck vareity and the small patty pan variety.  Use them all interchangeably.  Try grilling, steaming, baking and stirfrying squash.  
    Cucmbers are great in salad or as a side dish.  Enjoy the lettuce mix - in a few weeks as it gets hotter and drier the lettuce will be gone.  Add red beets greens to your salads.  Enjoy the beet tops now too.  As it gets hotter they will get bitter and we cut them off.

This is the perishable score for the week.

1. Black/ red raspberries (will mold quickly)
2. Lettuce mix
3. Sour cherries
4. Cucumber and squash
5. Blueberries
6. Red beets

Please be sure to regrigerate all the items this week.  If you see you aren't going to get to something quick enough, just freeze it.  Even a small quanity frozen can be used with other items later.  Wouldn't it be great to find a cup of blueberries in your freezer in January?

On another note:  The deadline to sign up for the second session beginning the week of July 25 is July 15.  If you want to sign up, just send us a check with a small note with your name and delivery spot - no need to print off another subscription form.   Don't procrastinate!   If a friend or coworker wants to sign up and they are new - have them send a subscription form as well.

  Happy eating this week!  Gregg and Louise Keckler - Orchard Country Produce

Rhubarb  - $2.00/bunch
Pink Lady apples - $3.00/six apples
Snow peas - $4.00/quart
Lettuce Mix - $3.00/bag
  
Extras List:
CHEESE

$9.99/lb                                                              $11.99/lb                                                       $14.99/lb
Farmers                                                               Smoked Cheddar                                          Mild Goat Gouda
Cheddar                                                              Smoked Jalapeño
Baby Swiss                                                          Sharp Cheddar
Dill and Bacon
Tomato and Basil


BEEF

 $4.50/lb                                                              $6.99/lb                                                        $7.99/lb
Lean Ground Beef (1 lb pack)                                 Round Steak                                                 Flank Steak

$11.99/lb                                                              $13.99/lb                                                      $15.99/lb
New York Strip (2 steaks/pk)                                 Flat Iron (2 steaks/pk)                            Filet Mignon (2 st/pk)
Sirloin Steak                                                          Delmonico (2 steaks/pk)  
Sirloin Tip (2 steaks/pk)

JAMS                                                                    EGGS                                                              BUTTER
$4.50/half pint jar                                                 $4.00/doz                                                     $3.50/half pound
Red Heart Plum
Strawberry
Raspberry
Black Cherry                                                          HONEY
Grape                                                                     $5.00/half pint jar
Orange Marmalade
Blackberry
Pink Lady and Pomegranate

Pork
7 inch sausage links   $4.99/lb (pack of 3- 4)
Breakfast links    $5.99/lb   (about 3/4 lb per pack)
Fresh pork steaks from the shoulder $5.99/lb (2 per pack)
Pork chops $5.99/lb (2 per pack)
Smoked pork bologna $8.00/lb or $4.00/half lb

Please forward this to any list serves in the Bethesda Area.  Thanks!

This week at the Farm Stand

Come out on Saturday morning 9 AM- 1 PM.
 
We are located in the upper parking lot of the UU Church   9601 Cedar La, Bethesda.  Check us out!



We  have great SWEET CHERRIES 

SOUR CHERRIES are here!  Get them now - remember they have a short season

 Rhubarb!  We have it!  But not for long, get it now!

BLUEBERRIES AND BLACK RASPBERRIES- here now!

We  have SNOW PEAS this weekend. Try grilling snow peas.  They are great.

We have ENGLISH SHELL PEAS!.  Remember those peas that you have to shell.

We will have early TOMATOES - Early Girl and the Fourth of July - great tomatoes for sandwiches and salads! 

We will have ZUCCHINI, YELLOW SQUASH, and CUCUMBERS including pickling cukes.

RED BEETS!  Great size, Great taste and GREAT greens. 

We  have salad mixes, fresh herbs including BASIL and DILL, baby French radishes, and spring onions.

We also have stored Eva potatoes - A good all purpose potato

SORRY WE FORGOT THE CHICKEN LAST WEEK!  We will have it this week.

CHICKEN - free-range chicken.  Oliver is butchering today (Thursday) so Bethesda will be the first market to get the chicken.  These chickens are fresh, local, grown on grass, no hormones or growth enhancers.  Try it!

BEEF -  Buy grass fed hormone- free beef for your cookouts!  Our own beef. 
       ground beef, round steak, sirloin and sirloin tip steaks, Delmonico steaks, fillet mignon, 

PORK -  We have free-range pork for all occasions.  Chops, 7 inch links for the grill, breakfast links, fresh pork steaks, and our own pork bologna.  This bologna is very smooth and deliciously sweet.  

 CHEESE- including dill/bacon, cheddar, smoked cheddar, sharp cheddar, smoked jalapeño, farmers, baby Swiss, tomato/basil and goat Gouda  the list of ingredients for this cheese is simple:  unpasturized milk, vegetable enymes, sea salt - refreshingly short.

Free range eggs  Our own eggs from our own chickens.

STRAWBERRY PIE and CHERRY PIE - We have our own pies, sweet breads, honey and jams.

Gregg and Louise Keckler -Orchard Country Produce
 Gardners, PA

Dear CSA,
  This week's shares will include asparagus, French radishes, spring onions, lettuce mix, sugar snap peas/snow peas, strawberries, sweet cherries.

     This is the last week of asparagus. 
     The French radishes are much milder than the round red ones.  Slice them in salad, roast them in the oven.  Treat them as a potato and prepare them for kabobs on the grill. 
     Use spring onions with everything.  They are great steamed with peas. 
     Lettuce is fresh.  The cooler weather will help extend the lettuce season. 
     Peas -You will get either sugar snap peas or snow peas this week.  The sugar snap pea is a full  pod pea.  Both the pods and the peas are edible.  Be sure to string both sides of the pod before steaming.  Snow peas are the flat pod type - great for stir fries or raw in salads.  

If you don't cook your food everything this week can be eaten raw- as is!

   Strawberries - last week. Still very sweet.  
   Cherries - Early light and dark sweet cherries.  Delicious - Eat as is - don't forget the pit!

  We do our best to get the produce to you as fresh as possible.  When the days are extremely hot (like last week)  this can be difficult.  remember that it takes us about 2 - 2 1/2 hours get the things to you and then if they sit at market for several hours before you pick them up or they sit at your drop site for a while before you get them, they will need tender loving care and kindness.

   We have just a bit of rhubarb and apples left after last week's deliveries.  You can purchase these as extras this week. 

Rhubarb $2.00/bunch- bunch is about 1/2 lb
Apples (Pink Lady)  $3.00/six apples

We are adding pork to the extras list.  This is our own pork.  We have them outside on grass, bramble, and among the trees. They LOVE to eat acorns.  The hogs were fed some hormone-free corn to supplement their diet.  The sausages are delicious on the grill. Very mild, not too spicy.

   The sweet pork bologna is our own recipe.  We get the butcher to do it just for us.  We love this bologna.  It is fully cooked, ready to eat and very soft texture - not a lot of chewing required.

Please remember to return your boxes and coolers this week. 

Have a great fresh food adventure this week! 

Gregg and Louise Keckler - Orchard Country Produce 

Please forward this to any list serves in the Bethesda Area.  Thanks!

This week at the Farm Stand

Our first SWEET CHERRIES of the year.  They are small, dark, and sweet!

Good, SWEET strawberries. We are at the peak of strawberry season.  Enjoy these fresh fruits while they are available.  

 Rhubarb!  We have it!  But not for long, get it now!

We still  have asparagus. 

We  have the  SNOW PEAS and SUGAR SNAP PEAS this weekend. Steam them with spring onions.  They are delicious.

RED BEETS!  Great size, Great taste and GREAT greens.  Use the greens in sautes, stir fries, steamed with vegetables.  They are delicious and very nutitious.

We will have salad mixes, fresh herbs, tea, baby French radishes, and spring onions.

We also have stored Eva potatoes - A good all purpose potato

We have the beef!  Buy grass fed hormone- free beef for your cookouts! 
       ground beef, round steak, flank steak, sirloin and sirloin tip steaks, Delmonico steaks, fillet mignon,      New York Strip

  We just got our pork yesterday from the butcher shop.  We have free-range pork for all occasions.  Chops, 7 inch links for the grill, breakfast links, fresh pork steaks, and our own pork bologna.  This bologna is very smooth and deliciously sweet.  

 Also hormone-free cheeses - including dill/bacon, cheddar, smoked cheddar, sharp cheddar, smoked jalapeño, farmers, baby Swiss, tomato/basil and goat Gouda

Free range eggs

Our own beef sweet bologna

We have our own pies, sweet breads, honey and jams.
 
Come out on Saturday morning 9 AM- 1 PM.
 
We are located in the upper parking lot of the UU Church   9601 Cedar La, Bethesda.  Check us out!

Gregg and Louise Keckler -Orchard Country Produce
 Gardners, PA

Ready , Set, GO! CSA week 1

This week your shares will include:  strawberries, apples (stored from last year), spring onions, lettuce mix, rhubarb, asparagus, and jam
 
The jam will keep indefinietely until opened.  We keep the opened jar on the counter with the lid on it.  It will be easier to spread.
    When eating your fruits and vegetables always eat the most perishable things first.  Lettuce mix and strawberries will fade first, so eat these quickly. Even if the onions get limp they are still fine to eat.  Be sure to use the tops for salads and stir fries.    If the lettuce looks limp when you get it home, fluff it up and put it in the frig for a few hours.  If it gets too limp for salad - use it in smoothies or make a wilted lettuce salad with bacon dressing.  Delicious!
    Always try to get the most use out of your items.  The rhubarb will freeze excellently - chop up in small pieces and freeze until needed.  Place asparagus in a pitcher with ends in an inch of watder.  Put it in the frig.  Before using chop about an inch off the bottoms.  Keep apples in frig until ready to eat.
  I hope this will help you get the most use and nutrients out of your share. 

You can order extras from the list at any time to de delivered with the next share. 

  WEDNESDAY DELIVERIES:  Please be patient this first week as we figure out what order works best and how much time the deliveries will take.  Check the previous email for approximate delivery times.

  If you have any questions or concerns, let us know. 

Enjoy the spring friuts and vegetables!  Eat well and live better!   
Gregg and Louise Keckler - Orchard Country Produce



Extras List:

CHEESE

$9.99/lb                                                              $11.99/lb                                                       $14.99/lb
Farmers                                                               Smoked Cheddar                                           mild Goat Gouda
Cheddar                                                               Smoked Jalapeño
Baby Swiss                                                          Sharp Cheddar
Dill and Bacon
Tomato and Basil


BEEF

 $4.50/lb                                                              $6.99/lb                                                        $7.99/lb
Lean Ground Beef (1 lb pack)                                 Round Steak                                                 Flank Steak

$11.99/lb                                                              $13.99/lb                                                      $15.99/lb
New York Strip (2 steaks/pk)                                 Flat Iron (2 steaks/pk)                            Filet Mignon (2 st/pk)
Sirloin Steak                                                          Delmonico (2 steaks/pk)  
Sirloin Tip (2 steaks/pk)

JAMS                                                                    EGGS                                                              BUTTER
$4.50/half pint jar                                                 $4.00/doz                                                     $3.50/half pound
Red Heart Plum
Strawberry
Raspberry
Black Cherry                                                          HONEY
Grape                                                                      $5.00/half pint jar
Orange Marmalade
Blackberry
Pink Lady and Pomegranate

Dear Folks,
   We are off to a good start - the asparagus, lettuce, spinach, radishes, and spring onions are doing great and tasting delicious.  We have been eating spinach and asparagus is almost every imagineable way.  The grilled asparagus is still the hit around here.  Last week I made a soup with chicken, dry lima beans and spinach as the main ingredients and it went over well, usually my family prefers spinach raw in salald or blended in smoothies.
 The strawberries started out wet, but this week they are delicious.  It's all in the weather!

   Oliver and Gregg have planted out all the tomatoes and they started some more seed to get some late tomatoes and Romas.
  This week everyone has been tilling and mowing.  This cooler weather is a bit of relief.  So far so good with the stink bug watch.  Gregg is carefully watching the young peach trees for stink bug damage.  it is not too bad yet, but he is keeping a close watch.  We don't want to lose the trees.

  If you haven't signed up for the CSA for summer or fall and would like to now is the time.  We are collecting subscriptions for both now.  If you can get a group of at least 6 shares we will deliver to the DC SW district, Mount Vernon Area, Alexandria, Arlington, Bethesda, and any point along the 270 corridor on Fridays.  Let us know if you would be interested. 

Gregg and Louise Keckletr - POrchard Country Produce

Please forward this to any list serves in the Bethesda Area.  Thanks!

This week at the Farm Stand

Good, SWEET strawberries.  This week was sunny and warm so the strawberries are ten times better than last week. 

What goes well with strawberries - Rhubarb!  We have it!  But not for long, get it now!

Since it was very warm this week, the spinach is almost over.  Get it now!.  We should have asparagus for another 2 weeks.

We should have the first SNOW PEAS and SUGAR SNAP PEAS this weekend.  Delicious with spring onions!

We will have salad mixes, fresh herbs, tea, baby French radishes, and spring onions.

Don't write off the apples because they are stored from last year.  They are still very crisp, especially the Fuji,  Braeburn and Pink Lady.  Cameo is sweet, but softer.   We also have stored Eva potatoes - A good all purpose potato

We have the beef!  Buy grass fed hormone free beef for your cookouts! 
       ground beef, round steak, flank steak, sirloin and sirloin tip steaks, Delmonico steaks, fillet mignon,      New York Strip

 Also hormone-free cheeses - including dill/bacon, cheddar, smoked cheddar, sharp cheddar, smoked jalapeño, farmers, baby Swiss, tomato/basil and goat Gouda

Free range eggs

Our own beef sweet bologna

We have our own pies, sweet breads, honey and jams.
 
Come out on Saturday morning 9 AM- 1 PM.
 
We are located in the upper parking lot of the UU Church   9601 Cedar La, Bethesda.  Check us out!

Gregg and Louise Keckler -Orchard Country Produce
 Gardners, PA

Please forward this to any list serves in the Bethesda Area.  Thanks!

New for Memorial Day weekend!  STRAWBERRIES

Yes, we have our own strawberries fresh from Pennsylvania!

Rhubarb and Strawberries go together in many desserts and salads.  We have rhubarb!


Don't forget to buy fresh salad mixes and spinach for the weekend.  We have asparagus, spring onions, baby French radishes, fresh mint tea.

We still have a good supply of crisp apples (Fuji, Pink Lady, Braeburn, and Cameo) and potatoes.

Even though everyone may be getting tired of asparagus, remember in one month it will be gone for another year.  So enjoy the spring vegetables while they are here.  Eating them fresh will give your body the most nutrients.  Eating with the seasons is fun and helps us appreciate the abundance of the fresh vegetables.  So, EAT YOUR GREENS!  Get them now before the summer heat drives us on to beans and tomatoes.

Grow your own tomatoes and peppers!  We have bedding plants - lots of heirloom tomatoes, hot peppers, herbs - basil, dill, cilantro.


FLOWERS!  Buy one get one free on all flower bedding plants!  impatiens, dianthus, balsam, tall impatiens and petunias.

We have the beef!  Buy grass fed hormone free beef for your cookouts!  Also hormone-free cheeses eggs, and  bologna.  We have our own pies, sweet breads, honey and jams.
 
Come out on Saturday morning 9 AM- 1 PM.
 
We are located in the upper parking lot of the UU Church   9601 Cedar La, Bethesda.  Check us out!

Gregg and Louise Keckler -Orchard Country Produce
 Gardners, PA

Dear Folks,

     If you are getting this email we assume you are expecting to get a CSA share beginning the week of June 6.    Market pick up begins on Tuesday June 7 at DOT 8:00-2:00PM
Thursday June 9 at East Columbia Library 2-6-pm
Saturday June 11 at Westminster Farmer's Market 8-12 noon 
Saturday at  The Farm Stand at UU Church 9601 Cedar Lane, Bethesda from 9-1:00PM. 

Come to the stands and we will have either a cooler or a box with your name on it.  Pick up and go.  Please bring the box or cooler back the next week and exchange for a full one.
  Note:  Do not discard any cardboard cartons,  rubber bands or jars, etc.  We reuse these.  It cuts down on our overhead costs.  Just put all the stuff into the empty box and return.
   If you get any fruit or vegetables that you do not know how to use send us an email and we will help you.

     Extras:  You may purchase extras at any time.  Send us an email with your order at least one day before pick up and we will include it in your share.  You can pay for it at the stand when you pick up if the bill is $`15.00 or more you can use VISA or Master card.  We also accept checks.
  
   Each week you will get an email detailing what to expect in your share.  This price list will be included each week for your convenience.


Now a little about Extras:

Cheese - From Ed Breckenbill - Whispering Brook Farm in Chambersburg.  Ed has his own grass-fed cows and goats.  He uses unpasteurized milk, vegetable enzymes and sea salt.  He uses his own herbs for all his cheeses.  Compare these cheeses to store bought.  The taste is amazing.  Order cheese by the pack - poundage varies.  Refrigerated

Beef - Our own.  We raise our beef the slow way - on pasture and hay only so the beef is lean.  The steaks are great grilled or pan fried.  Round steaks, sirloin and some flank steaks are large.  When you order steaks order by the pack - not the pound.  Poundage per pack varies.  Frozen

Eggs - Our own free-range eggs.  If we run low we supplement with free-range eggs from Apple Valley Creamery in East Berlin.  Refrigerated

Butter - From Apple Valley Creamery   Sold by the half pound.  Apple Valley butter is from pastured dairy cows.  The milk is pasteurized, but not homogenized and no additives.  Check out their website www.applevalleycreamery.com  Frozen

Honey - Our own fresh honey.  We will include honey at least once during the 21 week CSA season.

Jam - Our own - made with our own fruit.  All jams have whole fruit, sugar and sure jell.  Jellies are clear-made from juices.  We will include jam at least 3 times throughout the year.  Sealed and will keep indefinitely

Looking forward to a great year!  Let us know if you have any questions.  Gregg and Louise Keckler - Orchard Country Produce



Extras List:

CHEESE

$9.99/lb                                                              $11.99/lb                                                       $14.99/lb
Farmers                                                               Smoked Cheddar                                           mild Goat Gouda
Cheddar                                                               Smoked Jalapeno
Baby Swiss                                                          Sharp Cheddar
Dill and Bacon
Tomato and Basil


BEEF

 $4.50/lb                                                              $6.99/lb                                                        $7.99/lb
Lean Gound Beef (1 lb pack)                                 Round Steak                                                 Flank Steak

$11.99/lb                                                              $13.99/lb                                                      $15.99/lb
New York Strip (2 steaks/pk)                                 Flat Iron (2 steaks/pk)                            Filet Mignon (2 st/pk)
Sirloin Steak                                                          Delmonico (2 steaks/pk)  
Sirloin Tip (2 steaks/pk)

JAMS                                                                    EGGS                                                              BUTTER
$4.50/half pint jar                                                 $4.00/doz                                                     $3.50/half pound
Red Heart Plum
Strawberry
Raspberry
Black Cherry                                                          HONEY
Grape                                                                      $5.00/half pint jar
Orange Marmalade
Blackberry
Pink Lady and Pomegranate