Amidst all this snow, in many small ways the 2011 growing season has begun!  We can’t wait to start seeds and get going.

We usually have our first sign-up email out to you by early February.  But we’re in the midst of implementing a new, on-line way to sign up for your shares and add-ons.  I’m hoping that it will make the sign-up process easier for you (and the bookkeeping process easier for me), since we will be able to accept electronic checks and credit cards (though of course we can still always sign you up the old-fashioned way).  Since it will be a week or two before it’s up and running, I wanted to let everyone know about the new add-ons available this season.  We know that many of you budget carefully for your veggie share, and as we offer more and more add-ons, I want to give you ample time to budget for them as well.

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Bread CSA with Enchanted Kitchen!  Master baker Billi Barker uses organic and Maine grown-and-ground whole grains to create a wide range of artisanal breads and baked goods.  Each week in the bread CSA you’ll receive a different loaf from her repertoire including Seven Grain, wood fire-baked Sourdough, Roasted Garlic, Kalamata Olive, Caraway Rye and Oatmeal Cinnamon Swirl.

As our cheesemaker Kaitlin Hunter of Appleton Creamery says, “Billi’s breads are grainy and substantial. She makes the best cookies and scones I’ve ever tasted. And her chocolate blackout cake is to die for. We do two farmers markets together, and I make sure to use her bread to sample my cheese.”  Billi also caters the ‘Kneading Conference,’ a nationally known bread baking conference that takes place in Maine.  We figure that if she’s the baker that all the breadmakers choose, we’re pretty lucky to have her be our baker as well.

The bread CSA will provide one 1-1/2 lb. baguette (or equivalent loaf) per week.  If your family goes through a lot of sandwich bread, you would probably consider this a supplemental loaf.  The cost is $98 for eighteen weeks.