Weekly CSA Newsletter: Week #9 August 6-10

In This Issue:

  1. This week's share may include: ...
  2. Pick-Your-Own Crops and Information
  3. Notes from the Field
  4. Recipes
  5. Upcoming Events: Third Sunday Gathering August 20th at 4 PM
  6. CFO Contact Information

1. This week's share may include

  • Swiss Chard
  • Cucumbers
  • Summer Squash
  • Peppers
  • Eggplant
  • Tomatoes
  • Beets
  • Carrots
  • Garlic

2. Pick-Your-Own Crops

  • Beans
  • Herbs
  • Flowers
  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Hot Peppers
  • Tomatilloes
  • Paste Tomatoes

All shareholders are invited to pick your own from 9 AM to 7:30 PM on Sundays and from 3 PM to 7:30 PM on Thursdays. Please visit the PYO station near the red shed for locations of crops and all PYO tools and materials.

3. Notes from the Field

During the growing season, farms are never a finished product. Crops and weeds are always growing, flowering, moving past their prime, and being turned under to make room for whatever comes next. There is never a moment in the season when a farmer can look out over the entire farm and see a complete patchwork of crops, all at the same stage of life and growth, all healthy and vibrant. Instead, you always see some fragile young plants, some mature and productive crops, some crops that are ready to be turned in and some empty beds awaiting their next planting, whether it's a new vegetable or a green manure cover.

The life of the farm is like that in other ways, too. Because we are an organic farm, and because we are a community farm, there are ecological and social communities of plants, people, and animals attached to our fields that are also always in flux, growing up, settling down, and passing away, often before we're ready.

Many of you know that we've been renting a tillage tractor about one day a week for the last month in order to replace our broken tractor. We have needed to seed and transplant quite a bit for the last two weeks, getting our fall crops in the ground, and so this past week we needed to rent the tractor on Friday, which is usually our day off. Since Nate and Jen were on a well-deserved vacation, Meryl, Danny and I agreed to take shifts on the tractor until the old crops were turned in and the beds prepared for planting. So it was just by coincidence, or so it seemed, that I was sitting on the tractor, wishing for more coffee, turning in the first planting of cucumbers on Friday morning when Utah came to say good-bye to the farm.

Those of you who have been around the farm for a while know that Utah's acquaintance with it predates my own. The big mastiff and his owners, Dee and David Kricker, walked many hundreds of miles around the farm, making daily visits each morning for years. Utah was so big that he required two leashes and a good strong harness, but he was such a gentle soul that a morning carrot satisfied him for a good while. He meandered over the farm roads, investigating the smells and sounds of the fields each morning, a glad witness to the passage of the seasons and the constant flux of the crops in the fields. He saw geese and woodchucks, rabbits and human neighbors, weeds and tomatoes and rye and vetch take their place in the rows and then depart. Watching the killdeer and the swallows and the potato beetles and lacewings, tractors and weeding crews, he nibbled his carrots, gave a big open-mouthed smile and wag of his massive tail, and was off with Dee's voice, as attentive as a 110-pound animal can be. He always seemed to be filled with joy, happy to be where he was, delighted to be doing the work of taking care of his farm.

Utah was elderly for a mastiff, and his illness was as gentle to him as possible, thanks to Dee and David's loving care. It had been a while since he was able to walk around the farm in the morning, so when he came up the farm road once more, wagging his tail despite the effort it took, I got off the tractor to say hello and goodbye to him. He and Dee and David stopped by the carrots, and Utah lay down in the road with a deep sigh. He ate a carrot, which Dee broke into pieces and placed by his nose. Content and at peace, he was as joyful as ever in his familiar fields. At the sound of Dee's voice, he raised his massive brindled head and his mouth lolled open in a smile. When they turned around to walk back by the compost piles to their car, I had to wait awhile before my eyes were clear enough to drive the tractor straight again.

It is remarkable that it takes the passing of a good dog to remind us of how little we know this land, even those of us who work on it daily. We are, of course, literally connected with it by sweat and blood and reasonably attentive day-to-day knowledge. Still, the profound familiarity with the land that Utah had, with all his senses, with no agenda other than awareness and joy in its cycles and changes, in large part eludes us. What Utah had was an intimacy with the land, a kind of being awake to the mysteries at work in the soil and all the communities that depend on it that supersedes task list and crop plan. It is the kind of awareness that farmers achieve after many years of working in the same fields. Fleeting at first, this kind of understanding grows in them slowly until they know things about their farm without being able to explain how they know them, and feeds their ability to work the land productively and sustainably.

Utah might not have been able to explain it either, but he knew this farm. He had a map of it in his head that guided him around the fields every morning until his last trip here. He sniffed and observed and enjoyed every inch of it for as long as he possibly could. We have much to learn from him. We will miss his teaching, but we won't forget it. Good-bye, dear Utah. May flights of carrots sing you to your rest, and may your spirit inspire us to joy, to wakefulness, and to intimacy with our land.

Amanda Cather, for the farm staff

4. Recipes

Iced Herbed Gazpacho

I got this recipe from "Natural Home & Garden" and made it last night. Super yummy! - Jen Shepherd

  • 6 large tomatoes
  • 4 cloves of fresh garlic, pressed
  • 1/2 cucumber
  • 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 2 scallions, chopped
  • 3 sprigs basil leaves
  • 3 sprigs cilantro leaves
  • 3 sprigs parsley leaves
  • Salt & pepper

In a food-processor bowl, roughly purée the tomatoes, garlic, cucumber, red pepper flakes, vinegar and oil. Add scallions and herbs, then pulse just until they're chopped. (If you let the machine run, you'll end up with a brown mess.) Add salt and pepper to taste.

If possible, chill overnight before serving so the flavors can blend.

Asian Fusion Salad

(Makes 8 servings) Suggested by Catherine Hubbard

A meal in itself!

  • 1 head red leaf lettuce
  • 1 heaping cup snow peas
  • 1 large cucumber
  • 1 sweet red pepper
  • 1-1/2 cup bean sprouts
  • 2 carrots
  • 8 ounces flavored baked tofu (possible flavors: teriyaki, sesame, ginger, peanut, spicy Thai)
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon Thai chili paste or other chili sauce
  • 1/2 cup bottled salad dressing of your choice (possible flavors: sesame shitake, tahini lemon, cilantro lime dressing, etc.)

Wash and tear lettuce into bite-size pieces. Drain thoroughly and place in large salad bowl. Trim tips from snow peas and cut on a diagonal into 1-inch slices. Peel cucumber and julienne (cut into thin, narrow slices, 1- or 2-inches long). Cut red pepper in half, remove seeds, and pith. Then cut into thin slices and cut slices diagonally into thirds. Rinse and drain bean sprouts. Julienne carrots and blanch them by submerging them in boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Rinse with cold water and drain. Add snowpeas, cucumber, red pepper, bean sprouts, and carrots to the salad and make an indentation in the center of the salad.

Cut tofu into quarter, slice, and then cut crosswise to make bite-sized pieces. Stir together vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and chili paste. Pour over tofu and toss. Add tofu mixture to the center of the salad just before serving.

Serve with the salad dressing of your choice tossed in or on the side.

Recipe by Amy Lanou, Ph.D., PCRM's nutrition director for the Vegetarian Nutrition and Cooking Classes for Cancer Survivors. From www.pcrm.org/health/recipes

Roasted Tomato Sauce

by Jeanine Jenks Farley

  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon chopped herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano)
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 rib celery, diced
  • 1 carrot, chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 to 5 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1 to 2 pounds tomatoes, cored (peeled if desired)
  • 1/4 cup balsalmic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon salt

In a baking dish, layer the vegetables, and then top with tomatoes. Add herbs, oil, and pepper. Roast for 45 minutes at 475 degrees. Roast until slightly blackened. Puree the sauce. Then add vinegar and salt. If it is too watery (this depends on the type of tomato used), simmer to reduce. Add a little red wine if desired. This is a good way to use up marginal tomatoes.

Use some of the sauce for dinner and freeze the rest.

Rainbow Salsa

by Jeanine Jenks Farley

  • 2 large roma tomatoes
  • 2 large orange tomatoes
  • 2 large yellow tomatoes
  • 1/3 cup diced purple (or red) onion
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
  • 1 avocado, diced (optional)

Fold everything together gently. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with tortilla chips.

5. Upcoming events

Sunday, August 20th, 4:00 pm Third Sunday Gathering and Summer Potluck

Bring your favorite farm dish to share, and bring blankets or chairs to sit on! We'll gather at the tent beside the distribution shelter with farmers and families, then find a cool spot to share food and stories about the season.

Third Sunday Gatherings: The third Sunday of every month we host an informal gathering of members, shareholders and supporters. This is a chance to connect with other farm-friendly folks. The gatherings are scheduled to begin at 4:00 PM. Meet near the distribution shelter. Third Sunday Gatherings begin in May and are held through the third Sunday in October. The Third Sunday of November is CFO's Annual Meeting and Potluck.

6. Contact Information

To reach us:

Community Farms Outreach is a nonprofit organization dedicated to farmland preservation, hunger relief, and education.

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