"Like the bee, we hurry to our tasks,
The earth awakens to the cold edge of steel
No day’s labor completed, no repose by night
Will the beauty of the expectant seed be re-vealed?"
- -Denesse Willey (a Central Valley farmer)

What’s in the box this week:

... and if you have an extra-fruit share:
three additional baskets
of strawberries!

CALENDAR

Sat. Jun 8 - a Farm Work Day! from 8am on

Sat. Jun 22 - Summer Solstice Celebration 4pm - 10pm, with The Banana Slug String Band!

Sat/Sun Aug. 3&4 - Children’s Mini Camp,
10m Saturday - noon Sunday. Optional early arrival Friday night.

Sat. Sep 21 - Fall Equinox Celebration,
3pm - 9pm

Sat. Oct 26 - Halloween Pumpkin U-Pick,
all day

It was wonderful to see so many people visit the farm Saturday. I think it was our best attended farm event yet! With the help of many volunteers and blessed by sunny, clear skies (unlike today's wind and rain), Open Farm Day was another joyful and spirited celebration. Although it may not seem like much, breaking out of the regular farming routine to set up the farm to receive large groups of people requires an extra effort from all of us. Without the help and attention and of all the volunteers, our farm events would not be possible. It is because of their help that we can open and share this wonderful space with the rest of the community. If you would like to help in future farm activities, events, or in the field, please let us know. We welcome and enjoy your help throughout the season. Meanwhile, here's a few words from Constance on the event:

Once upon a time there was a dream called Community Supported Agriculture. The 'dream' part was COMMUNITY, because in our society, individual achievement seems to be promoted above all else. Well, last Saturday the dream came true! Our Open Farm Day event demonstrated how, even beyond its mandate of support, community is actually the driving force behind the farm's existence! Okay, enough philosophizing. Let's get to the specifics!

<> Toastie (our oven) came alive thanks to Ken and Charles who continuously produced warm loaves of bread (more than 15!) to feed the hungry crowds. Thanks also to the children (of all ages!) who became bakers for the afternoon by helping Ken to form loaves. <> Peanut, our pony, sends a personal "thanks!" to Doug for leading him up and down the hill innumerable times with his precious little-kid cargo. Thanks a carrot-bunch, Doug! <> Speaking of animals, a blind drawing from names submitted by the children produced the name "Cutey" for our now 7-day-old kid (baby goat), who enjoyed being petted by many small hands. But the real treat was that two more kids were newly born the morning of Open Farm Day! Thanks to you all for respecting their privacy on their first day on Earth. <>Our chicks were a hit too, and a BIG THANKS goes to Gail, a true Mother Hen, for so wonderfully helping the children hold and pet the little fluff-balls with care. <> Gratitude goes to Shirley and Debbie who volunteered to be available the whole time for answering new-member questions and helping with registrations. Both are long-time members, and have helped (and had fun) at many a farm event. <> Thanks to Michelle who set up an incredible play station for the children to let their creative imagination find expression thru shaping, sculpting, smearing and playing with different natural materials collected on the farm. <> Thanks to Tom, who came at the beginning of the event and helped us a lot with parking, to Jann, Debbie and Doug who arrived well before the event and took a lot of last-minute preparation pressure off our backs, to Sarah who made delicious strawberry pies, and to Lisa who helped with the blind strawberry tasting game. Thanks also to Kristen, Mary Jo and all the others who came to make Open Farm Day a true COMMUNITY-supported event. Why is all this important? Because Community is the first word, and also the intention in our program. So thanks again, everyone, for making this dream come true! (And if you did not make it this time, mark your calendar June 22 for our Summer Solstice Celebration!!!) See you soon -- Constance.

Of Interest
During the Farm walks on Saturday I was asked many "how to" questions on growing techniques such as planting, watering, fertilizing, weeding, pest and disease control. But I also got a sense that actually seeing the vegetables in their natural state, growing in the soil together with all the other crops and weeds in a large field, was to many a discovery. Many seemed surprised as I described the way we make compost from horse, turkey and cow manure, and that the foundation of any healthy farming organism starts by growing a healthy soil. I enjoyed the discussion on water, farm workers, and large-scale versus small-scale farming systems, and felt there wasn’t enough time to get into any of these subject in greater detail. I would like to continue exploring these and other related subjects in our newsletter. If you would like also to continue this discussion, send us your questions, comments, issues, and suggestions by e-mail: farmers@cruzio.com, phone: 831.763.2448, or regular mail. Remember, there is no such thing as a dumb question.

Crop News
Asian greens/mustard greens/baby kale mix: last week you received a bag full of these. We are experimenting with them this year by growing them on a regular basis as a mix, and cutting them when they are still young and tender so they can be used as part of your salad, stir-fry or braise. They are fast growing, cool season crops with a mild, pungent flavor and a wonderful texture and color -- jag-ged and curly leaves in green, red and purple, and unusual names like Hon Tsai Tai,Tatsoi, and Komatsuna. They belong to the bras-sica family, and Debbie’s many recipes on our website can lead you to some creative preparations. I would appreciate your feedback. Thanks!


Member to Member Forum
At Open Farm Day, someone who is not a member (but who wants to be) mentioned she would love to be connected up with someone else who would like to split a share, as she cannot consume an entire one herself. I told her this forum would be the perfect place to put the word out, as many members (I think) are in touch with people in the same situation. Ideally she would like to split a share with someone at the Aptos pick-up location. Anyone around there know someone who might want to split a share?

Notes from Debbie’s Kitchen . . . . . . . . Have a recipe you’d like to share? Contact the newsletter editor.

Open Farm Day sure generated a bunch of buzz about all sorts of things, but while chatting with one member (who was busy stirring up a vat of straw-berry-pie filling at the time), the conversation inevitably came around to Tom's wonderful strawberries and how many ways they can be used (since we're getting so many of them these days!). When I mentioned strawberry daiquiris, he asked if I could put that recipe in the newsletter, so... for a brief respite from green things, here 'tis! - Debbie

Strawberry Daiquiris
makes one blender full

1 basket of red, ripe strawberries, rinsed and hulled
5 oz. dark rum, or to taste
3 tbsp. brown sugar
juice of 1 large lemon (or 2 small)
juice of 1 large lime (or 2 small)
ice, preferably crushed (some blenders handle cubes just fine though)

Place all ingredients, ice last, in a blender, and blend. Serve up in any pretty stem glass you have (margarita and martini glasses work well), and garnish with a berry sliced partway up from the bottom and slipped over the rim of the glass. Daiquiris are intended to be tart, but if this is too tart for your taste, add a bit more brown sugar.

For children, virgin daiquiris could be made – try a spoonful or two of mo-lasses in place of the rum (both are processed from sugar cane!).

Other Box-content Ideas

Fellow member Heddi Craft sent in a food diary (no room to print it this week), but added a few wonderful pointers at the end which I thought would be worth sharing with others:

"There are several things we prepare that can use almost any veggie in the box. We have a formula for pasta with a light cream sauce (only 1/2 c. cream) [I'll try to get her recipe – Debbie] that you add whatever veggies you desire. We also make veggie lasagna, fritatas or quiches, veggie pot pie, and a garlic broth based soup. I've also discovered making my own wraps for lunch using a large tortilla, hummus and/or tofu spread, lettuce, and whatever raw diced or shredded vegetables look interesting."

*Click Here* for a link to a comprehensive listing of recipes from Live Earth Farm's newsletters going back as far as our 1998 season! You can search for recipes by harvest week OR by key ingredient. Recipe site is updated weekly.