"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now."
- Goethe

What’s in the standard share:

... and if you have an extra-fruit option:
Strawberries, blackberries, and pears or melons

CALENDAR

Sat. Sep 20 - Fall Equinox Celebration
3pm - 9pm
with the Banana Slug String Band!

Sat. Oct 26 Halloween Pumpkin Palooza
all day.
the Banana Slug String Band will play here too!

I can feel summer drawing to a close and the whole farm, like a living organism, changing in anticipation of a new season. Although the weather is warm, the light is more brilliant; the harvest moon seems twice normal size as it rises over Mt Madonna to light up the night sky. By following the progression and change of crops through the year, our sense of time here on the farm is more cyclical – connected more closely to the seasonal dance of the earth we work with, rather than the chronological ticking of the watch.

Since late winter we've been continuously preparing the earth, planting, caring for, and harvesting crops... like an ongoing and ever-turning wheel. Now the time has come when nights are getting colder and days shorter. The first pumpkins are donning their colorful orange dresses, and some trees, like our river birches, are turning yellow. Twice a year time is in balance – the days are just as long as the nights. These events are known as Equinoxes, and mark the beginning of Spring and Fall respectively. In the Spring we celebrate the beginning of our planting season, and with the coming of Fall we acknowledge and celebrate the land's generosity, and the harvest received from our plantings. Every year we celebrate the seasonal changes, so we invite everyone to join us Saturday September 20th for our Fall Equinox Celebration – 3pm 'til dark. The Banana Slug String Band will share their humor and creative spirits through their wonderful earth inspired music. There will still be strawberries and blackberries available for picking, and we'll bake bread and press the first harvested apples into cider. Bring a dish for our traditional potluck, and we recommend a blanket to sit on and something warm to wear in the evening. The children will help light our traditional bonfire to welcome the new season. Hope to see you all on the 20th. – Tom

Winter Shares
We are excited by the results of our survey to see so much interest in a Winter Share. I am committed to offer approximately 100 shares, and am currently in the process of planning and figuring out the details. Producing a winter share is challenging and conditions can be more unpredictable. I am contacting other farmers who have a year-round CSA and arranging sources of fruit and vegetables which could complement and diversify what we would have to offer. In the next few weeks we will send everyone a description of the winter program and a list of items you can expect to receive.

Notes from the Field
This week's peppers will mostly be green peppers instead of red and yellow. The reason for their "greenness" is because this year our plantings got delayed due to unfavorable growing conditions both in the greenhouse and in the field. Currently the plants are loaded with green peppers, and in order to reduce the stress on the plant we will "thin" the fruit load to ensure less spoilage. You will find a mix of peppers in your share including green bell peppers, our popular pimento or "apple peppers" (some of which are starting to turn red), and a few Italian "corno di toro" which as their name implies are long and horn-shaped.

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

Two people sent in recipes of their own creation this week! - Debbie

Vegetable Delight Sandwich Filling
from member Azalyne SkyeOlson

"Here's a recipe I just made up that turned out surprisingly delicious and utilizes many farm veggies. Don't hesitate to add what-ever other veggies you have lying around; cucumber or celery would be great."

4 share-size carrots (or 1 large), grated
half a red onion, diced (add the whole onion if you like onions a lot)
4-5 radishes, diced
3 really ripe small-med. tomatoes, diced
half an avocado, mashed
a handful of fresh cilantro, parsley or thyme, minced (I used cilantro as that is what we had in the share this week, but the others would be fine as well)
1-2 tsp. of Dulse Flakes (flaked seaweed available in bulk at most health food stores)
2 tsp. of Braggs Amino Acids (tamari would work fine as well)
1 tbsp. of perilla seed oil, flax seed oil, or hemp seed oil (all are high in EFA's)
1/4-1/2 C of Wildwood's Vegan Garlic Aioli (John Maschino asked a few newsletters back for a good mayo alternative: this is it!)
dash of cayenne

Toss all the above in a large bowl and mix together. It's great as a sandwich filling or on crackers. You could also run this mixture through your food processor and make a yummy spread. Enjoy!

Potage aux tomates
from Denise Lapierre

"My sister, member Nicole Pullman, insisted that I send in this recipe of mine. I've been picking up her share every week for her, and with the recent bounty of beautiful tomatoes, thought other shareholders might like to try this recipe for tomato soup."

1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
5 tbsp. cold pressed olive oil
4 tbsp. flour
4 C soy milk
4 C chopped tomatoes
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
few tbsp. chopped thyme (optional)

Sauté onion and garlic in the oil until translucent, then sprinkle the flour over the mixture, stir in, and let that cook for a couple of minutes. Add soy milk and let cook a few minutes more, until it thickens a little. Then add the chopped tomatoes, salt and sugar, and optional thyme. Let that cook until the tomatoes are well done, then put mixture in a blender and puree, and voila! A succulent "potage aux tomates."

Here is an absolutely delicious recipe with a truly novel concept – a quiche-like dish with a hash-brown potato crust instead of regular pie crust! I love it because it gives me all sorts of ideas for variations (and because it helps me to use up those potatoes)! I would use the hash-brown crust concept with any number of quiche-type recipes. And you could use any number of veggie combinations, in a custard with cheese and... oh I can't wait to try this other ways! Naturally I played fast and loose with the recipe (as I often do when I cook), but I'll give you the original, with my notes added in parentheses. – Debbie

Chard and Feta Pie
from "Your Organic Kitchen" by Jesse Cool

2 C shredded potatoes (I used more!)
2 green onions, minced (I chopped up the light green stalk of the fresh onions)
3/4 tsp. salt
6 eggs (I only used 4)
1/4 C unbleached all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bunches green or red chard or spinach, coarsely chopped (I used mixed mustards and beet greens, but would also easily substitute kale or other dark-leafys)
1 1/2 C (8 oz) crumbled feta cheese
1 C milk (I used much less)
2 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano (I didn't have fresh and so used dried; you could've used the marjoram we got last week!)
1/2 C toasted bread crumbs (I toasted 'em in a toaster oven -- worked fine!)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9" deep-dish pie plate (I just used a regular glass 10" pie-plate). Place potatoes and green onions in a colander and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. of the salt. Drain for 5 minutes, gently squeezing out any excess liquid. Place in a medium bowl and add 1 of the eggs, the flour, and pepper. Stir until well blended. Press into the prepared pie plate to form a crust. Brush with 1 tbsp. of the oil. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the crust is browned. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tbsp. oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the red onion and cook for 4 minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic and chard or spinach (or other greens) and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes, or until the greens have wilted. Remove from heat, drain off excess liquid, and cool slightly. In a large bowl, combine the remaining 5 (or in my case, 3) eggs, 1 C of the cheese, the milk, oregano, remaining 1/4 tsp. salt and greens mixture. Pour into the baked crust. Sprinkle the top with the bread crumbs and remaining 1/2 C cheese. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

Fresh Tomato Juice
from "Chez Panisse Vegetables" by Alice Waters
(I edited this down somewhat to fit the paper version of the newsletter; here is the full text - Debbie)

Wash about 4 pounds of ripe tomatoes and cut out their stem ends and any blemished parts. Cut the tomatoes in half and put them into a stainless steel saucepan. Cover, bring to a boil, and simmer until the tomatoes are soft and juicy, about 30 minutes. Strain the juice through a sieve into a pitcher, shaking the strainer to force a little of the pulp through. For thicker juice, let the juice stand so the thicker juice settles, and pour off the clear liquid. Pass the un-strained pulp, skins and seeds through a food mill twice to make a purée. For very thick juice, add the purée to the strained juice in the pitcher.

*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 key ingredient. Recipe site is updated weekly during the season.