“And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the wind longs to play with your hair.”
- Kahlil Gibran

What’s in the Family share:
Basil
Carrots
Cauliflower
Cooking greens (chard, kale or collards)
Cucumbers
Fresh garlic
Lettuce
Red potatoes
Summer squash
Strawberries

and in the Small share:
Basil
Carrots
Cooking greens (chard, kale or collards)
Cucumbers
Fresh garlic
Lettuce
Red potatoes
Summer squash
Strawberries
(items in the small share will be less in quantity than in the family share)

... and if you have an extra-fruit option:
Strawberries plus rasp-berries or blackberries*

*this week we return to Weds. getting the raspberries/blackberries, and next week Thurs/Sat members will get them (see Tom’s field notes). Everyone gets strawberries.

CALENDAR

Sat. June 18
Summer Solstice Celebration, field tours 2-5pm, celebration 5-9pm with Kuzanga Marimba again!

July 29, 30, 31
Children's Mini-camp, Friday eve. to noon Sun. (curious? see details in 2004's Week 15 newsletter!)

Sat Aug 6
Permaculture workshop #2 - Design methods; ecological observation and site mapping

Sat. Sept. 24
Fall Equinox Celebration
3-9 pm
with the Banana Slug String Band!

Sat. Oct 22
Halloween Pumpkin Pallooza

Sat. Oct 29
Permaculture workshop #3 - Polycultures & agroforestry; food forest design and installation

This coming Saturday we will celebrate the "almost" longest day of the year. The longest day will fall on June 21st, but for practical and more farm-related reasons (like plowing, weeding, harvesting, planting, watering and let's not forget packing your weekly shares!), we'll celebrate three days earlier. Kids, off from school to enjoy a long summer of freedom, historically went home to help on the farm. David, our 11 year old, has his summer already planned out with camps and trips to see family and friends and if time allows, help dad. For farmers, the summer solstice represents a moment of hard-earned leisure – a short breather between all the hard work already put in to get the farm up and running, and the big harvest months ahead. For those of us who farm on the central coast the seasons are a bit blurred; the climate allows year-round farming, however summer and fall (like everywhere else) are the most intense. Our farm’s Solstice Celebration is really an opportunity to come together as a community, and I personally always look forward to meeting so many of you. Remember to bring a dish to contribute to the potluck! The food will not only nourish us, but also serve as a small offering to acknowledge the change of the season. Summer Solstice is actually a time of light and of fire. It is a time to reflect upon the growth of the season: the seeds that were planted in the earth, and the seeds planted in our own lives. It's a time of renewal, and of love and growth as well. Hope to see you all at the farm! - Tom

Details about Saturday's Summer Solstice Celebration
General: bring a dish to share for the potluck and please label basic contents if possible (ex: wheat/gluten free, contains dairy, nuts or nut oils, is vegan/vegetarian, etc.). Also, don’t forget hats, sunscreen, blanket, picnicking gear if you have it (i.e. your own utensils, plates, etc.) to help us cut down on use of disposable items, and a sweater or jacket (it gets cool in the evening!).

Parking: Since we are expecting more people this year than in years past (our CSA community has grown by almost 200!), we ask you to please follow parking signs (or instructions by people helping with parking). Parking is always tight, so carpool if you can. Check the schedule below in order to time your arrival and enjoy the many activities we'll have going on.

U-pick Strawberries: This year our strawberry patch is at a different site, just a few minutes away from the farm. Since it is on your way to the farm, we invite you to stop in. Follow the directions below and look for the signs when you get on Pioneer Road. Somebody will be at the patch to direct you. The strawberry patch will be open from 2-4PM only! We ask for a contribution of $12/flat or $1/basket. You can bring your own containers, or if you prefer to use the farm's strawberry flats they cost $1/each.

Directions to the strawberry patch: From Highway 1, take the Freedom Blvd. exit and go east on Freedom (away from the ocean). Continue for 5 miles, until you reach the stop sign. Turn left onto Corralitos Blvd., then right onto Varni. Varni becomes Pioneer at 4-way intersection. Continue straight on Pioneer. Look for a U-Pick sign on your right. If you get to the T-intersection with Green Val-ley Road you've gone too far. Please park under the row of trees, do not block the driveway. Thank you!!!

Directions to the farm: same as above, only continue past the U-pick to Green Valley Road and go left. Green Valley will curve to the right and go downhill; at the bottom of the hill is Litchfield Lane. Go left on Litchfield and follow the signs to the farm and for park-ing!

Celebration Schedule:
2-4pm: Strawberry u-pick (see above)
3-4:30: Farm tours with Farmer Tom
(continued next page)
Celebration Schedule, continued...
3pm: “Teat-to-table” goat cheese-making demonstration
4pm: Compost-making accompanied by the Banana Slug String Band!
5pm: “Toastie’s last gasp” one final foccacia and pizza-making in our wood-fired oven before he’s demolished and rebuilt
6pm: Kuzanga Marimba begins playing their music
6:15pm: welcome circle
6:30–7:30 potluck
7:30-8pm-ish: bonfire
(and stick around… Linnea Beckett may treat us to another firedancing performance like she did last year. This is a treat!)

Ongoing:
• seed planting/permaculture with Brian Barth
• strawberry chocolate-dipping!
• arts/crafts/face-painting
• straw bale climbing structure
• visit Peanut the pony in his pasture (petting welcome but no feeding please!!!)

And we can still use volunteers! Please call Tom on his cell phone (831) 760-0436 or the office at (831) 763-2448.

Field Notes from Farmer Tom
We are harvesting our first new potatoes! This year we are growing three varieties: the early, thin-skinned red type with low starch content (which you will be getting this week), the sweet and nutty all-purpose yellow potatoes like Yukon Gold and Yellow Finn, as well as my favorite "Fingerling," or Russian Banana, which stays firm when cooked, making them great for roasting, potato salads and the like. (I will talk more about potatoes next week.)

A note about the Fruit Share: “Why only strawberries in our fruit shares at this time of year?” you may be wondering. Last season we started seeing apricots, blackberries and raspberries around this time. This year blame it on the spring rains; our apricot crop was completely wiped out – it rained almost continuously during the blooming season which means we had no pollination and therefore no fruit set. In the warmer inland climates like Santa Clara and the Central Valley, apricot and cherry growers suffered similar losses. So what's on the horizon then? Although we had a first light harvest of raspberries and blackberries, the main season's crop won't start for another 2 weeks, at which time you will also get your first Santa Rosa Plums. The first peaches will make their appearance shortly thereafter, but in a much lighter fashion however, for the same rainy reasons that affected the apricots. The first melons will be har-vested in mid-July, and the diversity of fruit will only get better from then on. So yes, it will be mostly strawberries for a little longer, however they are getting more flavorful as their size is smaller. In August we'll see the first apples, and in September it's pear season (and we seem to have a good pear set this year).

Notes from Debbie’s Kitchen . . . . . . . . Have a recipe you’d like to share? Contact Debbie.
I hope to see you all at the Solstice Cele-bration! The potluck is your opportunity to ‘show off’ favorite recipes of things you like to make from the farm’s bounty. Meanwhile, a couple more member-submitted recipes in the space remaining. I particularly like the first one. What a brilliant idea, to use the flavorful leaves from cauliflower! - Debbie

Cauliflower Leaves Salad
from member Farrell Podgorsek, San Jose

Chopped leaves, including rib part from
head of cauliflower
chopped red onion
chopped radish and carrot

Dressing: lime juice, chili powder and salt

Toss chopped veggies with dressing!

Farrell’s Lemon-Caper Roasted Cauliflower
(Farrell Podgorsek again)

We normally eat the cauliflower by slicing it 1/2 inch thick, tossing with a very small amount of oil, salt, pepper and lemon peel. Roast in a hot oven [425 degrees] until browned [20 – 25 min. or so], turning about half way through. You can toss roasted cauliflower with some lemon juice and ca-pers, or some herbs before serving.

Smashed Basil Potatoes
(also from Farrell)

Bake or boil potatoes then smash with a bunch of fresh basil leaves, plus a little bit of olive oil, and salt.

And this last recipe was sent to me by member Roxanne Graham:

Zucchini Madeleines
from Sunset Magazine
(makes 3 dozen)

4 med. zucchini [or use any of the farm’s summer squash - Debbie], shredded
2 tsp. salt
6 tbsp olive oil
1 med. onion, chopped
1 C flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
5 lg. eggs
2 tbsp. milk
1 1/2 C (about 5 oz.) grated parmesan
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1/4 tsp. pepper

In a large bowl, mix zucchini with salt. Let stand until limp and liquid has drained from it, about 30 minutes. Rinse well; drain, squeezing out as much water as possible. Meanwhile, put 2 tbsp. of the oil into a frying pan on medium-high heat. Add onion, stirring occasionally, until limp and lightly browned. Set aside. In a large bowl, stir flour with baking powder. In a separate bowl, whisk until blended eggs, milk, remaining oil, cheese, garlic, basil and pepper. Add zucchini and onion and mix well. Stir zucchini/onion mixture into flour mixture until evenly moistened. Butter and flour madeleine pans or small muffin pans. Spoon batter into pans, filling to rims. Bake in a 400 degree oven until puffed and lightly browned, about 15-20 minutes. Cool about 5 minutes, then invert pans to remove; use a spatula to loosen them gently, if necessary. Serve hot or at room temperature.

*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.