“I like it when the outside is like paper, the inside like sweet milk, and the middle like foam.”
- Aiden, 2005 Mini-Camper

Can anyone guess what this is???

What’s in the box this week: (stuff that’s in one size share that’s not in the other is at the top of its respective list so you can easily see the difference. Remember, small shares will gener-ally have smaller quantities of the duplicate items. – Debbie)

Family Share:
Mustard greens
Summer squash
Eggplant and/or sweet peppers
Melons
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Arugula
Cucumbers
Green beans
Leeks
Hot peppers! (Hungarian wax and ancho/poblanos; see Tom’s field notes)
Potatoes
Purslane
Spinach

Small Share:
Cauliflower
Strawberries
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Arugula
Cucumbers
Green beans
Leeks
Hot peppers! (Hungarian wax and ancho/poblanos; see Tom’s field notes)
Potatoes
Purslane
Spinach

Extra Fruit Option:
Cherry tomatoes or European plums, strawberries, and blackberries or raspberries

CALENDAR

Sat Aug 6
Permaculture workshop #1 - Design methods; ecological observation and site mapping

Sat. Sept. 17 Permaculture workshop #2 - Water mgmt; swale design/construction

Sat. Sept. 24
Fall Equinox Celebration
3-9 pm

Sat. Oct 22
Halloween Pumpkin Pallooza

Sat. Nov 5
Permaculture workshop #3 - Polycultures & agroforestry; food forest design and installation

The farm was once again transformed as 13 families gathered and set up camp for two days here on the farm. Every year I am inspired to see how much fun we can have as a community discovering and sharing the gifts of this land. On Friday evening soon after everyone found a spot to pitch their tent, our food journey began with a potluck of home cooked meals. Darkness didn't stop us from exploring the fields as we embarked on our customary night walk. Constance made sure all flashlights were left behind and so as we entered the raspberry and cherry tomato patch we strained our eyes and probed the vines with our fingers to find a few ripe berries or the first clusters of cherry tomatoes tucked away at the base of the plant. As we returned to the campfire we stuck our heads into the animal pen where the goats got startled by so many late night visitors.

Saturday morning before breakfast some went to visit the chickens in hopes of finding a few eggs. Others went with Joe to milk "Ivy," our mother goat, and Amy led a troop of berry pickers who on their return had enough berries to keep our tummies filled for most of the day. The fog burned off early and we returned to the fields to pick lunch and dinner ingredients: basil, cherry tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and potatoes filled our bushel baskets. Our old delivery truck (a converted 1978 Chevy Cargo van with a cargo box) served to transport our eager harvest crew to the fields just down the road. It felt like I was back in Ecuador, where the back of a pick-up truck is often the most popular means of public transportation. Saturday afternoon we built a compost pile, went on a tractor ride up and down the farm, and dipped into the only watering hole on the farm, aka the swimming pool! Luckily "Toastie" our wood-fired oven still held up for one final gasp to bake our dinner pizzas. As the evening approached we lit another bonfire and the kids, with sticks in hand, couldn't wait to roast the marshmallows which "Farmer Tom" promised the night before. Joe entertained us with his guitar, and who said you can't have ice-cream with warm berry sauce before going to bed? Even with the late night dessert, all our little farmers had no problem falling asleep. Some didn't even make it back to their tents as they passed out in the arms of their parents. As we broke camp the next day I felt touched by the enthusiasm and gratitude of everyone who came. I so enjoy watching the farm serve as a gateway where a child, even the child within us adults, can awaken his or her relationship with nature and discover a unique place in it. – Tom

Field Notes from Farmer Tom
This week you will receive the first peppers and eggplant. By next week, all shares should be getting sweet corn too! An important note about the peppers: this year we were actually able to grow hot ones as well as sweet (usually we can’t get the heat in the peppers, but this year we were successful!), so please make sure you don't confuse the sweet and hot peppers! We don’t want any young or tentative palates accidentally turned off from peppers because of mistaken identity! The hot peppers will be in a bag marked by a piece of red tape. This month we'll harvest pears and apples, so expect to see them in your share by late summer. Purslane will appear once again this week, then we’ll have a break and it will return in your shares later in the season. Remember, it's pure health in a bunch.

Oh no... no Debbie???
Don’t panic folks, it’s just temporary, but I will indeed be out of town (and more importantly out of communication with the farm) next week, the 2nd week of August. What this means is, I need for all of you to cut Tom some slack next week! In addition to his normal workload he’ll be handing the database and doing all the packing lists, as well as generating the newsletter for the next two Mondays all by himself. Tom will not be processing any checks or payments however, and his newsletters won’t be uploaded to the website until sometime after I get back. I’m going to do my best to have things as organized as possible for him before I leave, but... Don’t worry Tom, I’ll be back on the 16th! :-) Debbie

[scroll down for recipes!]

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

The season is already more than half over you say?? Hmm, best not to think about it! It is exciting that so many new people are discovering CSA this year; we continue to get signups every week, even this late in the season, and consequently are closing in on (if you can believe it) 500 families! I get a few recipe submissions a week now, from both new and enthusiastic as well as seasoned (but still enthusiastic!) members. Just this morning I received a purslane recipe from a happy new convert. Her timing was good, as we’re getting it again this week! - Debbie

Mexican Purslane Stuffing
Submitted by member Cindy Riley (found on the Prairieland CSA website, but the source is Texas A&M University’s “Aggie Horticulture Network”) Anyone have any idea why it’s called ‘stuffing?’
serves 4

1 to 1½ lbs. purslane
1 tbsp. vegetable oil [Cindy used olive oil]
1 tsp. finely chopped fresh garlic (1 clove)
1 sm. onion, finely chopped
1 medium-size ripe tomato, chopped [Cindy says she substituted sun-dried tomatoes]
1 serrano or jalapeno chile, finely chopped, or freshly cracked black pepper, according to taste [perfect opportunity for using the hot peppers in this week’s share!]
2 to 3 tsp. soy sauce (okay, maybe only in Texas is soy sauce 'Mexican!')
1 egg, beaten

1. Set aside a few raw sprigs of purslane for garnish. Steam or blanch the rest until tender-crisp (three to five minutes). Drain thoroughly, transfer to a plate covered with several layers of paper towels and blot dry.

2. In a large pan, sauté garlic and onion in vegetable oil until soft. Add tomato and chile (or black pepper) and sauté until the mixture becomes sauce-like. Season with soy sauce. Add the purslane and sauté until mixture is warm and the flavors marry.

3. When ready to serve, add the beaten egg to the warm mixture in the pan and mix gently. The egg will bind the mixture loosely but should not harden into scrambled eggs. Garnish individual servings with reserved purslane sprigs. Can be eaten as is, or in tortillas or pita bread.

Deb’s Arugula-Spinach-Beet-Orange salad
Yes I know, we don’t have beets this week, but I figure most of you are like me and never use ‘em up in the week you get them. Fortunately they store well in the fridge for weeks, and so are handy for things like this recipe!

Arugula
Spinach
1 or 2 small beets, chiogga preferred (for appearance sake, but any beet’ll do), raw
1 orange
kalamata olives
champagne vinegar
olive oil
salt and pepper
croutons (optional) (crouton recipe follows)

Throw arugula and spinach together in a big bowl. With a vegetable peeler, peel beets (leaving stems attached if you can, as this makes ‘em easier to hold for this next part), then use the peeler to shave off nice paper-thin slices across the grain and into the bowl on top of the greens. If you use chiogga beets, the magenta-and-white-ringed slices are absolutely gorgeous against the dark green! With a zester or fine grater, grate off some of the orange peel into a small cup for use in the dressing. Slice top and bottom off orange, and squeeze the juice from these into the cup with the zest. Set orange on flat/cut side, and then with a sharp knife, cut peel off radially, down the sides of the orange, until all peel is removed. If you like, you can squeeze a little more juice out of the fruit attached to the peels you’ve just cut off. Slice and cut orange up into bite size pieces and add to salad bowl. Scatter in kalamata olives. To make dressing, add a little champagne vinegar to the zest/juice in the cup, plus some olive oil, salt and pepper. Whisk dressing ingredients together until well blended, then toss with salad ingredients (I always like to use a BIG bowl; makes it easier to toss without so many escapees!) Divide salad among bowls and top with optional croutons (which are easy to make, by the way! Just cube up some of your favorite bread – I like to use the crust ends of sourdough – toss with olive oil and sprinkle with crumbled dried basil or other herb. Spread in a pan in a single layer [don’t crowd ‘em] and bake in a moderate oven, 350/375 degrees for 15 minutes or so, until crisp. Cool completely and store in a ziploc bag for later use.)

Spicy Pineapple-Zucchini Bread
submitted by member Suzanne Purnell who says, “it’s from Sunset Magazine’s ‘Favorite Recipes II.’ We’ve made this for many years. It is possible to double the amount of zucchini.”

3 eggs
1 C oil
2 C sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. vanilla
2 C shredded zucchini
1 8-oz. can crushed pineapple (or fresh)
3 C flour
½ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, beat eggs until frothy. Add oil, sugar and vanilla. Beat well. Stir in zucchini and pineapple. In another bowl, stir flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg until well blended. Stir gently into zucchini mixture until blended. Spoon batter into two greased and floured 9” x 5” loaf pans. Bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until bread begins to pull away from pan and wooden pick comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes, then cool on racks.

*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.