“We forget that nature is, quite simply, the universal continuum, ourselves inextricably included; it is that which mothered us into existence, which will out-survive us, and from which we have learned our destiny”
- Theodore Roszak, from "Where the Wasteland Ends"

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 generally have smaller quantities of the duplicate items. – Debbie)

Family Share:
Basil
Beets
Chard or kale
---------------------
Apples
Arugula
Bok choi
Carrots (bagged)
Cauliflower
Cucumbers
Green beans
Peppers
Radishes
Spinach
Tomatoes

Small Share:
Apples
Arugula
Bok choi
Carrots (bagged)
Cauliflower
Cucumbers
Green beans
Peppers
Radishes
Spinach
Tomatoes

Extra Fruit Option:
Strawberries, Warren pears, and concord grapes OR apples.

CALENDAR

Sat. Oct 22
Halloween Pumpkin Pallooza

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

In every celebration there is a unique quality which grows spontaneously, not planned but sparked by the conditions and elements at hand. At Saturday’s Equinox celebration we gleaned the last warm weather crops and filled baskets with tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and basil which ended up decorating the fire circle as a reminder of the earth's bounty. The Banana Slug String Band, with their songs and music, filled the harvest walk with joy and appreciation for the land. Our new apple press was busy crushing and extracting wonderfully sweet apple cider, and "Toastie" our wood-fired bread oven, faithfully baked another batch of bread in time for dinner. The food was plentiful and delicious. I felt I was on an adventure of the palette as I sampled the many flavors of each carefully prepared dish. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the potluck. With the lighting of the bonfire we all got to enjoy and participate in the creative and artistic talents of our members. It is during moments of community gatherings such as these that I am reminded that as insignificant as it may seem we represent a positive strength amidst the many currents of suffering and destruction we are experiencing in this country and on our planet. As Thomas Berry writes, “We are like musicians who faintly hear the melody within our minds, but not clearly enough to hear it through.” But it is always heartening to see that the faint melody in our minds continues to grow in strength and in clarity. Slowly, situations which long ago seemed invincible are starting to crumble at the edges and grass-roots movements empower us to take positive actions. Before long, it seems, there will be reached the social "critical mass" necessary for a revolutionary change in direction. I hope that sustainable farming can contribute and facilitate in achieving this change (may it come quickly!), as a change of peaceful but revolutionary proportion is long overdue. – Tom

What's Up on the Farm
More chickens, more eggs and non-polluting “tractoring.” We are currently building a new chicken coop, and plan to increase the size of our flock from 15 to approximately 60 chickens. An important aspect of achieving a more sustainable farming system is to allow nature to multi-task. The presence of livestock is key to accomplishing this, and chickens are especially suitable to creating a more sustainable farm system, especially on a smaller area of land. Chickens in our ‘chicken tractors’ can turn down winter cover crops and post-harvest crops while ferreting out insect pests and distributing plant-ready fertilizer in the form of nitrogen and phosphorous. We can employ this wonderful workforce to pay for its own upkeep through eggs, meat and compost material, and hopefully create some income by selling a limited number of egg shares sometime next season. We'll keep you posted!!!

(scroll down for recipes!)

Notes from Debbie’s Kitchen . . Have a recipe you’d like to share? Contact Debbie.
Again we are blessed with a bountiful and diverse summer share box (oops, okay, I guess it’s fall) and you probably don’t need recipes for any of it, but here are a bunch anyway!! - Debbie

Carrot-Lemon Purée
This is a ‘quick-and-easy’ I learned from Constance at the farm just last week. Made it for dinner tonight (it makes a great side dish).

Scrub up a bunch of carrots (peeling optional), cut off and compost the tops and tips, and then cut carrots into chunks. Put carrot chunks in a pot and add water to cover, plus a little salt. Bring to a boil then simmer, covered, 20 – 25 minutes until carrots are soft. Drain and allow to cool a little. Place carrots in a food processor and squeeze in some lemon juice (and more salt, to taste, if you’re a salt fiend like me), and process into a smooth purée. Reheat and serve!

Sautéed Spinach and Garlic
Okay, I confess I’m working on this newsletter after having made dinner, and a bunch of things I made were with stuff that’s in this week’s box, so I thought I’d pass some of the ideas along! This one is an old classic; most of you probably already know this, but if you don’t, you’ll want to add it to your repertoire.

The most important thing to remember is that spinach cooks way down, so use lots!

Prep and wash your spinach (if you haven’t already). In a large skillet or pot add a clove or two of garlic (crushed or minced) to some olive oil and heat until sizzling. Throw in spinach handfuls at a time and stir/toss to coat with garlic/oil. (If you have more greens than will fit in the pot initially, cook down part of them then add more as space becomes available.) You have to add a splash of water if the spinach is dry (if recently washed and water is still clinging, that should be sufficient). Keep stirring/tossing/poking around with your wooden spoon until the spinach is just wilted but still bright green. Turn off heat. It’s ready! Serve with optional vinegar in a little pitcher, which diners can then add at the table (along, of course, with salt!). The reason for waiting to add vinegar until at the table rather than in the pan is purely visual: the vinegar starts to turn the spinach olive-colored in short order as the acid reacts to the greens. The spinach will keep its beautiful green color a lot longer if you don’t add vinegar until you eat it. (Plus some folks like it without!)

Baked Chicken and Peppers
More of tonight’s dinner! But after this, I promise I’ll share some other peoples’ recipes!

1 whole chicken, cut into pieces
several farm peppers, cored, seeded and cut into large pieces (small peppers I just cut in half; bigger ones maybe quarter)

coating mix:
2 heaping tbsp. cornmeal
1 heaping tbsp. flour
1 tsp. (more or less) salt
1 tsp. garlic powder (ditto)
1 tsp. or more mixed dried herbs (I used herbes de provence and ground ‘em up in a mortar and pestle)
several grinds black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 – 375 degrees. In a clean plastic bag (with no holes!) combine all coating ingredients (dump ‘em in, seal it up, and give it a good shake!).

Lightly coat a glass baking dish with oil. Drizzle chicken and pepper pieces with olive oil and rub with fingers to coat. Add chicken pieces one at a time to coating mix in bag and shake to coat, then remove and put in prepared baking dish. Add pepper pieces to same bag and shake to coat with remaining mix. Distribute in/over and around chicken. Put all in oven and bake, uncovered, an hour or so, until chicken is done and coating is lightly browned. Peppers should be lightly browned and totally succulent and soft!

[To complete the dinner picture, serve chicken and peppers with carrot-lemon puree, sautéed spinach, some steamed rice, and a nice side salad made with arugula, pears and radishes!]

The following is a recipe sent to me last year by member Paula Chacon, who said, “I'm a brand new member and am very excited about all of the produce. I just used my first mixed greens and bok choi in a stir fry with our favorite sesame dressing. My husband, who is not a good veggie eater, loved it. We both like the spicy flavor that the greens added to the already spicy dressing. I use this dressing with all leafy greens as well as green beans.”

Spicy Sesame Dressing
From the Whole Foods Cookbook

1/4 C soy sauce
1/8 C toasted sesame oil
1/8 C canola oil
1/8 C black sesame seeds
1/8 C white sesame seeds
1 ½ tbsp. lime juice
1 tbsp. grated fresh ginger (1-inch piece)
2 large garlic cloves, minced (1 tsp.)
2 tsp. brown sugar
¾ tsp. crushed red chili flakes
2 ½ tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
2 scallions, chopped

Whisk or shake all ingredients together.

Paula says, “Recipe was written for a mixture of chard and bok choi but I use it on any vegetable and as a sauce for stir-fry.”

Next, a “great cauliflower recipe” sent to me in July by Missy Stockton of Salinas:

Cauliflower with Thyme
1 med. head of cauliflower
4 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. whole dried yellow mustard seeds
¼ tsp. dried thyme
½ tsp. sea salt
fresh ground pepper

Cut the cauliflower into small florets. Heat oil in a large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the mustard seeds. As soon as they begin to pop (a few seconds), put in the thyme. Stir once, then add the cauliflower. Stir and fry the cauliflower for 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle in the salt. Add 4 tbsp. water and cover immediately. Cook over same medium-high heat for 2-4 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender but retains a slight crunch. Uncover and boil away any remaining liquid. Check for salt and grind in the pepper.

And here’s a recipe sent to me last year from Bob and Linda Deacon, members of “Our Farm CSA”... in Easton, New York!!

North African Chard and Rice
from ‘A Vegan Taste of North Africa’ by Linda Majzlik

8 oz/225g long grain rice
8oz/225g Swiss chard, finely shredded
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp. olive oil
20 fl.oz/600ml vegetable stock
1 tbsp. fresh mint, finely chopped
1 tbsp. fresh dill, finely chopped
black pepper
1oz/25g walnuts, finely chopped

Fry the Swiss chard, onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft. Add the rice, stock, mint and dill and season with black pepper. Stir well and bring to the boil, then cover and simmer gently until the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and stir in the walnuts before serving.

*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.