"Every object, every being is a jar full of delight. Be a
connoisseur."
- Rumi

What’s in the box this week:

... and if you have an extra-fruit share:
Berries, mixed bag of apples (pink pearl, early gold), peaches and plums

What's Up on the Farm
We are getting ready to build that wood-fired bread oven this weekend (July 28-29), the one mentioned previously in the Member to Member Forum, and which is on our Calendar. Charles Limbach, who came up with the idea of building a traditional wood-fired oven on the farm to bake bread, has been working on the foundation on which the oven will be built. This is a great opportunity to learn the methods of building a traditional oven with earth. We have several people committed, and invite anyone who wants to join us this Saturday and Sunday to come help out. You have the option of staying overnight, just bring your sleeping bag, an air mattress and a tent if you like. A $25 donation per person is requested to cover the cost of food, etc. For anyone who has always wanted spend a day having fun, getting dirty workin' on the farm, and enjoying the beauty of the land, this is your opportunity to do so! So give Charles a call (831) 663-1161 and let him know you're coming. Charles says he'd like to get started by 9am on Saturday, and suggests arriving around 8:30am to get settled and ready. He will have all the necessary tools already... just bring your hands and feet, he says!

Live Earth Farm Banner:
Kara is finishing a banner for our farmer’s market stand. It's a work of art truly reflecting the spirit of this farm. It’s all hand painted on canvas, and I encourage people to come see it at the farm or at any of our farmers’ markets in Willow Glen, Los Gatos, or Felton. Maybe we can take a picture and post it on the web???

Of Interest
How can farming become an alternative career option for young people? A group of six young people enrolled in an internship at Mt. Madonna Center visited the farm last week. As we talked about the future of farming in this area, I popped the question if any of them ever considered farming as a career. Nobody jumped up and said, "I want to farm." They were more reserved and cautious, indicating that farming was too unpredictable, not rewarding enough both financially and socially, physically demanding, and often overwhelming (from having to juggle too many things at the same time). However, when we discussed the principles underlying the Community Based Agriculture model that supports Live Earth Farm, there was more interest. It seemed as if this type of farming could serve as a more viable and accessible alternative for young people to explore. With an aging population of farmers in this country (average age is estimated to be 55), it would seem essential to attract and increase young people’s interest in sustainable farming. We welcome your opinion and ideas on this and other subjects discussed in previous newsletters (click on Newsletter Index, at the top of this page).

Member to Member Forum
Reminder for all Mini Camp participants: everyone participating in the Mini Camp on August 3-5 please call us (831) 763-2448 to confirm your participation. All pertinent information about the camp you can find in last week's newsletter (www.liveearthfarm.net). We have 1-2 more openings for anyone interested. Thank you!

If you wish to communicate something to the rest of the CSA membership, or start a dialog among members on a particular topic, you may use this forum to do so. To submit something to be included here, please contact the editor (see below) by Sunday to get it into the following week’s newsletter.

Crops and Critters
Early apples: In the Extra Fruit Share you’ll be surprised to find apples this week. The farm has two varieties of apples that ripen much earlier than any of the other varieties. They are somewhat tart, but have exceptional flavor. One variety is probably the most beautiful of any variety I have seen. It is pink fleshed (hence the name "Pink Pearl"), and makes the most amazing apple pie. The other variety is Early Gold, and is a great eating apple with the texture of a Golden Delicious but with much more flavor. We only have a few trees, therefore we can only put a few in every share. Enjoy!

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

I understand from Tom that some of you have been having trouble using up your garlic (how could this be?), so one of the recipes below will help you use up an entire head, not just a few cloves. And since we've been getting leeks the past few weeks, I found this other recipe for using them with spinach (another box ingredient) in a simple frittata. - Debbie

Roasted Garlic
In looking for recipes for making this, I have before me three different cookbooks, each with different time and temperature instructions! The way I interpret this is that, hey, it's pretty flexible. The idea is to bake or roast the whole head of garlic until the cloves are soft and buttery. However you choose to extract the roasted cloves (you can 'squirt' them out, scoop 'em out or figure it out), the garlic is just heavenly smooshed onto baguette (or a bread of your choice). The roasted garlic is mild, fragrant and sweet. Not at all sharp like in its raw form.

Most every recipe calls for slicing off the top of the head of garlic (so the tips of the cloves are exposed), placing it in a small baking dish or wrapping in foil (you can do as many heads as you like), drizzling the head with a little olive oil, and optionally sprinkling with herbs, salt, that sort of thing, then baking in a pre-heated oven... 1) á lá Rolling Prairie Cookbook, at 250 degrees F for 45 minutes, uncovered, 2) á lá From Asparagus to Zucchini cookbook, at 350 degrees for one hour, or 3) á lá Dean & DeLuca cookbook at 400 degrees for 1 hour (wrapped in foil or in a covered 'garlic roaster'). I'd go for the hotter temperatures... I think 250 degrees won't do it, or at least it'll take more like 1 1/2 hours at that temperature, not 45 minutes. But if it's not done yet, simply stick it back in the oven and bake it a little longer! The skins should be crackly and the cloves should give easily when squeezed. Actually when I make it, I don't even cut off the top of the head of garlic (you don't have to). You can also peel roasted cloves of garlic and use them in numerous dishes like, oh, roast garlic mashed potatoes, or roast garlic cream gravy; or you can spread the roasted garlic onto grilled fish, meats or vegetables... the possibilities are endless!

Spinach Leek Frittata
from the Rolling Prairie Cookbook
serves 6

1 tbsp. butter
3 leeks, thinly sliced
1 large bunch of fresh spinach, approx. 3/4 lb., washed and chopped
1 tbsp. fresh oregano, minced (or 1 tsp. dried)
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 C lowfat milk
4 oz. Gruyere cheese (or other Swiss), grated
1/2 tsp. salt
lots of freshly ground black pepper
2 C fresh bread cubes, cut into 1/4" cubes (French or Italian bread is best)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the spinach and oregano, and cook until just wilted, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and set aside. Beat the eggs, milk, cheese, salt and pepper together. Stir in the bread cubes and spinach-leek mixture. Mix well. Pour into an oiled 9 1/2" baking dish or cast iron skillet. Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until golden and firm.

*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.