"To become human, one must make room in oneself for the wonders of the universe."
- South American Indian saying

What’s in the box this week:

... and if you have an extra-fruit share:
Pears, apples and berries

Curious and Fertile Minds. During the Equinox Celebration the farm was buzzing with kids, and there seemed to be no need for explaining things. They felt free to explore, picking strawberries, cutting flowers, harvesting red peppers, and pressing apples into sweet apple cider. And I felt the joy of us all being together in nature. For rather than talking about our interrelationships, we were tasting, smelling, singing, touching and feeling them. After writing the story on Peanut in last week's newsletter, Constance pointed out that the newsletter offers little of interest to the many children in our CSA, who eat so much of what we grow. I propose that we add a kid's corner to the weekly "(Com)Post". Could this be something fun and useful? Perhaps we could tell stories, suggest games, offer kid-friendly recipes, or have weekly quizzes. Plants and kids can have a wonderful relationship, so maybe we can explore how the newsletter can be used to encourage this. Any suggestions, kids? Any suggestions, parents? If you have ideas, please let us know!!!

What's Up on the Farm
Indian Summer is here!! It never fails: just when we think the cooler days of fall and winter are coming we get our "true summer" here on the coast. You get the feeling you could squeeze out another crop of tomatoes, squash and cucumbers. Currently we have a batch of butterscotch melons ripening, and if the heat keeps up for a few more weeks, we may even enjoy a late crop of summer squash and cucumbers. In the meantime we are drying apples and tomatoes which I will save to put in the shares towards the end of the season when the weather becomes more unpredictable.

Of Interest
True Peace... the day that hunger is eradicated from the Earth. I am still reading "The Food Revolution" by John Robbins, and he writes, "When humanity finally sheds the onerous and degrading specter of starvation, it will be because we have decided not to treat food and the resources needed to produce it, just like any other commodity, but have come to see food as a basic and universal human right. ...It will be because we have realized that only when none of us fear hunger can any of us truly find peace." John makes a convincing argument throughout his book that to achieve this, we have to in part turn towards a more efficient plant-based diet and consume fewer animal products. Consuming fewer animal products, he points out, means allowing for more environmentally sustainable solutions. Does this mean more red beets in the box? The thought just made me smile, as I can hear some of you saying, "Tom really is trying hard to justify another week of red beets!" However, this is your chance to look up Debbie’s many beet recipes... and try that rich, moist beet-chocolate cake for dessert if you haven't already! Bon appetit!!

Member to Member Forum
Nothing this week.

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. Please submit info to the editor (click here) by Sunday to get it into the following week’s issue. Keep in mind that members don't receive newsletters until the following Wednesday and Saturday (if you're reporting on a timely event).

Crop of the Week
Onions: The onions in your share come from Mariquita Farms, also a local CSA. Andi and I are trading produce, he has been getting some of our green beans and cucumbers and I am happy to benefit from his bumper crop of onions. The onions you are getting are either round and flat, called "Cippolini," or oval and long, also known as torpedo onions. The torpedo’s being the stronger of the two types. Did you know that onions are a natural antibiotic? Because of this, they help heal inflammations and infections. When placed over the lungs, an onion plaster is a tremendous aid to healing pneumonia, lung infections, bronchial inflammation and asthma. It also clears the lungs of mucus congestion and coldness. Placed over the ear for 5 or more minutes, it relieves earaches, too.

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

It looks like beets are sticking around for awhile, so let's fight fire with fire shall we? Here are several interesting beet recipes from two different CSA cookbooks. - Debbie

First, a few recipes from "from Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Farm-Fresh Produce," a cookbook by the Madison Area CSA Coalition:

Moen Creek Pickled Beets
makes 4 pints

4 lbs. beets
3 C thinly sliced onions
2 1/2 C cider vinegar
1 1/2 C sugar
1 tbsp. mustard seed
1 tsp. whole allspice
1 tsp. whole cloves
3 sticks cinnamon, broken
1 tsp. salt

Scrub beets with vegetable brush and trim tops, leaving 2 inches of stems and roots. (Young tops can be added as greens to salad or steamed as a vegetable). Cover with boiling water and cook until tender. Lift out beets and drain. Peel and remove stem (quarter any larger than golf ball size); set aside. Combine remaining ingredients with 1 1/2 C water in a large pot. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Add beets; heat through. Remove cinnamon sticks. Chill in juice. These will keep in refrigerator for several weeks but may disappear long before. Use as a condiment or salad topping (chopped or sliced). Delicious as appetizer with cottage or hard cheeses.

Beet Burgers
makes 6 - 8 burgers

2 C grated beets
2 C grated carrots
1/2 C grated onion
1 C cooked rice
1 C toasted sunflower seeds
1/2 C toasted sesame seeds
2 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 C grated cheddar cheese
3 tbsp. flour
1/4 C oil
minced fresh or dried garlic, cayenne, and fresh or dried parsley to taste

Toast sunflower and sesame seeds in dry skillet or hot oven several minutes, tossing often. Mix ingredients, form into patties, and bake at 350 degrees. Unless patties are very large, it should not be necessary to turn them.

Teriyaki Beets
Makes 4 - 6 servings

12 small unpeeled beets
4 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. minced fresh ginger
1 tbsp. soy sauce

Boil or steam beets until almost tender. Rinse in cold water and cut into halves. Combine butter, honey, ginger, and soy sauce in a small saucepan and heat until butter and honey are melted. Brush some sauce over beets and place on heated broiler pan. Broil 5 - 10 minutes until tender, basting frequently. Transfer to serving dish and pour remaining sauce over.

And here is a recipe from the "Rolling Prairie Cookbook," by Nancy O'Connor:

Rosy Home Fries
Serves 6

4 to 5 medium potatoes, cooked until tender but still firm, then cubed
3 medium beets, cooked until tender, peeled and cubed
1 tbsp. canola oil
1 med. onion, finely chopped
1 large red pepper, chopped
1/2 C minced fresh parsley
1/4 tsp. salt
black pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large skillet over me-dium heat. Add the onions and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the potatoes and beets and sauté ap-proximately 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes begin to brown slightly. Remove from heat. Toss in the red pepper, parsley, salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

*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.