"...Harmony with the earth is like harmony with a friend; you cannot cherish his right hand and chop off his left. That is to say, you cannot love game and hate predators; you cannot conserve the waters and waste the ranges; you cannot build the forest and mine the farm. The earth is one organism."
-- Aldo Leopold, Sand County Almanac

What’s in the box this week:

... and if you have an extra-fruit share:
Strawberries, apples & pears

By the time you are reading this newsletter, I will be halfway around the world from here. A unique opportunity has offered itself to me to participate in a week-long traditional Afro-Brazilian spiritual ceremony in the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil. For several years now Constance and I have been active in a tradition based in Brazil called "Umbanda," which has its roots in the ancient African tradition known as "Yoruba." Although difficult to explain in a few words, one aspect of this tradition is to bring more consciousness to humans in their understanding of the forces of Nature, known as "Orixas." It is believed that when humans have the ability to connect and communicate with these forces it allows them to balance, heal and refine their physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies, and thereby strive for a greater sense of spiritual unity in the world. As I am writing this, we have started our campaign to oust the Taliban from Afghanistan. My deepest hope is that we ultimately achieve a state of harmony and peace between humans and the earth we live on.

What's Up on the Farm
I am nervous about leaving the farm for a week, however I know the farm is in good hands. Everyone here really puts their heart and body into making sure the food you receive is the best we have to offer. Also, a special thanks goes out to Eric Seifert (intern extraordinaire from last year), who came all the way from New York City to help out on the farm while I am gone!

Missing items in last week's share: Last week's "What's in the Box" list noted green beans and bok choi, however on Wednesday the green beans were still too tender to pick (so Wednesday's shares had none), and the bok choi was stressed and severely wilted from the heat of the previous Sunday (so no one got bok choi). As a rule, if we can, we substitute a missing item with something else, but sometimes we run into unpredictable situations where we can't manage to substitute with something equivalent. So to our Wednesday members: look for extra beans this week! (I thought you were all tired of green beans??????)

Children's Corner
Did you know plants have feelings too?! Just like humans and animals, plants have feelings. Scientists researched this by placing electrical diodes on plant leaves. Whatever the plants felt was then drawn on the graph. The scientists found that what people said, thought, and did affected the plants. Even different types of music affected how well they grew. If something happened the plants liked, they thrived and the graph looked calm. If something happened to disturb or hurt the plants, the graph picture went wild. There is a book that was written to document these studies called "The Secret Life of Plants," by Peter Tompkins and Christopher O. Bird. My question as a farmer is, what happens when we cut flowers, weed, harvest and transplant? Are we hurting the plants??? There sure are a lot of secrets about plants we still have to discover and explore... Exciting isn't it?

And now for a bit of 5-year-old humor, here is a "recipe" by Timmy Potts, age 5, as submitted by his mom (who also thinks it's funny!):

1) Cut the tails off the largest beets.
2) Leave them on the doorstep where the cats leave their decapitated trophies of the night's hunting.
3) Splash around lots of beet juice; wait for Dad to come home.
4) Try not to give it away when he stomps off to get the shovel and a sack.
5) Enjoy for 3 days straight.


Member to Member Forum
OUR SCHOOLS OUR VOICES: This is an announcement for everyone interested in "Participating in the Democratic Process of School Reform." There will be a free interactive panel discussion about improving public education. Panelists will include Peggy Ryan (Principal of Sherman Oaks Community Charter School, Campbell), Fred Keeley (State Assembly member, 27th District), Marilyn Langlois (Chair, League of Women Voters), Erwin Morton (Director of Legislation 6yh District PTA), Simon Salinas (State Assembly member, 28th District ). The event will take place on Wednesday October 24th, from 7-9pm, at the Veteran Memorial Building in Santa Cruz, 846 Front Street, next to the Main Post Office.

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).

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

How about a break from beets, green beans and potatoes (well, recipes anyway)? Time for something in the dessert department! - Debbie

Baked Pear Pudding
(I've reduced this recipe down from one made with 10 pears, as we don't ever get that many at one time - Debbie)
Serves 6

6 pears, peeled, quartered, and tossed with 1-2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3/4 C milk
1/4 C + 2 tbsp. heavy cream
3/4 C sugar
1/2 C flour
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla (or seeds from 1 vanilla bean pod)
1 1/2 tbsp. butter
fresh grated nutmeg
hot maple syrup as an accompaniment

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a buttered 2 qt. casserole, arrange the pears decoratively. In a blender or food processor, blend milk, cream, 1/2 C of the sugar, the flour, the eggs, and the vanilla until batter is just combined. Pour over pears, sprinkle with remaining 1/4 C sugar and dot with butter. Bake in upper third of oven for 45 minutes or until top is golden and pudding is set. Serve warm or at room temperature, with maple syrup (optional).

Apple-Pear Cobbler with Cheddar Crust
6 - 8 servings
modified from a Bon Appetit recipe clip-ping (I reduced this one by half! - Debbie)

Filling:
3 tbsp. butter
2 lbs. pears (about 5), peeled, cored, quartered and cut into 1/2" wedges
2 lbs. apples (about 5), prepared same as pears, above
1/4 C + 2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 C whipping cream
1/4 C apple juice

Topping:
1 C all purpose flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tbsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
5 tbsp. chilled butter, cut into cubes
1/2 C (packed) shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese (about 2 oz.)
1/3 C milk
1 small egg (or just the yolk of a large egg)

For filling: preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter in skillet, sauté pears and apples until soft, stirring occasionally, about 9 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in remaining filling ingredients and transfer to 13x9x2 glass baking dish.

For topping: Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Add chilled butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in cheese. Beat milk and eggs in small bowl to blend, then add to flour mixture (dough will be stiff). Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto filling, spacing evenly. Bake until bubbling, and toothpick inserted into topping comes out clean, about 35 - 40 minutes. Serve warm.

*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.