"Any time we eat it’s holy. We should have a ritual and cere-mony, not just gobbling down some food to keep alive."
- John Robbins -Diet for a New World

What’s in the box this week:

... and if you have an extra-fruit share:
three additional baskets
of strawberries!

CALENDAR


Sat. June 8 - Our first Farm Work Day
8am on

Sat. Jun 22 - Summer Solstice Celebration 4pm - 10pm, with The Banana Slug String Band!

Sat/Sun Aug. 3&4 - Children’s Mini Camp,
10m Saturday - noon Sunday. Optional early arrival Friday night.


Sat. Sep 21 - Fall Equinox Celebration,
3pm - 9pm

Sat. Oct 26 - Halloween Pumpkin U-Pick,
all day

Welcome to all new members who are joining us in June. There are several opportunities for you to visit the farm this month. On June 22nd, starting at 4 o’clock, we will have our annual Summer Solstice Celebration, and I am happy to announce that the Banana Slug String Band will join us again to celebrate the start of summer with their wonderful and joy-filled earth songs. Also, this Saturday June 9th starting at 8am with a hearty breakfast, we will have our first Farm Work Day! Anyone who wants to get their hands in the dirt by helping with planting flowers, sowing pumpkins, trellising tomatoes, preparing the fire circle for June 22nd, weeding, and just having a fun day at the farm, come join us (please RSVP 831.763.2448 so we know how many are coming). The farm, as I have mentioned in the past, is a place where we welcome everyone to have the opportunity to have a more direct connection between the land, the food and the community belonging to it. All too often food is viewed as an end product, independent of the land which produced it, the hands which grew it, and those who prepared it. We welcome everyone to visit. Just give us a call


Crops and Critters
Although some of you might be frowning over how to manage any more greens in your box, we are definitely seeing the first signs of summer. Last week's heat wave is speeding the development of our favorite summer fruit and vegetables. Summer squash (both the green zucchini and the light green Middle Eastern squash) is making its entry, and cucumbers should start appearing in the next two weeks. By the end of the month we will dig fresh red and purple potatoes, and blackberries and the first raspberries should be available as well. In three weeks our first sugar snap peas will be ready to harvest, followed a week or two later by green beans. So hang in there and let Debbie’s recipes inspire you to find new ways to eat those healthy greens. They really are good for you: collard greens, broccoli, kale, mustard greens and the like, have high levels of vitamin A, calcium, iron and cancer-fighting compounds.

Not just crops are grown on the farm: yesterday we witnessed the birth of four baby goats from "Fawn," our oldest goat. She is a wonderful mom, with lots of milk. This brings the total of "kids" on the farm to nine! We also finally finished building our chicken coop, and our 20 baby chicks are happy to get to run around in a predator-safe environment.

Crop of the Week
Radishes. Alice Waters says that at her restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkley, "No meal is quite complete without radishes. Our cool coastal climate allows us to grow perfectly crisp mildly peppery radishes almost all year. Our favorite variety is called French Breakfast. It's elongated, and the color changes from magenta at the top to white at the tip. It is very mild when picked thin and slender, and develops a much stronger peppery taste when more mature." Most of the time you will find a range of sizes in your bunch. Most Radishes originate from Europe and Asia and belong to the Mustard family known as "Raphanus sativas." They come in many different sizes, shapes and colors. My wife Constance, who loves radishes, likes to eat them at the beginning of the meal. For people who get our bread share, try them with bread and butter sprinkled with coarse salt. Also, cut radishes into your salad to add color, spice, and crispness. If you wonder what plant will get your child excited to grow in the garden, try radishes. They show quick results for our young impatient gardeners!

Member to Member Forum
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. Call or email the newsletter editor (click here) with your contributions. Just 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.

Tom sez more greens recipes?? I'll give ya more greens recipes! - Debbie


Bitter greens with sweet onions and tart cherries
(from Mollie Katzen Online)
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

"This is a great way to get some of those bitter greens into your diet, because the sweet onions and tart cherries balance out the favor. The result is surprisingly smooth.

"I like to use a mixture of collards, red mustard, arugula, and a little kale. The amount of greens below might seem enormous, but don't forget they will cook way down. Unsweetened sour cherries from a can work beautifully here, but if you have access to fresh sour cherries (and you have a good pitting gadget), by all means use them. Vidalia onions are terrific, but if you can't find them, just use regular ones. This dish gives off a lot of cooking liquid, but it is too pretty and delicious to let evaporate. So just include some with each serving, especially if you are pairing this dish with pasta or rice." – Mollie Katzen

1 cup fresh sour cherries, pitted (or canned unsweetened sour cherries, drained)
2 to 3 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon canola oil
3 cups sliced onion (a sweet variety, like Vidalia, if available)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 large bunches fresh greens, stemmed if necessary, and coarsely chopped (about 12 cups)
1 cup dried sour cherries (optional)

1. Place cherries in a small bowl & sprinkle with sugar. Let sit for about 10 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven. Add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and sauté over high heat for about 5 minutes. Turn the heat to medium, cover, and let the onion cook until very tender (about 10 more minutes).
3. Begin adding the greens in batches (as much as will fit), sprinkling each addition with about 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir and cover between additions, letting the greens cook down for about 5 minutes each time, to make room for the next batch.
4. When all the greens are added and have wilted, stir in the cherries and cook for just about 5 minutes longer. Transfer to a platter, and sprinkle the dried cherries on top, if desired. Serve hot or warm, being sure to include some of the delicious cooking juices with each serving.

Five spice seared duck & Asian greens spring roll
serves 4
by Kent and Kevin Rathbun (found online)

For the duck:
2 duck breasts
1-ounce sesame oil
1 tablespoon Chinese five spice powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt

For the spring rolls:
8 spring roll wrappers
4 ounces Asian greens
1 small carrot, julienned thin
1 small cucumber, juilienned thin

For the vinegar:
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon siracha, (hot pepper sauce)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon black sesame seeds
2 tablespoons scallion, chopped thin

For the duck: Rub the breasts with half of the sesame oil and season with five spice powder and salt. In a hot saute pan add the remaining oil and sear the duck breast, skin side down, until skin had started to get crisp. Turn the breasts over and sear on the other side for one minute, then turn skin side down again and transfer pan to a 400 degree oven and cook until duck is medium (about 6 minutes). Remove breasts and set aside. When meat is cool enough to cut, slice very thin.

For the spring rolls: Lay a spring roll wrap-per on a flat surface, then add a small amount of Asian greens, carrot and cucumber to the center of the wrapper. Lay three or four slices of duck on top of the vegetables. Fold each side of the wrapper in towards the center so the sides just touch. Then carefully roll the spring roll up tightly making sure the seal is tight. Repeat process until all rolls are completed.

For the vinegar: In a large bowl add all ingredients together and whisk.

*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.