"No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in today. No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in the present instant."
- Friar Giovanni, AD 1513, from "a Grateful Heart"

What’s in the standard share:

... and if you have an extra-fruit option:
Strawberries, peaches, blackberries and raspberries

CALENDAR

July 30, 31, Aug. 1
Children's Mini-camp, Friday eve. to noon Sun. (see details in Week 15 newsletter!) Sold Out!

Sat. Sept. 25
Fall Equinox Celebration
3-9 pm
with the Banana Slug String Band!

Sat. Oct 23rd
Halloween Pumpkin Pallooza

Summertime: Food, Friends, and Family. Last week I was out of town to celebrate my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. Coming together as a family for us is always a challenge; my sister and her family traveled from Thailand and my brother and his children made the long journey from Ecuador. My son David and I (Constance, with only 9 weeks left in her pregnancy, stayed home) traveled 20 hours by plane, train and bus before we arrived at my parents' home in Germany. Like most family reunions, we gathered and cele-brated by eating great food and simply enjoying being together sharing stories. One of my highlights was when we took a break be-tween meals and walked through the surrounding vineyards and fruit orchards overlooking the Rhine river. We stopped to pick cher-ries off an old tree which belonged to friends of my parents. The old tree, laden with ripe sweet cherries, was the perfect place to enjoy a moment in nature – the whole family, together under one tree. Returning to the farm, I truly appreciated the extra effort and respon-sibilities everyone took on to keep things running smoothly during my absence. On Saturday we enjoyed hosting a wonderful culinary feast organized by "Outstanding in the Field." Approximately 80 people wined and dined right in the field overlooking rows of potatoes, eggplants and tomatoes, with a beautiful view of Mt. Madonna and the Pajaro Valley. Chef Jim Denevan's idea of bringing producers and consumers together right at the food's source creates an intimate connection and broadens our awareness of community nourished by the local environment we share. – Tom

Veggie Notes
Potatoes, Tomatoes and Eggplant. The most popular of all the vegetables – potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant and peppers – come from the same family: The Nightshades or Solanaceae. Last week we harvested the first potatoes, and everyone got tomatoes. These were just a teaser, since most of the tomatoes are still yellow/orange in color and we want to wait until they reach full ripeness and flavor on the vine. So expect them again next week, and after that they should be a regular feature in your share. This week we are introducing eggplant. To some, these are the most attractive vegetables with their many colors and shapes. Everyone is familiar with the dark purple pear-shaped eggplant, but the fruits may also be white, green, black, pink, red, orange, even lavender in color. The two types we grow are the Italian, which is mostly oval or round with a black skin, and the Asian, which is elongated and comes in many colors. There are many ways to prepare eggplant and Debbie, who loves eggplant, I hope will inspire you with her recipes. My favorite way to prepare them is to lightly brush thin slices with olive oil and mashed garlic, and then grill or stir-fry them quickly.

How I used my share...
Hey, I got a taker on my suggestion! Member Farrell Podgorsek of San Jose (who splits a share) emailed me with how she used hers last week. – Debbie

<> Grilled a Morris Grassfed flank steak (YUM!) and served with a vegetable salad of diced blanched carrots and green beans, diced red pepper, thinly sliced onion, chopped cilantro, basil and corn (boiled 5 minutes then cut off the cob). Tossed veggies with a wonderful dressing of lime juice, grated lime peel, orange juice and cumin (modified to fit our ingredients from a July 2004 Bon Appetit recipe).

<> Ate English peas raw, as a snack. Carrots also eaten raw as snack.

<> Made a red cabbage slaw – grated cabbage, carrot and onion with a lemon-cumin dressing.

<>Had dinner salads two nights – lettuce, cucumber, green beans, carrots and any dressing. One night we had our salad with leftover flank steak on top, the other night with canned tuna.

<> Had grilled sausage over sautéed onions, chopped garlic, red peppers and stir-fry mix.

<> Barbecued Morris Grassfed ground beef hamburgers and served them with grilled squash and onions. Accompanied that with a sim-ple salad of tomato, basil, olive oil, salt and pepper.

<> The arugula we used as a ‘bed’ for warm teriyaki chicken breasts.

<> Strawberries were eaten with cereal in the morning.

<> All the other fresh fruits were eaten as snacks.

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

Tom is right, I adore eggplant. I’m checking my recipe stash now for new recipes. Meanwhile, Farrell (see above) also gave me her recipe for peach chutney, and since we’re still getting peaches, I thought this would be nice to share with everyone too. – Debbie

Roasted eggplant, zucchini and onion with pasta and parmesan
modified from an old SJ Merc clipping
serves 6

No reminders are needed to eat your veggies when you pair savory roasted veggies with pasta. And the high temperature of roasting really brings out eggplant’s sweetness.

1 globe eggplant (or 3-4 small oriental type), cut into 2" pieces
3 small zucchini or summer squash, also cut into 2" pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large sweet onion or 3 small onions, sliced
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 can (14.5 oz) crushed tomatoes (or chop up fresh if you like)
1/2 tsp. salt
Freshly ground pepper
10 oz. fettuccine or pappardelle (or similar)
1/2 C grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Toss veggies, onion and garlic with olive oil until well coated then spread on a large baking pan. Bake until vegetables have softened, about 15 minutes, tossing once during baking. Add tomatoes; roast 10 more minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare pasta according to package directions; drain. Toss vegetables with pasta. Top with 1/4 C of the Parmesan; pass remaining cheese at the table.

Note from Debbie: I have done something similar, only instead of using the oven (in the heat of summer!), I have one of those perforated pans for use on the grill. You’ll want to stir every few minutes, but you have to use bigger chunks of fresh tomato (not canned/crushed) or they’ll just seep out through the holes. Do add them later, as the recipe indicates. Also, if you have them, mushrooms are a great addition (put them in the beginning, with the eggplant et al). Oh, and of course you could throw in some shredded fresh basil when you toss the veggies with the pasta! I use penne pasta as it mixes easier with the veggies than the long strands, but all versions taste wonderful.

Green Bean, Spinach and Beet Salad
Bon Appetit, May 2003
serves 6

2 fresh poblano chiles
1/4 C fresh orange juice
1/4 C olive oil
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 garlic cloves
2 small beets (washed, leaves removed)
3 tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 1/2 lbs. green beans, trimmed, cut diago-nally into 1" pieces
3 C torn spinach leaves
1 small white onion, sliced paper-thin
5 large radishes, sliced paper-thin

For dressing: Char chiles directly over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Enclose in a paper bag 10 minutes. Peel, seed, and coarsely chop. Combine with orange juice, oil, vinegar and garlic in a blender, and blend until mixture is smooth and thick. Season to taste w/salt and pepper, cover and chill until cold, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

For salad: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Wrap each beet tightly in foil; place directly on oven rack. Roast beets until tender when pierced with knife, about 50 minutes. Unwrap beets and cool completely, then peel [skins will slip right off]. Coarsely grate beets into medium bowl, toss with lime juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and let stand at room temperature at least 1 hour. Cook green beans in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain; transfer to large bowl of ice water to cool. Drain again and pat dry. Toss beans, spinach, onion and radishes in large bowl with enough dressing to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Divide salad among plates; top with beets. [I could see possibly making this salad with grated raw beets too; beets are a hard vegetable, but like carrots, are perfectly munchable grated raw. Just a thought!]

Peach Chutney
by Farrell Podgorsek
makes 4 pints

Farrell says, "A chutney can be mild to spicy, sweet or not. Spices can be added or left out – cloves, cinnamon, fresh, dry or candied ginger, allspice, etc."

4-5 lbs. peaches, blanched to remove skins and cut into pieces
1 C golden raisins
1 large onion, chopped
1 tbsp. mustard seed, toasted until seeds begin to pop
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 C vinegar (cider vinegar is good)
1 C brown sugar
1/2 C white sugar
1/4 C chopped crystallized ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Bring all ingredients except peaches to a boil in a heavy, non-reactive pot. (I use my pressure cooker). Boil for 10 minutes, then add peaches. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour or until thickened. It will thicken more as it cools. Be sure to stir more often near the end as mixture thickens. Pour into sterilized canning jars.

"Excellent served with curried chicken salad," says Farrell.

*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.