"To live is not enough; we must take part."
- Pablo Casals

What’s in the standard share:

... and if you have an extra-fruit option:
Apples, pears, basket of berries (either strawber-ries or caneberries)

CALENDAR

Sat. Oct 23rd
Combined Fall Equinox AND Halloween Pumpkin Pallooza
3pm until dark

The end of summer is approaching and here on the farm we are already planning and planting our fall and winter crops. This year, however, our biggest preparation is geared around the upcoming birth of our daughter Eliza. Constance and I have been visualizing her arrival into our lives. It's been 10 years since our son David was born and I am again having to learn to listen to my "nesting" instinct and my role as a father. The call was loud and clear: "Be present." Looking at the calendar I realized that we will have to postpone our Equinox celebration, originally scheduled for the 25th of September, since the due date of Eliza's birth is the 17th of September. The new date we we selected for our Fall celebration will be the 23rd of October, and we'll combine it with our Pumpkin Palooza, also scheduled on that date. I am sure that by then we will have settled into our new family dynamic and be ready to celebrate in thanksgiving for the miracle of life and the bountiful harvests we've been blessed with throughout the season. – Tom

What's Up on the Farm
Oh deer... the story continues. Last week I expressed my frustration about deer damaging our crops, and in the mean time contacted the local Fish and Wildlife agency, who gave us a hunting permit to shoot 2 deer. Short of fencing the whole farm which is not feasible, we've tried many different techniques to deter deer from eating our crops. We've tried "marking our territory" by using different types of predator urines along the field perimeters of affected crops. Spreading human hair collected from a local barbershop was also recommended. We even left radios playing all night, but all techniques had limited success. We've spotted 12 deer munching away every night, and I am running out of ideas to control them. Farming in harmony with nature has its challenges. We cherish biodiversity, however there aren't always easy answers when social and economic factors have to be faced as well. I can see how I might to have to change my crop plan to minimize damage by planting vulnerable crops, such as beans and lettuce, at different times of year and/or in less easily accessible areas..

Crop Notes
The peppers in your shares this week will be of different colors and shapes, since we grow different varieties. The yellow hungarian wax peppers you received last week will be supplemented by green peppers of different shapes. Currently the plants are loaded with green peppers, and in order to reduce the stress on the plant we will "thin" the fruit load to ensure less spoilage. Soon most of them will turn red and increase in sweetness and flavor. The mix of peppers include our popular hungarian pimento or "apple peppers" (some of which are starting to turn red) which are pointy and cone shaped with a thick juicy flesh, and our Italian "corno di toros" which as their name implies are long and horn-shaped.


Musings on Next Season
Tom and I have talked a few times about how we might run the CSA’s packing and delivery system differently next year, and we wanted to put some feelers out to the membership, get a little feedback. When going to pick up your share, what would you think if instead of having a pre-packaged ‘box’ of produce, all the produce was set out in bulk, and there was either a chalkboard or sign of some sort telling you how much of each item to take? There would be no box to unpack, and if there was something you didn’t want, you simply would not have to take that particular item. There is a lot of labor involved in packing all the individual boxes, and this equates to a big expense for the CSA. A change like this might help the farm be a little more sustainable from an economic standpoint. Please feel free to call or email me at the farm with your comments on this idea. The farm phone is: (831) 763-2448, and the email is farmers@cruzio.com. Thanks! – Debbie

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

More recipe submissions again this week. – Debbie

Zucchini Pancakes
from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook
serves 4 to 6
(submitted by member Farrell Podgorsek)

1 lb. zucchini, coarsely grated
3 tsp. parsley, minced
1/2 C grated cheese (soy cheese works fine too, says Farrell)
1/4 C flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Salt & pepper
4 tbsp. butter, margarine or oil

Combine all ingredients except butter. Heat butter or oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Drop spoonfuls of mixture into skillet and cook until golden brown. Turn pancake over and brown other side. Serve hot.

Farrell says, "We serve them for dinner as a side dish, normally with chicken. I would also serve another veggie with the meal - sautéed kale or spinach perhaps." [I thought they might also be good for breakfast, with a side of potatoes and fruit. - Debbie]

Member Karen Sauer, who submitted the next recipe, says, "I got several requests for this recipe after taking it to the potluck at the farm’s Mini-Camp – it's a much modified version of Cauliflower Cheese Pie from Moosewood, and wheat-free. I often make this at the end of the week when I have too many "leftover" veggies and our pick-up is the next day, so it comes out a little different every time I make it!"

Vegetable Pie
Karen says, "this makes one large spring-form pie, or you can cut the recipe in half for a 9-inch pie plate."

Crust:
4 C packed grated raw potato
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 C grated onion

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Set the freshly-grated potato in a colander over a bowl. Salt it and leave it for 10 minutes. Squeeze out excess water (which can be used for stock) and add to remaining ingredients. Pat into well-oiled spring-form pan, building up the sides with lightly-floured fingers. Bake for 40-45 minutes - until browned. After the first 30 minutes, brush crust with oil to crispen it. Turn oven down to 375 degrees.

Filling:
2 C chopped onion
2 cloves crushed garlic
Italian spices
salt and pepper
lots of veggies (I use whatever is left from our box, plus mushrooms)
cooking wine, white or red
4 eggs
1/2 C milk
2 to 3 C grated cheese – can use cheddar, or mixture of cheeses

Brown the onion and garlic in butter or oil and add Italian spices in whatever mixture you like (I cheat and buy the mixture) plus salt and pepper. Then add whatever veggies you want – I use a varied combo of carrots, zucchini, yellow squash, spinach or chard, tomatoes, broccoli, beets, cauliflower, etc, plus mushrooms. (This is one recipe for which I'm sure to use the food processor!) After the above is well mixed, add enough wine to layer the bottom of the pan/soup pot, cover and simmer for +/- 10 minutes. Place the spring-form pan with baked crust on a greased jellyroll pan (this will aid with clean-up). Spread about 1 cup of cheese on the baked crust, then the sautéed vegetables [drain off any cooking liquid], then the rest of the cheese. Beat the eggs and milk together and pour over all. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until pie has set.

Homemade Tomato Juice
from the book "You Say Tomato" (found online at cooking.com)
Makes 6 cups
(given to me by a friend who is not a CSA member)

Recipe intro: "There's nothing like a glass of ice-cold, freshly made tomato juice, far better than anything you'd ever buy in a bottle or can. And it just takes a big batch of the most flavorful tomatoes available and a little effort. Use it for Bloody Marys or add a squeeze of lemon to each glass and serve with cucumber and tomato sandwiches for a late summer lunch. This can also be made with yellow tomatoes." [I’m sure it could be made with any combination of tomatoes from the farm!]

5 lbs. ripe tomatoes, cored and quartered
1 small red onion
1 stalk celery, with leaves
Sugar
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the tomatoes, onion, and celery in a large pot set over medium heat. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the toma-toes are soft, about 30 minutes. Let cool. Remove the onion and celery and discard.

Pass the tomatoes through a food mill fitted with the fine blade or a fine sieve. Discard the solids. Measure the juice and return it to the cleaned pot. For each 4 cups tomato juice, add 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Stir the tomato juice over medium heat to dissolve the sugar and salt. As soon as they are dissolved, remove the juice from the heat and cool.

Taste and season with salt. Chill, and serve within 3 days.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls
(from member Adrianne Wojnar)

small slices of tofu
shredded raw carrots
sliced raw basil
rice paper wraps

Put 1st 3 ingredients on rice paper wraps and roll, burrito-style. Dip them into a peanut sauce made from peanut butter, honey, water and tamari (optional) and eat!

[I bet they’d be good also with the addition of things like cooked shrimp or mushrooms, or even other farm veggies! - Debbie]

*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.