"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."
- Native American proverb

What’s in the Family share:
Beets
Cabbage (red or green)
Carrots
Chard or kale
Dandelion greens
Fava beans
Green garlic
Lettuce (romaine and red leaf)
Radishes
Strawberries (3 baskets, weather permitting)

and in the Small share:
Lettuce (romaine or red leaf)
Carrots
Fava beans
Cabbage
Radishes
Chard or kale
Green garlic
Strawberries (1 or 2 baskets, weather permitting)

extra fruit...
starts next week!!!

CALENDAR

Sat. June 4 Permaculture workshop #1 - Water mgmt; swale design/construction

Sat. June 18
Summer Solstice Celebration, field tours 2-5pm, celebration 5-9pm with Kuzanga Marimba again!

July 29, 30, 31
Children's Mini-camp, Friday eve. to noon Sun. (curious? see details in 2004's Week 15 newsletter!)

Sat Aug 6
Permaculture workshop #2 - Design methods; ecological observation and site mapping

Sat. Sept. 24
Fall Equinox Celebration
3-9 pm
with the Banana Slug String Band!

Sat. Oct 8
Permaculture workshop #3 - Polycultures & agroforestry; food forest design and installation

Sat. Oct 22
Halloween Pumpkin Pallooza

My son David reminded me last Friday on his way to school that it was Earth Day. At school they kept the classroom lights off, each student donated a dollar towards reforestation efforts in Russia, and the entire Elementary School gathered in a circle around an Earth Flag to acknowledge and honor the importance of their relationship to the Earth. On the farm we have the opportunity to directly experience the impact of our cropping practices and how over time they may or may not prove sustainable. It's scary to ask oneself such existential questions every season. How do we produce enough food while following ecological principles which, as caretakers of the land, promote a healthy and diverse environment of abundant life forms? Although the magnitude of change required of us to stop this illusionary belief of endless progress is enormous, my son's reminder of Earth Day leaves me hopeful that we are paying attention to nature's demands to cease our industrial assault and live an earth-friendly life. - Tom

Field Notes from Farmer Tom
Carrots and Rutabagas. The carrots you've been receiving every week were sown in early December and have been growing slowly throughout the winter months. They are now fully mature, but their tops are not as nice and green and showy as the upcoming crop of spring carrots will be. Also, the winter rains have compacted our heavier soils making the fragile tops prone to breaking off when pulled from the ground. Consequently, we harvest, top, and bag them, rather than bundle them like we will do with our spring crop. The winter carrots are "Chantenay," which are stocky and tapered and make a good storage carrot, and "Nantes," which are more cylindrical with blunt ends. Nantes have weak tops and brittle roots; another reason we don't offer them with their tops on right now. Rest assured though that you are getting freshly harvested carrots, not stored carrots.

The rutabagas are a different story. I got them from another local organic farmer who had an abundance of them, and these have been stored for a few weeks since he pulled his entire winter crop before it started to bolt. With the rains affecting our spring harvests, we've been using the rutabagas to help fill out your weekly shares.

Other Farm News: Last week our first two baby goats were born, one boy and one girl, almost all white like mom, and nursing happily. If you visit the farm don't forget to pay them a visit. We expect one more goat to give birth in the next few days, so in about a month we'll be on a daily milking schedule again. Joe, who lives here on the farm, is also raising 20 little chicks who will be turned loose in the pasture in what's commonly known as a "chicken tractor." We are experimenting to see how much these live 'tractors' can help cultivate and fertilize the soil under the fruit trees.

Permaculture Workshops at Live Earth Farm
Brian Barth, who has come to the farm to expand both our educational efforts and to design and help implement strategies that may help us to become even more sustainable in our use of resources, will be leading a series of three workshops on Permaculture, along with co-teacher Lydia Nielsen. Permaculture, for those unfamiliar, is a philosophy and set of practical strategies for designing ecological systems that fulfill the material and non-material needs of humans in a sustainable way. The course material will be useful for any of you wanting to deepen your understanding of the landscapes in which you live and gain some practical techniques for better stewarding the land, while producing a useful yield. There will be 3 workshops. Each is all day on a Saturday. The dates are June 4th, August 6th, and October 29th. Cost is $60 each, or $150 for all three, and includes materials and lunch. Each day will be split between the theoretical framework in the morning and practical hands-on activities in the afternoon. The first workshop will focus on balanced water management in the landscape, the second on ecological observation and design methods, and the third on polycultures and agroforestry. Each will include a basic introduction to the principles of Permaculture and a tour of current permaculture projects at the farm. For more info or to register, contact Brian Barth at (831) 566-3336 or email him at edenfruits2002@yahoo.com. There will also be flyers in your CSA binder that you are welcome to take, and our website will be updated in a few weeks.

A movie all CSA members should see
Coming soon to the Santa Cruz Film Festival: "The Real Dirt on Farmer John." It is a winning documentary about the life of farmer John Peterson; an epic tale of a maverick Midwestern farmer who transforms his traditional family farm with a revolutionary form of agriculture. Castigated as a pariah in his community, Farmer John bravely resurrects his farm amidst a failing economy, vicious rumors, and arson. He succeeds in creating a bastion of free expression and participating in a revolutionary form of agriculture in rural America. Tom saw the movie a couple of months ago and it had a great impact on him. It truly captures the plight of the farmer and the spirit and heart of the organic, biodynamic, and CSA movements. Mark your calendars for Thursday May 5th, 7:30 pm at the Del Mar Theatre in Santa Cruz. Hope to see you there!

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

This week I’m turning the entire column over to one member (who wishes to remain anonymous). I am also going to include here a recipe she sent me that is not in the paper version of the newsletter because there wasn't enough room. So online readers... you get a bonus! – Debbie

What I'd do with this week's box

I love getting a big box of veggies on my porch each week. It’s like a birthday present; I never know what’s going to be in it, or the fun I’m going to have playing with it all! Sometimes I follow a recipe with whatever I receive in my box, and sometimes I just make one up with whatever’s available. This week it’s a little of both.

Greens-n-Beans

a bunch of greens (whatever you have on hand: kale, chard, dandelion, beet), cleaned and coarsely chopped
2 heads of green garlic, chopped
2 tsp. olive oil
1/3 C sun-dried tomatoes, rehydrated in a little water and then chopped
1 1/2 C cooked fava beans (see last week’s newsletter), or a can of small white beans
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. brown sugar
Salt, pepper, and grated Parmesan or Romano cheese to taste

Sauté the garlic in oil until soft. Add greens and stir-fry until just wilted. Add the tomatoes (and their liquid) and simmer until the greens are cooked. Add beans, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, and salt/pepper. Simmer a minute or two to warm up the beans and meld the flavors. Serve in bowls with some cheese sprinkled on top.

Sweet and Sour Cabbage
from New Indian Home Cooking by Madhu Gadia

1 medium head cabbage (about 2 lbs.), quartered, cored, and cut into 1/4" strips
2 carrots, peeled and julienned
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. brown mustard seeds
6 to 8 curry leaves (get these at an Indian market, if you can’t find them it’ll still work)
1 hot green chile (serranos are good)
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. coriander powder
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 C water
1 tsp. tamarind concentrate (the kind in a jar, not the brick of tamarind)
2 tbsp. firmly packed light brown sugar

Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add mustard seeds and curry leaves, cover, and cook a few seconds until seeds stop popping. Add cabbage, carrot, and chile. Stir, then add turmeric, 1 tsp. of salt, coriander, and cayenne (if using). Stir, cover, and heat through. Reduce heat and stir periodically until cabbage is tender, 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat and remove lid.

To prepare the tamarind sauce, boil the water in a small saucepan. Add the tamarind concentrate, brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Simmer 5 minutes, then add to cabbage mixture and stir to combine.

Serve this as a side dish, or over rice as a main dish.

Salad with Raspberry Dressing

With whatever veggies are left (and whatever other veggies may be in the fridge), I will make a green salad. Typically this will include lettuce, sliced carrots, shredded beets, radishes, thinly sliced celery, sliced green onions, tomatoes…whatever I’ve got. If I have edible flowers blooming in the yard, they go in too (nasturtiums, violets, rosemary blossoms, borage flowers). I try to chop up veggies for salads all at once, and put them in little containers in the fridge; this way when I get home from work I already have my own mini-salad bar ready.

For the dressing:
1/8 C of white wine vinegar
1/8 C of olive oil
1/4 C of raspberries (fresh if you can get them) [you could thaw and use frozen – Debbie]
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Combine in a bowl, mashing berries as you stir. Toss w/salad and top w/optional feta cheese and maybe some pine nuts. Voila!

Balsamic Strawberries
(the bonus recipe!)

Clean and hull the berries, then cut into halves or quarters to make them bite-sized. Put in bowl and mix in 1 Tbsp. of balsamic vinegar and 1 tsp. of brown sugar per each pint (basket) of strawberries. Toss, and let sit for a few hours for the flavors to meld. They are good over ice cream, or over a slice of cake, or just straight out of the bowl. They are just as good, and perhaps even better, the second day!

*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.