"It's all here... the seasons will show you how nothing is ever really gone but keeps turning out and over again and again and again. We set the seeds, speak to the sky, nurture the plants, drink the rain, give back to the soil, curse the cold, dance to the sun, sing with the wind, weep at the passing, dream with the moon."
- from a poem by Sherrie Mickel

What’s in the Family share:
Beets
Bok choi
Broccoli or cauliflower
Carrots
Cooking greens (chard, kale or collards), 2 bunches
Fava beans
Green garlic
Lettuce
Radishes
Spinach
Strawberries (hopefully; see Field Notes!)

and in the Small share:
Beets
Bok choi
Broccoli
Cooking greens (see above), 1 bunch
Green garlic
Lettuce
Radishes
Spinach
Strawberries (maybe, see Field Notes!)

(items in the small share may be less in quantity than in the family share)

... and if you have an extra-fruit option:
2-3 more baskets of strawberries (see Field Notes)

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 22
Halloween Pumpkin Pallooza

Sat. Oct 29
Permaculture workshop #3 - Polycultures & agroforestry; food forest design and installation

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)... it's so much more than a weekly box of vegetables. Twelve years ago when I decided to follow the "road less traveled" and take up farming, Community Supported Agriculture was a newly emerging and very inspiring concept at UCSC's Farm and Garden Apprenticeship program. What inspired me most was the Community aspect, where farms and families form a network of mutual support. As a beginning farmer at the time, this was very encouraging. Although organic farming practices were really catching on as a true alternative to industrial and chemical farming, I was afraid that even as an organic farmer I'd fall victim to the relentless forces of the marketplace. Our focus to build a CSA farm served as the catalyst for our now 10-years-old farming endeavor. In 1995 (our first year), on less than 2 acres of mostly hand-dug beds, we supplied 15 share-holders and a couple of farmers markets with our seasonal harvest. After that first season I was convinced we were on the right track. CSA was not just another new and clever approach to marketing, and felt like much more than growing food. A decade later, both wiser and humbler, we've grown into a CSA farm more than 400 members strong, and continue to be inspired to grow nourishing food and meaningful relationships between people and their connection with the earth.

When you first sign up to join a CSA farm like ours you probably can't quite grasp what you are getting yourself into. For most it's an adjustment to have your weekly meal plan monopolized by a box of vegetables demanding to be prepared, cooked and eaten before they pass their prime. You may find yourself exper-imenting with more "exotic" vegetables than you've bargained for, such as rutabaga, dandelion greens, arugula, or fava beans. You probably wouldn't be tempted to pick these up at the store, where produce from every location and season around the world is readily available and unimpacted by local conditions. You may find yourself swapping recipes with other shareholders, and some of the more obscure vegetables may actually make it on your list of favorites. Your children may discover new tastes and textures on their plates and develop stronger opinions about what constitutes "yucky" and yummy in the vegetable kingdom. You may find yourself coming out to the farm to volunteer for a day or participate in the seasonal educational activities and celebrations, or just simply wander the fields to pick berries with your children on a nice Saturday afternoon. Choosing to belong to a CSA farm, when you stop to think about it, is not just buying a commodity but choosing an alter-native to the reckless and unsustainable food system to which we have grown accustomed. As the late Robyn Van En, a pioneer in the CSA movement, said, "CSA farms strive to be socially and ecologically responsible, to educate and empower, while providing good food, one of the basic necessities of life. It is a participatory means to securing your food supply for today and for future generations." At Live Earth Farm we like to give you the option to take your membership further: it is not only what you take out of the box every week, but also what you choose to put into your CSA. – Tom

Field Notes from Farmer Tom
Does all this rain remind you of an El Niño year? I am starting to have this sneaky suspicion... Well, for all you strawberry lovers, this week might be slim pickings. I hope you understand, the extra fruit share has first dibs on this week's harvest of strawberries, followed by the family share, then the small share. The outlook seems to call for warmer and sunnier days ahead which means the bounty will return soon, but this week will be rough. Sweet corn has been planted (do I hear cheering?) and, hopefully as some consolation for the berry shortage, everyone will be getting some fresh leafy spinach. For those who get chard, it is really young and tender, so you might find it bagged instead of bunched. Next week we should have baby greens such as arugula, red and green mustard, and more spinach. Cauliflower is also ready for harvest in two weeks, as well as our spring carrots, which you will recognize as different from the winter crop, since they will be bunched with greens attached, instead of topped and bagged.

Permaculture workshops at the farm
Just a reminder that we will be offering a 3-part hands on workshop series on permaculture principles and practices (see Calendar at right) First workshop coming right up -- June 4th!). We hope to have our website updated within the week to include the details on this new program. If you're interested in learning more sooner than that, call Brian Barth at 831.566.3336 or you can email him at edenfruits2002@yahoo.com.

Gumby's Back!
(from the OCA [Organic Consumers Association] newsletter) Gumby and his good pal Pokey aren't riding off into the sunset. In fact, they're riding back right into the thick of organic, and they want to be aggressive spokescreatures for the value and importance of organic. As National Organic Standards Board head Jim Riddle said when he learned of Gumby's desire to stand up for organic, "He's green, he's of the earth, he's made of clay." In fact, Gumby was named for the gumbo clay of his home state, Michigan. Gumby's owner has given us a chance to create a number of 30-second organic spots featuring Gumby and Pokey. All we need now are some good storylines. If you've got some good ideas for what Gumby could say and do in 30 seconds to promote organic, send your ideas our way. Be as creative and wacky as you want. If we like your idea, we'll give you all the recognition you can stand. One last thought: Consider coming up with ideas that focus one aspect of organic – dairy or produce or grains, for example. We look forward to your ideas and will share the best and the funniest with all our readers. Send your ideas to chris.hill@rodaleinst.org.

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

Not much space but lots of good ideas. I hope you enjoy these! - Debbie

Egyptian Chili (Fava Bean Stew)
from Randy Robinson, of Vino Locale, Palo Alto

Olive oil
Small yellow onion, diced
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 jalapeños
4 C shelled and peeled fava beans
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
8-10 chopped green onions
2 tbsp. chopped parsley
2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
2 cloves fresh garlic, diced
Feta cheese (optional)

In a few teaspoons of oil, brown the onions. After removing/discarding their seeds, sauté jalapeños with the onions (do not chop up jalapeños or chili will be too hot!). Add fava beans and bring to a gentle boil. Add tomatoes and spices. Cook until stew thickens. Add fresh herbs, turn off heat. Add garlic. (Add water if the stew is too thick.) Top with crumbled feta, and drizzle with olive oil. Serve over rice, or with pita bread.

Briefly Pickled Beets
by Shawna Macneale, of Santa Cruz

Marinate some raw, sliced beets in vinegar (I used balsamic but others would be good too) with a touch of salt and sugar. A brief pickling. The next day and for the rest of the week, they make an extra tasty addition to salads.

Chorizo and Eggs Florentine!
(I made this one up last year – Debbie)

Cook a bunch of cleaned spinach in boiling salted water for about 2 minutes. Drain, chop, and set aside. Brown up chorizo, scramble in eggs, and when eggs are mostly set, add spinach and scramble until eggs are done. Top with grated jack cheese (optional) and serve with warm tortillas!

Sneaky Greens Stew
a clever idea from the Lauerman family in Salinas

Just chop up your greens (kale is particularly good) and add ‘em to your favorite beef stew recipe (in which, of course, you are already using lovely farm veggies such as carrots and rutabagas!). Easy!

Beet and Tangerine Salad
modified from a Bon Appetit clipping

beets (cooked, peeled, cut into wedges)
tangerines
any mixture of salad greens

Make a dressing by whisking together 1 tbsp. champagne vinegar, juice (and maybe a little zest!) from one small tangerine, 3 tbsp. olive oil, and a pinch of salt and some ground pepper. Toss the beets with some of the dressing and let rest at room temp. for 2 hrs. (or refrigerate overnight). Toss greens with rest of dressing, and top with beets and peeled, sectioned tangerines. Sprinkle optionally with toasted, coarsely chopped almonds, or some feta cheese.

Fava Beans with Mint
another Bon Appetit inspired idea!

Whisk together olive oil, lots of slivered fresh mint leaves, lemon juice and zest w/some salt & pepper. Cook shelled favas in boiling salted water 1-2 minutes, drain and peel (optional). Toss with dressing to coat and let stand at room temp. an hour or two to allow flavors to develop.

*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.