“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”
- Albert Camus

CALENDAR

Nov. 15/16
Last shares of the season!

Nov. 29
First Winter Share delivery

To experience the ebb and flow of the seasons here on the farm is an incredible gift; this time of year we surrender, slow down and let go as we transition into the winter season. We are thankful for the abundance that blessed us this year, and thankful we can slow down now, knowing that we made the most of what we were given. Food is sustenance, and it is the common thread that links all living organisms. We feed and nourish each other; sometimes that means being eaten, which is as central to nature as eating. Thanksgiving is a celebration of cherishing and respecting this nourishing dynamic in life. I believe that the way we grow and eat the food that comes from the farm is a wonderful and respectful way of honoring the earth, our health, and that of our surrounding environment.

This season was marked by a fabulous increase in people's interest in eating more local, organic produce – to such a point that, for the first time ever, we reached our capacity for accepting new CSA members. This in turn prompted us to initiate our first ever Winter CSA program, and we are excited that after so many years of toying with the idea we are finally doing it.

At the end of last season, one of our objectives was to reduce our dependence on non-renewable energy. We have made some headway here, in that we now run our delivery truck on biodiesel and have installed a large photovoltaic system to generate electricity and reduce our CO2 emissions. Of course we have some new objectives for next season too! Over the years, many of the children in our community who have known this farm since they were kids are now coming of age, and we are interested in offering events/programs focused on the children that are now in their preteen/teenage years. We want to develop and explore a program over the winter tailored to this age group, and then launch it next season. If you are a parent who would like to join us in this effort, please contact me, Farmer Tom [you can email Tom directly at thomas@baymoon.com]. Our first meeting will be on December 10th. We will also continue to promote and expand our educational outreach efforts both within the CSA membership as well as with local schools and organizations. Our regular seasonal events and school tours will continue, as well as the permaculture courses which started this year.

I am especially thankful for this year's incredible farm team, who has worked so hard, tirelessly nurturing the farm to be alive and abundant; their commitment is the seed of hope that will sustain us this winter, and which we will plant again at the beginning of next season, so as to carry forward the essence of all we accomplished and learned from past seasons.

Thank You from Summer Meadows Farm (goat milk)
Hello everyone! My heart is full of thanksgiving for an abundant season with you. We hope our milk made your lives richer with good health and enjoyment, and – YAY! – we made it through another year successfully on the goat farm, which was an extra challenge since my husband left us in the spring and the two children and I ran the farm ourselves. I am so proud of Forest and Meadow's hard work and uncomplaining endurance. We were able to tackle all the difficulties that came with lots of appreciated help from God, our source, and friends like Wendy and Jonathan who learned to disbud the spring newborn kids for us. Great job, Jonathan! The water quit running early summer, what a scare we had, the stream had changed course in winter storms. Well we made it through!

Thank you for all your support; as our share members, we appreciate you! You have been our living all summer in an uncertain time for us. And thank you for enabling the goats to live such happy healthy lives in their herd. We buried our matriarch, Brownie, this summer, with gratitude and honor for her rich gifts to us for 12 years: our milking herd and all her years of rich milk and beautiful kids and her affection and outrageous character. We loved her.

New information about Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes) has come to our attention recently, and that is, although nutritious in many ways, apparently for some people, they can be a source of uncomfortable intestinal gas. We think it has to do with gastrointestinal flora and fauna that some people have or don’t have, but anyway, if you suspect you may be prone to this sort of thing, please try eating a small quantity first and see how you do, before delving into a heaping helping! If you want to research this more on your own, try googling on ‘jerusalem artichoke sunchoke intestinal gas’ or something similar.

Notes from Debbie’s Kitchen . . . . . . . . Have a recipe you’d like to share? Contact Debbie.
For the first time in ten years I no longer have to moan and bellyache about going into withdrawal during the off season, as this year, at long last, we’re going to have a winter share! I can’t wait!!! Meanwhile, a few interesting recipes to end the year, all given to me by members. - Debbie

Sunchoke bisque with hazelnut oil
from Local Flavors, by Deborah Madison, sent in by member Cathy Sy
serves 4 to 6

1 sm. onion
3 sm. potatoes (~1/2 C chunks, peeled OK)
1 lb. sunchokes (scrubbed well, unpeeled)
1-2 celery ribs
2 tbsp. oil (olive, butter or ...)
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 C vegetable or chicken stock, or water
sea salt and pepper
2 bay leaves
a pinch of fresh thyme
milk, soymilk or cream for thinning
1/2 C croutons
roasted hazelnut oil

1. Wash all the vegetables and cut into ½” chunks.

2. Heat the oil in a soup pot, add the vegetables and sauté over high heat, stirring until lightly browned. Add garlic and stir for 1-2 minutes. Add the stock, salt, pepper, thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a boil then simmer for about 25 minutes, until sunchokes and potatoes are tender.

3. Cool briefly, then puree until smooth. Return to pot and add milk, cream or soymilk to desired consistency. Taste for salt and seasonings. Serve with a few croutons in each bowl and the hazelnut oil drizzled in a thin stream over the top.

The most interesting recipe, I think, is this next one, also sent to me by Cathy Sy. She says she had never experienced avocados used in a savory fashion before coming to the United States. Where she comes from (the Philippines), they were always eaten as a sweet! I asked her if the avocados she ate there were any different than the ones we get here, and she says no. If I could only eat avocados (I can’t), I’d for sure try this!! - Debbie

Sweet Avocado Shake
from Cathy Sy’s kitchen

To make one serving, in a glass place the scooped out flesh of 1 avocado and mash it with a spoon. Add 1 ½ C milk (or soy milk) and stir. Add ¼ tsp. Mexican vanilla. Sweeten with agave nectar or dark sugar, to taste. Add shaved, crushed, or cubed ice.

Oh yes, and I almost forgot!! My request for the pakora recipe from the Fall Equinox celebration worked! Hemina Patel, friend of CSA member Piyanka Jain, brought them, and generously shared her recipe:

Potato Pakoras
by Hemina Patel

Hemina says, “As you know, Indian cooking is a lot of a pinch of this and a dash of that! I will try to make this as easy as possible!”

Boil or bake 3 to 4 potatoes, peel, place in a bowl, and mash with a potato masher. Add to taste: salt, sugar, crushed ginger, garlic, and chili. Also add lemon and sesame seeds.

In a small pan, heat 2 to 3 tbsp. oil over medium heat until hot. Add a tbsp. of mustard seeds, some chopped curry leaves and chopped cilantro. Cover pan with a lid until all the popping of the mustard seeds has stopped. Remove from heat and add oil/seeds mixture to potato mixture and combine.

Shape potato dough into little balls and let sit for about an hour (or can be refrigerated overnight at this point.)

Batter for balls:
Combine some garbanzo flour and a tsp. rice flour. Add salt, red chili powder and crushed dry coriander to taste. Add about 2 tbsp. of oil and then a little water, to make into a thick, pancake-like batter.

Dip potato balls into batter, then fry in hot oil until golden brown. Enjoy!

*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.