|
What's in the box this week
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Content differences between Family and Small
Shares are in red; items
with a "+" in
Family Shares are more in quantity than in Small; anticipated quantities, if
any, are in parentheses, as are the source of any produce if not from Live Earth
Farm (LEF). Occasionally content will differ
from this list (typically we will make a substitution), but we do our best to
give you an accurate projection.
[go to recipe database]
Family Share
Apples
Arugula
Broccoli
Carrots
Chard
Cucumbers (Snake Cucumbers)
Eggplants
Green Beans+
Lettuce+
Mustard Greens
Peppers+
Radishes
Spinach
Squash+
Tomatoes+
Small Share
Apples
Arugula
Broccoli
Carrots
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Green Beans
Lettuce
Peppers
Radishes
Spinach
Tomatoes
Extra Fruit
Bag of Apples
Basket of Cherry Tomatoes
Basket of Strawberries
Fruit Bounty
will start next week again!!!!
|
The Pleasure of Food - A recipe to change the world!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 In his inspirational acceptance speech, Barack Obama missed to mention one important ingredient in his recipe for change, the right for every person, especially the children in this country, to enjoy tasty, healthy, and affordable food. After last weekend's Slow Food celebration I left inspired, willing to shed the idea that Slow Food is primarily an organization of "Foodies" touting the importance of sustainably grown food, currently only available to a small sector of the population. One could argue for this still to be the case, after having to pay $65 to savor a few samplings of the hundreds of artisanal foods showcased in an overcrowded Taste Pavilion. This Slow Food event, the first of it's kind in the United Sates, was organized to reach out beyond the well-to-do food aficionados, and attract a more diverse crowd of supporters. A crowd of people who would recognize in Slow Food a movement which aims to make good, clean and fair food (the three principles of Slow Food) a right for all people and understand how supporting such a choice is directly linked to the world's most pressing questions regarding health, culture, the environment, education, social justice and the global economy.
 Live Earth Farm got to showcase it's berries(strawberries, raspberries and blackberries) together with dozens of other local farmers and producer featuring a diversity of fresh, seasonal produce and foods. The Marketplace was at the Civic Center where a community of volunteers planted a stunningly lush and beautiful "Victory Garden", right in front of San Francisco's Capitol building. The garden was host to poetry readings, speeches, and traditional music and dances from around the world. The entire Civic Center became a community food event, a place to slow down, sit, eat, and just spend time to take in the sights of city buildings while walking through a Three-sisters planting of corn, squash and beans.  The entire event focused on reaching out to the community and bringing more understanding of how sustainable farming and gardening parctices can make a positive difference in the world.
Our Fast Food culture has led to a sensorial deprivation; our senses to touch, smell, and taste food are no longer trained to give us a deeper understanding of the environment, ourselves, and the larger community of life we belong to. I see one of Slow Food's missions is to help retrain our senses to appreciate and find pleasure in eating locally and sustainably grown foods.
Over the course of three days we sold more than 120 flats of berries and one of the great pleasures of offering to sell the food we grow is to observe how customers make their choices. Below, I summarized some of the common conversations and sensorial processes taking place before a sales transaction takes place:
"I could smell your strawberries all the way to the entrance of the market.
These are beautiful!"
"What do you do to make them shine like that? Can I try one?
Hmm, jummy, these are good, where do they come from? Are they organic?
What are these yellow ones? Yellow raspberries? I've never seen yellow ones, are they ripe? Can I try one? Oh, delicious! Why are they yellow? I only know the red ones? Do I need to wash them?"
"Can I try the blackberries? Where is your farm? When I was a kid I used to pick them right in my backyard, they grew wild. Oh, these are sweet!!
 "Johnny don't take them from here, we first have to buy them. Can he try one? Do you like them Johnny? "
"Ok, I' ll take the Golden raspberries and one basket of strawberries? How much do I owe you?"
The pleasure of food is directly linked to our senses. Why should any child choose to eat an apple if the only choice is a red or green, waxed and tasteless sitting next to a bag of cheetos. The senses need to re-discover the pleasures of real food, only then can we start rebuilding a sustainable food system. Enjoy and eat slowly!!!!
|
| What's up in the Fields - Just a quick note!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Next week we are resuming our Bounty Share again, since Warren Pears are starting to soften and the Concord grapes are developing their sugars. The apples will continue in bountiful fashion and Golden Beets are beautiful and big.
We are pruning the Apricot trees and are starting to prepare the fields for our end-of-season strawberry plantings. This means we are plowing in our summer covercrops of Sudan Grass and Buckwheat and adding lots of compost and ammendments to give the berries the best growing conditions through the long winter months.
|
Notes from Debbie's Kitchen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Debbie's away this week, but you can always click here to go to recipe database. |
| CALENDAR OF EVENTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For details on events listed below, please click here to go to the calendar page on our website.
Fall Equinox Cob Building Workshop and Campout - Sept. 20 and 21
this event must be registered for; deadline for signup is Sept. 8 (or until full)
see calendar page on our website for details; email Jessica to sign up
Fine Farm Feast - postponed to 2009
Fall Harvest Celebration - Saturday Oct. 11th (more details as it gets closer!)
Fall "Five Fridays" Mataganza Garden Internship - Oct 24 and 31, Nov 7, 14, 21
Cost: $50; email Brian Barth for more info, or call him at (831) 566-3336
Banana Slug String Band Benefit Concert for our very own up-and-coming nonprofit, the Live Earth Farm Discovery Program - Saturday Nov. 22, 11am and 1pm at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz
|
|
