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Live Earth Farm (Com)Post
32nd Harvest Week, Season 12
November 5th -
11th, 2007
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In this issue
--From
Farmer Tom: Living with a new and exotic immigrant: LBAM
--CSA
farm destroyed by Southern California fires
--Community
Poetry
--Recommended
Reading
--What's
in the box this week
--Notes
from Debbie's Kitchen
--Calendar
--Contact
Information
" The purpose of poetry is to remind us how difficult it is
to remain just one person. "
~ Czeslaw Milosz, from ‘In Praise of the
Fertile Land’
Greetings from Farmer Tom
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Living with a new and exotic immigrant: LBAM
Once not too long ago, we were made believe that DDT would safely eliminate Codling Moths in our apple orchards; now we know the many lethal side effects this ‘silver bullet’ approach to controlling nature had, and most likely still has, today. Nobody likes to be sprayed on, no matter what the product or intent, especially if information is incomplete and community involvement is rushed and bypassed. It is warranted to question and oppose authorities who try to eradicate an insect using emergency powers and avoiding more socially acceptable control methods.
I would favor the recommended use of pheromones to manage the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM), since I am familiar with using pheromones myself in our apple and pear orchards to control the mating of Codling Moths. However, we don't spray and inhale the pheromones and the potentially toxic medium it is contained in for aerial spraying; we only use traps and twist-ties placed in the trees. I am completely opposed to these pheromones being sprayed over a large urban population, without understanding the impact and efficaciousness of this approach. As a farmer, my intent in controlling an insect is to minimize their damage to our crops, knowing full well that with any living organism, whether an exotic new arrival such as LBAM or a more established one such as the Codling Moth, all I am trying to achieve is a favorable coexistence. To take a stance of wanting to fully eradicate a living organism, at whatever cost, is an approach conceived in arrogance where the underlying premise is based on a philosophy that nature exists for the convenience of man alone. Such a narrow view of nature, coupled with the power of special business and government interests creates a general sense of fear and mistrust.
I like what Pesticide Action Network, a non-profit group based in San Francisco, required before any spraying takes place:
1. Scientific evidence documenting how and why aerial application of the pheromone is expected to be efficacious.
2. Epidemiological or occupational health studies of effects of aerial pheromone releases in Australia where the moth is originally from. In the absence of such studies, independent assessment of public health/epidemiological literature and of the illness reports from the Monterey aerial releases.
3. Findings from a recently initiated UC Davis research project on local environmental impacts from the Monterey aerial releases.
4. Public presentations of all the studies and a comparative assessment of the relative risks and efficacy of the range of least toxic alternatives available for LBAM control.
5. Establishment of a broad based Environmental Justice-type committee, consisting of local community members, growers (organic and conventional), local conservationists, environmental groups and independent experts in entomology, toxicology and public health, to collaborate in finding efficacious and ecologically and socially acceptable solutions to LBAM control.
I am sure that by abandoning our attitude of human superiority
we can learn how to share this earth with other creatures and, using our
imagination and creativity, do so peacefully and cooperatively. – Tom
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CSA farm
destroyed by Southern California Fires
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Although we strive to live in harmony with nature, there is
little opportunity to coexist when faced with the raw and destructive
forces that bore down on Southern California during last week's fires.
While I was writing last week's newsletter about how we are just temporary
stewards of the land, I got a call from Julia Wiley of Mariquita Farm who
informed me that Bill Brammer, a longtime CSA farmer in San Diego, lost
his farm to the fires. Bill and his family got away with their lives but
most of the buildings and many of the crops were destroyed. Live Earth
Farm is sending a donation to support their farm workers during these
difficult times, and we encourage anyone who wants to do the same to
please read the following note from Julia to find out how to do
so:
“A long-time San Diego farmer lost their home and a large part
of their farmland went up in the flames from the wildfires. We are
collaborating with a couple other local CSA farms and taking donations. If
interested, please mail a check noting the monies to go towards the
Be Wise Farm donation. Mail checks payable to Two Small Farms to
our PO Box 2065, Watsonville, CA 95077. Notice: this is not tax
deductible; it's just you trusting us we'll get every penny to their
workers, with no strings attached. We're certain there are great
non-profits doing great work where your donations can be claimed on taxes
such as Habitat for Humanity and the Red Cross.” -
Julia
For further details on their story:
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2007/10/26/this_just_in/798bewise102507.txt
and http://www.bewiseranch.com/
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Community
Poetry
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My
good friend and CSA member Miriam Goldberg sent me a poem which I am glad
she agreed to share with the rest of the Farm community. Sometimes it is
the simple things in life, like the little red radish in the bottom of
your share, which warms the heart. This poem might inspire others to
share their creative and artistic insights. Just like sharing food, poems
and stories are acts of community and interdependence. We can read them to
each other aloud at the kitchen table, talk about and savor them. Thanks
Miriam! - Tom
I like my radish . . .
I like my radish
sweet
juicy, cool
translucent
so that when I bite
through
its
smooth red hide
the snap
fills my head
like a fire
cracker
and echoes
in crunches splashing
against my
palate.
Held to the sun
its flesh glistens
a glacial
luminescence
webbed with
white hot threads
which thin near
the
cherry coating,
that magenta orange glow
with delicate
red
veins.
Is this
what the heart
really looks like?
Or is
this the heart
of a farmer’s dream,
nourishing
the
whole
world?
M. Goldberg
11/4/2007
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Recommended Reading
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Hi,
Debbie here -- I know I’ve been a big pusher of Michael Pollan’s book “The
Omnivore’s Dilemma” (and if you haven’t read it yet, you must! It’s
great!!), but now I have a new book to recommend: “Animal, Vegetable,
Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver. If you haven’t read any of her work, you
have missed out. Her writing is absolutely wonderful, and this is no
exception! It is, on the surface, a story of her choosing to feed her
family for a year as completely as possible from only local ingredients –
mostly what she grows and raises herself, but also from nearby farms and
farmers; from within her community, that is. Overall it is much more than
just that story, with sidebars by her husband, Stephen Hopp, on timely,
related topics, and recipes and cooking insights at the end of each
chapter by her daughter Camille. Here’s their website, if you’re curious,
then if you want to read it, get a copy from your local bookstore or
library. I promise you, you won't be sorry!
http://www.writerguy.com/deb/compost/2007/www.animalvegetablemiracle.com
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What's in the box
this week
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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. Occasionally the content will differ from this list (i.e. we
will make a substitution), but we do our best to give you an accurate
projection.
Family Share:
Broccoli +
Brussel sprouts
Cabbage
Chantenay carrots
Collard
greens
Chard or
kale
Garlic (2)
Lettuce +
Peppers (Lakeside)
Winter
squash: sweet dumpling, butternut, and/or Kabocha or
acorn
Apples
Pears
Small
Share:
Avocados (Marsalisi
Farm)
Brussel sprouts
Broccoli
Chantenay
carrots
Chard
Garlic (1)
Collard greens
Lettuce
Peppers
(Lakeside)
Winter squash: sweet dumpling, butternut, and/or Kabocha or
acorn
Apples
Extra Fruit
Option:
Strawberries, apples and pears
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Notes from Debbie's
Kitchen
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Click here
to go to the recipe database. Includes 10 years of CSA recipes and is
alphabetized by key ingredient. Also includes photos of most veggies;
helpful for ID-ing things in your box!
Hard to believe
that the CSA season is nearly at its end! Only one more week to go after
this one. This week, member Laurel Pavesi shares her insights and
inspirations for ‘cooking within the box.’ A few other folks sent in some
timely recipes too, so I’ll include them after Laurel’s. -
Debbie
What I’d do with my box this
week
by Laurel Pavesi
Well I’m a newbie
– an enthusiastic newbie. At the beginning of the season I was
overwhelmed – now I’m more in the swing of things. I’m still on a steep
learning curve though, so I use the “swap” box a lot. I check my
sack of goodies each week to see if there is something I might not use,
and “donate” it to the swap box. Last week I had the satisfaction of
seeing another member pick up my ‘donations’ right away! In this week’s
box I’ll donate my kale, and if there are extra carrots I’ll pick some up
for my favorite carrot cake recipe.
I’ve
received so many compliments on this carrot cake recipe. I’m
convinced it’s Tom’s delicious carrots that make the difference! I
use my food processor to grate the carrots so it’s not so much work.
I’ve even frozen this cake successfully. I freeze it first without
wrapping it, and once the icing is frozen hard I wrap it in freezer wrap
or a bag. I remove the freezer wrap before I thaw it and the icing
still looks great!
Brown Sugar Carrot Cake
Mix
together:
2 C flour (10 oz.)
2 C brown sugar (16 oz.)
2 tsp.
baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon (or more if you
love cinnamon)
½ tsp. salt
Add and mix thoroughly:
1 C oil
(7.5 fl oz)
Add, one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each
addition:
4 eggs (from our egg share!)
Blend in:
3 C finely
grated carrots (1 bunch is about a cup)
¾ C chopped walnuts
(approx)
½ C golden raisins (approx)
Pour into greased (I use
parchment paper) 9x13 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45
minutes (325 degrees for 45 minutes in convection oven). It’s done when
the center of cake reaches 200 degrees, or a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool on a cake rack.
Now the Cream Cheese icing!
8 oz cream
cheese; softened to room temp
¼ lb. butter; softened to room temp
1
lb. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
With the butter and cream
cheese at room temperature, mix everything together well. I use a food
processor and pour in the powdered sugar after I’ve blended the other
ingredients first.
Now that we have dessert for a week, I’ll work
on healthy foods.
Broccoli and Brussel
Sprouts: I like to lightly steam my broccoli with tarragon and use
it in salads. I place about an inch or two of water in a stock pot
(you don’t want the water to rise above the colander insert) and add a
couple sprigs of fresh tarragon (I buy it at grocer’s since I haven’t had
much success growing it – it keeps very well in the fridge). I put
the broccoli in the pasta/colander and insert it into the stockpot. Boil
the water and steam the broccoli for about 5-10 minutes depending on how
well done you like your veggies. I’ll do the same with our
brussel sprouts, but will steam them longer to make sure they are soft all
the way through. Once the veggies are cooked I sprinkle on rice vinegar
and store them in the fridge for use in salads or as a quick side
dish.
Lettuce: We love Tom’s fresh
lettuce and use it a couple ways. My husband places fresh grilled
fish on a bed of lettuce leaves – he especially likes to use butter
lettuce for this. And of course we use lots of lettuce for
salads. We’ll make a meal of our salads by adding a variety of
ingredients, such as: fresh herbs, cheese, nuts, chopped eggs,
leftover fish or meat, fresh or cooked veggies, beans, avocados, tomatoes,
and dried or fresh fruit! (Not all of the above at a time however!)
We toss it all together and use Brianna’s brand dressings – their Blush
Wine Vinaigrette is good on a delicate strawberry salad and the Saucy
Ginger Mandarin dressing is good on a heartier steamed veggie salad. (I
haven’t graduated to making my own dressings yet…) Oh, and by the
way, I bought a HUGE metal bowl to toss our salads. I first used one
at a vacation rental – now I can’t imagine my kitchen without it – it
makes tossing a salad so EASY and clean up a breeze.
Cabbage: My husband likes to steam the cabbage
with a couple sausages from the Corralitos Meat Market. He puts the
whole head in a stockpot with a little water, throws in a couple sausages,
maybe an onion and some potatoes, and lets it steam for an hour or more
until the cabbage is tender through. Serve with mustard and
mayo.
Winter Squash: My mother just
gave me this recipe from Cook’s Country Magazine – I haven’t tried it yet,
but I have some fennel on hand so will give it a try this week. Tom
and Debbie introduced us to fennel and we fell in love with it, so I keep
it on hand whenever I can find it fresh at the market.
Winter Squash and Fennel
Serves
8
Butternut squash, approx. 2.5 lbs., peeled, halved lengthwise,
seeded and chopped
2 granny smith apples (I’ll use whatever’s in the
box), peeled, cored and chopped
2 fennel bulbs, halved lengthwise,
cored and chopped
2 tbsp. chopped fennel fronds (optional)
½ C dried
cranberries
¼ C olive oil
1 ½ tsp. salt
½ tsp.
pepper
Adjust the oven rack to the upper middle position and
preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss all ingredients in large bowl until well
coated. Arrange mixture on baking sheet and roast until veggies are tender
and lightly browned (about an hour).
Here are some more
brussel sprouts and winter squash recipes; the first two were sent to me
by member Cynthia Neuendorffer. The next two by member Peter Deutsch. It
never ceases to amaze me how varied and interesting cooking of the same
basic ingredient can be!
Brussel Sprout pasta
melt
butter
add onion and garlic
----
cook 3 slices bacon,
crumble
chop brussels sprouts
chop chard stems
----
toss above
into melted butter and sauté
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add ~1 tbsp. red wine vinegar and
white wine
toss in chopped chard greens and cook until just
wilted
serve over pasta of choice (we did spinach/cheese
ravioli)
Pumpkin Pizza
cube raw pumpkin [any winter
squash will do – Debbie] and coat with olive oil
sprinkle on ground
clove and curry
roast in oven
-----
prepare favorite pizza
shell
top with tomato sauce and mozarella cheese
add black olives,
roasted pumpkin cubes, spinach, and feta cheese
bake and
enjoy
Here are Peter’s submissions:
Brussels
sprouts with garlic and honey
from Cooking Light Annual Recipes
2007
1 tbsp. butter
1 lb. Brussels sprouts, quartered and
trimmed
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
3 garlic cloves,
thinly sliced
1 tbsp. honey
Melt butter in a large non-stick
skillet over medium-high heat. Add Brussels sprouts, salt, and pepper;
sauté 3 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 2 minutes or until lightly
browned. Add 3 tbsp. water; cover and cook 3 minutes or until
Brussels sprouts are tender. Drizzle with honey; toss well to
coat.
Trinidadian Pumpkin
from Madhur Jaffrey's World
Vegetarian – “a wonderful cookbook, big and expensive and worth every
cent” says Peter
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and
finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely crushed
1 fresh
hot green chile, sliced into very thin rings
1 tsp. fresh thyme or 1/2
tsp. dried thyme
2 tbsp. finely chopped cilantro
2 lbs. any hard
winter squash (pumpkin, butternut, whatever), cut into 1 to 1 ½ inch
cubes
3/4 tsp. salt
1 ½ tbsp. light brown sugar
Put oil in a
large, wide, preferably non-stick pan over medium-high heat. When very
hot, add onion; stir-fry until lightly browned. Add garlic, chile,
thyme, and cilantro; stir for a few seconds, until the garlic is
golden. Add squash; stir for a minute. Add 3 tbap. water,
cover, turn heat to low, and cook for 40-45 minutes, or until squash is
just tender, stirring now and then. Uncover; add the salt and sugar;
stir gently, mashing the squash lightly so you retain some texture.
Serve hot.
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Calendar of
Events
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(see
calendar on website for more
info)
Four Mondays Mataganza Garden
Internship
Mondays, 10am - 5pm, Oct 22
and 29, Nov 5 and 12
(see calendar on website for more info)
Weds/Thurs Nov. 14/15: last delivery of
the season
Weds Nov. 28:
first delivery of the Winter season!
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Contact Information
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email Debbie at the
farm: farmers@cruzio.com
email Debbie at
home (with newsletter or recipe contributions): deb@writerguy.com
phone:
831.763.2448
web: http://www.liveearthfarm.com/
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