Erehwon Farm CSA Newsletter Week 11 of 19  August 21, 2005 Farm Report Gretings from Erehwon!  This week we received more that two inches of rain that has saturated the soil and given all the crops quite a boost.  The weeds are also growing fast and we have continued our efforts to pull up the big ones before they go to seed and to put them into our compost pile so it maintains its heat.        On Wednesday afternnoon I was working in the squash patch when Bucky suddenly started barking furiously and raced up to the east end of the garden.  Knowing that some subscribers were picking beans, I followed him up the hill with some concern.  By the time I reached the bean department, Bucky was a few yards into the soybean field barking at the sky.  Then I noticed what appeared to be the Goodyear blimp cruising toward the farm .   Bucky continued his loud barking and jumped as high as he could to express his agitation at the airborne intruder.  As I watched, the blimp began a long, slow, turn back to the east and soon became a mere speck on the horizon.  Bucky stopped barking and trotted happily back down the hill with what I’m sure was a smile on his face.  What a great protector he is!        On Thursday, Beth was setting up at the Elgin market when a fierce storm blew through.   Despite her best efforts to hang on, our two EZ-Up tents soared into the air and cartwheeled into the parking lot with flower arrangements going in all directions.  Back at the farm we were able to piece together one good tent by combining parts from both.  By Friday Beth was back in business at the Saint Charles market.        Arsenio Sala helped at the farm two days last week pulling weeds, harvesting, and helping set up displays for subscriber pickup.  He also took some pictures with his snazzy digital camera.  I will try to get some into the newsletter once I figure out how to format them.   Barb Hicks helped weed, harvest, and clean up the pickup area.  Thanks to our volunteers! Essay I Do NOT Want To Be A Vegetable Farmer Or Every Dust Cloud Has A Sweaty Lining That’s what I told Tim when we started this enterprise. “I do not want to be a vegetable farmer.” That has defined our roles since the beginning. I do cut flowers, herbs, and perennials run the markets. I am not a vegetable farmer. However, on occasion, I do end up acting like a vegetable farmer for short periods of time. One such period of time was last Monday. With Umar on vacation, it was clear that Tim would need help harvesting for the Tuesday subscribers. So Monday afternoon I volunteered to help him harvest. (Next time I feel that urge coming on, I just might eat ground glass instead!) It was hot, humid, and dusty and I was so sweaty I couldn’t stand myself, but, as always, there were compensations—I think. My first task was picking those yummy little yellow cherry tomatoes. Bucky the farm dog loves them just as much as anybody, so he dogs my footsteps (pun intended) whenever I pick them. He gets the splits or overripe ones, and he has some internal computer that tells him when another reject is due him. When the time is past, he gives this pathetic little whine and tries to make his 90 plus pound body look like it might faint away with hunger if another treat is not forthcoming. Although he prefers to take his tomatoes from the hand, he will—if pressed—eat them off the ground. So on Monday, when I got tired of his dusty brown body pressed against mine (remember the hot and sweaty part), I finally convinced him that there were quite a number of perfectly good yellow cherries on the ground. As always, I had to smile watching Bucky scarfing up those tiny little tomatoes. He chews every one two or three times, which is pretty incredible in a dog that can make an entire frozen pizza disappear in about ten seconds. After the tomato picking endeavor, I picked squash. We wont talk about the rash I developed on my forearms from the hairs on the squash plants. (It was completely gone by Saturday, anyway.) While I tortured myself among the squash plants, Bucky took a dust bath. Since the dust was about an inch thick on the ground due to the drought, by the time he was finished his chocolate colored fur was looking more like dusty gray. The fur looked more like velour than dog fur. Bucky has done this many times before, but again, I had to smile watching him. He seems to derive such pleasure from rolling in the dust. Once he was thoroughly coated, he came bounding up to me, dust flying in all directions, until he was close enough to me to share his bounty by shaking what remained on me. Oh well, I needed a shower anyway. When I had finished picking the squash, I loaded them on the tractor and was taking them to the refrigerator, when a movement caught my eye. I stopped the tractor to look, and there were a pair of hummingbirds playing tag among the gladiolas. These are the first hummingbirds I had seen on the farm, so I stopped the tractor and sat for a while in the hot sun and watched these minute avians cavort merrily through the fields. That was when it came to me that maybe being a vegetable farmer isn’t all bad. It only lasted a brief moment and I quickly returned to sanity. I do not want to be a vegetable farmer. And sure enough, Wednesday while picking flowers I saw that pair of hummingbirds romping through the glads once again. The flower lady rocks!   - Beth Propst From Your Garden This Week Standard shares should include: (subjct to change) Tomato Bonanza  (last week the newspaper-wrapped tomatoes were Brandywines – hope yours were as tasty as the ones we took home!  You’ll get some more this week.) Lettuce Eggplant Potatoes Summer Squash (small ones) Cabbage Radishes Extras:  Pick  3 or 5 for jumbo subscribers plus one herb. Beans Carrots Beets Baby beet greens Kale Chard Peppers (Sweet or Hot) (If you want a large quantity, just specify how many you would like) Cucumbers Tomatillos Herb List Dill(,We have dill heads for pickling. An extra consists of 10 heads and additional heads can be purchased at the rate of 5 for $1.) Regular dill. Basil—regular, lemon, lime, Thai, dark opal (purple with a wonderfully strong flavor)(pesto sized bag available if you ask) Chives, Cilantro, Lemon Balm, Marjoram, Mint—spearmint, Oregano, Parsley—flat leaf or curled,  Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, Winter Savory Announcements Robin Migalla  will host the monthly meeting lf the Westin Price group on Saturday, September 10 at 11:00 am at the Glenwood School just west of St. Charles. This month, Audrey Miller - a member from Marengo, will be demonstrating making fermented vegetables in a crock.  For more details:  Call Robin at 847-468-8984 or rmigalla@earthlink.net. Pages from Grandma Beth’s Cookbook Okay, everyone probably know this one, but just in case. Tomato Salad Cut up a bunch of tomatoes. We like tomatoes, so I use lots. Mix the various colors for a beautiflu looking dish. Chop up some herbs. I like lemon and lime basil. This week I used the dark opal basil with chives and lime basil and white, yellow and red tomatoes. Very beautiful. For a dressing mix apple cider vinegar and sugar. My mother always said equal amounts, but the sugar spoonful was heaping and the vinegar spoonful was not, so I would say about 3 parts of sugar to 2 parts of vinegar by volume. You can use balsamic vinegar, although that can be pretty intense if you use it full strength. Mix the whole shebang (that was one of my dad’ s favorite words!) together and let it sit for a while. This allows the juice to flow out of the tomatoes and the tomatoes to absorb some of the vinegar-sugar flavor. I find an hour is just about right. Some people like to put mozzarella cheese balls in their tomato salad, but we like tomatoes and we have plenty, so we don’t bother. We Get Mail Hi Tim, This week I would like, Beets, A mixture of sweet and hot peppers (as many as you have), Same with the squah, I'll take as much as you send me, Thanks. I've already finished all the veggies we got last week. They taste so good I don't want anything else. The cauliflower is a little different tasting, slightly bitter - do you have any recipes. The kids and I would like to visit the farm this week, maybe Thursday, is that a good day for you? We would like to help and pick some extra veggies. Thanks! Sorry about the cauliflower.  It’s possible the heads were a little past their prime.  Also, the lack of water could be a cause.  tf Hi Tim, We're going to have a light week around our house so maybe just a few tomatillos for extras this week would be good. Thanks, Robin P.S. Please share the following announcement with the subscribers (thanks): Announcing! The second ever Elgin Area Weston A. Price Meeting! We'd love to see you there! Our first meeting in July was a great success, so we've decided to have ongoing monthly meetings. The meeting will be held on Saturday, September 10th at 11:00am. Once again, it will be held in one of the residence halls at Glenwood School on Silver Glen Road in St. Charles. Directions are as follows: Take 90 to Randall Road, South (left). From Randall Road in South Elgin, turn West onto Silver Glen Road. Drive thru the flashing red light (Corron Road) and about a mile ahead, turn right into Glenwood School's driveway. There's a big white sign on the right. (If you hit Route 47, you've gone too far). Once you are in the school, turn right at the stop sign (this is a road that circles the campus). After the school, there are several residence halls on the left. It's the 3rd residence hall. Any trouble finding the place, call Dana at 847-464-4479. These monthly meetings are to be held on the second Saturday of each month at Glenwood school at 11:00am. They are intended to be informal meetings to share information, ideas, concerns or whatever you've got on your mind about REAL food. This month, Audrey Miller - a member from Marengo, will be demonstrating making fermented vegetables in a crock. It would be great if everyone who attends brings a healthy dish to share with the group with some copies of the recipe. We had a wonderful meal at our last meeting! I expect the meeting to last from 2 to 3 hours, but it certainly isn't mandatory to stay for the duration. An RSVP to rmigalla@earthlink.net (or 847-468-8984) would be greatly appreciated. I'm looking forward to getting to know you. Robin Migalla Elgin Area Weston A. Price Chapter Leader I can vouch for the food at the lst meeeting – it was great! Hi Tim, This week can we have cucumbers, a big bag of basil for pesto, and some mini cabbage. I am not certain whether the herbs count as our extras or not. If they don't you could throw in some cilantro and that would be much appreciated as I am going to make some homemade salsa. My children have decided that they love salsa. My son (the one who didn't venture out of the car and into the rain) also loves what he calls tomato 'Pizzas' big slices of tomato with salt, pepper and olive oil on them. I bet you and Beth are loving this weather! We certainly are. Sandra Salsa is delicious and good for you.  I try to eat one hot pepper a day in the summer.  tf Hi Tim- If you have these extras it would be great: carrots, any herbs, and cucumbers. Also, I was wondering how long do you continue work into the farm? The reason I am asking is it will soon be football season and I will have all my weekends free and would like to come to the farm to help out. Betty, we will work until the ground freezes.  Sorry you didn’t make the football team this year but we are happy you can work at the farm while the team is in action on the weekends.   Maybe you can build up your body so you can make the team next year. ;-)  tf Hello Tim, Tracy loved the peaches last week! Said they were the best she had ever had and her family is from GA!! For the extras this week we would like 6 - sweet peppers, carrots and beans. We would also like a pesto sized bag of basil, you can never have too much pesto!! Thanks, Jase Yep, the peaches were good this year.  We never know what’s going to happen with them because we are a little too far north for consistent results. Hi, Tim & Beth! For extras this week, could we have sweet peppers, cucumbers, and a pesto- sized bag of thai basil? Also from the "standard" list, could we state a preference for the spinach rather than the chard, if possible? Much as we've tried, the "hearty greens" are just not a hit in our family! : ) Also thought you might like to know of a recently published cookbook which is perfectly suited to your farm produce. It is called SIMPLY IN SEASON ("Recipes that celebrate fresh, local foods") and is available at the Ten Thousand Villages Store in downtown Glen Ellyn. It can also be ordered from Herald Press at 1-800-759-4447 or online at www. heraldpress.com I recently tried the "curried green beans and potatoes" and was very pleased with the result. In addition, the text and quotes are so inspirational in their own right, that this book would be a pleasure to read even if one never attempted a recipe! Dennette Alwine Thanks for the cookbook tip – we’ll check it out.tf Beth and Tim, I had to let you know how wonderful our vegetable were yesterday. Everything is wonderful!!! Mike and I started snacking in the tomatoes as soon as I brought the bags in from the cooler. The little orange ones rock!!!!! The peaches, well two are already gone, dessert last night and breakfast this morning. All the greens are great too. Isn’t it too hot to grow greens this good? Anyway, thank you again for all you do. Have a good week. Growing greens in hot weather is a challenge.  We try to plant thickly to keep the roots cool and the moisture in and sometimes we got good results.  tf