Howdy folks,

we made it! I'd like to thank you- totally awesome Full Moon CSA Members, and the ever fantastic Lake County Organic Farmers! You all contributed dearly and faithfully to the success of this season. I am privileged to have grown and delivered fresh produce to you each week. If feelings were spices and E-40 the chef I'd say "sprinkle me..." a bit relieved, a pinch sad, a tablespoon content, and a generous cup exhausted. This coming weekend Nov 3rd is our Walnut Harvest Party and if you can make it, I would love to see you.
This winter we will be building infrastructure to increase productivity, and discussing plans and coordinating with local farmers for next year's CSA program. You may find a post season survey in the coming future, in the meantime please feel free to shoot me an email with input from the eaters perspective.


In the box:

Purple Top Turnip: Full Moon. Young roots and strong greens. great for a simple puree, and roasted.
These are young and also can be eaten raw in a salad for those who dare.

Gold Beet and (baby red beet): Full Moon. Full of earthy minerals and etheric warmth, these fat beets are mini storehouses of nutrition. try them in a roast with the turnips, (will not bleed like red beets)

Red Russian Kale: Full Moon. If you are like me, and eat kale everyday its available-enjoy. If not apologies for its strong presence the last two months. Also a nutritious powerhouse not to be ignored. Im surprised to learn Kale is not mentioned in the ObamaCare plan. Take health care into your own two hands and try it in a massaged kale salad, steamed, or sauted with garlic, onion and friends

Ho Mi Z Mustard: Full Moon. Beautiful leaves with mild mustard spice.If you like to play with your food, slice out the sturdy mid rib and use as an eating utensil.

Buttercup Winter Squash: Leonardis Organics. Sweet and Nutty. Orange flesh. the green skin was an attractive color to the bugs in the field and their little bites have turned into sugary scar tissue on the surface.
An old standby for fall/winter cuisine

Pomegranate: Ancient Lake Gardens. A super antioxidant rich fruit that signals the coming winter. Here's a  simple and clean method for deseeding. Great as a snack, salad topping, or wherever fun food is needed

Granny Smith Apple: Full Moon. sweet and tart, great for baking. when life hands you apples make apple pie (please rinse before eating, there may be a fine clay dust on the skin that is used for sun and bug protection)

Walnut Harvest Fiesta Nov 3

rainbow! could our apple trees be the pot o gold?

Momentus day on the farm today.
 Greens harvesting in the first rain of the fall. This is in the top 5 of favorite activities . The greens are in their prime and the prominent rain drops on their leaves really make them shine. While harvesting and singing a little tune I happened upon another skink! remember that little dragon from a couple weeks ago?! this guy, bright metallic blue tail intact, wriggled out from his earthen crevice to hide among the kale roots. Ooh. and Later while clipping mustard leaves I found a small and still, black snake with red, blue, and tan markings. Curled ever so tightly under the stems of Ho Mi Z. I hope both of these companions feast on the cucumber beetles, aphids, cabbage moth catepillars and harlequin bugs lurking in the shadows on Brassica Blvd.

  Placed our order for the materials of a 30' x 96' semi gable hoophouse. Made of steel tubing and covered with greenhouse plastic, this structure will allow us to grow high quality vegetables in the soil earlier, later and efficiently in the season. Like a greenhouse, this enclosed environment may be 20 degrees warmer in early spring allowing us to get a head start on crops like greens, roots and herbs and summer crops like tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. During the summer the protected environment with roll up sides and end walls will allow for full ventilation during the day and some warmer temps at night due to residual heat held in by the cover. Also research shows some pests are less of an issue in covered environments like cucumber beetles and birds. Meaning less damage to crops. Later in the season as temps cool, warm loving crops will produce for a few weeks longer than out in the field, and challenging winter crops will thrive in the protection and moderated climate of the hoophouse. In addition to to the season extension benefits, we may have a more humid environment meaning less irrigation required (water conservation), and dense plantings in high fertility soil means more vegetables per square foot, meaning more economic and efficient work environment for farmer. Hoop house culture has been of great interest to me and the world as our climate gets more extreme. This is certainly one rare case where I choose to use a large amount of plastic and feel good about it.

I am also happy to introduce our new intern Alex.  Alex has joined our farm through the work experience ag intern program at Mendocino College. Alex will be learning alongside our farmer as we begin construction on the hoop house and earning college credits. Full Moon Farm is happy to be a part of this exciting educational experience. Intern opportunities available! Choose your interest and we set your learning objectives together.

Walnut Harvest 2012

This weeks wind and rain should knock most of the nuts off the trees and you should get your buns up here! Celebrate the completion of our first CSA season and the harvest of our dry farmed walnuts.
Come out to the farm the weekend of Nov 3.
Campout Friday and Saturday night.
Harvest all day saturday then we dine and sit around the fire. savor the seasonal bounty, and fill the night with mirth and merriment.
please rsvp.
mooneymanna at gmail

In the box:

Red Russian Kale: Full Moon. Oops I did it again. Like Jay Z says "its so necessary"

Ho Mi Z Mustard: Full Moon. Gorgeous, high turgidity and some spiciness if eaten raw. Mellows with cooking. The larger leaves also seem to have less mustardy heat. Awesome. the thick midrib crunches like celery. perhaps a peanut sauce over sauted greens is in order.

Yukina Savoy: Full Moon. These guys have hit their second wind so look out. big heads Oy Savoy!
Excellent asian green like spinach.

Green and Yellow Beans: Full Moon. Another family affair picking beans this weekend. This time we got some of the green provider beans as well as yellow wax bean.

Scrunions: Full Moon. Incredible  little onion.

Butternut Squash: Leonardis Organics. Fall time Classic. Roast, and toast the good life cuz its dinner time-Butternut Style!

Granny Smith Apples: Full Moon.First sizable harvest from our 3 and 4 year old granny smith trees. Tart plus sweet. Great for baking and eating fresh. Did someone say pie?

Farmer Jim Leonardis in his field of winter squash

Leonardis Organics winter squash family portrait.

Winter Squash Blowout! Case Sale!

Jim Leonardis has an abundance of winter squash and heirloom pumpkins. Enjoy the flavor and warmth of Lake County produce all winter long. Stored in a cool and dry environment, some will last up to 6 months.
Baked, Roasted, Pureed, in Pies, Soups, and Entrees. Fantastic flavors and strong nutrition profile, great value.
Makes a great holiday edible centerpiece.
Please place email order by  saturday night(10/27) for next tuesday (10/30) delivery. and again next month (11/10) for another delivery available mid November.
30lb case of winter squash for $27. 40lb case for $34.
many varieties to choose from. mixed or single variety per case. no limit.
pictured above starting at the top left and spiraling in clockwise we have...

Red Kuri Squash. Red Kuri  is thick-skinned orange colored winter squash that has the appearance of a small pumpkin without the ridges. Inside the hard outer skin there is a firm flesh that provides a very delicate and mellow chestnut-like flavor. They are good for pies and purees because specks of skin (being red) will not show. Also know as Orange Hokkaido. avg weight 4-7 lbs.

Cinderella Pumpkin.   A unique French heirloom whose correct name is "Rouge vif D'Etampes". The source of their nickname it that they resemble the pumpkin that Cinderella's fairy godmother transformed into a carriage. This pumpkin is recorded as having been the variety cultivated by the Pilgrims and served at the second Thanksgiving dinner. This is our favorite pumpkin variety. There is something magical about them. Cinderellas make a delightful decorative accent for the fall season, but additionally their flavor is good for any pie or winter squash recipe.avg. weight 20-30lb.

Fairy Tale. This is an old time pumpkin from France. It is deeply ribbed and has a very smooth hard surface. It is dark green in color when immature, and as it cures it turns a gorgeous deep mohagony. Very unique flavor. It is fine grained and well suited to baking.  It's true name is: Musque De Provence. avg weight. 12-20lbs

Hokkaido Stella Blue. An exceptional winter squash. Sweet, richly flavored, fiberless flesh is delicious, dry, and almost flaky. Medium-sized, round, slightly flattened, blue fruits store well. avg weight 3-6lb

Buttercup.  Kabocha type. It has a deep orange fiber-less flesh. It is medium-dry with a rich sweet flavor. Buttercups become sweeter after a few weeks, so don't be afraid to store this one.avg weight  2-6lb

Blue Ballet Hubbard. much smaller and more marketable Blue Hubbard. Smooth-skinned, blue-gray fruits are medium size, avg. 4-7 lb., with sweeter, bright orange, fiberless flesh. Stores well.

 Carnival. Isn't it attractive?!? The best part? It tastes as good as it looks! It will store for several months and still maintain an excellent eating quality. Their flavor is somewhere between an Acorn and Delicata. Yummy! avg weight 3-6lb

Green Acorn. Acorn squash has an orange yellow flesh. Their flavor is sweet and nutty with a smooth texture. For best sweetness wait at least 2 weeks after harvest before you eat them. Acorns are quick and easy to prepare. Yum! avg weight 3-6lb

Gold Acorn. Just like the green acorn, but bright gold skin and sweeter flavor. avg weight 3-6lb

Butternut. Butternut has the longest storage potential of all squash varieties. The longer you store it, the sweeter and nuttier the flavor becomes. Their flesh is orange, smooth-textured, and has a unique sweet flavor — particularly after 3 months storage. It will easily store in a cool, dry place through February. This squash is commonly used for pies and is terrific as a stand-alone entrée. avg weight 3-8lb

(Most descriptions clipped from http://www.allaboutpumpkins.com/varieties.html)

last of the sunflowers. regal.

 looking up at a towering sunflower head always makes me smile, not so much when they are drying, or so I thought, but many reasons to smile. I begin my hunt for intact flower heads. without bird damage, without signs of spoilage. Lots of options among this thick volunteer sunflower forest.  my hori hori is put to quick use, cutting off heads one by one. dry leaves and stems begin sticking to my clothing. sap and resin coat my hands and arms and shoulders and my pants as I try to rub off this sticky substance.  it smells good.aromatherapy?! I rub my hands now thru my beard and hair, I stroke the 10' stems gathering this sticky smelly substance deep into my pores. kind of smells like pine trees.
"Oh I didnt know you had it in you? sunflower."
 Ultimately, a timely diversion led me to a wonderful world of discovery. The therapeutic qualities of the plant world cease to amaze me.  folks its been an excellent journey so far. In humility and honor.
this is in your box this week...

leaving the farm this morning. mt konocti ahead.

Sunflower head: Full Moon. Wish I could have taken all the work out of enjoying these sunflower seeds for ya. alas, hope you enjoy it. Totally edible. harvested at their peak and dried in the greenhouse for a couple weeks. simply rub the head with your thumb or  hand to remove the seeds. toast and salt in the shell, crack them as is in your mouth or plant them in your garden next spring.  makes a great friend.

Beets: Full Moon. While harvesting these at sunset I kept getting the most ineresting olfactory stimulation. I thought somebody was making candied raspberries or some incredible weed was growing among the beets that I have never smelled before. Aha it was a volunteer melon. stinking up the place almost indecently.  I digress. A mix of red and gold beets this week. Sure to please.

Red Russian Kale: Full Moon. Loyal standby in the field and on the plate. Tender leaves and robust stems.
Ready to fulfill your nutritious desires.

Black Velvet Tomato: Leonardis Organics. The production of a hybrid with the flavor reminiscent of an heirloom. A totally unique flavor & appearance in the world of tomatoes. Immature fruit actually has a sweeter more sugary flavor, as the fruit matures it brings complexity with a nice mix of acids and sugars, rich and flavorful.  Lovely salad or sandwich tomato.

Hokkaido Stella Blue Winter Squash: Leonardis Organics. Light Blue skin, yellow/orange flesh inside. A terrific winter squash. Sweet and nutty flavor. Similar to the japanese buttercup or kabocha squash. great roasted, baked, blended into a soup or sauce. Any way you slice it. so pretty and unusual, makes a great centerpiece, and after your bored looking at it. throw it in the oven and eat it. yum.

Ruffled Red Pimiento/Jimmy Nardello Sweet Peppers: Leonardis Organics. Two of my favorite sweet peppers. The Nardello heirloom pepper is long and thin skinned. while the Pimiento pepper is squat and thick walled. Both are delicious and juicy. great raw or cooked.

Bella Dulce or Arava Melon: Full Moon. Ok now we are on borrowed time. The weather has been too cooperative this fall. No more water and these puppies are still jamming. If you can muster the patience, let it sit on the counter till you smell something indecent and then dig in."Indecent" is the new word when it comes to melons. thanks bronwen.

End of the year bed for squash and cucumbers, and a slice of "oh so sweet" watermelon made it into the box at the last minute.

If a walnut falls...

gramma the glowing chicken at your service

our lil chickies are now 4 months old, soon to be laying beautiful eggs.

mown sunflowers in field 9.soon to be seeded for next years summer chicken pasture

If a walnut falls in the orchard and no one is around to hear, does it make a sound?

the sounds of fall.
 dry leaves crackling underfoot.
the beating of wind and wings of a starling murmuration overhead.
the rustling of dry grass as a young snake slithers by.
clanging and crashing of empty metal bins traveling over bumpy roads to the vineyard
truck engines, back up "beep beep"s, harvesting machines
crunching of  leaves and popping of succulent vines hunting for winter squash
and celebratory "hoorahs!"

I think last weeks heat wave was the wave goodbye to summer. "Kind of sad, its really the end." a friend said as we talked about the weather. With every end, a new beginning. I witness this cycle often on the farm.
 There is no off season for farming really. Always a long list of things to do and a longer list of things to get to afterwards. But hey its what you make it to be. Step by step. ooh baby.
 As I pull up irrigation lines, remove plants and or spade them in to prepare the ground for a winter cover crop I give thanks for the food that these fields yielded, remembering the planting,weeding, and harvesting, the friends big and small who helped along the way, and the lessons learned. The imprint of our work. I say my little peace to the little piece.acknowledge the cycle of life. give thanks. hi five the earthworms and off to the next thing without too much fuss. Nice to know there is still that sentimental feeling out there.

There is a balance.

Hedgerow planting and veggie bed clean up this coming weekend Oct 12-14.
If you can join us, please do. come for dessert friday night with the folks, saturday we get to work on planting and mulching trees/shrubs in our fledgling hedgerow.  Be prepared for getting dirty and a good time, bring digging forks if you got 'em. We can accommodate a handful of folks so let us know if your interested. email mooneymanna at gmail.

Walnut harvest is coming too! Keep your calendar clear near the end of the month as we get ready for the nuts to fall. More info in the coming weeks.

and finally just a reminder that this is the final month of our CSA veggie delivery for 2012.
It's been a great first year folks. thanks. couldnt have done it with out you!
Sign-up for our 2013 program will begin just around the corner,  secure your spot as we embark into a time beyond the Mayan calendar.ooh ahh. what's gonna happen?

arctostaphylos manzanita (common manzanita) in the hedgerow

cercis occidentalis (western redbud) in the hedgerow

In da box:

Nicola Potatoes: Full Moon. Rating low on the glycemic index and high on eating enjoyment, the Nicola potato is great for classic potato salad aussie style.  or this simple recipe for gnocchi.   Unwashed for better storage. keep refrigerated. another recipe dilly bean  potato salad

Stuttgarter "Scrunions": Full Moon. I learned this word "scrunion" from a UC davis student paper regarding CSA management. I took it to mean "scrawny onion" or combo of scallion and onion. not quite a spring onion and not a full bulb. Delicious mild flavor. use like a green onion. greens make a great topping or garnish, mini bulb when you need a small amount of onion. nice raw.

Yellow Wax Bean: Full Moon. Mysterious circumstances surround our bush bean's this year. plants grew great, got a little burned during the triple degree weeks, but recovered and set a decent amount of beans,  they remained small and immature but still tasty. Mom and Dad even helped pick these beans off the plant, a real family affair to bring these to you. Dilly bean

Arava Melon: Full Moon. Most likely the final harvest for these fellas. Super tasty treat. named for the long valley that traverses much of the desolate Negev Desert in southern Israel where this hybrid melon hails from.

Kellog's Breakfast/Blush Tomatoes: Full Moon. Also final harvest for these one's too. Frosty temps are quickly approaching and we bid you adieu . so long, farewell...

Uncle David's Dakota Dessert Squash: Leonardis Organics. A great buttercup squash with a long name.
Sweet nutty orange flesh with a softish green and freckled skin. my favorite cook method is roasting 1-2" strips of squash slathered in oil salt, pepper and a little balsamic at 400 deg. about 40 minutes.

Touchstone Gold Beet: Full Moon. Fine flavored golden gems thru and thru. A succulent head of greens to enjoy as well. beets and greens go great with fat & protein. cheese, seed oil, yogurt, toasted  nuts, meat. time to put on that winter coat of our own

Red Russian Kale: Full Moon. Pretty much done thinning now and the kale has grown so fast  it has out grown our row cover. Tore the roof off that mutha if you know what i mean. Full of vigor to keep you going. thankfully the temp has dropped a good 10 degrees and humidity has risen but the cabbage moths are out in full force so you may find some tiny green catepillars inching next to a hole.

Harvest Moon

This weeks box...



Kellog's Breakfast: Full Moon

Blush: Full Moon.

Yukina Savoy: Full Moon. see  link  for saag/palak paneer recipe using yukina in place of spinach.

Ho Mi Z Mustard: Full Moon

Arava Melon: Full Moon. The end of melon is season is fast approaching. The hot weather has been helpful to get this second planting to ripen and sweeten before frost comes. I am noticing a change in texture, common at this time of year. but we'll enjoy them as long as we can. The second planting of Bella Dulce is still a couple weeks from harvest. will they make it? stay tuned. Don't compost those melon seeds, Eat 'em. This weekend I was reminded of the fantastic culinary use of melon seed! Used in Africa,  India, the Middle East and more. Another reminder to make use of the entire fruit.

Hokaido Stella Blue Winter Squash: Leonardis Organics. Light Blue skin, yellow/orange flesh inside. A terrific winter squash. Sweet and nutty flavor. Similar to the japanese buttercup or kabocha squash. great roasted, baked, blended into a soup or sauce. Any way you slice it. so pretty and unusual, makes a great centerpiece, and after your bored looking at it. throw it in the oven and eat it. yum.

Red Ace Beets: Full Moon, Beets are back! for some of you this may come as a disapointment. to others a joyous surprise. Let me know if you are one of these and we'll see if we can work out a deal to get you more of what you like...

Zinfandel Grapes: Ancient Lake Gardens. This week we have zomething different. Zinfandel. Perhaps more familiar to us in liquid ferment form, aka wine. A fantastic eating grape as well. Here is the  description from farmer Dave: "Aren't Zinfandel grapes wine grapes? Anyone who has given in to the temptation to grab a cluster of grapes from a roadside vineyard knows that wine grapes aren't limited to wine-making! Many (us included), in fact, find that a majority of wine-grapes varieties are superior in quality to conventional seedless grapes. This week, we'll be offering our ripe, table quality Zinfandel grapes, which are renowned for being one of the best fresh eating quality wine grapes. Grapes contain one small, non-bitter, crunchy but tasty seed." Thanks Dave.

gnomes, dragons and heavy metal

There is a new band in town. Underground Mayhem! They dont really play instruments but they leave a path of destruction and despair after going totally nuts. Their performances are well known among farming folks.
Underground Mayhem is a band of squirrels, sometimes with back up dancers "the go-go-gophers". This time of year, they literally go nuts. Up the trees after unripe walnuts, over chicken wire to gnaw on the trunks of young apple trees, under trees to gnaw on roots and develop dens a couple feet underground. Winter is coming and the rodents get into a frenzy, looking for food and leaving no plant unturned. 

A couple weeks ago asleep under the walnut tree next to the cucurbit field, I awoke from a fuzzy dream. Eyes still closed, my ears perked up to playful rustling sounds nearby. Dried grass and dry leaves. Spats of activity. I opened my eyes, but lay still. Is it the cats hunting and pouncing for mice? Out of the corner of my vision I think I saw a body jump into the air. I think there are three to five creatures based on the sounds. Is it squirrels playing among the melons checking to see how ripe they are? I slowly turned my head towards the noise and immediately the critters scattered in everyway before I could make eye contact. I lay ever so still again, listening into the distance and close by for more rustling to give away their position. Alas silence. I clapped my hands a couple times to keep them at bay while I fell back to sleep. I awoke in the morning with the most curious puzzlement? what were those sounds coming from? Whatever they were I had the distinct feeling they were playing, not looking for trouble as I might suspect when  rustling at ground level is heard.
I put a call out to Mr. Robert Stack, as he has some experience with strange mysteries and is somewhat of an authority on the matter. Together with much deliberation we concluded: Gnomes. Of course!

And finally on the fantasy tip. Today while preparing a hole with a digging fork I came across a blue tail.
It was a rather violent coming across. Jabbing the fork into the ground. breaking dry soil. meeting a hard layer about six inches below surface.  lifting the fork out and thrusting back breaking through the barrier to find a dry but friable texture below. Aha! moving down the bed, busting through. digging, lifting, jabbing, lifting... "what's this?!" the last lift of the fork brought up a bright blue worm. or I thought it was at first. Blue worm?! never heard of one. It was wriggling and thrashing about like red wrigglers do when exposed to light.
Upon closer inspection I could see this was no worm, but a tail.  Blue tail?! underground?! snake? lizard?...
I could not find the rest of this blue creature missing part of its tail. i felt bad for possibly killing or hurting this strange blue being. After about a minute of wriggling about, the tail lay motionless and did not respond to my touch. Time to get Mr. Robert Stack on the horn and figure this one out...  With the help of a 12 sided die and a Ouija board we concluded I had encountered a dragon. dunh dunh duhn. ok its actually called a skink.
pretty awesome!

Ok now for something you can actually sink your teeth into...

Blush Tomato: Full Moon. What a delightful little tomato. Streaks of green turning to red over golden yellow.Sweet and Juicy fruit

Kellog's Breakfast Tomato: Full Moon.  now we are beginning to see the breakfast plate size that this 'mater is famous fer.  Slice 'em up for your egg sandwich. Blend em up into salsa or a colorful tomato sauce.

Oregon Spring: Full Moon. Last harvest for these troopers. Rich tomato flavor with nice sweetness to boot. Thanks Oregon Spring! see ya next year.

Jimmy Nardello Sweet Pepper and Red Ruffled Pimiento Pepper: Leonardis Organics. Two of my favorite sweet peppers. The Nardello heirloom pepper is long and thin skinned. while the Pimiento pepper is squat and thick walled. Both are delicious and juicy. great raw or cooked.

Red Flame Seedless Grape: Dorn Vineyards. Last harvest for this year. Today I was the guest worker picking grapes. Wow! This is the tastiest harvest yet. Great fun to be in the vineyard, clipping these beautiful bunches under the canopy. Have a juicer? make fresh grape juice. make jam. super high sugar content. zing!

Ho Mi Z Mustard: Full Moon. A beautiful and unique mustard green with a unique name. A new variety coming to us from the good folks at Wildgarden seed. Sweet and spicy! Spiciness mellowed with cooking. A real delight on the plate.

Red Russian Kale: Full Moon. This kale is so robust and adaptive. Try a saute with the peppers for a new addition with an old favorite. a  nice blending of summer and fall.

Harvest time

     

summer's bounty(thanks Betsy)

Fall is in the air. Cool north westerly breezes bring the smell of crushed grapes both from the wineries and the vineyards. Sauvignon Blanc grapes are first to be harvested in the valley.  The smell of sweet sun fermenting pears sitting on the orchard floors comes on these same breezes. On a drive to the local goat dairy for a birthday party I witnessed many deer  creeping into the orchards munching on said pears.  One orchard even had out a "deer xing" sign. Nice to see- both the sign and deers.
A large walnut crop is forecast for this season. I heard harvest should begin early to mid October. Most large orchards will shake the trees with a peculiar looking machine, something out of dune, that grabs the trunk and with great force shakes and shimmies all the walnuts to the earth. Next a machine goes up and down the orchard collecting the nuts into rows and blowing leaves and twigs into another row. Then a machine drives over the row of nuts collecting them into  a hopper  then a bin and on their way to a drying/hulling/shelling warehouse.   We wait for the nuts to fall on their own. This makes the harvest last for a couple weeks, more manageable for human hands. Details to come on our walnut harvest party. stay tuned.
I'll leave you all with a harvest chant.

Red Russian Kale: Full Moon. first harvest of this super tender kale. you may notice the whole plant harvested in your bunch. this is our thinning process. Over plant to crowd out weeds and establish a thick stand, then thin to one plant per 8-12". This gets the kale off to a good start. Quick strong unimpeded growth before frost comes. then the flavor sweetens but growth also slows. These plants will feed us all winter long. for now, cook ever so quickly or eat raw as the leaves are very tender.

Yukina Savoy: Full Moon. Spoon shaped chinese spinach. here's a tipsheet from NYC. with a couple recipes. and here's one for a quiche recipe using this great green.

Blush/ Snow white tomato: Full Moon. The snow whites are heavy producers. whoa. more tomatoes in 20 feet than 200 of the blush. I have to say the lower acidity of the blush is more appealing, but the sweet tangy-ness of the snow white is a nice treat. and oh those colors!

Oregon Spring tomato: Full Moon. Despite losing a lot of fruit to sunburn, this variety is top notch. Delightful low acid rich tomato flavor. Most beautiful bright red this week. Perfect for sauce. made a batch this weekend. last chance for sauce tomatoes, send me an email if you want some next week.

Kellogs Breakfast Tomato: Full Moon. Golden orange glowing like the harvest moon. Meaty flesh, high acid, bright flavor. Compliments most any meal. Won awards last year in both size and flavor contests. In my opnion it's still coming into its prime here.

        

"Tomato, onion, garlic, leek, okra and herbs de provence with pasta and red snapper. Yum" - Mary


Red Flame table grape: Dorn Vineyards. Another week of the Dorn's finest.

Bella Dulce melon: Full Moon. Wow. These puppies can really sweeten the air like no other melon I know.
still one of my favorites

O'Henry peaches: Full Moon. Celebrate our second peach harvest with a delicious peach! This week a little redder, a little softer and a little sweeter. mmm mmmm good!

greens under row cover.

did you ever know that you're my hero

a week off sure sounds nice right about now. As a youngster nothing beat summer vacation, and weekends were made for fun (as the song by debbie deb suggests). In my current age and occupation summer is busy as all get out, though I am still having a blast outside in the sun or shade. and weekends... rarely exist unless I am too tired or sick to move. I have been taking naps lately, not by choice entirely, a simple thought of "oh let me sit down after lunch" turns into a three hour nap. I have been totally zonked for a couple weeks, but after a thorough rest, feel sort of "normal".  Lookout weekend cause here I come. (funny I wrote this the night before I woke up feeling sick and unable to deliver...perhaps I really needed the day off)

This week is the heirloom expo in santa rosa, I hope you all can go if you are so inclined. a dramatic display of hundreds and hundreds of old time heirloom vegetables. a real treat for the eyes, nose, tongue, belly and soul. lots of presentations and speakers, some of them heros and sheras of mine. Last year was totally awesome and I am so excited about this years expo.
Lots of heirloom animal breeds too! does heirloom animal manure smell different? like roses.

This weeks box...

Red slicer tomato: Full Moon. Maybe one more week left of harvesting on the Oregon Spring beds. definitely a productive variety that we will grow again. great flavor and size for salad, stews or snacking.

Kellog's Breakfast tomato: Full Moon. After a couple weeks of spoiled fruit with blossom end rot, this is the first substantial harvest ready for the box. Blossom end rot is usually caused by lack of calcium, sometimes due to a real lack of calcium or nutrient leaching caused by over watering. The water has been turned off for a week now and seeing no more rot. yay! These heirlooms are much more sensitive than modern hybrids. Anywhoo. they are nice big golden orange with a nice acidic flavor that goes great on a sandwich, burger, salad or just about anywhere.

Blush tomato: Full Moon. gold and red striped sausage shape, delicious sweet and tangy flavour. I am really liking this tomato, love to toss them in my mouth. 

Sungold cherry tomato: Biofarm. Another mouth poppin treat!check previous posts for other recipe ideas.

Warba potato: Full Moon. Dug up this afternoon, super thin skin, creamy white flesh with pink/red toning around eyes. suitable for baking and boiling. most are "creamer" size, meaning small enough to leave whole and cook to your desire. I sliced mine in full moons and roasted at 425 with onion, garlic, rosemary, salt, pepper, oil and white wine. deelish. (dirt left on taters to preserve freshness, simply refrigerate and  wash before using.)

Bella Dulce melon: Full Moon. One of my all time favourite melons. we have grown this variety for the last three years and each year a little different. I usually see some fruits that resemble a lemon cucumber, melon colored but with the "belly button" seen on the lemon cuke. Awesome dulce flavor with the slightest cucumber texture. I detect notes of vanilla and caramel, truly a dessert melon if I have ever had one.

Red flame grapes: Dorn Vineyard. A perfect food. one could live on grapes alone if they were in season year round. a belly ache might ensue, but any active lifestyle can benefit from copious amounts of fresh grapes at hand.

O'henry peaches: Full Moon. Really coming into their prime this week. the o'henry peach. firm texture, (great for the grill), nice sugar content. ready to eat now or let sit on counter or fridge for later use.
If you would like 'B' grade for jamin' let me know, they wont last long!

Yukina Savoy: Full Moon. Yay fall greens. Autumn is my favourite time of year. We get to enjoy the bounty of late summer, with the addition of cooler season greens. first harvest of these great greens. if tatsoi and bok choy had a love child it would be yukina savoy. kind of like spinach without the oxcalic acid.

fruit fruit the magical...

hope you all had an excellent weekend and had a special time under the blue moon. seems there has been a lot of  significant celestial activity in the past couple months, blue moons, solar eclipses, solar flares, meteor showers, and of course the constant rotation of our planet earth. Incredible time to be alive.

The pear harvest is now underway here in lake county. In decades past, lake county was the leading producer of pears in the nation. As states like washington and counries like china and  argentina started to increase their pear production, our pears lost favor in the global market and many local farmers ripped out their orchards to plant wine grapes.  Our farm was once a pear orchard. ripped out about eight years ago, left fallow. I like to imagine what this land was like before pears. There is a mini oak woodland before you come down into our neck of the valley. I imagine this to be an example of the native flora, before agriculture wiped its  hand across the land. So before pears, acorns may have been the abundant tree crop; stored, processed and traded among the local people.

As our climate and environment changes we must adapt. As a farmer and land steward it is my goal to restore and revitalize this land, to leave it in better condition than I found it. (with the destructive farming practices in the recent past, shouldnt be too hard). With major drought conditions declared across the country, this year has been a very challenging year for farmers of all persuasions. But the resounding message I hear (perhaps from biased media), is that land managed organically has weathered this years drought better than conventional/chemical farms. While modern humans have spent billions of  dollars and countless hours bending and manipulating nature to fit our industrial scale ag model, perhaps we will see a grand scale shift towards bending our own desires to match that of a thriving harmonious nature.  I look to that mini oak woodland and the riparian zone along adobe creek to show me how a myriad of trees, shrubs, grasses, and flowers thrive together without applied irrigation and fertilizer.

sungold cherry tomato: Biofarm

bartlett pear: Biofarm. A piece of Lake County history. Picked firm to ripen off the tree, these delicious pears deserve a little time to show their true potential. apply some thumb pressure to where the stem meets the fruit, if a little give its ready, if not give it some more time. here's a great article to help.

blush tomato/ snow white cherry: Full Moon. Yay new variety. Blush is the sausage shaped yellow with some red striping developed by a local tomato breeder, Fred Hempel from Baia Niche farm in Sunol. snow white is the yellow cherry tomato. I believe the snow white will hit its flavor prime in  a week or two while the blush is already a tasty hit. More of these to come.

Red Slicer tom: Full Moon. love 'em while you can. and can 'em while you can! 10 lb box for $25 to enjoy the flavor of summer all year long.

red flame seedless grapes: Dorn Vineyards. Awesome seedless grapes from an awesome family farm. Grown on the foothills of an inactive volcano, first harvest of this incredible table grape.

O'henry peach: Full Moon. One of my favorite peaches. one of the last peaches to ripen for the season and one of the best tasting to boot! Picked in the morning as the sun came up to kiss these little ones before going in your box.

satsuki midori cucumber: Leonardis Organics. Named after the woman who bred and developed this variety in Japan. delicious juicy flesh, thin skin. love it.

lemon cucumber: Full Moon

summer squash: Full Moon

on rotation:

Okra: full moon. okra for health , southern style okra , and african style okra

beans beans the magical fruit

     With the dog days of summer behind us for the forseeable future, thoughts and feelings drift towards the harvest season. the late summer bounty. a settling down to the harvest table if you will. a time to gather and enjoy the company of friends, heck, have a weekend. a time for more reflection on the season thus far. The days are not feeling so long and then too short for all the work that needs to get done, but long enough.
The mornings have been refreshingly cold. My feet begin to feel chilled around 4:45 am, and I awaken to tuck the blankets around my bare feetsies and think about getting up. The sun is still in the dreamtime of the morning, and so I follow the sun. An hour later I am awakened again, this time to see an amazing red and orange band hovering above the mountain tops. Atmospheric gases, pollution and particles give a most dramatic show for the early crowd to witness. another hour later the round sun appears- red and orange like its opening act, but more focused and brilliant, charging ahead gathering momentum as the a.m. hours pass.


green and yellow beans: Leonardis Organics. this is a good time for fresh beans in lake county. milder daytime temps and greater relative humidity make for happier bean plants. picked monday morning while the sun warmed my back and a humming melody. stir fry , salad with herbs ,

fresh soybean: Full Moon. first time Ive seen a soy bean grow. Neat plant. with plentiful water exhibited running growth habit, beans seemed to begin drying just as they began to plump, very short window for harvest. a variety of plump green and yellowing, and not so plump green pods for your enjoyment. try my favorite and simple boiled edamame recipe, did someone say succotash?

arava melon: Full Moon. what a difference a week makes. plentiful harvest of melons this week. delicious and juicy. packed with sugar and fiber. best to be eaten on its own as it may cause some digestive disturbance if combined with other foods. makes a great breakfast jumpstart. zing. what kind of flavors do you taste?

lemon cucumber: Full Moon. another week of these cute and convenient little ones. After saying this was the tastiest crop last week, I found some bitter bites. uh oh. no bueno. could be caused by extreme temperature fluctutaions. cukes are muy sensitivo to the slightest stress. and certain bitter flavored chemicals increase with stress, tho the lemon cucumber is usually fine. please let me know if you got any bitter skinned cukes, one should not normally have to peel these, nor suffer a bitter bite.
delicious in salad with cilantro, dill, garlic, vinegar, sweet/spicy peppers. choose your own adventure.

red slicer tomato: Full Moon. steady supply of these sweet and salad ready toms. great on open face sandwich too. nothin like fresh tomato. lycopene is a bright red carotenoid or phytochemical that gives the tomato its color and latin name roots (lycopersicum)

sungold cherry tomato: Bio Farm. pop em, roast em with pasta, blend em gazpacho style

summer squash: Full Moon. crookneck and zucchini,

on rotation this week:
okra: Full Moon

watermelon: Full Moon

let food be thy medicine

 With insane heat behind us, things have gotten back to normal around here. There are still more fires sparking up, this time started by lightning during our brief five drops of rain this week. The smoke can be pretty thick at times, and winds carry lots of particulate matter, some very irritating to the skin and eyes.
Ive been picking the okra now everyday and im surprised by my urge to chomp and chew methodically, till my mouth is full of a thick bolus that so smoothly glides down my throat. Im a newish fan of okra, first tried it  a few years ago while harvesting at a local farm in the east bay, and a farming buddy from the south gave me the grand tour of okra appreciation when I first moved up here. The smoke and the heat have begged me to find remedies that will allow me to continue  my work efforts during the hot day. Cucumbers and Okra to the rescue!

Eating with the seasons is a core component of a holistic lifestyle.without getting too out there, see if you follow my logic. our growing food is participating in the same daily dance of survival that we humans are. subject to the same planetary cycles, daily rhythms, environment and such. Plants and humans have incredible faculties for healing and adapting.Nature provides both the poison and antidote, in the plant world one will often find them growing next to or near eachother. So is it possible that we can heal ourselves, and adapt with our world of constant change, by eating the foods grown in our specific region and season? why is it a cucumber grows in the heat, yet provides a cooling treat?
  "let food be thy medicine..."-Hippocrates.





Garbanzo bean: Full Moon. fresh.exciting. simply pop the pod and release the bean into your salad, soup, or  dish. roast on the bbq with chili powder and a squirt of lime, or in a pan .  complete with green stems and leaves, perfect for a refreshing sun tea. here's a story from mariqueta farm about that.
If the pod is yellow and dry, it will need slightly longer cook than green pods. a unique experience.
more recipe ideas here

Red Lasoda Potato : Clover Creek Family Farm. Thurston and I harvested these tonight. Nice big and small red  new potatoes. New potato? yes fresh and new to the above ground world. a thin skin easily disturbed by sharp things like gopher teeth. Thurston swears that a gopher wound will not fall to rot and some of these wounded beauts grace your box this week. perfect for baking, roasting, mashing and stewing.

Garlic: Biofarm. perfect for mashed potatoes, what can be said about garlic that hasnt been already? anti bacterial, immune booster,  breath freshener... you name it.

Gypsy Peppers: Biofarm. Gorgeous yellow gypsy pepper. sweet. link for stuffed pepper recipe.

Lemon Cucumber:  Full Moon. Despite some cosmetic cucumber beetle damage these are the tastiest crop of lemon cukes I have grown. hope you like em too  and more to come.

Crookneck Squash: Full Moon. the plants themselves give off a buttery aroma and the fruits have a delightful flavor. first harvest from this bed planted by my dad. thanks

Arava Melon/ Green Okra/Udumalapet Eggplant: Full Moon. Ok. some of you will be receiving melon this week, and the others Okra and Eggplant. Unfortunately not enough for everyone this week. Next week I will rotate so if you missed out on one this week, keep your head up for next week.

arava is a delicious and sweet melon. green fleshed and intoxicating aroma. these are a "full slip" melon, meaning they "slip" from the vine when they are ready to harvest. no one likes an unripe melon, it worth the wait.  store at room temperature for quick eating or store in fridge if it'll be a few days.

okra is one of those unusual veggies that comes with some big fans or some big haters. ya either love it or hate it. but like the link says "giving okra a second chance" its "sliminess" is usually the turn off for folks. this can be mitigated by hot and quick pan roasting, or a light steaming and adding to a dish of other cooked veggies. This sliminess is also one of it s strong points too, great for thickening a stew (gumbo) or light soup, and great for coating our internal skin with moist mucilage.

the squirrels and heat left a couple of these for us this week. With last weeks heat wave the eggplants went on vacation, ceased flowering and have now begun to resume their regular work schedule. After removing all the half eaten fruits, and putting up protection we hopefully will be getting a lot more of  these small fruits.When slicing a few of these up the other night I was amazed to smell bannana! the more mature fruits have a yellow skin benefit from a slicing, salting and rinsing before cooking to remove any bitterness near the skin. the plant's own protective barrier to pests.


Red Slicer Tomato : Full Moon. More from our Oregon Spring beds. This is a great canning tomato, if you would like pounds for sauce, let me know-will be harvesting for a couple more weeks. the other heirloom varieties (purple calabash, kellogs breakfast, snow white) are slower to ripen and may be another week or more before we begin to harvest them.

#11

Bella Dulce melon, a few weeks from harvest.

Arava melon one week from harvest.

       Im not sure if you were as disappointed by last weeks box as I was. my apologies if you were. I am sensitive to variety and felt that lacking last week. I am also a fan of novelty and to have nothing new on the menu left me a little sour.  So I am excited to tell you that there are some new items this week and on the horizon...but first... Have you see any of the perseid meteor shower? A good excuse to "space out" after the sun goes down, make a wish on  a shooting star... Everything under the sun is growing well but intense solar heat has put a hurtin on the crops. causing wilting, flower/fruit drop, leaf  burns, sunburn on fruits and has been challenging our farmers as well. Throw in a few fires erupting this weekend and sheesh! what a week.  the local radio station has done a nice job keeping the community informed and up to date on road closure, evacuation zones and where to go for food and shelter. The theme of crisis bringing folks together has come up. Its true. the urgency and necessity for support and interdependent community  is strong in emergency situations. sometimes stressful times can wear our protective barriers thin and we may rub eachother the wrong way while sometimes we let these barriers down by choice when times get tough and we pull together and realize our vulnerability and humanity and generosity takes over. I hope you all enjoy this weeks installment and share a meal with friends for goodness sake.

and on the virtues of patience...
come on melons! dont make us wait so long. the anticipation for melons is high right now. a good handfull are changing color but wont be ready this morn. ahh! next week expect the tropical flavored green fleshed  arava!
the soybeans and garbanzo beans are setting more fruit and looks like next week for them too. woohoo.

Asian Cucumber:Leonardis Organics. delicious thin skinned asian cucumber. satsuki madori. Jim has grown superior cucumbers. Jim was featured in the CAFF e newsletter this month and briefly mentioned us and our working together, thanks Jim and congrats. 

Sungold cherry tomatoes: BioFarm. The best tasting cherry tomato out there! very sweet flavor. bright tangerine orange color. Judith grows the best cherry tomatoes.

Italian Eggplant: BioFarm. Large dark purple glossy skin.  I was hoping to bring you the Listada de Gandia or the Rosa Bianca from our farm, but the squirrels and quail have been at it again, poking and chewing holes into these beauts. A barrier of some sort is needed if we are to enjoy these in the coming weeks. For now we can enjoy these beauts from Biofarm. Judith has been dealing with a lot of squirrel pressure as well this year and suggested the fence idea as well as getting a .22 rifle. I think with the increased extreme weather  we are seeing increased pressure from our furry friends looking for a meal in hard times.

Armenian Cukes: Full Moon. standing up to the heat like champs. thick skin to stay crunchy and ornate seed cavity to delight the eyes. in fact feeling hot or irritated? cut a couple cuke circles place them over your eyes for a minute and tell me you dont feel better. great chopped up in  a salad, juiced! (big hit this week-super hydrating, cooling and alkalizing). check the recipes from july 30 post. actually makes a great pickle too.

Jericho Romaine: Love Farm. Gadzooks. the fantastic romaine showing his/her head in this weeks box. a surprise delivery of Pineapple Tomatoes from Teale this week in your tomato bag.Teale tells me peaches will be coming soon. yippee!

Red slicer tomatoes:  Full Moon. Oregon Spring Bush is the name of these red tomato. Known for its sweet, juicy flesh, this is the premier early- season variety for areas with cool summer nights. and cool nights we do. this week for instance we topped out at 106.4 F in the early afternoon and before sunrise drop  to 48 F. this can throw summer crops off. off flavors, off ripening times, off mineral absorption. 
a nice plant canopy can hold radiating and stored heat off the soil and bear the less than perfect temp patterns. we irrigate regularly to establish deep roots vigorous and lush greenery, ample flower production and hopefully fruit set and once fruits begin to ripen we reduce water to develop stronger flavor.

Onion: Full Moon. harvested cured and ready for seasoning your meals. In  haste I trimmed some tops that were still green and not fully cured, if you find green rings at the top of the onion, either keep in fridge or use first as it will lose moisture quickly.

Dill: Full Moon. the Modern Herbal says:"... Dill possess stimulant, aromatic, carminative and stomachic properties." In laymens terms that means benefits the stomach, apetite, digestion and related gas. enjoy with easy confidence! make a sauce or dressing and garnish a bean dish, fish,  tofu or any meal. It is said that the oils are strongest before flowering, hence the tall stalks and prepubescent flower heads. heres more recipe ideas than one might try to shake a stick at. the champagne dill carrots sound good

Whooah, we're half way there

howdy folks.
I am one tuckered out farmer tonight.
please excuse the less than inspiring post.
we'll be soo excited for next week. see sneak preview pics at bottom.
please check previous posts for recipe links.
many hours in the sun. crispt.

weather forecast says: "Oppressive heat is forecast to arrive in force" and "The 'Dog Days of Summer' are coming later this week w/ very hot days & sultry nights expected. " (really it can get more oppressive?!) hopefully this will be good for the eggplants and tomatoes. just a handful have begun to ripen and a butt load expected in the coming weeks. If you would like to order tomatoes for canning, now would be a good time to put in your order. email me with your interest and we can discuss the details.
mooneymanna@gmail.com

Chorus:
Whooah, we're half way there
Livin on a prayer
Take my hand and we'll make it - I swear
Livin on a prayer

Box number 10 brought to you by bon jovi.

japanese eggplant: full moon farm.  tender and purple.

armenian cucumber: full moon farm. crunchy and green.

summer squash: full moon farm. soft and green. shishkabob?!

carrots: ancient lake garden. crunchy and orange.

purple top turnip: ancient lake garden. round and purple/white.

mixed herbs (basil, thyme, oregano, dill, rosemary): you may have access to wonderful herbs like this already and in case you dont... here they are. great for dressings, sauces (dill yogurt) tea (infuse room temp water with thyme and oregano flowers for nice treat), or cut and dry for later use. using stripped rosemary sticks for shishkabob skewers is all the rage these days, make sure its soaked in water  so it doesnt burn over the flames.


 

listada de gandia eggplant. on bed of wilted amaranth.

fresh soy beans coming soon.

garbanzo filling out their pods.

yellow wax bush bean flowering soon after the heat passes.

What do you leave behind, number 9?

ol' white stuff aka gramma in the field, dust bathin', bug eatin' generally looking for the action

  A couple years ago I dropped a friend off at the Tule race, annual event at clear lake-where tule reeds are bound to make a boat and particicipants will race eachother in the water. The local  pomo tribes keep the tradition alive  We got there after the race occured, but in time to sit in and listen to some local history, gossip and stories. The topic of finding arrowheads came up. I have found a couple pieces of worked obsidian in the fields after making beds in the spring, pocketed a couple and placed on the window sill to admire the fine craft and handwork.
The woman said "you know what you do when you find an arrowhead on the ground? ...
you leave it there."
"see, each thing we make carries our signature, and as a people of the earth we want to leave our signature in the earth. what was given is returned. when you remove that piece, its like removing us. That's what these museums and archeologists want to do. But that's our connection and communication to the earth they're taking out."
(this is totally paraphrased, and to the best of my memory)
I was kind of blown away.  This idea settled in my brain and a slew of questions and associated ideas sprang up.
 what about the idea that tools are made to be used?
what about cultural history and leaving a story for future generations? If I didnt know this was pomo land would I recognize the hand worked rock from an unworked rock?
 Does a close relationship with the local community and environment  quench  society's thirst for museums, hollywood, planes and worldly recognition?
What do I want to leave behind?

Leaving the arrowhead in the earth also seemed like a good metaphor  for the path of ones own life. If living  is only half of the life/death cycle do not get attached to it. what comes from the earth goes back to earth. There is no waste in natural systems.
Also the idea of embodied energy came up. the intrinsic energy of an objects materials plus the energy it takes to manufacture, package, ship, use and dispose of.
Is this like the signature the woman spoke of?

I thought of other items found after spring bed making- namely aluminum cans and chain. hmm. I have a good idea of the story behind those items, and not a story I'd like to continue.
In my own "back to the land movement",( if this is a movement?) I ask myself " what is my signature left on the earth? trash or compost? plastic or wood? chains or feathers? whole heartedness or half assedness?
do my daily choices really matter that much?"


your choice to support our small organic farm is an excellent one. you have proven you care where your food comes from (local), how your food is grown (organic), and by joining the CSA you are embarking on an incredible, edible  journey with me (relationship)and all the organisms on the farm organism. Glad you are here.

rosa bianca eggplant, about a week from harvest. it really looks like an egg at this point.

Box  #9.
hey, speaking of museums, see what the carrot museum has to say about carrot tops: Eat Your Carrot Green Top.   This weeks Carrots come from Ancient Lake Gardens.

Dave and I picked them this morning and marveled at these golden orange roots. they smelled good coming out of the ground. kind of floral. and really try the tops. just a little for me and your health. mix a little into a salad or with basil to cover up the flavor if you dont like. There was a woman at the berkeley farmers market who came every week asking for our carrot tops so she could juice them or cook them. I thought she was a little nutty and possibly keeping cancer away, but I tried them after a while and " hey not bad". Its a taste that grows on ya.

Beets: Ancient Lake Garden. Big Beautiful Beets back again for a bionic burgundy blood replenishing. A lake county specialty. earthy minerals to compliment this weeks full moon. Enjoy those tender greens too! 

Lettuce: Love Farm. What CSA box would be complete without a head of lettuce? 2nd installment of lechuga de hoophouse ala Teale Love. Jericho, Canasta, and Mikola looking fresh and shiny. Moist and tender. One for you.


Cabbage: Full Moon Farm. The little cabbage that could. Totally a month later than I planned, and super small for all the field time. Love that cabbage slaw! salted and squeezed,  nice creamy herby sauce all over it, with some lemon for brightness. or throw some oiled into a stir fry with beets and watch the green edges turn red. 


Basil : Leonardis Organics. Not enough for pesto and too much for garnish?! what to do with basil.
slice thin (julienne) and garnish every meal with it. its so good. keep it around for aroma therapy.
add to curry dishes as a generous topping to balance the spicy.  check the link for other tasty suggestions.


Japanese Eggplant: Full Moon Farm. Young and Tender. picked a little smaller than full grown to ensure the squirrels dont get to them first. try this eggplant salad with miso dressing. or this one from everyone's favorite- Madhur Jaffrey. Or use them as you would an italian eggplant,( look for those coming soon).


Summer squash: Full Moon Farm. I know I said I planned a mini break for ya'll this week from the onslaught of summer squash, but I lied, maybe next week.  A meal with summer squash and eggplant is highly recomended this week. two vegetables I have not been the biggest fan of ,together for a killer combo- unbelievable.
Get some coconut milk and the mae ploy yellow curry paste and you will know what has become my new obsession. over rice with a cucumber salad and its booya village(!) all over your plate. Unh


Amenian Cucumber: Full Moon Farm. A close cousin to the striped armenian cucumber that  graced your box last week. Less sweet and full of crunch. great with cheese slices for a snack, isreali  salad or in a yogurt garlic dill tzatziki sauce. and armenian joojukh   get international with your cuke!

rooster? hen? usually the first to get out of the chicken yard.

the little ones mounching on some overgrown zucchini, purslane and amaranth.

first okra

oregon spring tomato almost changing color. almost.

what it do?

what is this?