Week Eleven

Greetings,

It's been another lively and productive week out here on the farm. Erin has
been away working on writing her opus, and so here the rest of us are trying
to figure out how she works her magic with the plants. Erin where did you
put the fairy dust...? Turns out that we can manage just fine, we had he
help of two great WWOOFers (willing workers on organic farms) who were
willing to spend many hours in the gardens weeding and harvesting. With the
house full of workers we have also been eating like kings. We made up a
splendid pasta sauce using fresh tomatoes, onions, basil, and zucs from the
garden, give it a try with the goodies in your bag this week.

It has been a hot week out here, and hotter still in the cities I'm sure. We
have been getting up early to avoid the mid afternoon humidity, and calling
it a day when the sweat in our eyes begins to burn. We have made a couple of
trips to a nearby lake and some folks (not me) made their way up some tall
white pines leaning out over a deep spot in the lake and took a running
leap. Everyone managed to clear all the branches and land with a plop in the
cool water.

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of attending a local foods dinner at the
Campus Club in Minneapolis. One salad on the menu was a mix of blanched
beans, with a simple vinaigrette with a hint of fresh tarragon. Which
reminded me that with all the fresh herbs this week, try thinking outside the
box when cooking. When traveling in Thailand I was surprised to find basil
in many of the stir fry veggie dishes, and even sprinkled on top of fresh
berries. There are all sorts of fun things to do with fresh basil and
cilantro. Try turning some plain white rice into fried rice by adding some
soy sauce, sauteed zucchini or eggplant, some of the spicy purple celery,
onions and then hit it with some fresh chopped basil right at the end. Throw
in a scrambled egg for some added protein if you like.

Here is a list of what you will find in your share this week
Swiss chard
Onions
Green and White cooking beans
Zucchini
Cucumbers
Tomatoes
some eggplant
Green peppers
Carrots
Celery
Basil and Cilantro