CSA Harvest # 23~ 3 more to go!!

Good day farm friends! As I am a procrastinator by nature somehow every Wednesday evening finds me huddled over the keyboard trying to compose an interesting antidote of farm life. Sometimes I fail to come up with ways to describe how wonderful it is to be making a living farming, by making a living from small, tiny seeds planted in the ground that a few months later turn into hefty cabbages, delicate lettuce leaves of varying colors. I try to be humble and realize that the end product is not created only by myself and Asinete but something bigger... (wow what was in that M&M I just ate!!) ha! No all joking aside.. we feel (I feel) very blessed to be able to do something which I love to make a living. As so many of our acquaintances have lost their jobs or had hours cut at work.. we have been able to eek out a fairly comfortable existence here thanks in a large part to each of you.. so thank you!

As the ending of the season is rapidly approaching we are finally able to look back at the CSA year and figure out how we could have done things a bit more efficiently. When the season is upon us we just go through the motions and try to keep up.. with no time really for reflection.. the surveys that I have emailed each of you really help us to find out what we could improve upon, and things that you have enjoyed as a CSA member so please find some time to fill it out.. it's only 10 questions and it will really help us to help you next year!

On the previous blog I posted a great article written by fellow CSA farmer Zoe Bradbury of Valley Flora Farm outside of Bandon. Our paths crossed briefly at an organic educational farm in Salinas, Ca. The article she wrote about below really hit home for me. When I was the farm manager of a small school in Monterey County 99% of the students were the children of Mexican field laborers. One day we organized an event in honor of labor rights activist Cesar Chavez to take the kids out to the fields where the laborers were working, sing them a song, pass out sweet bread and the kids had prepared hand made thank you cards to give the workers. The day that we loaded up on the bus, complete with guitar and pan dulce and our vocal cords primed to the tune of Mexican folk song "De Colores". The workers in the field were not expecting the long yellow bus to pull through the muddy field to where they were working. As we filed out of the bus they looked a bit bewildered. The kids belted out De Colores and passed out the bread.. then the most heartlfelt part where each student picked out a laborer to give a thank you card to. One moment I will never forget is when we all came back to the school and one of the older boys from 8th grade came up to me and started to choke up as he spoke. In the field he had picked an older man (in his 60's) to tell thank you and give his card. Vicente told me how the old man had clutched the card to his muddy raincoat and stepped behind a tractor to cry.. I can only believe that that man had never been thanked for any of his long, cold, muddy, uncomfortable days growing food that we all eat. When I step into Fred Meyer and see the long rows of beautiful polished fruits and vegetables I think of that man and I say thank you again to him and all the other campesinos~ gracias para la cosecha...

Today's Harvest Will Include:

Red Cabbage

Onion

Butternut Squash

Scarlett Nantes Carrots

Salad Mix (lettuce, spinach, arugula, baby chard, mizuna)

Tomatoes

Cilantro or Dill

Yukon Gold Potatoes


Hooray for Red Cabbage!! Red cabbage is very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It's also a good source of Thiamin, Riboflavin, Folate, Calcium, Iron and Magnesium, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Potassium and Manganese.


Braised Red Cabbage with Bacon
INGREDIENTS

* 1 medium head red cabbage
* 6 thick slices applewood-smoked bacon, or other smoked bacon, cut into lardons (about 1/4-by-1/4-by-3/4-inch pieces)
* 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
* 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
* 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
* 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
* 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth



INSTRUCTIONS

1. Slice cabbage in half lengthwise. Use a sharp knife to cut a V-shaped notch around the white core and discard it. Slice both pieces in half again so you have 4 quarters, then thinly slice each piece crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick strips. Set aside.
2. Place bacon in a large Dutch oven or other large pot with a tight-fitting lid over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is browned and most of the fat has cooked off.
3. Add onion and stir to coat in bacon fat. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and cook until onion softens and edges begin to brown, about 4 to 5 minutes.
4. Add cabbage, stir to coat it in bacon fat and cook until cabbage begins to wilt, about 4 minutes. Stir in brown sugar and mustard.
5. Deglaze the pan by adding cider vinegar and scraping the pan with a spatula to incorporate the browned bits into the sauce. Add chicken broth and season with a few pinches of salt and more freshly ground pepper. Bring mixture to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low and cover the pan tightly. Simmer cabbage, stirring occasionally, until it is soft and soupy and bacon is tender, about 45 minutes. If cabbage begins to look dry, add more chicken broth or water.


Red Cabbage Saute~ courtesy of Rachel Ray
Ingredients

* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 small onion, sliced
* 1/2 red cabbage, shredded
* 1/3 cup white or apple cider vinegar, eyeball it
* 2 rounded tablespoons sugar
* 1 teaspoon mustard seed
* Salt and pepper

Directions

Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and onion and saute 2 minutes. Add cabbage and turn in pan, sauteing it until it wilts, 3 to 5 minutes. Add vinegar to the pan and turn the cabbage in it. Sprinkle sugar over the cabbage and turn again. Season with mustard seed, salt and pepper and reduce heat a bit. Let cabbage continue to cook 10 minutes or until ready to serve, stirring occasionally.