A few pictures

Here are some pictures, courtesy of a friend that came to dinner. We went out into the fields to pick our meal, and she took a few photos. I wish I had a camera so I could better document the farm and its labors, but you can see the fields behind me. If you are interested in more photos, the farm website is www.flyingcloudfarm.net.

In other news, the farm work is workin' and so on. I'm only here for another week and a half! Which is incredible to believe and sad to know. I will be leaving with such a renewed respect for working the land and being a part of a close-knit community like this one. I will miss falling asleep to crickets every night and waking up to roosters crowing at four in the morning.

Summer is in full swing here. CSA boxes are full of pounds and pounds of tomatoes and cucumbers, blackberries, peppers, and eggplants. We're now at four markets, two on Wednesday and two on Saturday, which is keeping all the workers busy loading and unloading market trucks. This morning, before a colassal thunderstorm, we direct seeded five rows of fall crops. Last night we worked 'til eight transplanting eleven rows of winter brassicas: all kinds of kale and cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts.

In light of my studies: I've copied a letter below from Annie Louise, one of the farmers. She sends out weekly emails to CSA members, sharing stories from the farm, as well as recipes for the week's produce. It's a really smart way to keep in touch with CSA members: people feel included in the week's work in a way, and the stories give them a sense of place that their food embodies. People really enjoy these emails--they get mentioned at market a lot.

Studying community food ways has redefined my sense of community. While people living in the same place is an obvious beginning, what about people that eat the same things? Read the same CSA email? Always make a point to stop at the farm's roadside stand on the way home? Come by Flying Cloud's table at the market just to tell the workers how great the beets and carrots look, and how much they appreciate the work behind the produce? The millions of ways that a working farm must work to sustain itself, connecting to people and restaurants, are evident in all the effort spent on direct markets such as the CSA, the roadside stand, and the farmers' markets.

I have two interviews tomorrow, I'll post reflections sometime tomorrow evening.



Dear CSA Folks,

Wow! August already. Time flies in the summer on the farm. Yesterday after harvesting and packing 91 awesome boxes, we were able to transplant many of our fall crops – kale, chard, cabbages, brussel sprouts, and broccoli. We were so lucky that the rain held off out here, although it rained close to us. I am thankful for our great farm crew who understand that farming is not a 9-5 job, but a lifestyle where the work has to get done when the conditions are right. They worked until close to 8 last night and will be back at 8 this morning.

This week your boxes contain the following items; edamame, 5 cucumbers, 5 tomatoes, zucchini or squash, beets, green pepper, jalapeno pepper, onions, basil, blackberries, eggplant, and lettuce.

You may have eaten edamame and a sushi restaurant before. Simply remove the beans from the stem, bring a pot of water to boiling, add a couple of teaspoons of salt and the edamame beans, and simmer for 10 minutes or so. When they are ready, they will easily slip out of the pods. Eat them as a snack … eat the beans not the pods.

Here are some eggplant recipes from our great neighbor, Kitty Lynch. She may have more sweet corn for sale soon along with her world famous grape juice. She has an ‘honor system’ stand in the next driveway past ours. I’ll keep you posted.

Here are 2 eggplant recipes from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. They are delicious...