VEGGIE COOP FARM NOTES: WEEK 8 : August 12, 2009: Larger Bag
_____________________________________________________________________________
Packing Slip: Larger Bag

Basil – 50g regular (nufar) 3.50
Either cabbage, cauliflower, or broccoli 2.50
Cherry tomatoes – half pint* 3.00
Coriander – bunch 2.00 Please dry me!
Garlic – 200g 2.80
Either Gooseberries (pint) or Raspberries (half pint) 4.00
Salad Mix - 250g 7.00
Spinach – 250g 3.00. Please wash me!
Sugar Snap Peas - 100g . 2.00
Total: $29.80

Important message from Mike! “Please be patient and let your tomatoes ripen.” This is how he has learned to sell our tomatoes to the restaurants. This way, they ripen on the counter and there is no spoilage. All baskets contain Juliet and Sungold tomatoes. Some baskets also contain Golden Sweet, Sugary, or Yellow Mini tomatoes. The color of the ripe tomatoes may be yellow, orange, pink, or red. For the best taste ever, try to be patient and let the tomatoes ripen until their color is vivid. Also, note: the cilantro was picked and packed early this morning before we realized things might dry off during the day; it may need to be dried with a paper towel before putting it away. If you haven’t tried adding cilantro to your home made salsa along with tomatoes, green peppers, onions, this may be the time. Cilantro also works out well when you clip it with scissors into salads, black bean chili and soups.
______________________________________________________________________________
For information, questions or comments, we are only an e-mail or phone call away. Contact; Mike Rabinowitz, Co-Owner and Coordinator, Veggie Coop. House Phone: 895-2884. If you are running late for the pick up, call Mike on the Farm Cell at 689-7693.

By now you know, Bags not picked up go back to farm chill room! Don’t forget to mark off your name on the chill room door; if your name is not there, leave an original note somewhere on the door or near-by cork board.

IT’S IN THE BAG and Special Orders. The basil is doing well and the tomatoes are just coming in. Hurrah! Last year, we had very few tomatoes over the entire season, including September. Even though we may not have enough of the things you especially enjoy each week to make up the forty member bags, keep in mind that these may be things you will want to special order. Just e-mail Mike. He will bring special orders to drop-off or you can pick them up at the Farm Store on the week-end. .

Raspberry 911! Even though most of your raspberries were picked on Wednesday, they may still mould over night in the refrigerator just like the strawberries from California that look so good in the cooler, but turn to mould balls in a few days. We have been picking berries for the past week and discarding berries the next day because they won’t hold in the chill room. Suggestion. Gobble them up now! Spread them on a tray and quick freeze so you can drop them on your morning cereal. Put a bit of sugar over them in a refrigerator container and dip them out as needed for ice cream topping. Or, of course, heat them with a little sugar and water to make Sunday Morning pancake syrup.

The Raspberry Challenge. We are not able to manage the raspberries in a way for people to have larger quantities in the Veggie Coop Membership bags because they deteriorate too quickly. i.e. 2 cups to make a particular recipe, wine or the raspberry scrub. However, you can order more. Mike will bring them into Tail Gate Sales or you can pick them up at the Farm Store.

Raspberry Project and Recipes for Raspberries. The raspberries were at their height of production this past week-end, right in the middle of the rain downpours. The rain was good for everything else but not for the raspberries or raspberries picker. We did pick in and around the rain on both Saturday and Sunday. Three WOOFERS were assigned almost exclusive to picking raspberries and others, including Rachel and her mother, helped. So did Toby and also Nathaniel, the new WOOFER who arrived on Saturday afternoon. We were thrilled with the yield, until we realized that about l/3 of what we picked over the week-end, especially in and around the rain had to be discarded on Monday.

Bottom Line: I have touched and looked at every raspberry in your baskets, one by one, including the ones picked this morning. Some may be a bit mushy and over ripe but they are fresh. When Nathaniel brought in the trays into the chill room, they looked wonderful grand, but as I touched each one, I realized that they, too, were soft. Have faith! They are good! The softer ones which I reserved for the house are certainly good. I followed my suggestions above – put some in the freezer, added some to the raspberry topping container and set aside two cups with sugar to boil into syrup.

CSA Guarantee! Like everything else that comes from the field to you, if your raspberries are not up to the standard you expect, we will replace them or substitute something else. I have made everything I can think of, from the berries that fell apart, when we handled them to pack them in the half-quarts. They were all delicious; during the several hours that I was packing them, 2 or 3 hours on Sunday and also, today, I have eaten many. However, what I discovered is that the taste varies greatly; some were much sweeter than others; some were actually tart and would need a bit of sugar. More than likely, your basket will have some of both, also, some large and some small, since we had so many people picking and bringing in berries at the same time. The taste is not necessarily related to how ripe the berries are. I ate many ripe berries. It appears to me to be the variety.

The Raspberry Project. The Raspberry Patch which is now about ½ acre and a dozen or more long rows is collaboration between the Organic Farm and the Brookfield Federal Research Station. The purpose of the project is to compare standard varieties with cell culture plants developed in the laboratory, regarding resistance to disease, growth, production and I hope, taste. It is also obvious that when the over-all data is collected, that taste and yield should be part of the outcome data. This year, as far as I know, no data regarding taste or production is being collected. So, stick with us. Maybe next year, we will have a raspberry festival and taste testing will be the “job” of our Veggie Coop members. First, we will need the map for the rows and varieties. Then, a record keeper and maybe some coordination. And, why not an onsite cook-off and sampling!

RECIPES. We made a raspberry flam, which was even better than the original recipe that was for blueberries. See Website Recipes under Blueberry Flam. Even though you may not have enough raspberries to make the flam which is a yogurt based, cream cheese like dessert, it is a wonderfully easy and versatile recipe to use with any kind of berries. Other recipes for raspberries on the Website include raspberry vinegar and English Trifle using raspberries. We served that on Sunday. It was wonderful!

WHAT’S HAPPENING OFF THE FARM! Thursday Evening, August 13th, there is an important fund raising event, FEASTIVAL at the Lion’s Club Chalet to raise money for the St. John’s Farmers Market. The multi-culture women’s group will prepare the meal; local musicians will provide the music and we are all donating goodies for a silent auction. Oz and I will be there to help; also a couple of WOOFERS. Maybe we will see you there! For more information, go to: FEASTIVAL. CA or the St. John’s Farmers Market Website.

Notes provided by Melba Rabinowitz, Co-Owner, August 12, 2009