VEGGIE COOP FARM NOTES: WEEK 11: August 31, 2009: Smaller Bag
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Packing Slip: Smaller Bag

Basil – 25g regular 2.00
Beets (the missing half bunch) 1.50
Cucumber – large (either Chinese or English) 2.50
Tomatoes – 400g greenhouse or a pint of Latah 3.20
Garlic – 150g 2.10
Radishes - bunch 1.25
Onions – three (small, medium and larger) 2.50
Salad Mix - 250g 7.00
Lettuce – Sierra (French) 2.00
Snow or Sugar Snap Peas - 100g . 2.00
Total: $26.05
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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.

SPECIAL ORDERS:
We have lots of things to sell and share, but often not enough quantity for veggie coop bags! Did I see artichokes and broccoli being exchanged as a special order at last week’s pick-up? Edible peas? Garlic? Perhaps the last of the raspberries? Yes, I did. Fava Beans. A man who has been coming to the Farm Store on Saturdays all season begged Mike for the first fava beans and went happily away with them. Eventually, we may have enough to distribute to our veggie coop members, but not yet. I bought fresh green beans at the Farmers’ Market on Saturday; this was an incentive for Mike to trudge out to the back forty to check on our beans; after the travels out back, he announced that the runner beans are almost ready. Squash is limited this week for several reasons; the main one being that we picked everything ahead of the storm, big and small, so it will take a few more days to have any large enough to pick, even with good, warm and calm weather.

RADISHES, GALORE!
We have some of the nicest radishes and outdoor cucumbers we have ever had. Toby made a salad recently, which was mostly thinly sliced radishes and cucumbers, snow peas clipped in small pieces, tomatoes and a few other fresh veggies, tucked into the bowl with small bits of lettuce. This was sprinkled with a dressing made with this season's raspberry vinegar and a bit of balsamic.

Radishes on Pizza?
A few years ago, Annette, from Germany was WOOFING at the farm. She lived here for the month of September on her way to St. Anthony, to do a month’s internship at the hospital there. Apparently, her mother didn’t encourage her to cook, which is the opposite of what we expect of WOOFERS. One day, Annette said her mother never let her cook and she offered to make pizzas. We were out and about somewhere and left her with the new found art of cooking. When we arrived home, there were several pizzas being prepared, sprinkled with various edibles from the farm, from edible flowers, lettuce, herbs and since she didn’t know any better or have a mother to scold her, also thinly sliced radishes. The pizzas with radishes were delicious and eaten sooner than the pizza with the pineapple, green pepper, etc.

HE’S A KEEPER!
About two weeks ago, David Applebaum, the WOOFER met me coming along the path between the house and the processing shed. Mike had just passed by, very focused and on his way toward the main gardens to talk with someone about something, obviously important. We had just left the kitchen together. I was following behind a few steps, on my way toward the lettuce shed, to talk with Diane. I was consciously trying to keep what I wanted to talk to Diane about in my head. When David met me, he smiled. As we passed, he said, “He’s a Keeper!” I was not paying attention and, at first, didn’t understand what he meant and who he was talking about. I repeated, “He’s a keeper?” Then, I got it! He was talking about Mike. And, yes, he is a keeper! In fact, we are celebrating our 44th Anniversary today! For our Wedding present, my Dad gave us a pistol and an iron skillet. When we moved from our first home in Seattle to New Orleans, five years later, we returned the pistol but kept the skillet. As you can imagine, it took my family quite a long time, especially my Dad to get used to the fact that I had not only married a Northerner, a Jew, and a University Professor and for all practical purposes, a pacifist. When I was around 12 years old, my Dad started taking me along with my brothers to the gravel pit on Sunday for target practice, with his rifle and pistol. I used to also hunt squirrels with my brothers, but was never very good. Everyone who brought home a squirrel got a little extra praise when it came out of the oven. You can see why my Dad might feel that Mike was not exactly the best choice for his only daughter. But as the years passed and he experienced Mike's passion for growing food for the family and saw him behind the Gravely Tractor in the front garden, he began to change his mind. The carrots and beets growing in the side garden were more voluptuous than anything he had ever seen in our family garden in Tennessee. It was at that point, that even my Dad, decided, “He’s a keeper!”

WHERE ARE THE RECIPES PROMISED?
A Veggie Coop member sent in a recipe for Tuscan-Style Artichokes. I hope to post it soon. Also, a recipe for Zucchini-Pineapple cake and perhaps rhubarb-currant muffins.

Melba Rabinowitz
August 31, 2009