VEGGIE COOP FARM NOTES: WEEK 11: September 03, 2009: Larger Bag
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Packing Slip: Larger Bag

Basil – 25g regular 2.00
Cabbage - small head 2.00
Cucumber – large (either Chinese or English) 2.50
Tomatoes – 400g greenhouse or a pint of Latah 3.20
Garlic – 150g 2.10
Radishes - 1 and l/2 bunch 1.25
Micro-Mix - 8.00
Onions – three (small, medium and larger) 2.50
Pepper - assorted sweet varieties 1.00
Salad Mix - 250g 7.00
Snow or Sugar Snap Peas - 100g . 2.00
Rummer beans - 200 g. or summer squash 750g. 2.50
Total: $37.30
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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.Today, the Wednesday group has a sample; we hope for more last week. 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 for the crop to recover, 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.

THREE NEW RECIPES!
I am getting a great deal of pleasure out of all of the good things; many of these things are vegetables that have blemishes and are not fit to pass along to people off of the farm. I refer to this dish as Everything But The Kitchen Sink because you can use any vegetables you have, including cucumbers. Today, I filled an oven roasting pan with layers and layers of vegetables - squash, all kinds, onions, garlic, a stray shallot that was overlooked when they were harvested earlier in the week, tomatoes, both green and red and the first eggplant from the greenhouse. The only thing not from the farm was mushrooms. Over the top, I sprinkled olive oil, a few other herbs and roasted for about an hour in a oven of 350, while I drove the Hungry Heart Café order to St. John’s. When I returned, I gently stirred the layers from the bottom and added a large can of stewed tomatoes over the top along with a dash of Italian spices; returned it to the oven for another hour or so. It was done in time for lunch, but will also be supper when we get back from Veggie Coop Drop-Off. Today, we served the roasted vegetables with rice, but I usually serve with pasta. Easy! Healthy! Delicious! Use Everything But The Kitchen Sink!!

I have just posted three new recipes on the farm Website - Tuscan Style Artichokes, Zucchini-pineapple bread and spicy radish relish. I haven’t not made the Tuscan-Style Artichokes yet. It was contributed by a Veggie Coop member after he picked up his first special order of Artichokes. The radish relish recipe is new to me. It is from the Milkweed Website. It is worth a try since we do truly have radishes galore this year. The zucchini- pineapple bread recipe is a variation I have made many times; I plan to have some on hand with other veggies, raw and cooked next week to share with the young people who will be visiting as part of the MacMorran Skill Building Project. Coming soon! Recipe for Zucchini Chocolate Cake!

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 this week!! 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!”

Melba Rabinowitz
September 2, 2009