On the week of August 11, 2008, we got peaches (low/no spray), tomatoes, beets with tops, sweet corn, cucumbers, carrots, peppers, onions and chard.

Good news for Kensington members – there will be a Kensington drop for Fall, so don’t hold back from signing up. We still have some room. The Fall CSA runs October 6 through November 24. The price for returning members is $195.00 The deadline is August 1. Send your money with an application to Meg Pease-Fye. Click here to see the 2008 Fall CSA signup form. You must have Adobe Reader or compatible software. Click here to download the free Reader.

Here is what a box contained last Fall in early October: Lettuce, Leek, Cabbage, Red bell peppers, Apples –low/no spray, Radishes, Potatoes, Broccoli, Kale, Mixed greens and Herbs. By mid-November, here is what a box contained : heirloom sweet potatoes, winter squash, Assorted sweet peppers, Radicchio, Apples – low/no spray, Parsnips, Carrots, Turnips and Broccoli.

Volunteer farm labor still needed, if you have a healthy, energetic person at home who would like to spend a few days each week during August at Calvert Farm, being farm labor…we can arrange that? Because the harvests are two weeks behind in the state, due to cool temps and extra rain, many farmers are coming up shorthanded in August for labor. If interested, I will put you in touch with Pam directly.

Repeat of hours and contact info: Pick up IS ALWAYS ON MONDAYS regardless of holidays.

Sandy Spring
Hours of pick-up: 1PM to 7PM

Location: Meeting House Rd off 108 in the center of Sandy Spring. Park in front of the Community House (first, large white building) and go to the porch on the side of the building. There will be signage directing you to the porch.

Contacts: Meg Pease-Fye at meg.peasefye@fda.hhs.gov or 301-796-1130 to check that this is your site. For Sandy Spring logistics questions, please contact Gene Klinger at 301-260-1635.

Rockville
Hours: 2PM to 7PM

Location: 2 blocks from the Rockville Metro at the corner of Maple & Reading

Contact: Vanessa Strunk at vandiva@comcast.net or 301-424-9142.

Kensington
Hours: 3PM to 7PM

Location: 9823 Haverhill Drive, Kensington, MD 20895 CORRECTED ZIP CODE Please Mapquest for exact directions.

Contact: Winnie Holbrooke at winniekh@aol.com or 301-509-8097.

Recipes:

While I was on vacation I read Michael Pollan’s latest book called, In Defense of Food, An Eater’s Manifesto. Definitely read this book for your health and social well-being. His book reinforced some important things you should do in relation to food:

• Learn to cook using fresh, whole food.
• Sit down and eat with whoever your family consists of
• Eat slowly and only until you are 80% full (what the people of Okinawa do and they are one of the longest-lived and healthiest populations in the world)
• Eat three real meals and do not snack between
• Eat less and enjoy it more

If you want to save some of your corn for winter, boil it for a minute, cut it off the cobs and freeze it. This past week, I made a corn, black bean, pepper, onion, salsa and cilantro mixture. Sauted in olive oil and then cooked lightly so still slightly crunchy.

Food for Thought

One of my heroes is E.O. Wilson, the evolutionary biologist and entomologist. He popularized the words biodiversity and biophilia (the love of all living things). He has written 20 books and teaches at Harvard. He has a new database called the Encyclopedia of Life, which provides scientific information to the public on every documented species in the world. Very cool.

Click here for a good source for Buying Local food in Maryland.

Farmer humor from Meg…

A man owned a small farm in South Dakota. The South Dakota State Wage & Hour Department claimed he was not paying proper wages to his help and sent an agent out to interview him. “I need a list of your employees and how much you pay them,” demanded the agent.

“Well,” replied the farmer, “there’s my farm hand who’s been with me for 3 years. I pay him $200 a week plus free room and board. The cook has been here for 18 months, and I pay her $150 per week plus free room and board. Then there’s the half-wit who works about 18 hours every day and does about 90% of all the work around here. He makes about $10 per week, pays his own room and board, and I buy him a bottle of bourbon every Saturday night. He also sleeps with my wife occasionally.”

“That’s the guy I want to talk to — the half-wit,” says the agent.

“That would be me,” replied the farmer.

Happy end of summer,

Erin