Love Notes #12, August 31, 2016
By: Hannah Slipakoff
- Contents of Share
- Announcements
- Farm and Food Justice News
- Recipes
Throwback to July! Here’s Leah holding some of the first borage, calendula, and raspberries! Photo: Owen Taylor
CONTENTS OF SHARE
- Scallions – 1 bunch
- Winterbor Kale – 1 bunch
- Carrots- 1 bunch
- Beet Root- approx. ¾ lb
- Zucchini- 1-2 fruits
- Crookneck yellow squash – 1-2 fruits
- Tomatoes- Heirloom and Slicers – 5-6 fruits
- Tomatillos or Ground Cherries or Cherry Tomatoes- heaping handfuls
- Rainbow Chard – 1 bunch
- Eggplant (Japanese or Italian) or Cauliflower – 1-2 pieces
- Jalapeno – 1-2 fruits
- Optional: 1 dozen eggs
- Optional: Green Lentil and Zesty Fenugreek Sprouts
Farmer Manager in Training Cheryl DeSanctis, BLFI 2015 Trainer Raquel Vigil, and kitty Echo Maple Sweetness pose with our beloved Paul Robeson Tomatoes. This heirloom is a Russian variety, made available by seedswoman Maria Danilenko. As an act of honor and solidarity it’s named after Paul Robeson (1898-1976) esteemed civil rights hero, opera singer, law school grad, champion athlete, and dedicated socialist. We got the seed from our dear friend and board member Owen Taylor. (Photo: Hannah Slipakoff)
ANNOUNCEMENTS
- COMMUNITY DAYS. 8-1 Work and learn together. 1-2:30 Potluck lunch. September 24, October 22, and November 12. RSVP here.
- UPCOMING EVENTS: We will host Harriet’s Apothecary healing village on Sunday, September 4, an on-farm seed keeping workshop with Owen Taylor on Saturday, October 8 and an ancestor healing workshop with Enroue Halfkenny on Saturday, November 19. Please join us!
- RETURN YOUR BOXES AND JARS please. You can leave them where you get your delivery. If you break them down, please make sure not to tear or bend any of the tabs, or just leave the assembled box for us and we are happy to break it down.
- WASH YOUR VEGGIES. We DO NOT extensively wash veggies before delivering them to you. We will do some washing if there is a lot of dirt on greens and we always rinse root crops. In general, this allows the food to stay fresher longer. It also means you need to wash your veggies before consuming them. For greens: fill a bowl with cold water. Soak greens in water for a minute. Drain water and repeat two more times. Dirt will rinse to the bottom. Bugs should float to the top.
- KEEP FOOD FRESH, EASY: Store leafy greens in a sealed plastic bag in the fridge. To revive wilted greens, dunk them in ice water and dry in salad spinner or with gentle toweling. To make it easier to use greens on the go, wash and chop them in advance and store them in a sealed plastic bag. Then you can just grab a handful to add to your eggs, smoothie, soup, or saute. Quick and easy.
Even the advertising is healing! Beautiful art and design announcing the Soul Fire Farm addition of Harriet’s Apothecary (Art and Design by Tiffany Lenoi Jones- TLCBYTLJ.com)
FARM NEWS
Here we are on the brink of September! As the season inches towards fall, and the educational programming at the farm slows down a bit, we find ourselves immersed in the serenity of this land and the peaceful toil of our work. This time of year is a unique one for farmers, often ripe with tons of reflection and small hints of off-season rejuvenation.
This Friday marks the beginning of the month of Elul on the Hebrew calendar, a period of twenty-nine days in preparation for the high holy days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. During Elul, people of the Jewish faith dedicate themselves to tuning in with their hearts and connecting to Spirit. The origins of the word Elul carry the meaning of “harvest” and “search”. These themes are certainly present in our work as farmers. By turning our minds eye to the qualities of Elul, we can evoke integrity and re-commitment to this last leg of our growing season.
Our cover crop is emerging in the east field! These are definitely sprouts of new beginnings. Jonah used a new tractor technique to bury these seeds. The nutrients this crop will send into the soil will prepare this ground to grow the east field’s first vegetable crop for next spring! (Photo: Hannah Slipakoff)
This week the Managers in Training Hannah, Cheryl, and Ravonne are holding down the farm. The Vitale-Penniman Family is getting some well-earned time off to rejoice in the last few days before the kids head back to school and Leah returns to classroom teaching. In addition to our field work we are taking a few breaks to work on a season extension plan, aimed at providing a more diverse array of vegetables for the CSA, so that we start harvesting earlier on in the spring and keep the bounty going strong later into the fall. We can almost taste next year’s Farm Share! It’s gonna be delicious.
A morning snapshot of our lady laying hens. They started laying with the full moon two weeks ago and have been providing joy and nourishment at the crack of dawn ever since! (Photo: Hannah Slipakoff)
This week is also abundant with food preservation. After long days working the earth, we roll up our sleeves and head to the kitchen to freeze raspberries, tomatoes, and more tomatoes. We are committed to enjoying the taste of sunshine all season long.
Hannah has been watching over the oven while listening to Democracy Now! She is learning about the brave acts of resistance happening at the Sacred Stone Camp on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. Members of nearly 100 tribal nations from across the US and Canada, along with leaders of the national Movement for Black
Lives have arrived at the ongoing Sacred Stone Spirit Camp, which is blocking construction of 1,172-mile pipeline that would transport 500,00 barrels of Bakken oil from North Dakota to Illinois. (Democracy Now)
Here at Soul Fire, we stand in Solidarity with this important fight to protect Native land, water, and health. We are responding to a call put out by Linda Black Elk to send herbal medicine supplies to the activists on the front line at Sacred Stone. We’re packing up a box with SFF raspberry leaf tea and calendula salve right now! If you are interested in supporting the cause, consider sending supplies or medicine.
In response to a call put out by Soul FIre Farm is packing up some of our home-grown medicine, calendula salve and red raspberry leaf tea, to send out to the Sacred Stone Camp at Standing Rock.
To send you off to your beautiful vegetable shares we’ll leave you with some sweet music produced right here at Soul Fire Farm! Check out this track titled “RAW (for my People)” created on the last night of BLFI 3 by Albany’s own Amani Olugbala, Troy’s Alfonso Rodriguez, Newark’s dopest lawyer-to- be Olivia Trott, and teen wonder siblings Nick (The. Chebon) and Eve Billie. LISTEN HERE!
Love and Nourishment for the week ahead!
RECIPE – Farm Share Frittata with Chard, Heirloom Tomatoes, and Scallions
