Christmas Wreaths
Here’s a few pictures of some wreath prototypes I made over the Thanksgiving weekend. I am taking orders. These wreaths are $40 a piece delivered to your door on December 3 or 10th (depending on volume of orders). If you would like one (or more than one) please let me know as soon as possible and which kind you would like.
COMMENTJacob's Stew
Genesis 25: 29 reads: Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field and he was famished. Esau said to Jacob; “Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!”
The common consensus among the biblical scholars I am familiar with is that the ‘red stuff’ was in fact a red lentil stew. I have pondered the makeup of this stew over many years in many different contexts. While living in Saskatchewan I helped with the lentil harvest. Vast 160 acre fields of lentil were swathed, combined and trucked directly to the elevator or to bins for storage in hopes of a higher price somewhere down the road. I drove truckload after truckload of lentils from the combine to the elevator or granaries.
Once established in Oregon I decided to grow the red lentil myself as a lentil stew was, and remains, a savoury dish that my family enjoys. I planted a 50 foot row of red lentils.
They grew easily and with great vigour. But oh the misery when it came to harvesting!
You see, the red lentil is like a pea. It grows in a pod…but only two lentils per pod! This meant that I had to harvest them when they were dry and then thrash them out by hand. What a job! And my 50 foot row gave me about 3 quarts of dried lentils. I was thinking, “Ok, so those lentils that Jacob used in his stew were pretty hard to come by…a precious commodity that had to be used sparingly. It’s not like he could go to his mother Rachel and say, “Hey, mom, I want to make a lentil stew. Where do you keep the lentils?” and then procede to add a quart of lentils to his boiling water.
Shift gears to the English broad bean that is showing up in your boxes. My research suggests that this bean originated in the Middle East arund 6000 b.c. and subsequently spread into Turkey, India, China, and the Far East…eventually spreading westward into present day Europe. I think it a very sustainable proposition that Rachel had quite a few more broad beans in her larder than lentils and in fact that ‘red stuff’ that so tempted Esau was laced with a generous amount of broad beans.
The Old Testemant writers had a fascination with red. In Numbers 19 a red heifer is specified for a purification offering. In the vivid vision recorded in Zechariah 1, the prophet is recorded seeing a man riding on a red horse. Jacob cooks ‘red stuff’. Red is significant beyond question but it seems to me more as a colour than as a substance; i.e. it is the red…not just the heifer that matters…it is a red horse…not just any horse. It is a red stew…not just any stew. My point in all of this is to simply argue for the probability that the story of Jacob’s Stew, as it was passed on from generation to generation was most likely a broad bean stew with a few red lentils added but the fact of the ‘redness’ dominates because of the importance of the colour red.
COMMENT
June 13, 2011
“SURGE” and CSA
One of the biggest differences between buying your veggies from the supermarket and purchasing from a local producer is the decisions you are forced to make. Am I going to eat everything that is in this box? Even if it means eating lettuce every day! How am I going to use all of these scallions? What to do with a fennel bulb? And now, what to do with all the snow peas?! Vegetables come in surges. I stagger my planting of lettuce, broccoli, and cauliflower to be able to give a sustained supply over a long period but with a crop like peas, which wilt in the heat of summer, it’s a one time planting and that means a ‘surge’ when they hit their peak production. A pea surge lasts for two weeks and then rapidly tapers off. There will be a bean surge, a tomatoe surge, corn and cucumber surges. One way you can handle these surges is to preserve. In the case of snow peas, I will be freezing about 30 packages. It’s a simple process. Wash, snip the ends off and then steam over a hot water bath for 2-3 minutes (you want them to turn a dark green but still maintain a little crunch). I then dump into a strainer in a basin of cold water to halt the cooking process. Once cooled (about a minute) I drain and put in freezer bags, suck the air out with a straw and pop into the freezer. While the first batch cools in the water I get the next one going in the steamer. If you can get organized and are able to concentrate it doesn’t take that long. I don’t think it will take me much longer than an hour to freeze 30 bags. My favorite way of serving this pea is ‘wokked’ with red pepper slices…maybe some onion also. I was thinking today how colorful that red and green offering would be on a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner table.
Friends, I invite you to make a new association with the word ‘surge’ and when you hear the word in the news think about vegetable abundance instead of military strategy!
COMMENTSlugs and CSA (Community Shared Agriculture)
6/2/2011
As I’m sure you have noticed, despite the pre-wash I do with the greens you are receiving you are still having to wash and wash to get all the little slugs out of your lettuce. I find it takes at least three washes in a basin of cold water before I am satisfied. This cool wet weather is slug paradise. Every morning I walk through the garden, knife in hand, going after the big ones. It is not pleasant work and I know that I am only touching the tip of the ‘slug’ iceberg but I tell myself that every large slug I kill is 20-30 small slugs that won’t be hatching down the road. In spite of this genocidal approach to slugs I have come to appreciate a certain beauty about them. They remind me of miniature whales. I call them ‘land whales’. I’m not sure what their positive function is in the ecology of the garden but they must have a role. They are part of the community and I kill them with a touch of reverence and also humility.
I also maintain an attitude of reverence and humility concerning the community (you) that has chosen to sustain my love of growing things to eat. Thank you for coming on board. A unique feature of this community is the opportunity to connect with the grower and the garden from whence your produce comes. To help facilitate this opportunity I wish to let you know of a couple of Open House dates where you can come out to the garden, take a look around, ask questions, and perhaps connect with other members of this community. The first date is Saturday, July 2 from 1-4pm. Come out, pour a glass of wine and have a look around! The second opportunity is August 27, 4-9pm. I am envisioning a potluck. Bring a favourite preparation of produce you will be receiving then (beans, eggplant, tomatoes, corn, etc…) and I will provide a meat entrée cooked outside over an open fire ( I haven’t advanced to a barbeque yet) and we can party in the garden! If neither of these dates works for you and you still want to come out please contact me for a date that suits (Saturdays or Sundays work best for me) and I will be glad to show you around.
In the meantime, let’s be vigilant about slug elimination and at the same time maintain a wonder at the incredible diversity, richness, and life sustaining gift of the natural world.
COMMENT [1]
I am beginning to transition to a more pure community shared agriculture (CSA) business model. The philosophy underlying this approach is that the consumer and the farmer share the risks and rewards of local seasonal eating. The rewards for the consumer include fresh local produce, a relationship with the grower, access to the place where the produce comes from, and in the case of Morning Glory, weekly doorstep delivery. The rewards for the producer are revenue, relationship with the consumer, and the joy of knowing where the produce is going. The primary risk for the consumer is the same as that of the producer, i.e. crop failure. The following pricing policy for the upcoming season reflects this transition. (I went on line to look at other CSA’s and the following prices are in line with what is out there).
SILVER GROUND (produce only)
Options:
1. $35/weekly delivery. Pay as you go.
2. Full Share: $800.00. Pay as you can afford
3. Full Share: $750.00. One time payment
GOLD GROUND (produce, herbs, cut flowers, and any excess fruit
Options:
1. $40/weekly delivery. Pay as you go.
2. Full share: $875.00. Pay as you can afford
3. Full share: $800.00. One time payment
(note: the #3 options work out very close to last year’s $25/weekly delivery charge)
I anticipate a May through October season (6 months).
To become a Morning Glory client please submit a $10 payment (through pay pal or check) and let me know which Ground you choose. My mailing address is: 5920 S. Whiskey Hill Road, Hubbard, Oregon 97032. Phone number is: 503 319 4480. E-mail: jzyoder@web-ster.com. Please contact me if you have questions.
Now, allow me to take off my business hat and speak from my gardener’s heart. I am off to a good start this year. (see pictures). The garden continues to reflect the personal tastes of this household. What I grow is what we eat. You will probably be stretched beyond your familiarity zone and I hope to include some recipes/suggestions as to how we use the produce. This is rewarding experience for me on many levels. I love the quietness and peace of the garden. I love the relationship with the plants. I love the immediate connection with that which is life-giving. I love to eat from the garden! It feels so good to grow for other folks. It feels good to generate revenue from doing what I love!
COMMENT