Dear Cresset Community Farm Supporter,

First and foremost as we end the 2008-2009 winter season, we THANK YOU for supporting Cresset Community Farm in our striving toward Diversity, Soil Fertility and Creating a Farm Culture of People Creating Together. Here on the farm we live entirely on the vegetables we grow. We have a time in April and May where the storage vegetables are gone and nothing is coming in from the garden. At this time, we do have abundance of last year's harvest. Fermented vegetables of all kinds, dried tomatoes in oil and other dried vegetable and fruit as well as peaches and applesauce and tomatoes preserved in jars. So greens are not a major craving for us. Our first greens though, we certainly do appreciate, come from our pastures, hillside and wetland, such as dandelions, pig weed, lambsquarter's, asparagus, yarrow, small burnett, nettles... Anyone who would like to come and pick wild greens, please let us know.

Lawrence went to Portland, Oregon for a board meeting of the Family Farmer Seed Cooperative and stayed over for the Organicology Conference. Keynote speakers there were Claire Hope Cummings (Uncertain Peril: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Seeds), Paul Roberts (The End of Food), and Vandana Shiva (Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability and Peace). Lawrence came back energized to continue being active for peace, having an economy based on fertile soils with pure open pollinated seed (which is the simple fundamental truth for physical and spiritual health) and a technology and workplace based on people.

Wow! Portland has rail connections all through the city for free. The half hour ride from the airport to the city cost just $2.30 and the train has bicycle racks inside.


Learning Communication Skills (Post this as a reminder for everyday)

1. Practice active listening and giving immediate response to what I hear.
2. Practice knowing what I want to communicate.
3. Practice noticing my assumptions and expectations.
4. Practice acknowledging the other person.
5. Practice respect and expressing gratitude and appreciation by foregoing defending myself.
6. Practice kindness and magnanimity (largeness of heart).
7. Practice clarity in all aspects.




From the Farm
This is the last week of picking up your winter share. We received potatoes from Monroe's Organic Farm that they had leftover from their winter CSA . Therefore, you will receive 12 lbs of potatoes in this final share. You will find information about storing potatoes below. If you feel that you have still plenty of vegetables left consider that they store well for quite some time. Just keep them from drying out. Or dehydrate or dry them for later use. We just dried a bunch of black radish for later use in our bean cooking (as described in our last newsletter) and we sliced up leeks for soups. A farm member, Faith sent another tip for bean cooking (below), in case you have the same digesting challenges as we have...

Our nursery is set up. We will start sifting and mixing soil and then planting soon. We just received notice that we will have irrigation water already in the middle of April this year. We are hoping to start with vegetable distribution as early as June this year. Of course, we don't know what mother nature has in mind...

The beginning of March had a surprise for us ... our first calf was born! We did not expect this until later in March and we are preparing now to receive a bunch more soon.



In The Share
Potatoes
Carrots
Onions
Radish
Napa Cabbage
Fermented Vegetables



Ursula's Tips (potatoes)
When potatoes start to sprout this time of the year is actually a sure sign that they are not treated with some chemical to keep them from sprouting. At the same time it is helpful to know this: Potatoes develop the poisonous solanin when exposed to light. The highest concentration of solanin is around the sprout and/or in the green just under the skin. Sometimes when potatoes are sitting in the stores for days without being protected from the light, they will start to develop solanin in their skin. The longer potatoes are stored, the more the need to peel them and cut the sprouts out. Potatoes freshly harvest in the summer or fall are, of course, a delight to eat with the skin. When storing potatoes, make sure they are kept in a dark spot or a brown paper bag. The storage temperature for potatoes is another challenge: Stored below 8 °C (46 °F) as the starch turns into fructose and the potatoes turn sweet if they are kept cooler or warmer than this. When you deep fry or bake these potatoes, they develop acrylamide (From Wikipedia ). The best storage temperature is between 46 and 50 degrees.



Recipe
Potato Crust Quiche (from From Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce)

3 medium potatoes (to make 1 1/2 cups mashed)
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 cups mixed, chopped, cooked vegetables
1/2 cump shredded cheddar cheese
2 eggs
2 cups sour cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup bread cubes (optional)

Cook potatoes in boiling water until tender; drain. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mash hot potatoes with butter. Line
bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate with potato mixture. spread vegetables over potatoes; sprinkly cheese over
vegetables. Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a bowl. Pour over quiche; top with bread cubes, if desired. Bake 40-50
minutes. Makes 8 servings.

Warm Bavarian-Style Potato Salad with Sausage (from From Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce)

2 pounds potatoes, scrubbed
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup apple cider or chicken stock
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon prepared hot mustard
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 pound sausages
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh parsley

Cook potatoes in salted water until barely tender. Drain, cool slightly, peel and slice 1/3-inch thick. Meanwhile, make sauce. Combine remaining ingredients (except parsley and sausage), bring to simmer and cook 5-7 minutes. Gently toss with potatoes. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Arrange sausages on baking sheet; bake 8 - 10 minutes or until done. Cut each link into bite-size pieces. Add sausages and parsley to potatoes; mix gently. Season with salt and pepper.
Makes 6 servings.



How to make beans that you can digest???? From Faith Temple

Soak 1 lb. dry beans in water all night.
Next day pour off that water, rinse the beans, add new water to cover the beans and bring to a good rolling boil.
Turn off the heat, cover the pan and let them set for an hour or so.
Pour off that water and rinse beans again.
Add clean filtered water to the beans and start cooking them. Cook until done and use as you would like. (By the way, don't add any salt until the beans are done.)

The reason why this works is that the sugars and natural chemicals that are in the beans come out into the water and it is the water that "blows" us up like balloons. Once that soak water and first boiling water is poured off, the beans will not cause anywhere near the problem as before. Trust me, it is worth the extra time and effort. Once you get used to doing this, you will never go back to just cooking them and eating all that gassy water. Sometimes I will cook 2 or more pounds and freeze them, in small containers, after they are cooked just so I will have beans ready to throw into something when I don't have time to cook a new batch.