Pablito....

HOLIDAY BASKETS — ORDER NOW
Thanks to all the subscribers who have contacted us in the last week reminding us that they are relying on us again this year to provide them with a solution to their winter holiday gift dilemma.  So we once again will offer holiday gift baskets via Priority Mail to your friends and loved ones across the state and country (much to the chagrin of our local, small town post office).  The baskets will be a virtual duplicate of last year — Satsuma Mandarins, apples (Fuji this year), roasted pistachios, and shelled walnuts.  (We were thinking about adding pork sausage, but then…)

The price:  $20 plus shipping ($10 in CA, $17 outside CA) .  See the TFF website for order forms.  Deadline for orders this year is November 22nd by mail, November 29th online. Estimated ship date is December 9th.

ANOTHER GOOD GIFT IDEA
November and December are the two months in the year when I get to read a few books — short, rainy days and long nights.  I used to be a voracious reader, but I’ve found that physical exhaustion most of the year allows me about a chapter a night before sinking into unconciousness — if I’m lucky.  Another problem I’ve found as I get older is my limited tolerance for mediocre writing.  Perhaps I need to be completely wowed just to keep my eyes open, but I’ve found myself leaving more booked unfinished then finished.

Right now I am reading a terrific novel by an amazing writer named Ruth Ozeki.  Her first novel, “My Year of Meats”, was an incredible work that combined wonderful, complex characters with subtle, intense analysis of important issues and actual reporting on an issue that I personally had known little about — the effect on children of farmers and ranchers of growth hormones used in animal production.

Ozeki’s new novel, “All Over Creation”, takes a look at the complex issues surrounding GMOs, through the eyes of both the farmers that grow them and the activists who protest them.   If you think these two topics sound like they’d make horribly wonky novels, you’d be dead wrong.  Ozeki’s characters are incredibly human and bathetic — like many actual people — and she almost never lapses into a lazy stereotyping of anyone.  The characters are people first and labels second, whether they are single moms, conservative farmers, hippy activists, or even soulless media reps for Monsanto.  In addition to the core subjects of the book , while telling her story Ozeki also considers multiculturalism, parenting, aging, illness, and other human topics.  Just like her first book, this one is a story about people who you end up caring a lot about, and thus find yourself examining the issues from angles you might never have considered before.  It’s also very funny, very sad, and everything in between.
Anyone who likes to read will like this book.

WHAT ABOUT ME
Maybe the 2-3 pounds of Satsuma mandarins that we are including in your weekly boxes doesn’t meet your household needs.  In my family, my brother alone can eat roughly that many mandarins on the drive back from the airport to my mom’s house.  Why not consider a special trip to the Berkeley Saturday or Marin Civic Center Sunday farmer’s markets to pick up a 5 lb. bag or a 20 lb. box of mandarins from Terra Firma.  We sell bulk mandarins at a substantial discount.  And this time of year, you can just store them on the patio or in the garage, and they’ll keep for two weeks without much of problem.  Certainly long enough to satisfy a household of hungry orange eaters over the T-giving holiday.

THANKSGIVING PREVIEW
Every year we get requests for a sneak preview of the Thanksgiving box, so that folks cooking holiday meals can plan on things they might need to outsource.  As usual, we have done our best to put together a holiday box that covers most of the bases but will remain useful and appealing to subscribers who aren’t cooking Turkeyday dinner themselves (We generally assume that Small box subscribers are all in the latter category).  Next week’s Medium and Large box will include: onions, celery, potatoes, sweet potatoes, salad mix, mandarins and carrots.  One traditional holiday item that won’t be in the boxes is Butternut squash, which is going into this week’s box.  Feel free to hold onto it for a week.

THANKSGIVING WEEK SCHEDULE:  EARLY WARNING
If you’re planning ahead to Turkeyday, you might want to make a note of the following:
Wednesday deliveries will be unchanged for the week.
Thursday and Friday deliveries will both be moved to Tuesday, November 23rd. Pickup times on those days will be the same as they normally are.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you, and hope that you can work around the change.
Vacation credits for this week will be given with notice by Nov 18, however, no credits will be given for boxes that are delivered and not picked up.  .

IN YOUR BOXES
Here at Terra Firma, we are dedicated to reversing the bad rap that Cabbage has gotten stuck with.  It’s simply not a stuffy, boring vegetable.  For one thing, it comes in so many styles.  There’s the Red (purple) variety in your boxes today, the similarly smooth Green, and the crinkly, softer leafed Savoy.  How cool is that?  Then, there’s the fact that Cabbage is just about the most nutritious green you can eat raw (yes, despite it’s color, it is a “green” — those are the leaves you’re eating).  Just because it is whitish in color doesn’t mean it isn’t full of vitamins and minerals.   For me, the best thing about Cabbage is that you can put a dressing on it to make a salad, and it stays crunchy — even if you put the salad in the fridge for a week.  For that, it stands alone in the world of leafy greens.  And then there’s its ability to multi-task — you can also cook it!   Of course, overcooking, along with mayonnaise overdosing, is one of the main culprits behind Cabbage’s bad rap.  When properly cooked, until tender but not mushy, cabbage is mild and odor-free.  When prepared this way, it also is one of those rare greens that has the ability to soak up flavors when cooked.  It also maintains a little crunch.  If you’re having trouble visualizing what I’m talking about, think Chinese cuisine.  Cabbage is a key ingredient in spring rolls, stir fries, and soups (where it is added towards the end of the cooking process).  While there are plenty of tasty European recipes using it, there are plenty of yucky ones too.
 

Thanks,

   Pablito

Recipes............................

Hot & Sour Soup—  This is a delicious, filling soup that you can eat as a meal.  The dried shitakes make a delicious broth as they rehydrate.
Bring 8 C. water to a boil in a large pot.   Cut off the leaves and carefully clean 1 leek, then cut into very thin strips about 1 inch long.  Add to the pot along with 6 dried shitake mushrooms and simmer for ten minutes.  When they are soft, remove from the pot and cut into thin slices.  Return them to the pot along with 1/4 C.  Soy sauce, 1/2 C. cooking wine, and 1 t. fresh ground black pepper.  Simmer for another 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, separate the leaves of 1 baby bok choy, and wash carefully.  Separate the stems and leaves.  Slice the stems slice crosswise and shred the leaves.  Shred cabbage to make 2 C.
Cut 1 lb. firm tofu into small cubes and add the soup along with the cabbage and bok choy stems.
Mix 1 T. cornstarch with 1/2 C. water.  Beat 1 egg in a small bowl (or use mashed silken tofu).  Add 3 T. rice vinegar to the soup along with the bok choy leaves.  Stir once, then add the cornstarch water.  Stir and simmer for 2-3 minutes, until the soup starts to thicken.  Turn off heat, add the egg and stir into the soup.  Taste and add more soy sauce or vinegar if necessary.

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Produce 101: preparation & storage  % — FUJI APPLES in Large boxes today come from CCOF certified organic Bruce Ryder and Sons, Watsonville .  SPINACH and SALAD MIX from our farm should always be washed in the rainy season.  We wash it twice here at the farm, but it is always difficult to remove all the grit — and it’s so hard to wash once you’ve already put the dressing on...

Vacations & Billing Inquiries
We need seven days notice before a vacation hold or other change of service.
Contact Valerie through voicemail at (530) 756-2800, or e-mail Goldenbell@aol.com

Account Balance Inquiries The account sheet is hiding under the sign off sheet each week with your account balance on it.  Mid month I've been e-mailing statments, so if you're not getting it send me an e-mail requesting to be added to the list. To be able to read the statements you need to be logged in as an administrator on a PC, and virus programs may corrupt the file.

MAILING ADDRESS:
Terra Firma Farm
P.O. Box 836
Winters, CA 95694
(530) 756-2800
www.terrafirmafarm.com
Goldenbell@aol.com
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