Pablito....

IMPORTANT REMINDER
There are no CSA box deliveries during the weeks of December 22nd and 29th, during our regularly scheduled vacation.  Please do not deduct these weeks from your December or January payment; they are calculated into the price of our boxes.  Consult the FAQs section of our website, which specifically explains this policy.  Thanks.

A RIDDLE
It is a force that can lays waste to thousands of acres of plants every year over much of the planet.  It changes the entire landscape.  It makes mountains visible where none were seen before, and where leafy trees once stood, skeletons remain.  Yet it obscures the view through once crystal-clear glass and water.

What is it?
Frost. (If you’ve lived in San Francisco your whole life, you may now consult the Internet or dictionary for the definition).  December, along with January and February, is a frosty month here at Terra Firma.  And although global warming is making it rarer than it used to be here, this year we’ve already have more than a handful of icy mornings.

The part of Winters around our farm is dominated by orchards, especially walnut orchards.  These are among the tallest of farmed tree crops, which means that it is rare in this area to have a long view — even though the Coastal Range is just a few miles away.  Our vegetable fields are an oasis of view in a maze of leafy walls.

Three frosts and two rainstorms later, the leaves are gone (and the air is clearer), and you can see for miles in every direction.  The world has flipflopped:  green trees are now brown sticks, brown ground is now alive with a carpet of green grass and weeds poking up through the now-fallen leaves.

Many farmers also depend on cold weather.  In the Central Valley, millions of acres of deciduous fruit and nut orchards need a defined number of “chilling” hours to send the trees into dormancy.  If they don’t get the proper amount, their leaves and bloom emerge weakly and over a long period, which means less fruit.  If the trees don’t go completely “to sleep”, they may also begin to bloom prematurely during a short warm spell, only to have their leaves and flowers killed by frost a week or two later.  Cherry trees in Kern County produce a fraction of the cherries that those in the Sacramento Delta region do, and those trees’ production is dwarfed by cherry trees in Washington State.  Nature balances out this equation by ripening Kern’s cherries a month before ours, and Washington’s a month (or two) later.   Human beings and capitalism balance it further by pricing the cherries according to supply and demand.  In the end, the growers in all three areas probably receive the same income per acre.  Asparagus, garlic, onions, and strawberries are all crops we grow that also produce poorly when deprived of a good, cold winter.

And then there are the more subtle benefits.  Frosty weather tenderizes vegetables, as they partially freeze and thaw repeatedly.  The baby Bok Choy in the boxes today is a good example — it is sweeter and more tender now.  Same goes for broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, beets, spinach, radicchio, escarole, kale, and most of the other crops we grow this time of year.  Even the oranges are made sweeter by frost nights — although a few degrees too cold, and they are ruined.  And frost has a fatal affect on numerous insect pests, fungi, and diseases that would otherwise grow to overpowering populations.  The farther south one travels, the harder it is to farm organically.

 This benefit of cold weather extends beyond agriculture.  While residents of Southern California and other southern climes are perfectly happy to see it rarely, places that are accustomed to cold weather truly depend on it.  Pine forests, for example, need cold weather and lots of rain to fight off pests like the bark beetle which has infested thousands of acres in California and is exacerbating the forest fire problem.  Boreal forests in Canada and Russia are experiencing the same problems as warmer winters provide less of a check on pests and disease.

Yeah, yeah.  Cold is wonderful in this way.  But if you live for the moment, nothing beats the sensation of leaving home for southern climes and returning just a few days later to a radically altered landscape.  Where once I saw just leaves out my kitchen window, now I see mountains.  Across our fields once walled in by a curtain of trees, you can now see the individual, snow covered peaks of the Sierra Nevada, 60 miles away.  Out my windshield where I once saw...actually, I can’t see out my windshield at all.  Now I have to go out in the darn cold!  Where’s that stupid ice scraper when you need it, anyway...

IN YOUR BOXES
On a less philosophical note, the cold weather of the last two weeks has exterminated the aphids which had previously made our Baby Bok Choy unsaleable.  It has also made them sweeter and crunchier.  They are a little bigger than we normally harvest them, which means you’ll probably have to cut them up before cooking.  Remember to add the leaves just before you finish cooking whatever you’re making — they take just a couple of minutes of high heat to soften.

 We had a bumper crop of onions this fall, which is why we haven’t thought to put leeks in your boxes yet.  We’ll probably hold off until the new year, since the onions (unlike the leeks) begin to have quality problems in storage in January (unlike the leeks, which we harvest fresh).

 With just two weeks remaining until our two week holiday vacation, we’re sending along a butternut squash.  Next week, we’ll put both potatoes and sweet potatoes in the boxes — just like pre-Thanksgiving.  If you’re cooking for the holidays, you’ll use them right up.  If you’re not, you’ll have a few items that will hold in your kitchen and tide you over until January

 I just read that spinach consumption has doubled in the last five years, and I guess we’re part of this trend.  We’ve been putting spinach in your boxes every two or three weeks through the fall, and our fields look like they’ll keep us going into January.  Winter spinach is delicious and tender, with none of the grassy taste that sometimes develops.

 Pablito

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

Butternut “Pancakes” with Mozzarella and Sage —  Deborah Madison’s “Local Flavors” has several unique and delicious winter squash recipes that I will be sending along this winter.  This recipe is a good way to use “leftover” baked squash when you’ve made something else, or you can bake the squash specifically for it.
Scoop out the cooked butternut flesh, then beat with a fork until smooth.  Season with a little salt to taste.
Melt 3 T. butter in a medium nonstick skillet.  Add 10 large Sage leaves and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes to season the butter.  Spread them out in the pan, then add enough squash to cover the bottom of the pan to the thickness of a pancake.
Cook for 15 minutes, then stir it (don’t try to flip it).  This will bring up the browned undersides and expose a new layer to the bottom of the pan.  Continue to do this as long as you have time — the more you do it, the better the dish will be.
Chop 3 T. parsley leaves and 1 garlic clove together, and thinly slice 4 oz. of fresh or smoked mozzarella.  Just before serving, pat the squash down once more, lay the cheese over the top, then cover and cook 3 minutes.  Spread the parsley/garlic mixture over the top and serve from the pan.
 

Produce 101: preparation & storage  PINK LADY APPLES in today’s boxes come from CCOF Certified Coco Ranch just west of Davis.

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.

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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