Celery
Leeks
Salad Mix
Carrots
Butternut squash
Red Cabbage
Rutabagas
Satsuma Mandarins#
# -- These gems are from one of our new
orchards, which is second-year transitional CCOF organic.
LAST BOX OF THE YEAR
We send you off for the Christmas holidays with a box full of good
stuff, and we hope you’ll come back after New Year’s missing us.
Things at the farm will slow to a crawl as we give the cold, wet fields
a rest and the tired plants a chance to grow without the interruption of
daily harvest. Farmers, too, will get a rest – with some of us going
away, and others staying and squeezing a little weeding and planting into
the time between holidays (weather permitting). Once again, I’d like
to take the opportunity to thank you for your continued support – especially
all the folks who have taken the time to write in appreciation.
WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?
It’s hard to forget that we all are not exactly in the mainstream when
it comes to our eating habits. The USDA recently issued their annual
report on the cost of marketing food in the U.S., which includes transporting,
processing, and distributing food. Following a steady trend, the
cost of marketing continues to increase in percentage points over the cost
of growing the food (the amount the farmer receives) – 79% to 21% this
year. The money that consumers pay for food continues to increase
annually, at the same time that farmers are receiving less of it.
The increased costs are going mostly towards labor for wholesaling, retailing,
and food preparation in restaurants – with a corresponding markup in price
at each stage. Most of this labor increase was at restaurants.
Other increased costs in in transportation and packaging. In fact,
85% of the increase in consumer food prices over the last ten years has
gone to marketing.
All this means that in ten years, farmers have only increased
their prices by 15% -- far less than inflation. Each year, we are
spending more and more each year of the money that we bring in and have
less left over at the end of the year. Because the cost of labor,
seed, fuel, electricity, new machinery, and everything else we buy is increasing
much faster than the price of the produce we grow.
Meanwhile, Americans are spending more and more money on food.
But their money is going to ship food long distances, package it in plastic
and styrofoam, then have someone unpack it and prepare it into a meal for
them and repackage it (if it’s fast food). Yet there is a limit to
how much people will pay for food, and all of these other costs are "fixed".
So retailers and wholesalers bargain the farmers down. Have
you ever seen a vegetable selling at a store for 20 cents a pound?
The retailer and the wholesaler each add a 50% minimum mark-up to the price,
which means that the farmer only got 5 cents for it – assuming there were
only two middlemen. (Just think about how little money farmers in
Australia are getting for apples sold in California for 80 cents a pound!)
Squeezed farmers, especially near cities, sell their land so it can be
paved over to make room for mini-malls with fast food restaurants and Safeways.
And the cycle continues.
Where does it end? Right here, we hope, with you getting your
produce directly from a small farm, cooking it yourself, and taking business
away from all those middlemen. Isn’t that great!
TFF MERCHANDISE DEPT.– BULK NAVELS
Wow. You folks can eat a lot of mandarin oranges. The response
to our offer of bulk mandarins was fantastic, if a little overwhelming.
It was good, though, like a trial run to get us organized for the longer
Navel orange season, which will begin when we come back for the New Year.
As of this year, we have about 250 navel orange trees that we will
be harvesting for your boxes. Depending on the weather and the year,
navels can be harvested from New Years until sometime in March. However,
since we also have Minneola tangelos that ripen in March, we hope to use
up most of the navels by the end of February. Beginning after New
Years, you will get getting several pounds of navels in your boxes every
week, with quantities varying slightly. In addition to this weekly
ration, you can get a delivery of 10 lb. bags of navel oranges every two
weeks through January and into February, beginning the week of Jan. 5th.
Initially, the price is $7.00 for ten pounds, but it may go up or down
after we start harvesting and assess the situation. There is no limit
on how many you can order.
Here’s the rules. You can pay for your navels either as
part of your monthly/quarterly check, or with a separate check. However,
your order must be postmarked two weeks prior to the delivery date.
Either on your check or on a separate note, list the delivery dates and
quantities for each date. Please write your drop-off on the check,
as well.
Delivery dates are the following weeks: Jan 5, Jan 19, Feb 2,
and Feb 16 if the supply lasts. If all goes well, delivery will be
much more organized and efficient than it was last year. And we are
happy to be able to supply everyone with the juicy, sweet, Vitamin C loaded
oranges that they need to keep them smiling through the dead of winter.
WHERE’S GLEN PARK?
I know where it is, but do enough of you? We have had some interest
in starting a Glen Park drop-off, and we have a location. If you
live there and are currently picking up in the Mission or Noe Valley, or
if you have friends who might want to subscribe who live there – Let us
know.
NEW STUFF
Celery is a little small, but we wanted to get it into the boxes before
the Holidays. Yes, celery does have leaves, just like most
plants. In fact, the leaves are extremely strongly flavored, and
make a great addition to soup or stock – just pull them out before you
serve it.
Rutabagas are something we grow a lot of, but rarely put in the CSA
boxes. Pureed in soup, they are almost identical to cauliflower,
and mashed with potatoes they add zest and smoothness. Peel before
cooking. For more recipes, pick up The Vegetarian Hearth: Recipes
and Reflections for the Cold Season, by Darra Goldstein, at A Clean
Well Lighted Place for Books in the City (thanks to Barbara for the recommendation)
RECIPES.
Mock Cauliflower Soup – TFF alumnus Chris Lewis used to make this soup.
Tell the kids/spouse/friends that it’s cauliflower and see if they can
tell the difference.
Saute 1 cleaned, diced leek with 2 C. chopped celery in olive oil with
1 tsp. Dried sage until soft. Add 2 peeled, diced rutabagas and 2
diced potatoes along with 6 C. water. Bring to a boil and simmer
until the rutabagas are very soft. Puree the soup in batches, return
to the pot, and simmer another 10 minutes. Add ½ C. milk or
cream if you like, or grated parmesan cheese, plus salt and black pepper
to taste.
Ginger Butternut Custard
Bake ½ of a butternut, face down on a baking sheet, until soft
and browned on one side. Scoop out 2 C. of the flesh and blend with
1 C. milk, ½ C. sugar, and 1/8 tsp. Salt. Add 2 beaten eggs
and 1 beaten egg white, and beat well. Add 1 tsp. Powdered
ginger and 1 tsp. Vanilla. Beat well and pour into individual cups.
Bake the molds in a pan of water in the oven at 325 degrees for one hour.
Chill before serving and top with toasted walnuts.
DECEMBER HOLIDAYS We will not deliver CSA boxes the week of December
21 or December 28. We will return the week of January 4.
Remember, whether you are going on vacation in December or not, you
should still send the full check for $66.
JANUARY PAYMENTS ARE NOW DUE. All payments are due by the 5th
of the month for the current month’s service.
1999 Bay Area PRICES:
$70 monthly $200 quarterly
$ 16.00 wk vacation adjustment
Annual $ 780
How To Reach Us
For vacation notices, billing
questions, etc: contact Valerie through voice mail (530) 756-2800 or e-mail
at Goldenbell@aol.com.
Or reach us online at: www.terrafirmafarm.com
MAILING ADDRESS:
Terra Firma Farm
P.O. Box 836
Winters, CA 95694
(530) 756-2800