7/24/15 CSA Harvest: The Good Things are not Free

“So, friends, every day do something that won't compute...Give your approval to all you cannot understand...Ask the questions that have no answers. Put your faith in two inches of humus that will build under the trees every thousand years...Laugh. Be joyful though you have considered all the facts....Practice resurrection.”
― Wendell Berry, The Country of Marriage

Well, its another 18 hour day for this cowboy....good thing it ain't my first rodeo, nor my last.  The Valley Roots Food Hub has been moving a lot of local food in the past 6 weeks.  This week was our biggest yet.  That means that some retailers and restaurants in our region are putting their money where it counts (one example below, and more coming).  One big accomplishment for the food hub of south-central Colorado, one small dent in the food system of the dominant paradigm.  Don't get me wrong......I love coal, gasoline, and commodity barley that makes great, locally-made micro brews.  These things give us a life that no other human generation has ever experienced.  Ever tried to homebrew an equivalent amount of energy and resources?  Well, I have, and am still trying in vain, but that's another story.  The immediate point is this:  How could we show disdain where our predecessors would have given their left leg?  And secondly, the right thing costs more!  Its that simple.  Economy of scale is not always an ecologist.  The world's encyclopedia, business tools at light speed, and business/social networking available in every person's palm.  The opportunity alone makes me dizzy, and because its cheap and accessible makes me suspicious.  But as the wise sage says, just because you can doesn't mean you should! 

This week's Fresh Box:

• 1.25 lbs Apricots, These are Goldstrike from the Western Slope.  Certified Organic.
  
• 1 Peach, these are Aloha from our partners to the East, Arkansas Valley Organic Growers (AVOG)
• 1 onion bunch, COG, White Mountain Farm, our stalwart compatriots and neighbors
• 1 Easter Egg Radish bunch, COG, WMF
• 1 Cucumber, Yoder Family Farm, Hydroponic Amish near Alamosa
• 2 Head Lettuce, Red Leaf and/or Red Butter, COG, Green Earth Farm, Saguache
• Napa Cabbage, COG, Green Earth Farm.  Have you ever seen anything so amazing?
• 1 Bunch Quinoa Greens, COG, White Mountain Farm, Mosca.  The ancient grain of the Incas is precedented by a plant that gives rise to wonderfully nutritious greens, especially regarding calcium.  Quinoa, like Lamb's Quarter from your backyard garden, is a Goosefoot, member of the Chenopodiaceae Family.  Also in this family are beets, chard, and spinach.  We used to do a wildcrafted "Italiano" with goosefoots:  greens steamed with feta, balsamic vinegar, and salt.
• 1 Portabella Cap, Colorado Mushroom Farm, Alamosa.  Whoa!  Look at the size of that! 
  
• 1 Turnip Bunch, White Mountain Farm, COG, Mosca.  Did you know that the tradition of carving pumpkins started with carving large turnips.  A lady of our community makes a candied turnip that transforms the experience.  Recipes please!
• 1 Bunch Beets, Hobbs Family Farm, COG, Avonadale via AVOG
• Jackson's Honest Potato Chips, Purple Heirloom.  Now, check this one out.  The family is from Crested Butte and they are made in Denver (read the package).  White Mountain Farm has a couple truckloads of potatoes in the field that will go straight to Jackson's once they are harvested.  This is what I would call a high-value, value added product.  Our valley's potatoes getting circulated around the nation via this chip line.  And purple!  Who else is doing that?  I wanted to give you all a taste so that when fall and winter is here you can go to your nearest retailer and demand Jackson's Honest Chips made from the San Luis Valley's potatoes and distributed by Valley Roots!

I know its a lot of head lettuce this week, and maybe in the past.  We are doing 16 shares and the farmers pack in either 12 count or 24, so its a toss up to make an equal distribution while at the same time avoiding waste and food that has no home.

Season's Cafe in Salida.  These guys are leading the pack with putting quality, local, and non GMO first in their menu planning and recipes.  This is my recommendation of THE PLACE to eat.  More info coming, but for now, check them out:


1110 E Highway 50Salida, Colorado
(719) 530-9525
http://www.seasonssalida.com/