Why is a farmer considered an expert?

...Cause he's usually outstanding in his field.

Hee hee hee.  Uh oh.  That was definitely a Stef joke.  Moving on... hello shareholders!

For those of you who were able to make it to the shareholder picnic last Friday evening, thanks so much for coming.  We had such an awesome time and such a great turnout.  The food was delicious.  And no rain!  We really do love spending time with you people.

For the record, I think the grand total was something like 6.5" of rain last Thursday and Friday.  Whoa.  Anyway, moving on to this week.  This week has been such a lovely week.   It's been back to the normal schedule for us three farmers and it feels great.  We feel on top of harvesting, on top of maintenance and in a few minutes, we'll be on top of our fall crop.  Instead of re-tilling the fields we need to plant in, we strip till where we need to so as not to disturb the already grown in cover crops (i.e. white clover, wheat, buckwheat).  This prevents erosion and disturbs the ground as little as possible.  Monday, we seeded lettuce and choy.  In addition to lots of harvesting, we made a Perry County Food Bank donation, collected boxes from all over town, mowed, weed whacked and did other random things.  Tuesday, more harvesting was in order.  We did some field cleanup work and then we weeded peppers, asparagus, herb garden patches, strawberries and scrub a dub dubbed the horse trough.  Harvesting and weeding may seem like similar things.  You know, both consist of picking things from the earth.  They are not similar.  Don't get me wrong, they are both wonderful.  They are both mathematics.  Harvesting is addition.  Weeding is subtraction.

Hmm.. in other news, the tractor is still out of commission and we are trying to find a way to get the potatoes out of the ground!  If you receive potatoes in this week's share, that means we got them out of the ground ;o)

Crop of the Week

Hot Peppers

Beware.  The crop of the week is hot peppers.  Many people cower at the very words.  People are scared of spice.  And we don't blame them.  One must exercise extreme caution when handling hot peppers so they don't get the oils on their skin.  Anywhere those oils touch, will burn.  That means, don't rub your eyes when your out picking hot peppers and a gnat flies in there.  Just deal with it.  That also means that it might be a good idea to wear gloves when preparing them in the kitchen.  Or make sure that only your knife touches the very very hot stuff.  The seeds are where most of the heat is, and when cooking with the super spicy ones (habaneros, cayennes, cherry bombs), we typically remove the seeds.  Once you get over the heat, you really start to savor the flavor.  And they are just so good looking.  Those colors alone.  Mmm mmm mmm!

Hot peppers are from the genus Capsicum and like all peppers, are in the nightshade family.  There actually is a heat index called the Scoville heat index used to measure the heat of chili peppers.  Habaneros are the hottest that we grow; Naga Jalokias from India are the hottest in the world.  Eating chili peppers increases ones heart rate, induces perspiration and releases endorphins.  Yep, that's right.  Endorphins.  The same things that are released during exercise and excitement.  Research also suggests that eating chili peppers can increase metabolism.  Capsaicin, the substance that gives peppers their heat, is also sometimes used in the treatment of arthritis pain, diabetic neuropathy, and headaches.  In some cultures, the leaves of the pepper plants are eaten.  Apparently, they still have some heat, but not nearly as much as the actual peppers.  Another interesting chili pepper fact is that birds don't have the same response to capsaicin.  The pain (i.e. burning) response is specific to mammals.  The varieties we grow here at the farm that have heat are the following (from least spicy to spiciest):  Anaheim, Hungarian Hot Wax, Cherry Bomb, Jalapeno, Cayenne, Habanero.  Try 'em! Be careful, but try 'em!  (some info we learned from Wikipedia entry for 'chili peppers' before sharing with you)

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Eggplant with Tofu

This week's recipe is from a Thai cookbook that was a present a few years back.

3 cups Japanese eggplant, sliced

1/4 lb tofu

6 TBSP vegetable oil

2-3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 to 5 red chili peppers, seeded and chopped

10-15 sweet basil leaves

1-3 TBSP yellow bean sauce (can substitute miso)

Slice unpeeled eggplant crosswise into slices 1/8 inch thick.  Cut tofu into 1/2 inch cubes.  Heat oil in skillet; add garlic and stir fry until light brown.  Add eggplant and tofu and cook for 5 to 7 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients; mix gently.  Serve immediately, since eggplant and basil turn dark if dish sits after cooking.

We also recommend the following Red Hot Chili Peppers songs to accompany your meal:

Tearjerker, Porcelain and of course Road Trippin'  (thankyouFrancesca)