August 2013 - Morning Song Farm

Turns Out Naked Juice Isn't So Naked

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PepsiCo,   a significant donor who helped defeat California’s anti GMO proposition…has been found to have mislead their natural, healthy eating consumers in regards to their Naked Juice Product. Here’s another reason why I think, although it’s a big hassle, it’s smarter to make your own juice products in your own kitchen from produce that is certified organic, or Certified Natural. As a result of the class action settlement, you can file up to a $45 dollar claim without receipts at this website: www.nakedJuiceClass.com. (And who keeps years of juice receipts?)

Here’s what the Organic Consumers Association says about this:
“According to plaintiffs, Naked Juice used soy ingredients that are genetically engineered “by design or by contamination.” (Naked Juice intentionally used misleading language to give consumers “the false impression that the beverage’s vitamin content is due to the nutritious fruits and juices, rather than added synthetic compounds.” And the PepsiCo subsidiary contained a laundry list of synthetic chemicals, including calcium pantothenate (synthetically produced from formaldehyde).”

Yikes.

I use the Vitamix for most of my juicing needs unless I want to strain out the pulp, in which case I use a cheap Walmart juicer I got for $40 bucks or so. Juicing is hassle. But here’s the thing: being unhealthy is a hassle, too. I don’t always have time to cook, but juicing is fast and fairly straight forward. The cleanup usually takes longer than actually juicing.

Tomato Jalapeno Marinade with Brown Rice

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A quick and fun way to brighten up a brown rice dish. I tossed the whole clamshell of cherry tomatoes in the Cuisinart and pulsed the minimum seconds I could without ending up with big chunks. I added sea salt to taste and then crushed 3 cloves of garlic in a separate mixing bowl and stirred everything together. I then did the same pulsing thing with half a medium white onion and a single jalapeno, and added that to the mixing bowl contents, stirred and put in a jar to photograph.
I choose brown rice because white rice has it’s nutritional value removed in the process of becoming white, and then by law vitamin additives are usually added back. Yuck. I use a basic table top rice cooker, and then I blended the tomato marinade into the hot rice just before serving. Enjoy!

Harvest Notes

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Last week I goofed and posted the zucchini in the wrong column. Zucchini was included in SMALL shares only, not LARGE shares only. I understand it may seem random or well…even unfair… that a small box would receive something that a large box doesn’t, but sometimes our decisions are based on the fact that we can’t fit anything else in the large shares without smashing things in, or that the small boxes need a little bit more of something, and the harvest count comes out perfectly. Sometimes we can only offer something on one of our harvest days: either Tuesday or Wednesday. When that happens, we almost always follow up with switching it the following week. Know this: we work diligently, each week, to bring a solid value to each and every subscriber, and are always open to feedback, concerns and suggestions. When we find that we have only a TINY amount of something to share, we’ll include it in our Trade-In shares, which we offer to all drop points with 6 or more participants. If your drop isn’t being blessed with a trade-in box, we sure would appreciate it if you could tell a few friends about us! It helps us by keeping costs down by “ganging” deliveries, and it helps you by getting to trade in and customize your box so that less goes to waste. Our new website: www.morningsongfarm.com has an easy to use order form, and lots of FAQ’s about our CSA program.

 

New this week, and possibly disconcerting if you’ve never seen our Passion fruit before, we are just beginning to harvest our Passion fruit vines; truly a full month earlier than usual. If you’ve never enjoyed Passion fruit, you’re in for a treat. Using a serrated knife, carefully cut off the tip of your fruit and then swirl a spoon around inside to break the gelatinous fibers loose from the interior walls. In a pinch, you can use your thumb. Scoop out and enjoy. Yes, you can include in smoothies and atop ice cream. But this treat is so over-the-top intensely delicious, I think straight up is a first choice. I remember the first one I ever tasted, 25 years ago where the enthusiastic grower tore off the tip with his teeth, and instructed me to smush the opening to my lips and drink the fruit right there. I was smitten! Few of our fruits are cosmetic bells of the ball. In fact, way back then, I’d been told that the finest flavored fruit is wrinkled and really ugly. So don’t heave ho the wrinkled ones.

 

Better late than never: we are finally harvesting tomatoes for all, every week. We’re growing way more cherry tomatoes than heirlooms, as the squirrels leave the small tomatoes alone for whatever reason we have yet to ascertain, and opt for small, ruinous bites out of the large tomatoes we grow. And this is the first week we have our pretty culinary sage in the boxes, large shares only. And a special note to all those that enjoy our Purslane: I noticed this week the tiny Purslane seeds are showing up on the leaves. Those aren’t bugs! They’re nutritious and tasty. Finally, a note about this week’s Large Share only sprouts. We trialed several seed mixes against our tried and true Italian Mix (clover, garlic and cress). We tried a mild radish, a 100% brassica mix (mostly kales) and an amazing crunchy bean mix we all loved. Your feedback is appreciated!
 
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