To Wyoming and back again... Cart Time!

Is it really almost the end of August?

The past few weeks have been amazing.

I was able to take over 10 days off and travels back to Jackson for a visit with family and friends during our mid-course week break. It was such a refresher thanks to my many great friends back in the hole, the beautiful scenery, the fresh mountain air, and just some days off... with nothing planned- quality hammock time, if you will.

And as the economy tightens and the oil dries up.. air flights get re-arranged. My flight out of Jackson was canceled Sunday night- and while it afforded me an extra day with friends.. (delightful!).. it also meant missing day 1 of my 3rd rotation in the Alan Chadwick "Up" Garden. I'm spending the next 3 weeks on my 'cart' rotation. This means I'm one of a few in charge of harvests, set-up, sales and overall run around for our farm stand on the corner of campus. It's actually quite fun and exciting to see our product packed and stacked so beautifully in one spot. And to watch it fly off the shelves... The regulars definitely know they have to get there right around noon-o'clock on the dot to get the good stuff. Our dry-farmed tomatoes our flourishing (sweet and delicious), a handful of our many apple varieties are coming on, the flowers these days are AMAZING and the sweet corn is standard right now. Fun AND delicious!

As last Tuesday morning rolled around I quickly found out my cart days start at a quarter to 7 in the morning and end 12 or 13 hrs later. Though the energy on the farm has been great and the colors in the field have been so beautiful it doesn't feel like I'm spending so many hours working at this labor of love.

Wednesday we had a class day and Thursday I spent sweatin' in the kitchen -4am-7pm-(another success.. and oh the fun of watching faces as farmies learned I'd fed them zucchini crisp instead of apple), so by the time Friday cart rolled around again I was definitely ready for a weekend of rest and distraction from farm life. Though this didn't stop me from harvesting mad veggies for a dinner in town with friends- freshly grilled sweet corn, sesame green beans, fried green tomatoes, stuffed squash blossoms, coleslaw, parsnips and grilled veggies! ...YUMMM

On that note- it's about to start all over again, so I best get to bed before the night turns into morning.

I hope all is well in your world. Don't forget to smile and let a little love in.

Wondering what to do with those over sized monster zucchinis you suddenly discover rapidly multiplying in your garden? Look no further- this is a sure hit!

Zucchini 'Apple' Crisp:

1 large zuke, peeled, seeded and sliced to look like apple chunks (about 6-7 cups).
Put into saucepan with 3/4 cup lemon juice. Cover and boil 15 min. stirring often.

Then add mixture of:1 tsp. nutmeg, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tsp. cinnamon

Stir well into "apples" and set off stove.
Pour above mixture into a greased 11x9" pan.
Topping:1 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1 cup flour, 1 tsp. nutmeg, 1 cup rolled oats, 2/3 cup butter
Mix together til crumbly and sprinkle evenly over "apple" mix.
Bake at 375 degrees till golden brown.

Makes 6 servings.

Preserving the Fun

It's count down time until we break out and see what's happening in the rest of the world. There has been a buzz on the farm, as we prepare for our break week. I do wonder what will happen to us as we emerge from our bubble and check out friends and ongoings away from CASFS. Though as I write this, I'm giddy with excitement to see friends, mountains and music back in Wyoming.

The last few weeks have been fun and busy. Our part of the youth RIC conference was pulled off without a hitch and quite successfully thanks to hard work and inevitable good vibes that emanate from the farm.

I've been keeping busy in my 'free time' (what?!) jamming and fermenting the bounty that lies in the fields- think 4 berry jam (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries) and raw kraut with hits of apple/fennel & ginger/jalapeno... oh! and I've had my first taste of farm tomatoes and sweet corn... a sweet, sweet summer it is...

My friends Rob and Chloe from San Francisco drove down for a weekend visit and some friends from Jackson are hopefully showing up on Tuesday for a quick stay. It's nice to see familiar faces and show off the place I'm calling home for the time being.

The field farmies have been busy harvesting and cranking out CSA boxes. I was asked to write a piece for our CSA newsletter last week- so I'm going attach that to give you a sense of my current feelings on life, love and food. And on that note.. Happy Birthday Er!



--As I spend my days working in the field amidst rows and rows of brilliantly colored and shaped fruits and vegetables I see nature at work- providing exactly what we need at this moment in time to meet our nutritional needs. ‘Nutrition’ and ‘Health’ have become tantalizing words these days- thrown about carelessly by the media, relying on the hope of consumers that there is something magic out there that can be tagged and bottled to cure our ailing minds and bodies. Nutritional trends come and go- just about as rapidly as blue jean styles, but the tried and true methods of Mother Earth have been humming along far more reliably that the laboratories can crank out vitamin supplementations.

As a Dietitian, I’m often approached with nutrition questions.. the underlying hope being that I will have something magical and different to say.. advice that will finally work this time! Eating a balance of whole foods in tune with the rhythms of the seasons has been my standard reply for a while now- and as I plant, weed, harvest and eat the bounty of the food grown here I’m reminded and humbled by how important this is. We could never contrive to formulate in a vitamin supplement what nature has taken and molded so beautifully over many years. In the few short months I’ve been living on this California farm (loaded with abundance), I’ve been excited to roll with the days and the seasons; just when you’re getting a bit overloaded with one crop, on comes another to add more zeal and excitement to the dinner preparations. (Speaking of.. be on the lookout for some amazing sweet corn coming next week…) Eating in this way leads us to live in this way; respecting and loving what our world has to offer, and that is the magic answer that I think most people are truly looking for.

-Jen Jacobsen, Lander, WY 1st year apprentice