Three more weeks of CSA left! The 25th and 27th will be the last pickups. In the future we hope to be able to extend our season into November but for this season we will be quite content with having made it this far. Thanks to Whit and Eric, the Two Wizards for providing consultations at distribution last Monday. If you didn't have time to check in with them or if you pickup on Wednesday you can contact them for a consultation. One thing we did not fully highlight perhaps is that the Wizards are not a business and do not charge for anything. They have been providing various types of medicine for people just because they themselves have been helped by those same plants and fungi. For many of us who are underinsured, are distrustful of or have fallen through cracks of Western medicine, informal networks of support like this are invaluable, and a throwback to a time when healers arose from within a community, lived in the community and were not hidden behind walls of insurance, massive institutions and academic credentials. This week in this space we'd like to shine a light on another friend and collaborator, John Bauman.
John B. is a retired navy veteran, engineer and physicist who’s unlikely to boast about his accomplishments. Having fought in the first Gulf War, he became disenchanted with the oil industry to say the least. John B. found farming in 2013 and has assumed a personal mission to farm only ever by human power, never gasoline. John B. doesn’t own a car and can be seen all over town riding his bike, more than likely hauling an invention prototype on the back or toys for farmers’ kids, or both. Another thing that he hauls across town using his own human power is quantities of extra farm food, which he tirelessly brings to those of less means than he.
John B. is an icon in the urban farming scene around Denver. Both of us worked with John before we even knew each other and well before Common Name was born. His passion has led him to provide labor, advice, and expertise to farmers all around the area for no compensation other than veggies and comraderie. He is another Wizard to add to the list. A loud, argumentative, garrulous and profane one, to be sure, but we would have it no other way. The entire energy on a farm is lifted when John steps onto it.
Harvest List:
Snow peas
Baby fennel
Arugula
Leeks
Potatoes
Green tomatoes
Lettuce
Beets
Spaghetti squash
Mustard greens
Peppers
Poem
Please note this list is dependent on weather and crop conditions, not guaranteed or comprehensive.
Recipe: Fried green tomatoes
It's that time of year! We are going to pick green (unripe, not green in color but ripe) tomatoes. You can leave them out to ripen, but we usually prefer to fry them on up. We have used the more southern traditional bacon fat for this but for simplicity's sake we shall refer to "oil" though we remain big fans of bacon fat.
Ingredients:
1 pound firm green tomatoes
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Paprika or any dried seasoning mix that you like
Oil for frying
Directions:
Slice the tomatoes about 1/2 inch thick.
Season the flour and cornmeal with salt and pepper and dredge the tomatoes in it. You can do this in a large bowl, a flatter baking dish or a brown paper bag
Heat a heavy skillet, either cast iron or nonstick, over medium-high heat, and add enough oil to coat the bottom by about 1/8 inch.
Fry the tomatoes on each side until golden, about two to three minutes per side. Drain on paper towels, on a paper bag or on a rack. Keep warm in a low oven until all of the tomatoes are fried.