Aley Chubeza #132, October 29th-31st 2012

It’s the end of the month again…

We are currently billing your cards for the October vegetable deliveries, including this week’s boxes (Monday and Wednesday). Changes to the orders which we received by the beginning of this week will be included in this bill; changes made after the billings will be dealt with in next month’s bill.

We would like to remind you that you are now able to view your billing history in our Internet-based order system. Enter your account, then add a backslash and the word “account” at the end of the browser url.

Here is what it should look like: http://chubeza.easyfarm.co.il/user_page/account

All going well, this should display the history of your payments and purchases. Keep in mind that it takes two to three days to update your payments, but if you received an invoice/receipt to your email, you know the billing was successful.

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Shorshei Tzion:

Eliezer Tzion, manufacturer of The Special foods of Shorshei Tzion, is expanding the range of his homemade products available through Chubeza. Now, in addition to probiotic products (you can read about the health benefits of probiotic foods here), “living foods” (crackers, sprouted seeds and granola) may also be purchased. You can read about each of these products here and order them via our order system.

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RAIN?

The crisp drenching rustle from the dry foliage of the perceptibly grateful trees… the little plants, in speechless ecstasy, receiving cupful after cupful into the outspread leaves, that silently empty their gracious load, time after time, into the still expecting roots, and open their hands still for more.

~John Richard Vernon, “The Beauty of Rain,” 1863

We are waiting for the rain. Our friends in the northern part of the country described wonderful rainstorms last week. We even shut down the irrigation system on Wednesday in anticipation of the almost-promise-of-rain. But by Thursday when we reached our very dry field, we sadly reopened the tap. In Haifa, we hear there was over 80 mm of rain! In the Hefer Valley, the dark heavens were storming all night long, covering the earth with many shiny puddles. Here we had some lightning, an occasional thunder clap, foggy weather, but that was all. No rain. This week is supposed to be sunny and dry, and that does not make us one bit happy. We need the rain.

Our earth is sunburned, pressured, naked, parched. It may be irrigated by our system, but this absolutely cannot compare to the dance of vitality our field will break into once the rain finally comes. I am always so stirred by the ease and simplicity in which the rain quenches earth’s thirst, so fully and sufficiently and alive, compared to the tremendous effort of artificial irrigation pipelines.

Oh, we are anxiously awaiting the rain.

But in the meantime, the weather is indeed changing, and the cold weather brings with it the ripening of autumn vegetables. The cauliflower will begin arriving this week, much smaller than the winter cauliflower (as we said, you cannot compare winter showers to autumn irrigation), but still, a cauliflower nonetheless. The cabbages are beginning to grow introverted leaves, slowly creating the compressed cabbage head. They, too, will be coming soon, together with their cousins, the broccoli and kohlrabi.

The carrot and beets have been around for about two weeks. They’re not as sweet and juicy as they could be in the wintertime, but they do remind us what we’re missing, and we are tremendously appreciative for their growth during the dry end-of-summer-beginning-of-autumn weather. They grew round and peeked out of the earth, making our hearts jump for joy. The radishes and arugula are nice and spicy after the hot, dry weather. Winter rains will temper this sharpness, but in the meantime, those of us who like it hot are sure happy to sink our teeth into these exciting vegetables. Our greens department has become more varied lately, and if you cannot figure out which green is which, read about the New Zealand spinach, the tot soi, and the kale, as well as the valiant Swiss chard.

As the seasons change and the new greens and roots arrive, here’s a few reminders on how to store them:

Greens: Wrap leaves unwashed in a thick paper or cloth towel, and place the bundle into a plastic bag or sealed plastic container. The towel will absorb the liquid, the plastic will prevent drying, and the leaves will remain fresh to use for a week or more.

Roots that come with leaves (beets, carrots, radishes, turnip etc.): Remove the leaves (they draw the liquid from the root and dry it up), leaving 1-2 cm of stem. Do not cut the root itself. Store it in the colder part of the fridge in a sealed plastic container. It is not enough to place them in the vegetable drawer, where they are fully exposed to all that goes on in the fridge. Important: Do not place root vegetables adjacent to apples or other fruits (banana, avocado, melon, peach, pear and tomato) which emit ethylene that speeds up the ripening (=softening) of fruits and vegetables.

In anticipation of the Jerusalem artichoke’s arrival, I remind you that we look forward to receiving your recipes for this unique vegetable. And in general, we love hearing of good recipes you have for all our vegetables.

Hoping the beginning of next week will bring great big raindrops and much joy. We want mud!!

Wishing you a great week,

Alon, Bat Ami and the Chubeza team

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WHAT’S IN THIS WEEK’S BOXES?

Monday: Lettuce, Swiss chard, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, dill/parsley, cucumbers, radishes/daikon/turnips, eggplant, red or green bell peppers/ zucchini, carrots (small boxes only), beets (small boxes only)

In the large box, in addition: lubia (cowpeas) or long Thai lubia or okra, slice of pumpkin, arugula, leeks, cauliflower

Wednesday: green onions, arugula, slice of pumpkin, sweet potatoes, lettuce, cilantro, cucumbers, radishes or turnips, carrots, tomatoes, red beets – small boxes only.

In the large box, in addition: leek, Swiss chard or New Zealand spinach, cauliflower or zucchini, eggplans or lubia (cowpeas) or long Thai lubia

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