By Ashley
The Crew dynamic is smooth these recent weeks. When the fields are producing and we are harvesting just about every day there is ample opportunity for team building. We learn to flow with one another, we learn how another moves and learn to anticipate what an individual will do when we are working together. This anticipation, or learned knowledge of one another, feels different than the frequently spoken about trauma response of a person interacting with emotionally dangerous people. This anticipation resembles things much closer to a sibling knowing how to annoy their brother, or a husband knowing how his wife likes her coffee. It's an intimate knowing where the somatic movements of our everyday lives revolve around one another.
The crew talks to one another all day long; we know each other's politics (risky, I know) we know each other's moods based on how interactive or distanced one person is, we know each other's work tool preferences and even which tasks one person likes or dislikes and we take on that task to compensate for someone's taste. It's a beautiful dance we do with one another and one that takes practice and also willingness.
There is a safety that must be felt between people to let our guards down and truly come out of our shell. I also believe there must be safety felt in a work place in order to perform as well as we possibly can. We have to make mistakes, we have to ask questions, and we have to feel safe enough to feel confident. Though we are not perfect, I can sense everyone's nervous system being relaxed enough that we can flow to and from the fields with one another with little hiccups and lots of laughs. We genuinely enjoy one another (even when we have hard days!)
The next time you see us in the mule driving to our next task together, listen out for the loud laughter that usually accompanies our group. This hard work is made easier because we are all together.
Upcoming Events:
Farm Potluck Friday, July 28th
BBQ and Baseball Sunday, August 27th
CSA Barn Hours:
Summer hours: 2:30-6:30PM (starts the week after daylight savings in March)
Winter hours: 2:30-6PM (starts the week after daylight savings in November)
Pick List:
Eggs
Cortland Yellow Onions (Last week!)
Red Gold New Potatoes
Garlic
Hakurei Turnips
Dark Star, Cocozelle, and Yellowfinn Summer Squash
Mideast Peace, Slicer, and Pickling Cucumbers
Finale Fennel
Evergreen Hardy Scallions
Song Cauliflower
Emiko Napa Cabbage
Celtuce (see recipe below!)
Lettuce
Champion Collards
Lacinato Kale
Ruby Red Chard
Regiment Spinach
Cilantro, Dill, Parsley, and Basil
Albion Strawberries
Sonoma Wheat Flour & Wheat Berries (Please BYO jars!)
Dried Herbs for Tea (Please BYO jars!)
Saltonstall Olive Oil for sale (Please BYO jars!)
Revolution Bread: Only frozen bread will be available this week
Pick Your Own Flowers & Herbs
Stir-fried Celtuce Stem
200 g Celtuce Stem
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorn
2 dried chili peppers , cut into sections
2 tbsp. cooking oil
pinch of salt
Remove the leaves and then peel off the hard skin from the head.
Then cut the long stem into sections around 3 cm wide and further cut it into slices. You can also choose to cut them into small strips.
To start, heat the wok until really hot firstly, and then place in garlic, chopped dried chili peppers, and Sichuan peppercorn. You can skip the dried chili and Sichuan peppercorn and make a garlic flavor stem celtuce stir fry.
Place the slices in, and add salt. Mix well. Drizzle some sesame oil before transferring out.