Community Supported Agriculture

Hello Everyone this is Ora. I am a seasoned marketeer for various farms, but finally joining Serendipity this year. Jamie and I have been friends for 8 years - we met at the Monterey farmers market - both of us selling produce. Over the years we have kept in touch. I had a project taking pictures of old barns and writing about their history and eventually we started conversations about me working for her. We get along great, have similar sense of humor and like to hang out outside of work although we never seem to stop talking about the farm!

If you call the office the phone you might get me on the other end. I am going to start adding my 2 cents to the newsletter on a weekly basis because Jamie is so busy trying to keep things running smoothly while in the middle of a move.

We are moving the office, horses, 15 goats, 50 chickens and 2 newly adopted Peacocks to our new house. It sounds a little like a holiday song with 6 turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree, and we are running around at Full Steam to get it done.
4th of July weekend we went to Big Sur to party down with the Big SurBakery folks and celebrate the release of their new cookbook. Jamie (the brains and braun of Serendipity) is featured in the cookbook as the organic row cropper and she is quoted for loving “Artisan cheese,the stinkier the better”. The Bakery threw a great party, rolling out
the red carpet, or in this case an extra long wooden slab table covered in lavender straw where the stars sat to sign books. It was just like the Last Supper, with all the disciples of great foods sitting at the long table. In the line up of cookbook celebrities was the baker,
chef, owners, poke pole fisherman (yes, he stands on rocks and skewers fish in Big Sur), the local beekeeper, book-keeper and peacekeeper,purveyors of great wines, wild mushroom hunters, and even the guy with extra pearly snap buttons on his western shirt, who made the hanging meyer lemon /cinnamon stick mobiles that spin around on the ceiling and keeps the place smelling good. I did my job as assistant to those
who need assisting, by keeping the drinks coming for all of the folks signing books and trapped at the table with a line of people out the door all wanting their personal 7 copies signed by everyone! The BigSur Bakery cookbook has got tons of recipes and is full of great stories and a taste of Big Sur culture it’s a must see.

Recipe wise, this one is fuly hi-jacked from Alice Waters, this is a killer summer soup for our special summer squash this week.

Heat in a heavy bottomed soup pot 1/4 cup olive oil
Add and cook stirring often on Med heat
1 large onion sliced up small
Pinch of Saffron if you’ve got some
1 teasponn cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds (if you have cilantro goin to seed in your
garden, same thing!)
1/4 tsp turmeric (or fresh and chopped)
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 garlic cloves sliced up

Cook until soft, but not browning yet and then add
5 medium squash (your bag of squash)
cut into 3/4 inch slices and add with some salt.
Cook 2 minutes then add 3 cups chicken broth (or veggie) and 3 cups water
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile chop mint, parsley or cilantro and mix into 2 tbsp olive oil
and 2/3 cup plain yogurt.
let the soup cool, puree in the blender and top with yogurt or limes!

Ora Gessler