Farm Fresh News - August 2019
Summer Harvest!
In this issue:
  • Sustainable Garden
  • Fermented Foods
  • Burning Man and The Farm
  • The Farm Market Day August 17 - the annual Salsa Contest!
Dear Friends,
People often ask me, how much of your food do you grow? It's a hard question to answer, partly because it changes, but to be more accurate I would say that almost every meal I eat is touched or built around something from the garden.
 
Breakfasts in May feature strawberries, blackberries in June and blueberries in July. I alternate granola and fruit with omelets with eggs from my daughter's chickens, tomatoes, green peppers and chanterelles. Lunches are often a burrito with homemade salsa, lettuce and ideally tomato from the garden.
 
Here in midsummer some sort of stir fry is pretty much a daily occurrence: Broccoli, eggplant, squash and zucchini, tomato and onion, green beans, okra, chanterelles. Taking advantage of nature's bounty!
 
We have a salad almost every night, and when things are going well, our garden can provide lettuce 11 months of the year. The goal is to have lettuce, green or red pepper, cucumbers, and tomatoes, all coming in at the same time, something we can usually do in some combination June through October. In winter, there's carrots and spinach to add.
 
During winter months I make a lot of soups based on my canned tomatoes and frozen veggies (broccoli, green beans, okra, shiiataki mushrooms), along with some potatoes, and other stored veggies from the garden. I alternate this type of vegetable soup with a winter squash soup.
 
I like eating with the seasons so that there is always something new. It is what I came here to do.
 
The Farm and Burning Man
In 2001, MSNBC produced a one-hour program called, A Different Drum, focusing on two very different expressions of community, The Farm, and the annual Burning Man arts festival held at a place called Blackrock City in the Nevada desert. It was inspiring to see the expression of art and creativity at Burning Man.

During the editing process, several hours of video of The Farm from 1973 was discovered in the NBC archives, enhancing the depth of the story they were able to tell about the community. See The Farm in its original incarnation, and life in the community nearly 30 years later.

Center Camp Café, Burning Man 2005 (photo by Brad Templeton)
 
In September I will be travelling to Turkey for 2 weeks as part of a Dances of Universal Peace Caravan, 36 people from 17 countries. My intention is to bring a Western face of peace to this region, one that honors their culture and traditions. I'll spend 5 days in an ecovillage, then travel on to a music festival in Konya, the birthplace of Rumi.
 
Namaste y'all,
Douglas
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November 1-3 Fall Dances of Universal Peace with guest Dance leader Grace Marie! 
Uplift your spirit and open your heart. Learn more and REGISTER here.
 

Heart of The Farm
October 18-20 Farm Experience Weekend
Discover for yourself what Life in Community is all about! Click here to register, or to learn more.
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Making Kraut!
We have been purchasing sour-kraut at the monthly market days here on The Farm, so I thought, why not grow some cabbage and make it ourselves?
Turns out it is pretty easy. With all the rain we had this summer our cabbages were huge. I shredded 2 cabbages in my food processor. I also added 6 cloves of garlic, 4 carrots, and some peeled, fresh ginger.
 
Although the cabbage/kraut will ferment on its own from naturally occurring bacteria, I used a package of culture starter from a company called body ecology to guarantee the purity (and flavor) of my probiotic bacteria. https://bodyecology.com
 
I took 2 cups of the shredded cabbage and liquified this in a blender, adding the culture starter. I then poured the liquified mix over my shredded cabbage and carrots and then stirred mixe until it was all bathed in a wet coating.
 
Next I transferred it all into jars. Just like wine making, you want to maintain the purity by preventing the veggies from picking up any foreign bacteria or yeasts.
 
In some jars I used special fermentation weights placed on top of the veggies to insure none were poking above the liquid. As recommended in my recipe, in others jars I used rolled up cabbage leaves packed in so tightly that they pressed down the vegies when I put the jar lids on.
 
On two of the jars I used fermentation locks from my wine making supplies. Water inside the fermentation lock allows gasses to escape as the veggies ferment, but does not allow any air to go back the other way, contaminating my mix. Without the weights and fermentation locks, a scum will form on the top, which must be skimmed off daily. On a third jar I had a special fermentation lid with a port that accepted a custom syringe, which I used to suck all of the air out of the jar, creating a vacuum.
 
This was allowed to sit at room temperature (around 74 degrees) for several days. The process takes anywhere from 3-7 days. At Day 5, we tasted ours and decided to let it go a little longer.
 
When finished, we transferred all the jars to a second refrigerator we use for bulk vegie storage. Bear in mind that even after it is refrigerated, the kraut will continue to ferment slightly, the flavor getting more sour with age. Two cabbages made 1 3/4 gallons of kraut, plenty for us and some to share with family and friends at the potluck held every Friday. Probiotics! Good for the gut!
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A big thanks to everyone who has become a patron of Farm Fresh!
When you become a subscriber, your contribution helps spread the word about community based alternatives.
Take this one small step to be part of the solution!
Let me know your interests. Click here to take the survey.    I look forward to hearing from you.
 
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I hope you'll make the effort to take a firsthand look at The Farm during one of my GreenLife Retreat Weekends, and that it will inspire you to pursue your dreams and find your chosen path!
 
Speaking Engagements
At the same time, I recognize that I can reach a lot more people if I go outside the community. One of my goals is to speak at colleges and universities where I can talk to young people about Right Livelihood, Service, and Finding Sanity in an Insane World. This is a time when people need to hear an uplifting message of hope.
 
If you are part of an organization, event, or school (or you just want to learn more about my life's work), I invite you to visit my web site www.douglasstevenson.com, where you'll find information on my lecture topics and how to bring me to speak in your area.
 Thank you for your interest, and your support. I hope to see you down the road.
 
Peace,
Douglas
 
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out to change the world
new society
 
 
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My wife Deborah is one of the primary midwives practicing on The Farm right now. She is also a teacher with the midwifery workshops and our college of traditional midwifery. If you, a friend, or family member are considering a midwifery assisted birth, I encourage you to visit her web site and check out her podcast.
 
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www.awakeningbirth.org - the Web Site
www.awakening birth.net - The Podcast 
Her birth resource web sites for families seeking guidance on subjects such as
  • Choosing a Care Provider.
  • Health and Diet
  • Challenges and Complications
  • and much more!
  • The Awakening Birth podcast is now available on iTunes or at www.awakeningbirth.net
Please spread the word to anyone in your circle who is thinking of having a baby, expecting, to your favorite midwife, or care provider. Please like us and give us a good review on iTunes. It helps!
 
 
GreenLife Retreats
A division of Village Media Services
PO Box 259Summertown, TN 38483
931-964-2590 - office / cell
Douglas@villagemedia.com
www.villagemedia.com
www.greenliferetreats.com
www.douglasstevenson.com 
Douglas@thefarmcommunity.com
 
 
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