Article written by Richard Yoder of Bubbling Brook Farm, Centreville

Did you ever have to wonder where the foods come from that we eat daily? Do you ever pause to look at the morsel about to enter your mouth, and wonder who raised or grew it, what it was fed, or fertilized with, how many chemicals, preservatives or hormones it has, how it was processed, or how far it has traveled to get to your mouth?

They say the average bite in America travels 1,500 miles before it's eaten. Whether that's true, I don't know, but I think that number is on the decline since the general public is leaning more towards supporting the local grower to get a more nutritious, tastier, and healthier product. That thought pattern should be important to each individual because our bodies are no better than what we eat. At the same time we realize we can't grow all kinds of foods in southern Michigan, so we get our oranges, bananas, etc. from many miles away.

Here in St. Joseph County, there are several opportunities for residents to subscribe in community supported agriculture and several CSA farms are listed in the new, 2009, River Country Local Food Guide. A CSA such as ours at Bubbling Brook Farm tries to fill a portion of the need for local, fresh food. This year, we will supply vegetables, turkeys, chicken and eggs. All of our products are naturally grown and fed. Our vegetables are offered as a CSA project (Community Supported Agriculture). It could be referred to as a "veggie insurance plan". Customers pay at the beginning of the year and receive a weekly supply in the amount of a bushel or ½ bushel of fresh, naturally grown vegetables with minimal fruits and flowers. The season generally lasts about twenty weeks, from mid May to mid October, depending on how soon Jack Frost arrives.

We try to maximize quality and taste by using natural and organic fertilizers, pesticides and minerals to improve the soil.

CSAs are relatively new to Michiana, but it's happening more every year throughout Michigan and the United States. Shoppers that are inclined to eat naturally, or any veggie eaters for that matter, are elated with our plan for the following reasons: They pay a great deal less for a naturally grown product; they have the assurance of a weekly supply of fresh food; they don't have to go shop or walk the market aisles, but come on farm to get a basket already filled with variety; they get to know the farmer who raises the food they eat and see how it's raised or grown; they don't have to be concerned about how many chemicals, hormones, or preservatives are in the food they eat; they get the satisfaction of supporting the local economy and small, sustainable farms; and enjoy the healthy lifestyle of eating more naturally.

An important aspect of Community Supported Agriculture is sharing some of the risk with the grower. For example, a good year for tomatoes may not be a good year for peas, or vice versa. Although hailstorms or unforeseen acts of nature can do extensive damage, it is highly unlikely with over twenty vegetables that there would be a complete loss.

Like many CSAs, Bubbling Brook Farm will offer full shares and half shares this season. Other options are available, including adding eggs or homemade bread to the weekly share. CSA subscribers get a 5% discount on our free-range chicken, turkeys, and eggs for the whole year! You also get a 5% discount if you're laid off at your job, and payment options are available. Cow shares are available as well. Contact me for more information.

Be sure to try our recipe for Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash! I will close in wishing each and every one a happy, healthy 2009 amid the economic downslide, and the good Lord's rich blessings to all.

For a free brochure, call 269-467-4601. Bubbling Brook Farm, Richard and Ellen Yoder, 25374 Wasepi Road, Centreville, MI 49032.

Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash

Ingredients:

2 acorn squash

1 pound bulk sausage

1 Cup finely chopped onion

1 Cup finely chopped celery

¾ (three quarter) Cup bread crumbs

1 Cup grated cheese

Cut squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Place squash cut side down in a baking pan. And ¼ (one quarter) to ½ (one half) inch water and bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. Meanwhile brown the sausage and remove from pan. Drain off all but 2 tablespoons drippings. Sauté onion and celery in the drippings for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in bread cubes. Quickly stir in sausage and cheese. Put into lightly salted squash cavities and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

Is there any better place to be in late summer than southern Michigan? Popular domesticated fruits and vegetables like apples, raspberries, corn and squash are in their full glory; but away from the orchards and cultivated fields--in woods, along our disappearing dirt roads, in quiet out-of-the-way places, a symphony of natural native (and not so native) plants is there to be admired and enjoyed, the unassuming and lowly status of these plants belying their riches.

Flowers of the sumac (Rhus hirta), the conical bunches of red berries (or 'pyramidal panicles of crimson drupes', if you like your info scientific) create one of the earliest accents of color as the summer moves toward fall. You can pop these in your mouth for a jolt of tangy, tart vitamin C--refreshing on a long walk through the countryside--or use several bunches of the berries in a sun tea, letting them steep in the summer sun for a day. Mix in some sugar--too much tends to overwhelm the subtle flavor--and sparkling water if you like, and serve a tangy sumac-ade over ice.

We celebrate morel mushrooms (Morchellaceae) in the spring and early summer but during the later, hotter months at least three other edible mushrooms are displaying their tantalizing wares: oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus), chantarelles (Cantharellus cibarius), and puffballs (Calvatia gigantea), which can grow to the size of a soccer ball over night, can be abundant this time of year depending on conditions and the whims of these slightly mysterious beings. Cut them up into bite-sized pieces, and sautee them in butter, garlic, sherry, tamari, or whatever you like. Chewey and rich in flavor, they're a fabulous substitute for commercially grown mushrooms, chicken, tofu, fish, and the like. How about a stroganoff with chantarelles and puffballs in a white sauce over spaghetti squash? Of course, if you're collecting wild mushrooms, be sure you or whomever is with you knows these species, since many mushroom varieties are poisonous.

And finally, purslane (portulaca oleracea)--that lowliest (quite literally, as it lies close to the ground), most ordinary of 'weeds'. Turns out there's more to purslane than meets the eye. For one thing, it tastes really great (a purslane lasagna recipe, courtesy of Sylvie Gudin, is at the end of this article) and sports more omega 3 fatty acids than broccoli. It is also reported to be high in vitamin C. It shares a Latin 'root' with porcelain, I imagine because of the smooth, shiny texture of its leaves and reddish stems. It was Ghandi's favorite food, according to Wild Man Steve Brill. As a kid, I remember that purslane could be counted on to grow in the cracks of sidewalks and in bare, sandy patches where other plants dare not tread. I never realized (and as I was an avowed juvenile vegetable hater, it's probably best my mother didn't either) how tasty and nutritious it is. Beware of spurge, a different-looking poisonous creeping wild plant that sometimes grows near purslane. The stem is wiry, not thick, and it gives off a white, milky sap when you break it.

Seeking out local and particularly natural occuring food sources is more than a novelty experience. It is a mistake to minimize 'value' to mean nothing more than the price per pound of a particular food. Remember that eating locally, particularly plants which grow quite happily on their own without any petroleum-based 'help' or any other interference from human beings, is good on many levels. We know that 'it takes a village to raise a child', and that as human beings we live best when we know ourselves to be a valued member of a community; well, the community of which we are a part extends far beyond our human world. Just as it's hard to dehumanize a person if you interact with them personally, the natural world, when we acknowledge ourselves in community with it, becomes a familiar, beloved, and reliable friend.

'Lasagna Portulaca' with White Sauce

• 9 to 12 lasagna noodles.
• 2 to 3 cups Purslane
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• approx. 1 c. mushrooms
• spinach, chard, kale as preferred
• garlic to taste
• 1 or 2 eggs
• approx. 1 c. sour cream
• olive oil
• white sauce (butter, whole wheat flour, milk or soymilk)
• 1 c. parmesan cheese

Cook the lasagna noodles and set aside
Sautee Purslane with garlic and mushrooms
Add spinach, chard, kale, etc., if you like
Stir in eggs and sour cream into the sauteed vegetables

Layer ingredients in a baking pan, alternating noodles, vegetable mixture and white sauce. Top with parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until parmesan is melted and slightly browned.

Can you name an edible 'lily' which repels insects, vampires and some people and is said to prevent colds and other illnesses? You guessed it - the amazing garlic. And July is garlic harvesting time in Michigan - garlic bulbs, that is.

Garlic can be harvested in three forms: scapes, green garlic, and bulbs. We're most familiar with the paper-covered bulbs, also known as 'heads', which we see in the grocery store, but the other forms are aromatic and delicious as well.

There are two primary types of garlic: hardneck and softneck. The hardneck produces scapes, and the softneck is easier for braiding. Scapes, the flowers of garlic, appear in June, and contain small bulbils that can be planted. However, most garlic planting is done with individual cloves from a bulb. Scapes have a milder flavor than the bulbs and can be cooked the same way that bulbs are.

Green garlic, also called spring baby garlic, looks like green onions, with the bulbs still small. It emerges, obviously, in the spring. According to The Garlic Store in Colorado, it can be cooked like scallions, chopped in salads or stir-fry dishes, braised over meats, or sautéed "in white wine with loads of chopped garlic cloves. Or to add an oriental twist, reduce the pan liquids and add soy sauce for an exotic explosion of garlicky flavors." (www.thegarlicstore.com)

And then there are the bulbs. After skinning the paper off each clove, you can eat them raw, sautéed, pickled in vinaigrettes, even freeze them. Experienced cooks say freezing reduces the flavor, but it's still possible to cook with it. With the skin on, you can roast them with potatoes and rosemary for a delicious winter dish.

It's good to remember the difference between a bulb and a clove. Cooks have been known to put a whole bulb in a recipe when it actually called for a clove. But that just probably made it more tasty and healthful.

The word 'garlic' comes from Old English gar (spear) and lac (plant), due to its spearlike leaves. Garlic was grown in ancient Egypt, and its origins are shrouded in myth. It may have originated in Siberia. At any rate, it has been cultivated in the Mediterranean region for millennia, and now it is essential in the cuisines of Asia and Europe.

Michigan is a relative newcomer to garlic production. Experiments at MSU have found these cultivars to do well here: Music, German White, and Polish Softneck. (see http://michiganorganic.msu.edu/Portals/organic/Producting%20Garlic%20in%20Michigan.pdf)
Sandy loams are the best soil for garlic because they both hold water and drain well.
Size doesn't seem to affect taste and nutrition. Garlic can have color tones as well; reddish coloring may indicate you've got an heirloom variety. Blue/green coloration can occur, which experts say isn't harmful.

The health effects of garlic are legendary. Garlic has been found to stop infections and colds, thin blood, help heart and cancer conditions, and more. It is one of the basic remedies in every herbalist's collection.

So ask your neighborhood gardener if they've got any garlic to harvest this month. There are garlic harvesting parties in many places. The closest one I know of is at Blue Dog Greens near Bangor. Theirs should be happening any day now. The Gilroy Garlic Festival in California is the most famous, with many experimental dishes, plus music and many goings-on.

Here's a recipe that uses all the garlic you want, and maybe more. To find a chicken, check out local farms in the River Country Food Guide, available at downtown Three Rivers stores and the Farmers Market. Enjoy - and remember, the more garlic eaters around you, the fewer noses offended.

Here is an aromatic recipe for chicken, with garlic done the easy way: unpeeled.

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic (from Cooking Light)
Serves 10
375 degrees, 1 ½ hour baking time

• 1 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 tsp dried tarragon (1 TBSP fresh)
• 6 sprigs parsley
• 4 celery stalks, cut into 3 pieces each
• Carrots sliced, if desired
• 8 chicken thighs & 8 drumsticks, skinned (about 4 ½ lb)
• ½ cup white wine
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• Dash of ground nutmeg
• 40 unpeeled garlic cloves (about 4-5 heads)

Preheat oven to 375

Combine first 4 ingredients in a 4-qt casserole. Arrange chicken over vegetables. Drizzle with wine, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Nestle the garlic around the chicken. Cover casserole with foil and casserole lid.

Bake for 1 ½ hours.

Garnish with tarragon springs if desired. Serve with tomato salad for a colorful summer feast.