An Endless Harvest by Betty Levine
Preserving and Using Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs
This past fall we sold our pastured pork at the Wellspring Farm CSA in Marshfield, Vermont. A CSA is short hand for Community Supported Agriculture. The idea being that people buy into the harvest, either as a share or a subscription, early in the year when the farmers have high expenses but little income. Then as the crops roll in you get a portion of the fresh, locally grown food each week. The farmer enjoys a more stable sales and income flow. The customers enjoy the freshest possible food and a bit of the farm experience in the case of many CSA’s like Wellspring Farm.
That was our introduction to CSAs. Since then I’ve been reading about them and thinking of how our farm fits into such a model. Along the way I came across Betty Levine’s new book “An Endless Harvest – Preserving and Using Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs.“
The book begins with a five page introduction to the concept of CSAs and then dives into what do do with all the variety of produce you may get during the harvest season. One of the things about a CSA membership is you get what is in-season so you’ll undoubtedly get some things that are unfamiliar. Levine starts each section with some historical background on the vegetable followed by several recipes that use it and tips for storage and preservation.
The book is broken down by the season, what’s available from June and July, August to mid-October, late-October to December. It also has a chapter of recipes that use “lots of vegetables”.
Even if you’re not in a CSA you’ll find the book useful for when you’re wondering what to do with that Hubbard squash, Endive, or all that bounty of zuchinni.
The book is 121 pages including the introduction about CSA and over 200 recipes. You can order online ($16) at her web site via paypa. The note I got from Betty says the publication date is March 21st, 2008 – aiming for the end of winter perhaps… If you operate a vegetable or fruit CSA, you might want to consider offering the book to members as a resource to help them figure out what to do with all that bounty.
Outdoors: 24°F/20°F Partially Sunny
Farm House: 54°F/44°F Built new livestock carrier for van
Tiny Cottage: 61°F/48°F Sledding Day on the driveway with friends
Walter Jeffries Tinker, Tailor… A bit eclectic & a tad eccentric, polymath, quantum mechanic & Farmer. Also lucky at cards.
Thanks for the reference. We are in the process of signing up for a CSA (a bunch of neighbors are collaborating to get a local drop) and I’ve always wanted to can, this looks like it would be a simple reference guide. I’ll check it out.
Thank you Walter for your great review. Any orders of 1 to 9 books are $15.95 each. On any large orders there is a discount in your cost. For an order of 10 or more, the price per book would be $15; for 20 or more it would be $13; and for 30 or more it would be $10. New York State residents need to add an 8.25% sales tax. Shipping by USPS Media Rate would be free. Orders can be sent directly to me at Betty Levine, 235 Manorville Road, Saugerties, NY 12477.