Spa Agua Linda
June 1, 2008
Imagine, if you will, a day of yoga, mud baths, a steam in the sauna, muscle toning, sun tanning and a healthy meal of organic vegetables.
Sounds like a day at the spa, huh? I was giggling about this the other day as I was harvesting peas in the garden. We had just irrigated and I was ankle deep in mud. I quickly gave up on shoes when one of my crocks was sucked off and I had to dig around to fish it out of the wet ground. I was sliding and falling into the furrows so I tried to harvest as much as possible from one spot and found myself reaching and stretching into all kinds of awkward positions. I have never taken a yoga class but imagined that it would look something like this – minus the mud. Peas that weren’t that attractive, still need to be picked and rather than dropping them on the ground, I try to eat as many as I can, (not too many or you get a stomach ache – another lesson learned…). I forgot to put sun block on my lower back that day, forgetting that that part of me was exposed to the sun when I am bent over in the garden. I tried to position my back away from the rays, but ended up with a lovely oblong red shape cooked onto my lower back anyway. Perhaps not the all-over tan that I would get at a tanning salon, (something else I have never experienced), but the spa day continued…
After an exhausting hour or so of mud, yoga, organic snacks and tanning, I went to the greenhouse to water the tomato and chili seedlings, (if any of you read my February journal, you may recall Stewart, my husband, referring to the greenhouse as Zihuatanejo). A steamy cloud greeted me at the entrance and my 20 minutes in the “sauna” began. Then, off to the packing shed where the 5 gallon manual salad spinner awaited my puny, but growing, biceps. At 36 I am in the best shape I have ever been!
(If anyone wants to trade in his or her gym membership for some hours on the farm, the Agua Linda Fitness Center and Spa won’t charge you a penny!)
We had a small miracle here on the farm in the form of a fuzzy little gosling. It seems that every animal tragedy, (unfortunately there are a lot with the persistent predators of our desert) is followed by a happy birth of an animal. This spring one goose laid a pile of eggs and began diligently setting on them. Geese and hens will not get off their eggs for anything! Not food, not water and not a predator. We were confident that she was in a safe spot, but we were wrong. One morning she was gone and so were the eggs. The culprit was probably a bobcat. None of the other geese seemed interested in brooding and it looked as though there would be no new goslings this year. Then, one morning last week a goose that had been missing appeared with a darling little baby close at her side. She had found a spot under a tangled bush and had been there for weeks. We had no idea she was there!
The sows are about ready to have babies. We are questioning whether or not we want to continue with the pork business, however. Feeding the pigs is complicated. If we buy pig food, it is not cost effective. Buying in bulk doesn’t make sense at this relatively small scale, either. Getting reject vegetables from the produce warehouses in Nogales helps and the pigs love zucchini and other vegetables. Adam and C.J. (two of our employees) bring organic reject produce from markets in Tucson, too. The problem is all that stuff comes in boxes and bags and bundled with rubber bands, or even individually wrapped in tissue. The garbage is appalling! We can’t keep up! We have 15 piglets from last winter and more are on the way. Our pork is delicious, but the pork business is losing its appeal.
We have begun harvesting a few spring onions and garlic. We have the best! The last time we had an onion harvest Stewart, the kids, a local 13 year old, and I did it by ourselves. It took us the whole month of June. First Stewart loosened them up with a shovel, and then the kids and I loaded them into the bed of the truck. Then the greens were removed and they were stacked to dry. A few days later, they are sorted and cleaned up then weighed and bagged or stored. This year I am determined to get the job done in a couple of days. We have more onions than ever and I may be nuts, but I am hoping that some of CSA members, regular customers, family and YOU come help out!! If you think you can pitch in, give us a call or email me. Your day at the spa awaits!
The variety of produce increases as we move into the summer. Lettuce, which is our main crop in the winter, is done. As I am writing this we are harvesting beets, radishes, turnips, cilantro, spinach, arugula, carrots, kohlrabi, Asian choys, sugar snap peas, snow peas and fava beans. By the end of June we will start having squash, zucchini, cucumbers, onions, garlic and more herbs as well as most of the previously mentioned. We allow folks to pick some of the crops themselves, but the store is also stocked on the weekends.
Also: We are planning our First Annual Garlic and Onion Festival this month!! We are very excited! This event will be two evenings, the 20th and 21st from 5PM to 9PM. It is beautiful here in June at that time of day. There is no admission fee and we will be selling onion rings and other food/drinks. Live music, hayrides, petting zoo are all complimentary! Come early enough to pick some veggies! No RSVP needed.
Stir Fry with Choi heads and Peas
Sauce
2 tbsp low-fat vegetable or chicken stock
2 tbsp hoisin sauce (commonly used in stir fry recipes)
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp honey
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
Stir-fry
Vegetable oil
1 ½ cup sliced sweet onions
3 cups sliced mushrooms
3 cups sliced bell pepper (vary colors)
snow peas
choy head, chopped
In a small bowl, whisk together the stock, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, garlic and ginger. Set aside.
In a large nonstick skillet or wok sprayed with vegetable oil, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Stir-fry the onions until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and stir-fry until soft and browned, about 5 minutes. Add the peppers, peas and bok choy. Stir-fry just until the bok choy begins to turn dark green, about 3 minutes. Do not overcook.
Add the sauce and stir-fry for 1 minute.
Agua Linda Farm is a 63 acre family run farm in Amado Arizona. Go to www.AguaLindaFarm.net for more information or contact Stewart and Laurel Loew at 398-3218 or email stewart@AguaLindaFarm.net.
The farm is open to the public Saturdays 9 AM – 3PM and Sundays noon to 3 PM.
Copyright 2007 Laurel Loew
Comments
Got something to say?