Produce Guide:

1) Gravenstein Apples

2) Purple Heart Pluots

3) Mixed Cherry & Heirloom Tomatoes

4) Albion Strawberries

5) Radish Bunch (French Breakfast & Icicle Radishes)

6) Romaine Lettuce Heads

7) Flowering Anise Hyssop bouquet

8) Mixed Sweet Peppers (Jedi & Gypsy)

Friends of the Farm-

Happy Friday!

Putting aside the age-old Tomato as a fruit versus vegetable debate, we can all agree that this week's CSA produce box is flush with fruit. Gravenstein Apples delivered in time for this weekend's namesake Apple Fair in Sebastopol, Purple Heart Pluots, Albion Strawberries, and yes, Cherry / Heirloom Tomatoes are all here this week. Not to pick favorites of our farm's veggie and fruit "children", but the Purple Heart Pluots have been my favorite stone fruit to be picked yet this season. The flesh is super soft and juicy inside. These should be ready to eat or cook with right out of the box. 

This week's recipe comes with inspiration from one of our very own CSA families who shared their love of turning our fruit and herbs into drinks at their American Canyon home. We love how aromatic the Anise Hyssop is and how gently it can add nuance to a simple cocktail. See below for our Strawberry Anise Hyssop Gin & Tonic recipe. Quite refreshing with the heatwave ahead. 

Lastly, we welcome you to enjoy our weekly music playlist.

Heavy in this week's rotation was Madrill's 1973 album, Just Outside of Town. From it we've taken our playlist's lead track, Two Sisters of Mystery and a later, slower track She Ain't Lookin' Too Tough. Born in Panama and raised in Bed-Stuy Brooklyn, brothers Lou, Carlos, and Ric Wilson make the horn & funk heavy Afro-Caribbean music that carries a deep groove. Electronic music's early days are also represented in this week's mix with Silver Apples' Ruby and Gil Trythall's cover of Foggy Mountain Breakdown on the MOOG synthesizer. Both are unique for leaning on banjo or influences of country / bluegrass music. We had some fun with this one. Enjoy all this and more! 

All our best from the farm,

Tom & William and Live Oak Farm team

Strawberry Anise Hyssop Gin & Tonic

Ingredients:

1 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Water

20 Anise Hyssop Leaves

Albion Strawberries (muddle 5-10 per cocktail)

2 oz Gin

4-6 oz Tonic Water

*2 oz Anise Hyssop Syrup

Ice

Method:

*Start by preparing an Anise Hyssop simple syrup. Heat Anise Hyssop, water, and sugar in a small pot until boiling. Immediately turn off heat once boiling and leave pot to steep for 25-30 minutes.  

Muddle strawberries in a highball glass using a pestle or the end of a wooden spoon. Fill glass with ice and begin building your cocktail, first with Anise syrup, Gin, and then Tonic Water. Garnish with a fresh Anise Hyssop flower and sprig. Cheers!

Live Oak Farm Events

Thank you to those in our community who bought tickets to tomorrow evening's Farm to Table Dinner with beverage partner, Birk O'Halloran of Rockwell Vermouth & Iconic Wines. We're looking forward to a great evening with farm produce and local libations. 

For those not able to attend, but still interested in learning more about these wines and vermouths or wanting to try some for yourself, see link to each website below. As we continue to grow our farm's herb and native plant varieties, we look forward to continued partnership with Rockwell Vermouth and contributing botanicals to this fun project.

Iconic Wines 

Rockwell Vermouth

We're excited to continue to announce new events as we enter the Fall season. We invite you to check out our refreshed website and new Events Calendar tab to see what's happening at Live Oak Farm in the weeks ahead. We'll be offering a few different dinner formats (pricing / menu / day of the week), as well as Harvest Festival, and Fall Open house for our community at no charge, as well as weekly yoga.