Saturday, July 29, 2006

The new addition to the family


Big News! We've adopted!

No, not a child--a peach tree. Not just any peach tree, though--nothing less then an organic Elberta peach tree organically grown under the expert guidance of Mas Masumoto, a family farmer with an orchard in Fresno and also the author of the superlative "Epitaph for a peach: Four Seasons on a family farm."

Two trees were adopted in January by Slow Food Berkeley (I told you they were doing cool stuff) and the concept is pretty simple. Mas raises the trees and then the adoptive parents and their friends come and harvest the 200 pounds of fruit one weekend in late July or early August. We've finally received news that our crop is nearly ready, so I'll be heading out to the farm next Saturday to hand-pick my ten pounds. It's an unbelievable value, too--a one year adoption is only $250. You have to sign up well in advance and they only have a limited number of trees up for adoption, but it's something you might consider doing with your friends. Then, on the best weekend of summer you, too, could head to the farm and fill up your basket.

I'll post a full report upon my return, and some pictures and recipes, too.