I love the wonderful taste, unbelievable affordability, and the excellent quality of the produce you work so hard to grow. It is an adventure and a treat to work with these veggies! –a Ravenswood Manor shareholder

I have been a shareholder for the last 3 or 4 years and I have never had better produce. I just want you to know that I think you are fantastic and I rave about the farm every chance I get. I try to direct folks to your web site whenever I talk to someone who is interested in CSA’s. I just wanted to thank everyone at the farm for not only raising the best produce on the market, but also providing every shareholder with a sense of community and a vision of a brighter future. –Laura L, a Ravenswood Manor shareholder

I have to tell you, and I am sure you got a lot of emails and calls saying this same thing, but, here it is again…THIS IS THE MOST WONDERFUL SERVICE!!! THE VEGETABLES ARE SO GOOD!!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! Pick up for food was easy, and my drop location was very close (very helpful since I do not have a car, nor any real access to one). Thank you again. –Kassandra K, a Lakeview shareholder

We have greatly enjoyed being part of the Angelic Organics collective. It is warming to our souls to support such a creation – – earth-respecting and earth-supporting and earth-celebrating. –John and Jacki, Uptown shareholders

I just want to say once again how gorgeous the boxes continue to be. We have enjoyed every morsel all summer long. Angelic Organics is one of the most wonderful parts of our life–and the rest of our life is pretty good, so this is a big complement! We love you all for nourishing our bodies, minds, and souls. We look forward to the newsletters as much as the food! –Marie R, a Hyde Park shareholder

Last week I was struck by how alive and life-like your Angelic Vegetables are. Prior to becoming an Angelic shareholder, I’ve always thought of vegetables as inanimate objects. I now think of them as living things with a spirit and a life. Thanks for enlightening us. –an Evanston-North shareholder

Just a note of thanks.. This is our first year as shareholders. We look forward to Wednesday deliveries with joy and anticipation! We have been sharing our box with our back door neighbors and they too have enjoyed this experience! We have tried many new greens for the first time. And delightfully discovered that they not only do not taste bad….but are a delight! We would never know chard or beet greens or the interesting herbs or heirloom tomatoes (they are tasty!) that can be eaten in salads without your entry to our lives. Thanks for the enrichment. We are signing up for next year with anticipation.  –Jan and Mike, Warrenville shareholders

Thank you for a very bountiful summer. I have shared my box of produce with my neighbors. I feel spoiled by many luxuries in my life-and you are certainly on that list. Because I pick up my box on Wednesdays, the middle of the week never looked so good (or tasted so good!).  –Mary J, a Westmont shareholder

The food is wonderful. The box is like a birthday present every week. Thank you so much for doing what you do. –Pam S, an Edgewater/Andersonville shareholder

There is something to be said about being in time with the seasons. It just feels right. Your work has made our table and therefore our lives, healthier. –a Rockford shareholder

We can’t say enough about the veggies that you all provide. You all should be very very very proud. God Bless You All We always are more than pleased with just how filled our box is. We must also mention that the packing of the box is excellent, never a crushed veggie, always in the right type of bag, packed with tender loving care. Every veggie fresh and ripe, and clean. One more thing, the delivery of the veggies is always on time, good job!! –Mike and Josie, Westmont shareholders

Every week picking up our box is like opening up a treasure chest. All of you do an incredible job toiling in the fields, kitchen, on the computer keys. All of us who benefit from your labors are very appreciative. –a Ravenswood Manor shareholder

Hello my hardworking farmers who allow my family to enjoy such wonderful foods!!! I’m a new shareholder and have been meaning to write to you all season … I’m sad that there are only two weeks left for this season but I must say you’ve added so much goodness and joy to my life. You’ve presented a whole new world to me. I’m cooking more now, from scratch, trying new recipes, feeling good inside knowing I’m providing fabulously healthy food for my family and just feeling “wholer” about the food process in general. I’ve been drawn to organic food in the past and have felt urgings to delve deeper into this area (possibly becoming a vegetarian in the future?!?!?) and you’ve made this transition so easy and enjoyable. I love the newsletter. I will definitely buy a cook book when it comes out because I’m just learning how to store, care for and even pronounce some of these veggies. I always look forward to Wednesdays and I’ve told ALL my friends about you (a friend of a friend hooked me up to you in the first place). In fact, people in my homeopathic study group said I should be a spokesperson for Angelic because I’m so enthusiastic. We visited you at the first (outrageously hot) open house and look forward to coming back next year. Being a part of your farm is so cool for me. I had never heard of biodynamic farming before. How wonderful to be a part of that. I enjoyed the flyer you included about Anthroposophy — got information from the Society in Ann Arbor. In my weekly “spiritual” lessons I receive at home (I’m a Rosicrucian) it was suggested I read some works by Rudolph Steiner. I love it when things like this happen in my life. I tried the celeriac/leek soup recipe you included last week and it was great. Is there any possibility of receiving beans (green, wax, lima), peas and/or parsnips next year? There is an old Tibetan belief that “unlike grass which can be wiped out in a strong wind, we are as the earth.” It’s because of dedicated, hardworking, generous people like you who make up the rich soil of that earth. I thank you for that. –Mario H, a Bartlett shareholder

As a mother who cooks and shops for the majority of our family meals and snacks, I feel like I am feeding my family the nutritional equivalent of gold when I serve them your produce. We have never eaten higher quality food. –a Westmont shareholder

Sincere thanks for such a warm introduction to “vital vegetables”! I thoroughly enjoyed the surprises in my weekly box. I can feel the difference well-ness wise. –a Warrenville shareholder

We enjoy our summer share so much and have spread the organics gospel to our friends. Our humble box now feeds 4 households and finds us gathering on Saturdays to peer into the miracle box, claiming new and interesting fruits of your labor. Okay, the tetragonia greens threw us all for a run to the library cooking book section, but more often we haggle over the contents in order to start on our own veggie recipes. It has been a wonderfully social summer of food sharing. Thank you. –Hilda R, a Logan Square shareholder

How wonderful it is to get much of our produce locally grown, avoiding the strain on the ecology of having vegetables driven hundreds of miles by long-haul truckers in diesel-eating monsters. –an Edgewater/Andersonville shareholder

I just wanted to thank you for the delicious vegetables you bring us every week! I haven’t tasted such fresh produce since my parents had a garden when I was a kid. I’m cooking lots of new recipes each week and my 2 year old daughter loves to eat peppers, tomatoes and carrots every Wednesday afternoon! I’m so happy we are a part of the CSA community. –Jeannine E, a Westmont shareholder

The hard work that all of you do is truly an inspiration and I want you to know that picking up my box every week is like getting a Christmas present! –Dan K, an Andersonville/Edgewater shareholder

The veggies have been fabulous! We were so looking forward to the start of our boxes and have not been disappointed!! This is our third year and we have recruited many folks for you – little advertising is necessary – we just invite them over for a summer dinner! –Erica and Laurie, Rogers Park shareholders

Just wanted to let you know that your hard work is very appreciated. We’ve been CSA subscribers for four years … the last two with Angelic… and we have never seen an early box so full! Our kids remarked, “Now that’s a green dinner, Mom!” Those THREE heads of broccoli in our box will be used for a village-wide potluck on the fourth of July. Your green thumbs are amazing! Thank you.  –Michael and Joan, Evanston-North shareholders

The produce arrived almost without exception in excellent condition and at the peak of freshness. The quantity of produce was an ample amount for my family of four (two kids) for a week. –a Warrenville shareholder

Every Saturday marked the beginning of week long celebration. The food nourished and inspired me, and the pain I always experience while shopping in supermarkets fell away. –a Hyde Park shareholder

we are first time customers and want to let you know how impressed we are.you run a great operation and have great food! –Louise and Jeff, Hyde Park shareholders

I picked up my last box yesterday and felt so sad to see it end, I went home and re-read some old farm newsletter copies! My niece was a shareholder too who split the box with me. Every time we went to pick it up, she’d open it and say, “Oh, this was SUCH a good idea!” Getting the box and splitting it with her was like getting a double present-a box of incredible vegetables and another opportunity to get to know her better. –Jo K, a Ravenswood Manor shareholder

This is our first year as shareholders with Angelic Organics (or any community supported agriculture group for that matter). Our decision to purchase our share had to do with our growing awareness of environmental issues surrounding “mass production agricultural practices.” Those same concerns have prompted us to switch to a vegetarian diet and to purchase as many organic, locally grown products as possible (or sometimes do without).I can tell you that we have been very pleased with everything that we have received. I especially like all of the lettuces (and I really love it when there is more than a random leaf of arugula in the mesclun – you can never have too much arugula in my opinion). The quality and variety of the vegetables is terrific, in my opinion, and the quantity is about what we expected. I would love to become a volunteer at some point. I like the idea of having a personal connection with food that we are consuming. I think Angelic Organics is terrific. My only regret is that we did not find you sooner. Thanks for everything. –Vickie W, a Wilmette shareholder

Isn’t it like Christmas every week when you open that box? You never know what you’ll find, but you know that something there will delight you. –an Edgewater/Andersonville shareholder

Thanks for providing us with delicious and nutritious vegetables all summer and autumn as well as your ever thoughtful insights through the newsletter. We are grateful to have Angelic Organics in our lives.–a Wicker Park shareholder

I also want to thank you for this opportunity to obtain organic food. I saw you one day delivering to the Hyde Park site and was immediately struck by the feeling that there are still people in America who will work for a good cause and not mass economic gain. No, I’m not a quack, just someone who remembers a time when people seemed to care about each other and the environment. Take care. –Amelia O, a Hyde Park shareholder

Just wanted to let you know how much I love your produce. I’ve been ‘dabbling’ in organic items for quite some time so this seemed like the likely route to continue on. You now have a customer for life. I have fallen in love with Wednesdays ( my pickup date). Even my kids want to know “what’s in the box?” The best is this. My mother has been won over. This is a very stubborn 75 yr old woman who could never understand my making a special trip to Whole Foods when Dominick’s was just around the corner. “Organic Smorganic… it’s all the same” And now, she’s been stopping in at Whole Foods on her way home from work…. I love it! I think it was the beets, I heard for weeks how sweet those beets were… You guys are great! I appreciate every bit of work you do, when it rains I think about you and hope it helps the crops. I photocopy your newsletter and leave copies at work every week. Maybe it’ll help? If not for orders, it just might awaken a few minds. –Chris M, a Park Ridge shareholder

Everything has been wonderful this year. The selection of vegetables and fruits has been perfect. Thanks. –Vicki B, an Oak Park-North shareholder

dear everyone at angelic organics, first of all, thank you for the fabulous boxes of vegetables. you all have made a tremendous effort to make the most of the growing season so far. this is our first year of getting your share boxes. it’s a bit of a challenge for two of us to finish off a whole box in a week, but so far, so good. we’ve had fun trying new recipes. the best so far have been a broccoli pasta sauce from viana la place’s “verdura”, and a cauliflower curry from deborah madison’s “vegetarian cooking for everyone”. no matter what we make, though, everything tastes so good and fresh! –Sally and Gary, Ravenswood Manor shareholders

My husband and I are the parents of a child who suffers from multiple chemical sensitivities. I appreciate your organic produce not just because I respect your efforts but also because it is essential to our son’s well being. –a Westmont shareholder

Thank you all at CSA Angelic Organics for the boxes of bright energy that we have received each Saturday for the past umpteen weeks. –a Lincoln Park shareholder

In mid-winter we still remember vividly the pleasure we got from eating your produce all summer –a Westmont shareholder

Thanks for another wonderful season! Each year, I’m more and more delighted with the contents of the box [and Grandma continues to rave over the beets]. My only regret that the season is over already, but I got my postcard confirming next year so I’ll dream of June. I served a plate of tomatoes, some from my lone tomato plant in the backyard, and some from the box. One of the diners couldn’t believe how wonderful the tomatoes tasted, and called me the “tomato goddess of Rockford!” So, since there was a fifty-fifty chance the tomato he ate was from the box, I’m sharing the title with Angelic Organics. Thanks for a great year! –Elizabeth H, a Rockford shareholder

An awesome box!! Thank you for all your hard work this season. My 18 month old son squeals with delight when he sees the ears of corn, and would probably eat it raw if I let him. All your efforts in this wild summer weather we’ve had are much appreciated. –Susan S, an Arlington Heights shareholder

I work on a cardiac unit in the hospital here and I brought our busy report session to a halt Wednesday by going on and on about how buoyed I was that morning knowing my first box was on its way. We all started talking about cooking from scratch and the joy of fresh, unpoisoned veggies. One nurse had been in the Philippines and reminisced about the open air markets and cooking there. We were dragged back soon to the realities of our urgency-ridden surroundings, but we had all enjoyed the earthy time of nourishment that we had talking about Angelic Organics!! –Anne B, a Warrenville shareholder

How refreshing it is to meet a group concerned with enriching the bounties our Mother Earth offers instead of scuttling our future through heedless use. –a Bucktown shareholder

An additional delight of being a shareholder is that I have gotten over my fear of the unknown. I have a mission each week – to make a wonderful something out of everything that I receive. I totally freaked out last year when I pulled a space ship (kohlrabi) out of the box. But it became the basis for some good eatin’. I’ve learned that cucumbers cook up well in a soup or stew, and nothing tastes as wonderful as an heirloom tomato. Last year I struggled to use the Mesclun Mix. I finally learned to bury it in a soup, or saute it (what a nice bed for a salmon steak). Just yesterday, I peeked into the tiny organic section of my local mega-chain grocery – Mesclun Mix is going for $7.99 a pound. I’ll show it some respect from now on! Please know that most of us truly appreciate the labor of love that you are doing. I am (hopefully) a cancer survivor, and I try my best to avoid chemicals, antibiotics etc. My Wednesday box is a wonderful, positive thing in my life. Farmer John & Company – I love you! –Melody R, a Highland Park shareholder

The panic attack that began with the end of last year’s produce is finally gone, as the veggies start arriving again and we rush each Wednesday night to get the cooking greens in a pot and the other greens in a salad bowl. –an Oak Park shareholder

I am remiss in writing to thank you, and am sitting at my computer to thank you for the wonderful box of vegetables we have each and every week. I am not a “farmer type person” in the least, so I very much appreciate all of your efforts. I have a small family and often times cannot eat everything in our box so have shared it with the people I work with. They are so excited when I walk through door on Thursday! I want you to know how valued you are here on the North Shore. It’s incredible the flavor of all the vegetables and the variety. There is nothing like it in any grocery store. I am sorry you have had such incredible weather to deal with this year, yet in spite of it all, you still produce boxes brimming with food and a newsletter to boot! Bravo!!! Again, my apologies for not taking the time earlier to express my thanks! We will definitely sign up again for next year. I am going through my cookbooks to find recipes for tomatoes! Can’t wait to eat them plain and in other dishes! With sincere gratitude for all you do,–Cindy H, a Wilmette shareholder

This is our first year as shareholders. I cannot even begin to tell you how absolutely wonderful our experience with our weekly fresh vegetable box has been. Since we have no previous experience to compare with, it has been excellent! We have no complaints about the amount and the quality is much better than anything we expected for organic produce. The watermelons and cantaloupe have been the most delicious we have ever tasted. One of the yellow watermelons was absolutely the best! The mesclun mix has been my personal favorite since I eat salad every day. I have often shared my box with family and friends, especially the abundant basil. Although we have not visited the farm, our intention is to join the final open house This has been a great experience for our family. My kids have now tasted many vegetables that I would not normally purchase. We enjoy the newsletters and learning about some quite interesting topics. THANK YOU for a wonderful experience and your work. You are truly doing something great for our earth and us, the average person!!! –Eva, Paul, Emi and Tomas, Warrenville shareholders

I just ate the year’s most perfect tomato. It was a huge sucker — one of those habanero-orange heirloom varieties. When I say ‘huge’ I mean at least a pound. And it was so ripe it was starting to burst. One day on my counter and it was beginning to melt. I ate it tonight. I had just turned off the burner on some tofu I was cooking and took up the tomato. I was going to slice it and have it with dinner. I rinsed it, cut away some mushy parts, and then cut my first to-keep slice. I picked it up and tried a part. I paused a second at that first bite. It was…. awesome. I paused just that brief second, and then started eating it right there at the cutting board. Knife, then salt shaker, then back to knife. All the time eating tomato. Every time I took a bite, the world faded. The flavor was amazing, indescribable. Full, rich, the perfect amount of acidity, the perfect amount of that resinous tomato flavor. I finished it quickly, not quickly enough while I was engaged in it — when I still had a huge tomato in my hand; but too quickly now that it is gone. I sit here, in tomato afterglow. The Summer has been consummated. Thanks, and keep up the good work. –Todd G, a Ravenswood Manor shareholder

We’ve enjoyed trying so many “new” vegetables, and getting the familiar veggies that are SO MUCH BETTER than any of the supermarket ones. –a St. Benedict’s shareholder

The vegetables were beautiful this year and we loved the variety. Every week opening our box was like opening a gift. Thanks for all of your hard work. –Joan M, an Oak Park-North shareholder

My 3 year old upon eating your watermelon declared that he wanted to be a watermelon farmer when he grows up. This is particularly significant, since for the last year he has always wanted to be a firefighter. I guess it was a pretty inspiring slice of watermelon. –Chaz M, an Evanston-North shareholder

I would like to comment on the brussels sprouts from the past 2 weeks. I have been a shareholder for 5 years now, and I never liked brussels sprouts before. i wanted no part of those limp,bitter, stinky things my parents sometimes ate. Then I joined the farm. I now love brussel sprouts, and can’t wait until the end of the season comes around so we can eat them! I steamed them first, then just slightly sauteed them in butter, salt and pepper, and squeezed a little lemon juice on them. WOW!!!!!! They were awesome. Every week I come home with the box, open up all of the vegetables onto the kitchen table to marvel at their beauty. Then I call my husband in to check out their beauty (the savoy cabbage was especially gorgeous this year. It was almost a shame to eat it!). Then I say to him, very gravely, “I love that farm,” and he says back “I know you do.” I love Saturdays, because its farm days. –Paula L, a Wicker Park shareholder

The first garlic I got from you was so amazing….I had one radish that I split with my sister and I’ve been dreaming about it ever since. You have helped me to expand the variety of what I eat on a regular basis- even when I go to the grocery store. Thanks. –a Wicker Park shareholder

Harvested just the day before, the flavor was outstanding and the variety of vegetables and melons reflected the rhythms of the Midwest –an Evanston-South shareholder

Getting fresh organic veggies every week made a very large and positive change in our diet. We really learned to LOVE fresh greens, chard and spinach the most. –Coyle W, a Park Ridge shareholder

I wanted to tell you that never in my life have i liked tomatoes. In my first box, i gave almost all of them away. It wasn’t until someone offered me a slice of one of the tomatoes i gave to her when i realized how much i love tomatoes. I almost weeped! Never in my life have i tasted such wonderful, heavenly tomatoes! Now, i rarely give them away–i want them for myself, besides, there usually aren’t any left to give to anyone! Also, I was at a party where one of your competitors has a drop location. The pick-up date had already passed, and they were giving away all the extra produce. When asked if i wanted a box, i said, obviously, no, since i have plenty of vegetables at home. When i mentioned that i got my vegetables from Angelic Organics, everyone knew exactly who i was talking about. I was told that you were one, if not the best of all the CSA’s around! I agreed, of course (then we started to talk about tomatoes). One last question…do you have any more of your Angelic Organics organic tshirts? I would love to purchase a small or a medium, and i lost the form that told me how much they are, where to send my money in, etc. If you have any left, how would i go about getting one? –Kassandra K, a Lakeview shareholder

This is my first year as a share holder and week after week I can hardly believe my eyes or my taste buds. The quality, beauty and freshness of the produce we have been getting is unbelievable. My family and I are truly impressed. Thank you for a job more than well done! –Gina W, a Westmont shareholder

Thanks for a great season. The squash and pumpkins are still standing around to remind me of the wonders of you! Can’t wait ’til next year.–an Oak Park-South shareholder

Our first delivery of 2001 arrived and it truly seemed as much like the future as the film 2001 did when it first came out! This looks like evidence that we’re going into the best, most prolific year ever… In fact, we would’ve written sooner to acknowledge how wonderful the delivery was, but we spent Wednesday night stuffing everything into our refrigerator (and barely made it, even *after* we ate a huge salad, cooked up garlic tops with summer squash, and I think something else). Thursday we had company for dinner and made teriyaki beets and MORE salad. Friday and through the weekend we spent every non-working hour cooking and eating. Not sure how two people will eat all this food in a week. But mind you, we are NOT complaining! This is great. The beets were a real surprise. Never remembering them in a first delivery (or even 2nd, 3rd, or 4th) before, we went ahead and bought a bunch of beets at the Farmer’s Market on Sat. before the Wed. delivery, being *sure* that would be one thing we didn’t get. But no problem…there’s always room for beets, and those wonderful beet greens. If we get more this week, it’s probably time for a chocolate beet cake, which we haven’t done since last summer. On the other hand, it’s hard to bake those wonderful and beautiful beets into a cake. You lose the whole effect, in a way. But then again, that cake is sooooooo… good. Guess that’s about all the time we have to write. Have to get back to eating so there will be room for a new delivery in two days. –Kathleen and Jo, Oak Park-North shareholders

We oohed and ahhed over the variety and quantity of the box. Each item we tried was delicious. –a Highland Park shareholder

Just wanted to thank you for a wonderful season and experience. Your veggies taste better than any others. By getting a variety each week, we have tried new foods and expanded our cooking repertoire. We have a baby boy who is just starting to eat solid foods and I have felt good feeding him your delicious, organic vegetables. He especially loves the beets. –Paula C, a Rogers Park shareholder

I wanted to let you all know that simply picking up and unpacking my shareholder’s box is a sensual delight that I look forward to every week. We are new shareholders, and I suppose at the beginning that I was a little disappointed to see that we weren’t going to save any money off our grocery bill by belonging – we still have to buy fruit, and a few extra vegetables weekly. But the box has had such a wonderful effect on my enthusiasm for cooking! And we feel safer eating organic, and we love having a farm of our own, and everything tastes better, so we decided quickly that it was well worth it. For us, the highlights of the season so far have been: -That round, small melon with the smooth grey-green skin and crisp flesh that is orange centrally and green near the rind – was it orange honeydew? Bite for bite, it was the tastiest melon we’ve ever had. -Produce in surprise colors, like golden beets, purple scallions, and yellow watermelons -Your cucumbers have been so delicious – small, delicate seeds, and not a hint of bitterness. And it’s so nice not to have to peel them! -I never tried mesclun before because I thought it was pretentious yuppie food. Wow was I surprised and delighted! What a kicking flavor! -At the beginning of the onion season you sent us a big sweet onion that I cooked into a casserole with the summer squash, garlic and parsley from that week’s box. It’s a nice casserole usually, but this onion transformed it into something irresistible. -Those beets just melt in your mouth. I’m so glad the second beet season is around the corner! Thanks so much for your hard work! –Lise W, an Evanston North shareholder

When I received one of my boxes this summer, and discovered this huge orange round tomato in it I decided to serve it as a side dish for dinner that night to my guests Patti and Don. These two are world travelers, and a cooking challenge. I cut thick slices, gently fanned them out on a beautiful green depression glass plate, topped it with some balsamic & garlic vinegar, and garnished it with chopped chives. When Patti and Don were eating they heartily helped themselves to my orange tomato which turned out to be as sweet as watermelon with practically no seeds in it whatever. Afterwards, rather sheepishly, Patti asked, “Hey Mi, this orange stuff is really great, but what is it?” –Mila T, an Oak Park-North shareholder

My husband picked up our box on Wed. and going through all the goodies was so exciting – like a kid in a candy shop (but so much healthier). We’ve been eating salads every night. It seems so extravagant. Saturday night dinner was the best so far. I mixed up a salad of mesclun, spinach, radishes and onions with a light dressing. Then I sliced the beets, yellow squash and zucchini and marinated them in olive oil flavored with finely chopped oregano, basil and garlic tops(which I’ve never seen before). I grilled the veggies and served them hot over the cold salad. Yummmmm!!! Looking forward to next weeks bounty!! –Margaret T, an Arlington Heights shareholder

Everything has been great and even the ones that originally hadn’t seemed so appealing such as kale and chard we’ve “grown” to not only like but actually buy during the winter months. –a Wicker Park shareholder

I am a first year shareholder, and I simply loved your produce. As I’m a cancer survivor, you may truly be saving my life. . . .I loved the fact that you introduced me to such a wide variety of new vegetables. Thank you. –Arlene S, an Edgewater/Andersonville shareholder

I’m a first year shareholder from Rockford and I want to let you know that I love getting a box each week. I’m pleased to receive wonderful organic products and support a farm that for me is very local. The vegetable variety is a little challenging for us, but we’re managing to broaden our horizons a bit. Realizing that a nearby grandma loves beets solved that challenge for us — she reports they are wonderful! I think the quality and quantity of our boxes has been amazing. The corn was absolutely the best I’ve ever eaten, and I’ve eaten a lot of corn. I don’t won’t buy any at the grocer’s after tasting yours. And the potatoes from several weeks ago — beyond compare. But the various salad greens are my favorite. Our 2 1/2 year old loves to help pick up the box and investigate what is in it. Maybe next year she’ll eat more of the contents. Keep up the good work! –Elizabeth H, a Rockford shareholder

I just wanted to send you a fan letter for the wonderful tomatoes and melons in our boxes — not that everything else isn’t great, but I LOVE tomatoes and melon. Having eaten all the tomatoes from last week’s box, I sliced into a store-bought tomato last night. I did get a slight “vine ripened” aftertaste but, frankly, it could have been a piece of tomato-flavored styrofoam. And we just finished up a yellow melon (cantaloupe? who cares!) from the week before. We savored it, knowing it would be the last for a long cold winter. Thanks for all your hard work! –Jill R, a Hyde Park shareholder

We have been seduced by the bounty and the flavor of the good food in the boxes. Count us as very satisfied. We have been very happy with the quality and the cleanliness (!) of the produce. There’s only two of us, and it has been work to eat everything. Also, we would never have chosen some of the veggies in the box had we been shopping in a market, so we have been introduced to beets, chard and eggplant. I used to DETEST eggplant, but this fresh eggplant is very good. On a couple of weeks we were out of town, so friends of ours picked up the veggies and were equally pleased. –Teresa and Erin, Lakeview shareholders

My husband and I just ate one of your butterscotch melons for the first time this morning for breakfast. What a treat! It was wonderful. I just made fresh juice with the rest of it. Thanks for allowing us to try new things and enjoy the fruits of your labor. –Allison N, a Logan Square shareholder

Okay, so today’s vegetables were wicked awesome. This year I”m splitting it 3 ways-and that is so much better. We ate zucchini tonight, and lettuce and radishes and kale-which I had always had trouble coming up with a recipe for-with the white beans, very good. I’ve had a lot of health problems in the last year, but I am feeling better already. I know that these vegetables are as good as they get. Thank you. –Lauren L, an Andersonville/Edgewater shareholder

We were overwhelmed by the size of this weeks box. The Brussels sprouts are incredible and we love the garlic, the potatoes and the pumpkins. This was our first season buying produce this way, and we love it! We looked forward to every Wednesday to see what’s in the box. Planning meals became interesting again in our life. The variety of greens, herbs, onion, and melons were fantastic. We love Angelic Organics! –Doug and Marjorie, Highland Park shareholders

At this point in time I must say I’m in heaven with heirloom tomatoes!!! I happen to just truly adore their flavor beyond any other kind of tomato. I also filled out the survey last year and indicated my interest in having more and it seems that’s so — although I did plant them in my pots on my deck this summer just to be sure I had enough!–Nancy G, an Evanston-South shareholder

I can tell you that my 4 year old son is thoroughly enjoying the ear of corn that he is working on, with a pat of butter on a fork in one hand, and the corn balanced by it’s handle in the other. He says that the white kernels taste best. And this after insisting that he doesn’t like corn, and won’t eat it for dinner no matter what. One bite of mine solved that little issue. Thanks for all of your hard work, the veggies are yummy. –Chaz M, an Evanston-South shareholder

Thank you for three weeks of wonderful eating. I feel great. You know, the vegetables have a sweetness to them that I almost forgot about – the cauliflower especially and the zucchini and even the lettuce. I refrigerate them right away and carefully plan how to use them the rest of the week. Of course, as the sole eater of the box, I have to eat 2 humongous salads each day. For the past two weeks, I’ve had spinach salad for breakfast (spinach with a hot sauce poured over made from vinegar, onions, sugar, pepper and salt – crumbled bacon and slices of hard boiled egg on top). For lunch most days, my salad is a one meal dish-mesclun and the heading varie Zties plus the other raw veggies thinly sliced. Then I open a can of tuna (packed in oil), shake some lemon pepper over it and add a few cloves of pressed garlic. With a fork I mix it up and then dump it on the salad, followed by the juice of a freshly squeezed lime. For the Dover House pot luck this Wednesday, I plan to make a shredded turnip salad. I will shred all the turnips from my box, immediately squeeze limes over it (lime juice prevents freshly cut veggies from getting brown), and add some presoaked golden raisins. I’m not sure which spice to use, maybe ground cloves. To consume all the veggies, I can’t eat out. I’m always full, but I’m not gaining weight. I’m losing weight (my intention). What a pleasant way to do it! –Dawn P, an Uptown shareholder

Hi! I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed one of the heirloom tomatoes in our box last week. The tomato was unusual in appearance, being more chocolate brown in color with just a little bit of the usual red. The flavor and texture were amazing. It was easily the best tomato I’ve had this year. I love fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes and have had many good ones this summer but that one was a real treat. Thanks! Keep up the great work! –Chris L, a Lakeview shareholder

Just wanted to let you know that the arugula in the final regular box of the season was *amazing*–the best I have ever had, hands down. It had a deliciously spicy taste that just exploded in your mouth with every bite, and the texture was awesome too. Thanks for the arugula!!!! –Dave A, a Hyde Park shareholder

I imagine that picking a cucumber for every box is a prickly event…so I want to say thanks. I got to eat mine today…and it was the best cucumber that I have ever eaten. It tasted of sun and clean water and reminded me of my dad’s vegetable patch when I was a kid. Thanks. –Chaz M, an Evanston-South shareholder

I’m not usually an affirmer, but last night I cut into your cabbage, and it felt springier than a store cabbage. I had planned to steam it, but when I tasted some raw leaf, it was flavorful and juicy, I couldn’t bear to subject it to further processing. So I made a peanut sauce, and enjoyed it. Thanks! –Don W, a Hyde Park shareholder

My boyfriend and I are first time Angelic members and we are loving the variety and quality of the boxes that I have been picking up. I joined in an effort to begin eating more healthy foods and to encourage myself to try cooking at home more than eating out or buying prepared foods. So far, my experiment has worked! I’ve been cooking up a storm – pasta with greens, fresh cucumber salads, broccoli and cauliflower soup (I made two batches and froze some), sauteed greens with cannoli beans, buttery steamed squash, grilled scallions, and so much more. I’m looking forward to learning how to can from my mom and trying to replicate her super pickled beets! Sometimes the boxes can be a bit big for two people, so I often share my bounty with my family and friends – everyone I know has been eating great salads this year and loving it! I look at every box as a new challenge – to try out new recipes AND to try to cram everything in my fridge! Thanks for supplying such great stuff – I have friend who belong to other CSA’s that just don’t seem to run as smoothly – small underpacked boxes, no swap box, no newsletter (very important as without the explanation sometimes I wouldn’t be able to identify some of the contents – the bok choy from Angelic was very tender and tasty, and totally unlike the huge woody bunches I see at the supermarket). So – keep up the great work – I’m totally looking forward to the cooking class at Whole Foods on July 29th and I’m also hoping to come out to the farm on the 22nd to see it all in person. –Paula and Steve, Wilmette shareholders

Just wanted to let you know I loved the brussels sprouts. So did my husband and he’s not a big veggie eater. I’m still working on my kids … I had never seen brussels sprouts on the stalk. What an ingenious design, eh? We’ve only received one cauliflower this year (I think) so I would’ve loved to have more of those. Everything else was great. Not sure if I mentioned this in my last e-mail but I would’ve like more oregano. THANKS!!! Have a great winter. See you next spring!!! –Mary H, a Bartlett shareholder

I wanted to write all of you at the farm and let you know that I and my 3-year-old daughter have been delighted with the weekly box of food. Our meals center around that box. Each week we head over to the pick-up site, head home with the little red wagon loaded with food, and excitedly go through the box on the kitchen table at home to discuss what everything is, and to begin planning our meals. We look through cookbooks, come up with our recipes, hunt down any extra ingredients if needed, and begin cooking. We schedule what gets eaten right away, what can be stored to the end of the week, and what gets cooked and frozen to provide dinner for the Friday before our next box. Our weekend events center around the Saturday delivery.

Our membership in this co-op has expanded my cooking range–we eat a better variety of food, and I am more creative in the kitchen that when left to my own devises. My favorite part of the co-op is that I DON’T know what I am getting, and sometimes I am getting something I have never cooked before. Very exciting! Our absolute favorite box so far was the one with the fennel. Since we got to the pick-up site late, the swap box was loaded with fennel from the less experimental in our group. Their loss, since I now have three fabulous recipes for fennel dishes, including one of my daughter’s all-time favorite, which I will mail you later, so I don’t have to retype it. A most excellent culinary week, which we both enjoyed thoroughly. So thanks especially for the fennel, and we are looking forward to fennel in next year’s boxes as well. The variety of herbs has been a constant source of unexpected pleasures to us–as tea drinkers. We love the melons, and this week’s abundance of tomatoes allows me to make a couple of my favorite homemade pasta sauces, using quickly sauteed tomatoes and fresh herbs, with a touch of honey, tossed over fresh pasta. Delightful and quick, because I think’s it’s a crime to take such beautiful and tasty fresh tomatoes and cook them into paste. So, we have been thrilled with our first year with Angelic Organics, and are looking forward to many more years with you. Perhaps when my daughter is a little older we’ll make the car trip out to visit. But meanwhile, we experience the farm through the great newsletter, and our weekly ritual of seeing, tasting, and creating. –Carol and Gracie, Ravenswood Manor shareholders

I was moved to tears reading this weeks newsletter and just want to let you know what an honor you all give us shareholders by nurturing our lovely vegetables and fruits. I truly do feel the love you send us when I open my box each week, as I prepare my family’s food, and share this wonderful earth’s goodness with family and friends. Often I make a lunch for myself – slow preparation, enjoying the whole process. And when I sit down to eat, this glorious food calls me to go slow, breathe and be thankful. I look out my window, see the blue sky, feel the warmth of the yellow sun, and I am centered, at peace, by the grace of this bounty you provide me with. Thank you! Thank you! Angelic Organics. –Mary F, a Warrenville shareholder

Every week I read the newsletter & every week I find a little something I can take with me & store for future use. I don’t always pick up my own box since we have to drive out to the farm to pick up & 2 other friends do the same. We take turns depending on who is more available for that week. One of the people that picks up for me forgot to get the newsletter one week & it made my box incomplete! I made sure to tell her where they were for the future & not to forget it again. Of course the vegetables were still beautiful but the connection wasn’t completely there. I’ve found that in the past few weeks after the tragedy at the World Trade Center I’ve really waited for my newsletter. Somehow it makes me feel connected to people who might understand the deep sorrow I feel over the loss to the world. I’m still searching for the words to explain what I feel, but after reading my newsletter tonight with the little notes from people who felt compelled to send veggies & people who received them – I felt the need to write & say how happy I am to be a part of something so nurturing & healing in a world that sometimes seems broken. When John wrote “Inside Out” in the newsletter after September 11th, I just sat & read as my family was waiting to go out together. I think it was just what I needed to hear, to really put into words some of the ideas I believe – like the role we all play in this. John has a way of writing that lets a person see things in a different way – to explore. It’s so easy to remove ourselves from this sort of tragedy when we aren’t directly affected by a loss. The same way it’s easy to remove ourselves from what’s going on now – what our government is doing (the retaliation thing). The choices we make in all that we do have an affect on the world in some small way. That’s why the choice to become & stay a member of Angelic Organics seems to be my way of making a positive difference in the world by setting an example for my children & all the people I meet & talk to about organics & your farm. It’s a bright spot in a sometimes not so bright world. As concerned “World Citizens” we have to make positive choices for our future & our children’s. Angelic Organics is one of those choices. As John mentioned in the newsletter – Community Supported Agriculture wasn’t around 20 years ago – it was a fantasy. So maybe by making better choices we can make other fantasies come true. John Lennon wrote of a fantasy in his song “Imagine” many years ago: “Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will be as one.” – John Lennon Maybe if more people believe in his fantasy it could come true also. It can’t hurt to try. Anything’s possible! — Joan S, a Beloit shareholder

It helps that you communicate what is going on through the newsletter. I am always touched, every single time I read it. It is always so personal, and well…loving. I have commented to my husband as well as other people I’ve talked to, “Those people are amazing! I don’t know how they make it all happen.” I am so grateful for this wonderful opportunity to eat your beautiful vegetables, and at the risk of sounding evangelical, I think of every single one of them as a sacred gift. It seems ironic though, doesn’t it, to have such scarcity of safe to eat/nourishing vegetables on this planet. I don’t want my apples from Australia. I want to eat in season, fruits and vegetables grown locally. I want to eat whatever the earth (with your help) sends my way, in my area. I think maybe that the Earth provides what we need, at the time we need them. If it’s not a year for corn, well then maybe we would be better off not eating it that year. Maybe there are reasons for these things, hidden as they may be. Nature is loving and abundant, and we are so lucky to have all that we do. Over the past couple of years it has been a challenge for me to use up all the vegetables. I am a mother of 4 sons and I live here in partnership with my husband and two of my boys now. And one box provides plenty. I feel good about being a part of the farm although I have been a silent one. I need to apologize for not letting you know how much we adore your vegetables and fruit. I am a painter and there is not a single eggplant that I haven’t lusted over the color of or a pepper I haven’t looked at as a work of art. I admire so much the way you all live and work in cooperative community. It seems like a rare and challenging thing, and something this planet needs more of. It is an honor for me to support this kind of thing. And thanks for the newsletter. I am learning a lot. Especially helpful has been how to store them in the fridge, etc. So, in short, I think of my box of vegetables as a blessing for myself and my family. I think of it as a chance to be part of a way of living and eating that I really believe in, a chance to be in alignment with my values. Angelic Organics has truly been a blessing. Keep up the good work. We can taste the heart in it, (except for the hybrid tomatoes). I like the kind of tomatoes that spoil quickly as they were intended too. Mostly cause I long for the way they used to taste when I was a child. I just can’t understand why they don’t taste that way anymore. Anyway, my husband tells me I should read your newsletter article about tomatoes. I guess I missed that one. So keep up the good work! –Mercedes M, a Warrenville shareholder