Week #12 2018
- Lettuce
- Green onions
- Basil!!
- Parsley
- Kale
- Cucumber (just one for everyone, but soon there will be tons!)
- Zucchini and summer squash
- Broccoli (finally and pretty small, what a disappointment)
- Garlic
- Peas or green beans ( the last and the first)
- Potatoes
This is an odd week. The spring vegetables have ended and the summer ones are slow to step up to the plate. You will get a chance to catch up on any veggies you have not managed to eat until now. The tomatoes are getting a slight red tone, the peppers are setting flowers and the cucumbers are trying to grow despite the gopher tunnels ravaging the ground underneath.
We have battled the weeds all week, most of the onions are clean (for now). We can see the eggplant, peppers and tomatoes that were knee high in weeds. Juvencio has been working away (between world cup futbol matches) turning over greenhouses from sugar snap peas to cucumbers, melons and fall Romanesco broccoli, and beets. All of the potatoes are dug from one hoop house and squash and pumpkins took their place. The last of the Brussels sprouts got planted out in the field, now the battle against the aphids begins in earnest. Farming is a struggle no matter how you slice it, there is always someone from above or below trying to eat the food we grow before we can get it out of the field to you.
I will not dally with this note, but rather get outside and harvest the peas before the red wing black birds eat them all.
Don’t forget to buy a bouquet for someone you love! Order grass-fed beef from Juvencio, or pick up some for burgers this week. Please do sign up to help harvest this summer, we can use the extra hands.
Here is a great recipe to try: zucchini pie, serve with a salad!!
“Green Goddess” Salad Dressing
Modification from Toro Bravo
(This makes a large batch, you can use it for salads for the whole week, use it as a dipping sauce or on sandwiches, it keeps for 5-6 days in the refrigerator)
2 hardboiled egg yolks
1 raw egg yolk
½ avocado
Pinch of cayenne
2 tablespoons of champagne vinegar
2 T water
½ lemon , juiced
1 teaspoon herb of your choice: basil, parsley, oregano, tarragon
1 teaspoon chives (or scallions)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 ½ cup olive oil
- Put all ingredients except oil into a food processor or blender. Blend for 20 – 30 seconds until everything comes together.
- Slowly drizzle in the It should take about 1 minute to add all of it and properly emulsify the dressing.
Zucchini Lasagna
3 cups marinara sauce (Paul Newman’s is good if you don’t want to make your own)
1 small can tomato paste
3-4 zucchini sliced thin the long way
1 lb. ricotta cheese
1 lb. shredded mozzarella cheese
Optional – 2 cups onions and /or mushrooms, 2 tsp basil, 2 tsp oregano, 1 clove garlic
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Spray a 9 X 13 pan with oil
Stir the tomato paste into the marinara sauce to thicken it
Put about 1 cup of the thickened sauce on the bottom of the pan
Put a layer of zucchini strips, overlapping a little
Dot zucchini with dollops of ricotta, evenly distributed, use about 1/2 of the ricotta
Layer 1/2 of the mozzarella over that
Layer other veggies, etc., if you use them
Another layer of zucchini
Another layer of ricotta
Pour rest of sauce over
Other half of mozzarella goes on top
Bake 1 hour
Cool 10-15 min.
Paleo Zucchini Bread (tested and approved by Sue Kass)
Preheat oven to 400. Prepare 1 dozen muffin tins or oil and line w/parchment standard loaf pan.
Blend until smooth:
1 c almond butter
2 Tbs cocoa powder
3 Tbs maple syrup
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Add in
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Mix well, then fold in
1 c. Shredded zucchini, excess moisture squeezed out.
Muffins take about 15-20 minutes, loaf 30-40.
Doubles, freezes well.
Luna’s chocolate Zucchini Cake
½ c soft butter 1 c sugar (can be cut down) 2 ½ c flour
½ c cooking oil 1 tsp. Vanilla 1 tsp soda
2 eggs ½ c sour milk (buttermilk) ½ t salt
½ c chocolate chips 4 T cocoa ½ tsp. Cinnamon
2 c grated zucchini ¼ c chopped nuts
Mix butter, oil, eggs, sugar, vanilla and milk together. Add cocoa, soda, cinnamon and salt and mix well. Add flour, mix well, add zucchini, chocolate chips and nuts. Mix well. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. 13 X 9 inch pan or 2 loaf pans. (Lyn’s note: I always double the recipe it is gobbled up as soon as it comes out of the oven.)
Zucchini and Chickpeas
adapted from Mediterranean Vegetables by Clifford Wright
2 T olive oil
1 pound young zucchinis, trimmed and sliced about ½ inch thick
16 oz can chickpeas, drained
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
S & P to taste
2 T finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and cook the zucchini, chickpeas, garlic, salt and pepper until the zucchini are slightly soft, about 20 minutes. Toss with the parsley and serve hot or at room temperature. Makes 4 servings
Easy Zucchini Soufflé By Dave Holt (habanero_holt at yahoo.com)
Sauté:
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 zucchinis, 6-8″ in length, sliced ¼” width
3 cloves garlic, pressed 5 scallions, diced
Soufflé:
6 eggs, size large
¾ cup sour cream
½ cup grated mozzarella cheese
½ cup grated monterey jack cheese
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon cardamom
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Prepare a 9×9 ceramic or glass baking disk with a light coating of extra virgin olive oil.
Soufflé Preparation:
Beat eggs and sour cream with a medium sized whisk until thoroughly mixed (This aerates the soufflé and allows us to skip the step of separating whites & yolks – thereby making this an “easy” soufflé). Add cheeses and seasonings and mix well with whisk. Add processed sauté mixture and mix well with whisk. Pour soufflé mixture into baking dish and place in oven, center rack. Bake for one hour at 325 degrees, or for forty minutes using a convection oven (soufflé is done when middle of soufflé has risen to same height as the periphery). Let cool for 10 minutes to set up before cutting and serving.
Serving Suggestions:
Serve with a dollop of sour cream on top of each serving.
Aunt Joan’s Zucchini, as remembered by Julia
1.5 pounds summer squash, mixed or all one variety
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
some chopped fresh basil
grated fresh parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
Thinly slice the summer squash. Heat oil over moderate heat in medium-large frying pan. Add the minced garlic, and let cook for just a few seconds, don’t let it brown. Then add the squash, spreading out in the pan so it can all cook evenly. Once the first layer is browned up a bit, stir it around the pan, letting the still-uncooked squash hit the oil below for a little browning. You can add a bit more oil at this point if you like. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Once it’s all cooked (7-12 minutes), remove to a serving dish and top with the fresh chopped basil and the parmesan. Serves 3-4
Pasta with Zucchini, Lemon, Pine Nuts, and Herb adapted from The Greens Cook Book
1 pound corkscrew pasta (gemelli, rotelli, etc.)
8 ounces small, firm green or golden zucchini
1/2 c. mixed fresh herbs: Italian parsley, marjoram, basil, chervil, hyssop, oregano, lemon thyme and others (I used basil and thyme, but oregano and marjoram are also good. Avoid tarragon in this dish.)
1 lemon
6 T. virgin olive oil
5 T. pine nuts
1onion or 3 shallots, thinly sliced then roughly chopped
4 t. tiny capers, rinsed in water
2 sun-dried tomatoes, cut into narrow strips (I used 8 halves)
Salt & Pepper
Parmesan (grated, fresh)
Slice the zucchini diagonally into pieces about the same thickness as the pasta (matchstick size, 1/8″ or so). Line up the slices and cut them into narrow matchsticks. Each one will be tipped with green or gold. Make a selection of fresh herbs from those suggested in the ingredients list. Pull the leaves off the stems and chop them, but not too finely. Include any flowers, such as the purple flowers of the basil or pink thyme blossoms. With a vegetable peeler, remove a thin strip of peel from the lemon and cut it into fine slivers. (I grated the peel.) Heat 2 T. olive oil in a small pan and add the pine nuts. Cook them until they begin to color; then add the shallots. Cook the two together over medium low heat until the shallots are soft and the pine nuts are brown. Transfer them to a wide bowl and add the rest of the oil, the capers, lemon peel, sun-dried tomatoes and herbs. Season with salt, freshly ground black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon or so lemon juice to taste. Add salt to the boiling water, drop in the zucchini and cook it about 1 minute. Scoop it out, shake off the water, and add it to the bowl with the other ingredients. Next, cook the pasta, scoop it out and add it to the bowl as well. Toss with a pair of tongs, so that the noodles are coated with the oil and herbs. Serve with the cheese passed separately. For a wine, serve a sauvignon blanc. Serves 2-4.
Baked Summer Squash with Pesto Crumbs
from More Recipes from a Kitchen Garden by Renee Shepherd
This can be served as a whole meal, over wild rice and garnished with toasted pecans.
3 lbs. Mixed summer squash
3 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. olive oil
1/4 cup half-and-half
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. mace
1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
2 shallots, minced
4 scallions, finely chopped
½ cup Pesto Bread Crumbs Recipe(see below)
Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly oil a 2 ½ to 3 quart casserole dish with cover. Trim squash and cut into large chunks (about 1 ½ inches). Arrange squash pieces in casserole and set aside. Melt butter and olive oil together in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients, blending thoroughly. Pour sauce mixture over squash, tossing until squash is coated. Cover casserole and bake 40 minutes. Toss squash gently and spoon juices and seasonings from the bottom of dish over squash. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake uncovered for 10 minutes longer, until squashes are tender when pierced with a knife.