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- Lettuce – It just keeps coming! Enjoy salad every week. No matter what we do the lettuce seems to all pile up even though we plant a new crop every week.
- Green onions – the most nutritious of the onions, don’t let them go to waste.
- Cabbage – it is so sweet and notice how tight the heads are, this is the mark of a great cabbage! “Espresso” and “Jetma” are our favorites.
- Zucchini and summer squash – well . . . we (I) may have over planted. Enjoy them grated, sautéed, barbequed, spiralized! We are eating it every day breakfast and dinner – good luck.
- Cucumbers – still trickling in, but get ready . . . cucumbers in greater numbers are on their way
- Basil
- Parsley
- Kale or chard
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
It has been a HOT week. We have been working early in the morning and trying to stay in the shade of our weeds as we pull out crops and get beds ready for fall crops. We planted melons (keep your fingers crossed) and finished the Brussels sprouts and added more cucumbers. It is hard to plant when the weather is so hot so we have lettuce pilling up and beans ready for transplant.
The baby goats are finally here. We “found” 5 does with their kids over the course of the week. This is great news meaning the birth went uneventfully and quick. I happened upon “Mia”, Luna’s show goat on Thursday around 4:00 p.m. I saw her star gazing (a sign of goat labor) and showing other signs of labor so I hung out around the barn and peeled Fava Beans. I kept checking on her and nothing was changing. Luna came home around 6:00 p.m. and set up a lawn chair in the goat pen to keep watch while I harvested flowers and weeded. By 9:30 p.m. she had been up and down pushing and no progress. We ate a hurried dinner and by 10:00 were back out in the barn with a giant light.
I finally caved and called the vet, unsure whether to reach in and try and pull the baby out. My call to the vet confirmed we had waited too long to intervene. She said that greater than 2 hours for goat labor was abnormal and likely to result in dead babies. I could try and manipulate the babies or take the goat in a truck to her office. With Luna encouraging me to just get it done, I reached in and tried to understand what I was feeling. I felt a head and two little hooves, but the hooves seemed to be facing upward while the head was in the correct downward position. She began pushing on her own so I let her and an amniotic sac appeared. We saw no hooves in the sac so once that sac broke I reached in again. I felt three little hooves.
Now, the correct position for a goat delivery is two little downward facing hooves with a little downward facing head in short succession. I knew there was no way to deliver three hooves and no little head. Luna was brilliant and said what if the twins are on top of one another. With that I took the one upward facing hoof and pushed it back in. I pulled gently on the two downward facing hooves. The baby did not move easily and over the next few minutes I pulled and she bleated and Juvencio held the poor goat as we struggled to get what we feared was a dead kid. Finally the head presented and I was able to deliver the first twin, limp and not moving. I started rubbing the baby vigorously, then Mia began licking her and she started to breath. It was amazing. In short order a little upward facing hoof was presenting. Juve said to let it be, but one hoof is not good, you need two. So once again in reached in and found the other hoof, noted the elbow joint and quickly ascertained that this twin was coming breech. I pulled on the feet and reduced the forward arms (like I have done with the few human breech babies I have delivered). He was limp, but again with stimulation he began breathing.
That is the birth story of “Milagros” and “Casiano”. By midnight everyone was doing well. We hope the last two deliveries go smoothly as that was enough stress for the kidding season.
It was a nice harvest today, a bit smaller than last week without the peas and favas. We should have beans in the next week or two. Cherry tomatoes are not far behind. We managed to tie up the tomatoes in the hoop house with the help of Laurel and Lucy. Kira and her daughter helped finish up the harvest and we got it all packed away by 11:00 a.m
Stay cool this week and may the weather Gods bless us with cooler temperatures than expected.
Zucchini pizza crust (makes 4-6 servings)
Crust
3 ½ cups grated zucchini
3 eggs beaten1/3 cup flour
½ cup shredded low fat mozzarella cheese
½ cup parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon dried basil
Topping
Use your favorite pizza toppings
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Combine all the crust ingredients, and spread into an oiled 9 X 13 inch pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the surface is dry and firm. Brush the top with a little oil and broil it, under moderate heat, for 5 minutes.
Pile all you favorite pizza toppings on and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.
Zucchini-Ginger Cupcakes With Cream Cheese-White Chocolate Frosting
Makes about 24 cupcakes
If you want to gild the lily, make rosettes out of candied zucchini ribbons: Boil 1 cup water with 1 cup sugar for 5 minutes. Shave ribbons of zucchini into syrup and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until zucchini is translucent. Drain, air dry and curl into rosettes.
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups shredded zucchini
- 1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, undrained
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 packed tablespoons minced crystallized ginger
- 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
- 1 cup toasted chopped pecans (see note)
Frosting:
- 4 ounces chopped white chocolate, plus 1 ounce shaved white chocolate (divided)
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- Dash vanilla
- About 24 slivers crystallized ginger (optional garnish)
Instructions
To make cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees (use a regular oven, not convection).
In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle, combine the oil and the sugar and mix until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add the zucchini and pineapple and mix well. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; mix well. Remove from the mixer and fold in the crystallized ginger, coconut and nuts. Fill 24 cupcake liners about three-quarters full with batter. Bake just until the center springs back slowly, about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove and cool.
To make frosting: Place the chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave on high (100 percent power) for 30 seconds. Stir, microwave another 15 seconds, then stir until all chocolate is melted.
Place the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a mixer and whip until very smooth. Turn off the mixer and add the powdered sugar (start the machine up slowly so you don’t wear the sugar). Mix the frosting until very smooth. Add a dash of vanilla and mix well. Remove from the mixer and fold in the melted white chocolate. Frost the cupcakes and top with the shaved white chocolate and a sliver of crystallized ginger.
Note: To toast nuts, spread on baking sheet and bake in 350-degree oven for 5 to 8 minutes or until they start to brown.
Zucchini and Egg Casserole
Sauté 3 cups of Zucchini chopped
1 medium onion
crush 2 cloves of garlic
Mix: 4 eggs
1/4 cup dried or fresh parsley
1/2 cup parmesan
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/4 black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
Then add to above and mix well. Place in an 8 X 8 baking dish gently oiled with butter or pam. Bake for 25 minutes and then add 1 cup of jack cheese to the top of the dish.
CAULIFLOWER GRATIN WITH GRUYERE AND HAZELNUTS
1 medium cauliflower
Salt and freshly ground pepper
½ cup crème fraiche (see note)
¾ c. shredded gruyere cheese
3 Tbsp. bread crumbs
3 Tbsp. hazelnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp. flat parsley for garnish
Butter a 2-quart baking dish or gratin pan. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut cauliflower into small florets. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt generously. Add cauliflower florets to pot and cook until tender, but not mushy, about 5 minutes. Drain florets and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Toss cauliflower with crème fraiche and half the cheese in the prepared baking dish. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle remaining cheese over cauliflower, then top with bread crumbs and hazelnuts. Bake on center rack until cheese has melted and bread crumbs and nuts are golden, 20-25 minutes or more. Garnish with parsley. Serves 5 or 6. Note: you can make crème fraiche by whisking 1 cup whipping cream with 1/3 c. sour cream in a nonreactive bowl. Let stand at room temperature until thickened, 6 hours or longer; then cover and refrigerate. Makes about 1 1/3 cups. From Foodday.
This recipe uses 3 of this week’s ingredients all at once!
Sara’s Great Frittata Recipe:
2 lbs summer squash
Salt
Green onions(healthy fistful chopped)
Basil leaves(fistful again)
2 garlic cloves
4 eggs
1/4 Cup oil
1 Cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 Cup parmesan/pecorino cheese
The summer squash, green onions, and basil make a wonderful frittata.
In the main bowl of a food processor, grate about two pounds of summer squash. Put the squash in a colander and lightly salt. Leave to drain, and put the chopping blade in the food processor. Add a healthy fistful of onions and the leaves from a bunch of basil. Toss in a couple garlic cloves if you have them, and pulse until well chopped. In a big bowl, mix around a cup of flour with a couple teaspoons of baking powder and about a half cup of grated parmesan or pecorino Romano cheese. Lightly beat four eggs and a quarter cup of oil (if you’re feeling decadent and there are no vegetarians in the crowd, add a couple spoonfuls of bacon grease). Put the grated squash in a thin clean dishtowel or heavy duty paper towel and squeeze out excess liquid. Combine all the ingredients in the big bowl. You should have a thick, fragrant batter. Pour the batter into a greased 13×9 baking pan and sprinkle a little more cheese on top. Bake at 375 degrees until golden, about 30-45 minutes (it depends on the moisture left in the squash). When cool, cut into squares and serve.
These make great appetizers or savory treats at a tea or coffee!