Week #13
• Lettuce
• Potatoes
• Parsley, basil, dill or cilantro (choose two)
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Zucchini
• Cucumbers
• Beans or peas
• Kale or chard
• Green onions
• Garlic
Life on the farm is hectic. Weeding is a battle that for the time seems to be farmers ahead. Juvencio weeded all 13-14 winter squash beds just in the nick of time. The plants grew to amazing heights with the row cover over them, but so did the thistle. Hopefully these warm days will help the squash overshadow the Thistle and keep it at bay. Vincent has been essential as well as he uses his Kenyan hoeing technique to hill the plants and pull the weeds in one fell swoop.
We managed to plant many of the Brussels sprouts in the beds that held the garlic. We are moving the greenhouse production into fall production and seeding crops that will fill those spaces into the winter. It is hard to believe in the second week of summer that we have to plan and plant for winter, but such is the life of the farmer. The zucchini have gone crazy as is typical for this time of year, so I have added many of our family favorite zucchini recipes below. Sue Kass made the fritters and they were really good so she sent along this recipe.
Juvencio reminds me often not to mix politics with business, but alas I find that impossible to do. These are not ordinary times and should never be viewed as such. Health care for 22 million people is at stake, frankly health care for all is at stake as the proposed Senate bill will raise premiums for most people. Please consider joining me on July 6th at 911 NE 11th Avenue* Portland, OR 97232 (10:30 – 12:30) for a rally with our Senators. Please keep writing and calling our representatives, they are listening and they are counting on us to help guide them on the issues we find most important, there are so many. If you want to receive my dedicated political emails please send me an email and I will add you to the Activism Group – United Unidos. As we gather with family and friends for the fourth of July, find a way to make your voice heard.
Important dates:
July 30- August 7 – Farmers vacation – will need helpers for the harvests July 30, August 2 and August 6
September 16 or 17 – Canning Party – mark your calendars
October 15 – Harvest Festival
Zucchini Fritters
Adapted a bit from Simply recipes
Yield: about 10 12 2 ½ inch fritters
1 # (about 2 medium) zucchini
1 teaspoon coarse salt (kosher salt)
2 scallions, split lengthwise and sliced thin
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Freshly ground black pepper
½ cup all purpose flour (or gluten free four mix) ½ teaspoon baking powder
Olive or another oil of your choice, for frying
1-2 teaspoons of chopped basil or chopped mint.
To serve (optional)
1 cup sour cream or plain, full fat yogurt
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon lemon zest
Pinch of salt
1 small minced or crushed clove of garlic
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Have a baking sheet ready.
Grate zucchini, in a large bowl, toss zucchini with 1 teaspoon coarse salt and set aside for 10 minutes. Wring out the zucchini in a piece of cheese cloth.
Return the deflated mass of zucchini shreds to bowl It may need ¼ more teaspoon of salt. Stir in scallions, egg, and some ground pepper .In a tiny dish stir together flour and baking powder, then stir the mixture into the zucchini batter.
Fry the fritters in the heated oil for about 4 minutes on each side.
Serve with topping, can keep warm in the oven on the baking sheet.
Zucchini Lasagna
3 cups marinara sauce (Paul Newmans 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.)
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.
Roasted Cabbage (Our families new favorite way to eat cabbage 2014)
1 head cabbage
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Parmesan cheese
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the cabbage in half and now cut into wedges 3- 4 per half leaving a bit of the core on each wedge. Arrange the wedges on a cookie sheet, sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper and now turn over and do the same. On the second side sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Put the cabbage in the oven for 20 – 30 minutes, it should be golden brown and crispy on the outer leaves. Remove from the oven and enjoy! We will never let another cabbage head go to waste.
GREEN CABBAGE STUFFED WITH VEGETABLES AND FRESH HERBS
Printed from COOKS.COM
1 c. chopped mushrooms
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1/2 c. diced red bell peppers
1/2 c. diced asparagus or broccoli
1/4 c. diced onions
6 tbsp. Pesto
Dash of freshly ground black pepper
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
1 c. chopped cooked red potatoes
1 c. cooked lima or fava beans
1/2 c. pine nuts
1/2 head or 10 green cabbage leaves, steamed 3 to 4 minutes
2 c. prepared tomato sauce
3/4 to 1 c. grated Mozzarella cheese (optional)
In a large saucepan, saute the mushrooms, parsley, peppers, asparagus, onions, Pesto, and pepper in the oil over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the potatoes, beans, and pine nuts. Place 1 or 2 tablespoons of the mixture on each cabbage leaf where the thick stem is. Fold the right side of the leaf over it, then the left, and roll up.
Place the stuffed leaves in a greased baking dish and pour the tomato sauce over them. Top with the cheese, cover with aluminum foil, and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes. Yield: 2 servings.
Kale and Lentil Soup
(Marilyn’s invention from Sue)
3 T EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1 onion and 1 rib of celery (chopped and sauté for 4 minutes)
6-7 cups of water
2 cups chicken broth
1 ½ cups green lentils (rinsed and checked)
1 bay leaf
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ – 1 # kale (washed and sliced)
12 oz. Kielbasa (slice in 1” rounds)
16 oz. plum tomatoes
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Sauté onion and celery for 4 minutes. Add water and chicken broth as well as lentils to the sauté mix. Add the bay leaf and red pepper flakes and bring to a boil. Decrease heat to a simmer for 30 minutes. Then add the Kale, kielbasa sausage, tomatoes and red wine vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook 15 minutes more and serve. Great the next day.