• Sweet green pepper
• Hot peppers
• Tomatoes
• Green beans
• Kale
• Herb (basil or parsley)
• Cucumbers
• Zucchini
• Apples
• Lettuce (?)
• Cabbage or broccoli 
• Potatoes
• Garlic
• Celery!!
• Cherry tomatoes

The heat is on today and I will make this brief. We started harvesting yesterday around 4:30 and spent over 2 hours just on green beans. We have tomatoes and cucumbers plus celery and lettuce to get harvested as soon as it is light enough to see. We sure could use those helpers. If you have the ability to help harvest we can use your help. Next week the cherry tomatoes will be full on with the beans adding hours to our harvest times. Fruit is beginning and our ability to share that bounty with you will depend on who shows up to help us bring in the harvest.

The potatoes are ready to be dug, the onions are close behind. We have more fall broccoli and cauliflower to get in the ground as well as overwintering cauliflowers. We still have two greenhouses to turn over and there is just not enough time in each day (with cool enough weather) to get it all done. We managed to weed the seeded crops and with so much variation in germination we feel deflated. Half a bed of beets, spotty carrots, a few daikon and a few rutabaga, it doesn’t feel worth the hours we spent weeding.

The flowers have gone wild and I harvested 25 buckets for the farmers market on Friday. I have some specimens that are 10 feet tall from sunflowers to orach. Purple has given way to orange and yellow. Summer is really here. The tomatoes are really turning on their production. Finally the greenhouse tomatoes are ripening faster than we can pick. They are sweet and flavorful as we turned off their water around July 4th. The outside tomatoes will get a few more days of water and then we will shock them into ripening. This is a trick we learned long ago and it really makes a difference. I hear from customers all the time “my tomatoes just keep making all this green fruit and don’t seem to ripe tomatoes until the fall”. This is because they keep getting water and keep blooming. We suggest turning off all water to tomatoes by August 15. I use August 1st as my deadline and for quicker varieties I cut them off in July. This shock forces them to ripen their fruit and gives a more intense flavor.

We made the zucchini pizza dough which was delicious. I would cook the zucchini crust for longer to get it crisp and cut the cheese in half, but otherwise what a great way to eat tons of zucchini and enjoy pizza toppings. We also went crazy picking peaches at our neighbor’s farm. The Grossen peach farm and Sunrise Blueberry Farm are local and loaded with summer fruit. I think both are closed today but open during the week and using good Covid 19 precautions.

Remember to stay active this week, physically, mentally and politically.

Here are some recipes for this week:

Recipe: Super Easy and Delicious Zucchini Butter

by Emily Han

published Jul 13, 2010

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About a year ago we found ourselves in the kitchen of caterer Jennie Cook, grating small mountains of zucchini for an intriguing dish she called zucchini marmalade, or butter. When we finally tasted the fruits of our labor (at a community eat-in for good food in schools), we were delighted by the spread’s buttery, subtly sweet flavor. In fact, it was so memorable that we’ve been craving it ever since and finally asked Jennie for the recipe.

Having missed the actual cooking of the zucchini marmalade/butter in Jennie’s kitchen last year, we were surprised to discover how easy it is to make. Although it takes some time on the stove top (and you can even cook it down further than the batch in the photo above), it’s otherwise quite simple, requiring just a couple of ingredients slowly cooked in olive oil until jammy and buttery. Delicious on toast or sandwiches, it’s a great little staple to have in your summer cooking repertoire.

Super Easy and Delicious Zucchini Butter (or Marmalade)

Ingredients

• 2 pounds
  zucchini, more or less*
• 1/4 cup
  olive oil or butter, if you prefer
• 2
  minced shallots, garlic, or combination of both
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

• Coarsely grate the zucchini. Let it drain in a colander for 3 to 4 minutes or until you are ready to begin cooking. To hasten cooking time, squeeze the water out of the zucchini by wringing it in a clean cloth towel.
• In a deep skillet, heat the olive oil/butter. Sauté the shallots briefly. Add the zucchini and toss. Cook and stir over medium to medium-high heat until the zucchini reaches a spreadable consistency. If you scorch the bottom, turn the flame down! (And scrape those delicious bits into the marmalade for added flavor.) The zucchini will hold its bright green color and slowly caramelize into a nice vegetable jam.
• Enjoy on toast, or as a side dish all summer long!

Recipe Notes

Feel free to add extra zucchini. It may take a little longer to cook, but this recipe keeps well and can be stored in the refrigerator for about a month.

Paleo Chocolate Zucchini Bread

• 1 cup Justin’s chocolate hazelnut butter blend or if Paleo, use almond butter sweetened with 1 tbsp of maple syrup and 1-2 tbsp of cocoa powder 
• 1 cup shredded zucchini (squeeze excess water out of the shredded zucchini)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tbsp grade b maple syrup
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp sea salt – 
• 1–2 tbsp mini chocolate chips 

• Preheat the oven to 400 F.
• In a medium bowl combine the chocolate hazelnut butter, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla and sea salt and blend with a hand held mixer for 2 minutes on medium speed.
• Add baking soda and vinegar (will fizz up) and blend for 30 more seconds.
• reallywellStir in shredded zucchini. If really watery, squeeze out excess water.
• Place in a lined or greased loaf pan. You can use one 5×9″ pan or 2 mini loaf pans.
• Top with 1-2 tbsp of mini chocolate chips.
• Bake for 23-28 minutes if you have mini loaf pans and 35-50 minutes for large loaf pan. Start testing with a toothpick at 35 minutes and when it comes out clean when inserted in the center, it is done.
• Also works really well as muffins—makes a dozen muffins, but they bake in about 15 minutes

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/grilled-summer-squash-baba-ghanoush

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/celery-salad-with-dates-almonds-and-parmesan

https://cookieandkate.com/celery-salad-recipe/

https://cookieandkate.com/debs-kale-salad-with-apple-cranberries-and-pecans/