- Cucumbers
- zucchini
- broccoli
- cabbage or kohlrabi
- elephant garlic
- kale or chard
- basil
- Herb
- Tomatoes! Either cherry or regular tomatoes
- Potatoes
We made it through the heat wave basically lucky to be tucked inside our house. Only harvesting late at night or early in the morning.The broccoli fared the worst, sending most of it to flower before it’s time means that our season for broccoli will be shorter than expected. We lost some lettuce and our onions do not look very happy. We will have to see the long lasting effects of 116° weather on vegetables. Future production may be affected for a few weeks.
The flowers mostly went crazy, some of them finishing early, some of them blooming early and seeming like they will persist. It’s time to order your summer bouquets as there are many flowers to be enjoyed. Our animals did well despite the heat but the chickens have slowed down their production. Thankfully our pregnant goats did not deliver during the heat, they are due to deliver sometime later this month. We got back to using the cooler for distributing our vegetables and we think that that method will stick. We got no feedback about it being onerous and therefore we will continue to distribute our vegetables from the cooler. We will likely go back to some of the crops being in the cooler and some of the crops being on tables outside depending on the vegetable or fruit. We will also broaden the window for pick up as the vegetables will be refrigerated. We would prefer that people come between 1 and 6 PM on Sundays and Wednesdays. If you can not make it to your pick-up we prefer you communicate with me via text. If you show up early we will put you to work until the harvest is collected :).
We managed to do some weeding during times of the day that were not sweltering. Juvencio got tomatoes tied up and beans trellised. Last night after the farmers market and dinner, once temps dipped below 80 I transplanted the pumpkins. I know they are late but keep your fingers crossed. We put off a lot of seeding and transplanting during the heat and now we are playing catch up. The Brussels sprouts, winter and fall cabbage and more have to get in the ground today or tomorrow. We have to pull the measly crop of garlic and get those beds ready for over-wintering crops like cauliflower and broccoli and radicchio. I seeded 10 flats of different varieties of radicchio on”Fesom the farm on a Saturday afternoon and headed to the Culinary Breeding Network’s “Festa Italiana”. I could not resist three different types of radicchio and an olive tree.
It was nice to have people offer to help last Sunday with the harvest. We typically will start harvest at 7 AM and finish by noon if you’re able to lend a hand please do sign up or show up to help. Even though the governor has lifted mask mandates in the state we are still feeling this out and would prefer that you wear masks when you are at the farm picking up your vegetables.
A reminder to stay engaged politically and let your senators know how you feel about the filibuster. The filibuster was created so that southern states would have more of a voice in suppressing the black vote. It is a vestige of white supremacy and gives too much power to the minority in blocking legislation from voting rights to policing to LGBTQ rights. Much of the ambitious agenda proposed by progressives will be blocked if we do not defeat the filibuster. It is more evident that legislation is the only way to move forward as the Supreme Court is now heavily weighted in a very conservative and unjust fashion.
It is time to make your favorite zucchini dish, dust off the zucchini bread recipes and be creative.
Here is a link to last year’s zucchini bread bake off with recipes galore: https://www.finquita.com/wordpress/?p=2981
Zucchini Crusted Pizza (“Moosewood Cookbook” Mollie Katzen)
A normal pizza on top, and a beautiful egg and cheese crust, with flecks of green and a slight crunch. 4-6 servings
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
The Crust:
3 1⁄2 cups grated zucchini (grate it coarsely)
3 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup flour
½ cup grated mozzarella
½ cup grated Parmesan
1 Tbsp fresh basil leaves, minced (or ½ tsp dried)
salt and pepper
Salt the zucchini lightly and let it sit for 15 minutes. Squeeze out all the excess moisture. Combine all crust ingredients, and spread into an oiled 9×13” baking pan. Bake 20-25 minutes, until the surface is dry and firm. Brush the top with oil and broil it, under moderate heat for 5 minutes. Pile all of your favorite pizza toppings on (tomato sauce, olives, sautéed mushrooms, strips of peppers, lots of cheese, etc.) and heat the whole mess in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes. Serve hot, cut into squares, with a big tossed salad.
Zucchini Trifolati
Sautéed Zucchini
The secret to this fabulous cooking technique is the long slow cooking which infuses all the flavors. Vegetables cooked this way make great pasta sauce or you can serve them as crostini. Try mushrooms with garlic and mint.
2 pounds Zucchini
4 cloves of garlic, sliced
chili pepper (or herbs)
Salt
Cover the bottom of a large sauté pan with olive oil. Add the sliced garlic and chile peppers to the pan; NOW turn on the heat. Slice the zucchini into thin slices and add to the golden garlic, salt and cover the pan. The salt will bring out the liquid in the zucchini and they will stew in their own juices and infuse with the garlic. Let them over cook. It is a pleasant surprise.
Here is where to go for 33 recipes for broccoli – there must be something here that makes you love broccoli: https://www.delish.com/cooking/nutrition/g241/broccoli-recipes/