- Lettuce
- Kale or chard
- Zucchini
- Cucumbers
- Green onions
- Parsley or basil
- Kohlrabi or broccoli
- Fennel
- Bok choi
- New potatoes
We had one farming disaster after another last week. We awoke Sunday morning to find all 40 chicks we were raising for fall and next years layers had been eaten. Not one was left in the protected cage when Luna went to feed them in the morning. Later in the day the wind blew open the door to the green house and the goats raced in- tore the door off and ate all the peppers. 150 beautiful in full bloom sweet peppers and 25 hot peppers. They munched the zucchini( the best on the farm) and ate the growth points on all the cucumbers. Months of work and weeks of veggies are gone.
I will replant, we will give less and we will have late peppers, it just sets us back weeks and is so disappointing. Just as the cucumbers were taking off they are cut back and may never recover.
This week it will be 100 degrees- terrible for plants and animals. Hopefully it will be brief but this also affects flowering plants and they often drop blooms when it is too hot. Our internet is down as we are putting on a new roof and so I can’t send the standard email to subscribers. The list goes on. We will harvest what we can and seed more fall crops and weed when it is not too hot. Maybe I will work on ceramics to get my mind off the farm disasters. Sue sent some great recipes.
Cloud cap mushrooms, a local mushroom CSA delivers right to our farm. You can get a weekly or bimonthly subscription of delicious fresh mushrooms to add on to your veggie CSA. Contact them directly to start your subscription ASAP. https://cloudcapmushrooms.com/csa-1
It is blueberry season! We have cane berries close by the farm for you pick at West Union gardens. I usually just call and listen to their menu to see what they have 503-645-1592. We have a neighbor with amazing you pick blueberries at Sunrise Blueberry farm just 5 minutes west of the farm on West Union.
From Sue;
“I debated including recipes for goat, but they all involved long cooking and anticipating a hot week and lots of zucchini, the recipes are all about salad. But first, I want to make a plug for last week’s smashed zucchini recipe—it’s REALLY good. AND—Winco sells roasted/salted chickpeas in the bulk aisle, so you could make it even easier/stove-free. I added chopped cilantro, mint and parsley because I had it.”
Spiced Chick Peas Salad with Tahini Dressing
2 cans (or 4 cups) chickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted dry
3/4 c EVOO
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sweet paprika
Salt/pepper to taste
Tahini dressing:
1/3 c tahini
Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
Warm water as needed
To serve:
1 bunch kale/chard/spinach or other greens, chopped well and “massaged” with 1 tsp EVOO to soften
Handful chopped mint or cilantro
Handful chopped parsley
1 cucumber, chopped into bite-sized pieces
Make the chickpeas: Heat oven to 425 (if you don’t want to do this, see note about toasted chickpeas at Winco above) Pour the chickpeas into a small baking dish, about 6”x8”. Pour in olive oil just until chickpeas are covered (it looks like a lot but becomes part of the dressing later). Add garlic, paprika, cumin and salt and pepper to taste. Bake until bubbling and the chickpeas are turning reddish-brown, about 30-45 minutes. Set aside to cool.
While the peas are cooking, “massage” the greens and make the tahini sauce. Pour tahini in a small bowl and whisk in lemon juice and garlic. Slowly whisk in warm water, 1 tablespoon at a time until smooth, creamy and pourable. Taste and season with salt, pepper and more lemon juice if desired.
When ready to serve, in a large bowl mix the peas and their cooking oil with the greens and chopped herbs, then gently mix in cukes. Mix in dressing and serve.
Green Goddess Pasta Salad
2 9-10 oz packages cheese tortellini
1 fennel with fronds; fronds used for dressing and bulb thinly sliced
1 c greek yogurt
1 c packed cup basil leaves
2 Tbs chopped chives
2 Tbs (packed) roughly chopped parsley
2 cloves garlic
3 scallions, sliced
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
2 Tbs EVOO
2/3 c. Sliced sugar snap peas (could use blanched green beans)
Cook tortellini per directions on package.
While the pasta cooks, put the fennel frond, yogurt, herbs, garlic, scallion, lemon juice into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Drizzle in the oil, blend, and then season to taste with salt and pepper.
Drain the tortellini and while still hot, toss with enough of the dressing to coat. Let cool at lest 20 minutes
To serve, gently mix in the chopped fennel, peas or beans, and more dressing as needed.
Zucchini and Fennel Salad with Pecorino and Mint
1 1/4 lbs zucchini
1/2 c torn mint leaves
1 c shaved pecorino or parmesan cheese
1 small head of fennel, thinly sliced
Juice of one lemon
2 Tbs EVOO
Salt & pepper to taste.
Use a vegetable peeler, box grater or mandolin to thinly shave the zucchini lengthwise.. Toss with remaining ingredients and serve
Kale and Cucumber Salad with Honey Ginger Dressing
6 c. Chopped kale
2 c chopped cucumber
2 c. Shredded cabbage
1/2 c sunflower seeds
2 chopped scallions
1/2 c toasted sesame oil
1/4 c rice vinegar
2 Tbs honey
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp fresh grated ginger
Heat honey for 15 seconds to liquefy, then blend with oil, vinegar, garlic and ginger and 1/2 the scallions. Add remaining ingredients to large salad bowl and toss with the dressing.