- Alisa Craig onions (sweet onions)
- Tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Zucchini
- Beets or beans
- Cherry tomatoes or eggplant
- Potatoes
- Cabbage
- Basil
- Garlic (it is small but mighty in flavor)
This has been another busy week of transplanting, weeding and harvesting. Last week I commented on how great it was to have help during the heatwave. It makes our work so much better when members show up to help. Last Sunday we had a farmer’s market friend and her husband show up and they were a great help. We had no members join in the Sunday harvest. Juvencio often does the Wednesday harvest solo. Just a reminder we can use 4 helpers every harvest to make this work so if you are able, please sign up or just show up to help us harvest .We start at 7:00 – 7:30 am , you can arrive anytime in the morning just know that every time you arrive after we’ve gotten started we have to stop what we’re doing to orient you to the work that needs to be done. Tomatoes and cucumbers are on and the cherry tomatoes are not far behind. The greens are taking a rest. We’re gonna let them sweeten up with the kiss of frost or at least some cooler weather and rain.
We are busy planting radicchio for the fall and winter as well as Fennel, cauliflower and broccoli. Juvencio transformed greenhouse #2, which happens to be the most productive greenhouse after the chickens spent the winter months fertilizing it. He pulled out everything but one bed of cucumbers and one bed of zucchini. I got in there, transplanted kale and melons, and I seeded beets and radishes. We’ll see how they do with 95+ degrees on a warm sunny day. We are hoping they will be ready to harvest in September. Greenhouse #1 is on. We have cherry tomatoes, regular early tomatoes, jalapeño peppers, sweet peppers, eggplants, and basil. This greenhouse is our main seedling greenhouse so it has benches on both sides with vegetable starts for both the farm and the farmers market. Yesterday was the second last farmers market for me and then I take a break in the month of August to make wreaths. I will also take the opportunity to head up to Alaska briefly with Jacob, Courtney and Maris to attend their best friend’s wedding. I get to be on grandma duty, I am very excited and I also get to see my dear cousins and some close friends and maybe have a piece of pizza from Finn’s on the spit.
We are busy cleaning up the place for the big event drumroll please. Luna and Kody get married in August. Kody is busy even in the extreme heat bark chipping and cutting back brush and black berries. In August I’m not at the farmers market, I have a surplus of 20 buckets of flowers per week. I would love to sell you a bucket of flowers or a weekly subscription of a bouquet per week for August, September, and even October. Reach out to me by text and I will add you to the list. I mentioned last week the opportunity to do a cut your own bouquet workshop and there was not much interest, but I will put it out there again if you’re interested please text me and I will make it happen sometime in the month of August.
Juvencio and I have a busy week ahead. We have to pull four beds of potatoes and the onion harvest starts soon. We need to turn over all these beds to make room for fall crops and the seating of the Daikon. I try to seed them the first week of August. I’ve also got over wintering cauliflower and purple sprouting broccoli to get in the ground. The weeds don’t take a break so if you love pulling weeds or being down on your hands and knees and working around every little plant, please let us know. We are happy to have you join us.
Recipes to enjoy:
Zucchini Fritters
Yield: About 10 2 1/2 inch fritters
1 pound (about 2 medium) zucchini
1 teaspoon coarse or Kosher salt, plus extra to taste
2 scallions, split lengthwise and sliced thin
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Olive or another oil of your choice, for frying
Trim ends off zucchini and grate them either on the large holes of a box
In a large bowl, toss zucchini with 1 teaspoon coarse salt and set aside for 10 minutes. Wring out the zucchini in one of the following ways: pressing it against the holes of a colander with a wooden spoon to extract the water, squeezing out small handfuls at a time, or wrapping it up in a clean dish towel and wringing away. This is a good thing as it will save the fritters from sogginess.
Return zucchini shreds to the bowl. Taste and if you think it could benefit from more salt (add a little bit more; we found 1/4 teaspoon more just right. Stir in scallions, egg and some freshly ground black pepper. In a tiny dish, stir together flour and baking powder, then stir the mixture into the zucchini batter.
In a large heavy skillet — cast iron is dreamy here — heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Drop small bunches of the zucchini mixture onto the skillet only a few at a time so they don’t become crowded and lightly nudge them flatter with the back of your spatula. Cook the fritters over moderately high heat until the edges underneath are golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. If you find this happening too quickly, reduce the heat to medium. Flip the fritters and fry them on the other side until browned underneath again, about 2 to 3 minutes more. Drain briefly on paper towels then transfer to the baking sheet and then into the warm oven until needed. Repeat process, keeping the pan well-oiled, with remaining batter
Zucchini fritter Variations:
Thai spices: fold in chopped mint and cilantro and/or thai basil, finely chopped thai peppers
Mexican spices: cumin, fresh cilantro and mint, finely chopped jalapeno. Can also fold in some fresh corn kernels and/or queso fresco
Apple Zucchini Muffins (Makes 18)
My Gravensteins are starting to fall and I have a lot of “gently used” or bashed apples.
2 ¼ c. whole wheat flour
½ c brown sugar
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp allspice
1 c buttermilk
¼ c. unsweetened applesauce
1 Tbsp veg oil
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ c each grated apple and grated grated zucchini
1 c peeled chopped apple
Preheat the oven to 375 and line muffin tins.
In a large bowl mix together all the dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl, whisk together buttermilk, applesauce, oil, egg, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients and mix just until combined, then fold in the apples, zucchini and apple chunks. I like to add a few handfuls of chopped nuts also. Spoon into prepared tins and bake for 15-20 minutes or until firm.
Scarlett’s Tuna Salad
Yield:Serves 4 as a side or 2 as dinner
- ½cup rice-wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 red onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
- 3 Persian cucumbers, peeled if skin is thick and waxy, sliced about ¼-inch thick
- 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
- 2 limes, juiced, about ¼ cup
- 5 to 7 ounces olive-oil-packed tuna
- 1 avocado, peeled and cubed
- ½teaspoon or more finishing salt, such as Maldon
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Handful basil leaves, washed and torn
- Handful cilantro sprigs, washed and torn
- Handful fresh mint leaves, washed and torn
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1. Step 1
In a clean glass jar with a tightfitting lid, mix vinegar, sugar and 1 teaspoon kosher salt with ½ cup hot water. Shake until sugar is dissolved. Bring a pot of water to the boil, and add the onions. Let it sit for just a few seconds in the hot water, then drain well and transfer onions to the jar with the vinegar. The pickled onions will be ready to use in an hour, or can be made ahead and kept in the fridge for up to a week.
2. Step 2
Cwet. Pour into a deep serving plate or a wide bowl, along with any extra liquid at the bottom of the bowl.
3. Step 3
Spoon tuna out of the oil, and use your hands to break it into bite-size pieces, directly into the now-empty mixing bowl. Add avocado, 3 tablespoons of pickled red onion and 1 tablespoon of pickling liquid from the jar, and mix gently with your hands to dress. Scatter over the cucumber mixture, and season with finishing salt and black pepper. Cover with torn herbs, and generously drizzle everything with olive oil. Eat right away, with spoons.
Cherry Tomato and Green Bean Salad
Yield:6 servings
- Salt and black pepper
- ½pound small green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes of various colors (about 10 ounces), halved
- ¼cup pitted Niçoise olives, roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, plus ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon capers, roughly chopped
- 2 anchovy filets, roughly chopped
- 1 large garlic clove, grated
- A handful of arugula or small lettuce leaves
- Step 1
Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil, add green beans and cook for 2 minutes.
- Step 2
Drain, spread beans on a kitchen towel and cool to room temperature.
- Step 3
Put beans and cherry tomatoes in a low bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Step 4
In a small bowl, combine olives, olive oil, lemon juice and zest, capers, anchovy, and garlic. Whisk together and pour over beans and tomatoes. Toss to coat. Check seasoning and adjust. Leave at room temperature.
- Step 5
Just before serving, garnish bean-tomato mixture with arugula or salad greens.