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News from the farm...
We are LOVING this amazing weather, cool mornings, dry afternoons, low humidity. We are sowing and planting and weeding and cultivating and hilling and harvesting and laying drip lines and pinching back flowers and stringing tomatoes and trellising peppers. The other farmers in the valley are also "making hay while the sun shines." I think every one of them was out mowing their hay fields on Saturday. Three days later and the hay is all baled and ready for the barn.
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I want also to acknowledge what happening in our country right now. It can seem remote from what we are doing but in truth, as we have experienced on a physical level with the corona virus, we are all connected. One of the reasons I chose to be a farmer is the simplicity of growing food. It is clear what I am doing, I grow flowers and vegetables for my community. I can safely feel good about the health of my land and the goodness in the vegetables I grow. Simple, innocent right? Maybe not. Thanks to the Organic Growers School, Alex, Sam and I attended an equity workshop back in March. Along with a lot of other things, it made me curious about the full history of the land that we farm and the valley we live in, and question why most of our apprentices are white and why most farmers are white. It made us all start to look at the ways our tiny farm might be benefiting from and contributing to our country's problems with racism and white supremacy. The heart breaking events of these past weeks make it imperative that we continue that looking.
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What's Available This Week
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Close to the last of the strawberries (I can't remember when we had strawberries in June before!) Lots of tender lettuce mix and head lettuce, red leaf, green oak leaf, red butter, red and green little gem lettuce perfect for summer salads. Red and green kale, cilantro and parsley. Plenty of summer squash, zucchini, zephyr and patty pan, beets. Radishes are back for a limited time. The last of the peonies, campanula, veronica, and of course our mixed bouquets. Next week is the last week for out starts.
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The winter squash that got sown last week is coming up beautifully. Most vegetables have a lot of lead time. These butternut, spaghetti, delicata and kabocha squashes won't be ready until September.
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John's Recipe of the Week
John Loyd is our dear friend, neighbor, CSA worker member and a gourmet Southern cook. His delightful cooking observations and delicious recipes offerings appear here each week.
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“Food is everything we are.” Anthony Bourdain
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Do remember that recipes are guides and that you may often omit an ingredient you don’t like, and add one you think might be tasty. It’s all about taste.
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There is going to be lots of summer squash and for a good while. So there will be several ideas and recipes coming along.
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In truth, we can have casseroles that do not feature creamed soups as the base. There are also casseroles that are not slathered in gobs of cheddar cheese. Now, if you love casseroles made this way, there’s nothing wrong with that.
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Zucchini Bake with Feta and Thyme
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Thank you, Kalyn’s Kitchen
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Serves 6, a half recipe serves 4 quite well.
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4 medium summer squash, about 8 cups
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1 Tablespoon minced garlic
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2 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves or 1 tablespoons of dried
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1 cup crumbled Feta, plus a few tablespoons for the top
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2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
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1 tablespoon of lemon juice
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Preheat oven to 375 and spray or grease a 2-quart casserole dish.
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After washing and drying the squash and cutting off the blossom end, cut them lengthwise in half, then slice into half-moon slices ¼ inch thick.
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Heat oil in a large skillet (non-stick if you have a big one), add garlic and thyme and cook for 45 seconds to season the oil. Don’t let the garlic brown.
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Add the squash, cook 4 minutes or until it is barely starting to soften.
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While squash cooks, break eggs into a bowl and beat them. Then stir in the sour cream, feta, Parmesan and lemon juice.
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Layer half the squash into the casserole dish and cover with half the egg/feta mixture, spreading it over the squash. Salt and pepper this layer.
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Repeat with another layer of squash, season again and pour the rest of the egg-feta mixture, spreading it over the top.
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Sprinkle a few tablespoons of feta on the top.
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Bake for 40-45 minutes, until top bubbles and is browning.
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An option would be to add more pungent herbs into the egg-feta mix for bolder tastes. We plan to play with combinations of them next time we make this dish.
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Every year there is some insect pest (or pests) that gives us fits. This year so far it is aphids. The lovelies above are the second handful of lady bug larva that I collected from our greenhouse to release into the high tunnel tomatoes to eat the aphids. They are the third beneficial insect I have introduced into that house. Aphids are resilient!
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Thank you for being there for us week after week and eating what we grow. Enjoy the good food and nourishment!
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