Sundog CSA August 16, 2021

Over three inches of rain fell in the beginning hours of Friday here on the hill - much needed moisture for the land and all of the inhabitants. We were waiting for moisture and raced out at the last-minute Thursday evening after talking and questioning the weather forecast because the rain has been missing our hill – and there we were with our bag of seeds having a Turnip Planting party! 😊 The moon sign was in favor of root crops so with our headlamp beaming close to the midnight hour, we threw turnip seeds in every direction on our bare potato patch. I am not sure that we have ever planted in the dark before and am curious as to where all those seeds landed, especially considering that there were four of us planting and we had one headlamp - wonder what the plot is going to look like? 😊

We also spent Wednesday evening out in the dark, looking at the sky and counting falling stars. It was a night for discussions as we plotted and planned what we would do if all of our wishes came true or at least Izzy and I were plotting because we were wishing for financial gains!! 😊 So far, nothing has fallen from the sky or anywhere else that changed our bank accounts! It was a beautiful night though and even though the streaks crossing the sky were gone before we could say, “there is one”, we were all lucky enough to see several. The hands on the clock were into the single digits before we called it a night as watching for meteorites is addictive – you keep thinking that you will leave just after the next one.

Daytime activities included some jelly making with crabapples, loaves of zucchini bread along with bags of shredded zukes for later baking or cooking projects and jars of canned tomatoes and beans lining the counters. Visiting with neighbors and trying out a croquet set that our friends, Judy and Gary, dropped off rounded out this week that marks the middle of August.

Cooler temperatures and the moisture that fell gave us some hope that the crops that were looking pretty sad the last few days might revive. We think that the bugs are winning the cucumber/squash war as several of the huge vines are showing sighs of stress from squash bugs. So far, Izzy’s birdhouse gourds have escaped their notice. The chard is being hit by chewing bugs and the deer at the same time and we almost look forward to the time when the chickens with their sharp beaks and beady eyes are let loose for the fall season. They are the best weapon against the scurrying bugs but they are also vegetables “pickers”, leaving holes in tomatoes and squash and anything else that catches their fancy. This weekend as we pull bug eaten foliage out of the tunnel, we will till and stick some greens in the empty space in the hopes that we can get a quick crop of fresh kale, along with some Asian leaf crops.

YOUR BAG THIS WEEK -

• Tomatoes - All sizes and all colors
• Cucumbers
• Squash
• Eggplant
• Green Beans
• Peppers
• Herb Bundle - Basil and Chives

We are so lucky this week - had lots and lots of recipes to share from everyone so here they are - thank you to Lauri, Nikol and Kathy!

From Lauri - Eggplant and roasted tomatoes for the sauce. Delicious!

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/eggplant_parmesan/

From Nikol – Recipes for Zucchini and Eggplant

We’ve made this a few times and it’s even delicious without the parmesan. The original recipe calls for a pound and a quarter of zucchini, but we use 2lbs or more. This feeds our family of three, with a small serving of leftovers. If you have extra zucchini, you can half at length wise, brush it with oil, broil it quickly, then dice it and throw it on top.

Zucchini Butter Spaghetti

Cook Time: 25 minutes Servings: Servings: 2 generously or 4 petite-ly Source: smittenkitchen.com

Ingredients

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for pasta water, and to taste

8 ounces spaghetti, cooked al dente

1 cup pasta water, reserved

1 ½-2 pounds zucchini, trimmed, coarsely grated

6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more to taste

1/2 cup (45 grams) grated parmesan

Handful fresh basil leaves, cut into thin ribbons

Boil your spaghetti in well-salted water until it’s 1 minute shy of fully cooked. Before you drain it, reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water and set it aside.

Melt butter in your empty pan over medium-high heat and add the garlic, stirring it into the butter for one minute before adding the zucchini, salt, and red pepper. Cook the zucchini, stirring from time to time, for 13 to 15 minutes. It will first let off a puddle liquid, the liquid will cook off, and the zucchini will become soft and concentrated. If the zucchini begins to brown, reduce the heat slightly. Stir frequently for 2 more minutes, chopping it down into smaller bits with the edge of your spoon or spatula, until it reaches an almost spreadable consistency.

Pour in 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water and stir up anything stuck, then add drained pasta, and cook together for 2 minutes. Use tongs or two forks to pull up the zucchini butter sauce into the pasta strands, tossing frequently, and adding some or all of the remaining pasta water as needed to loosen. Toss in half of the parmesan and basil and mix, then transfer to a serving bowl. Finish with remaining parmesan and basil.

Eggplant with Yogurt and Tomato Relish

Another one everyone loved, including me, an eggplant skeptic, and our 8-year-old. It also uses cherry tomatoes. We used far less parsley than the recipe. We sliced and grilled instead of roasting, so cook time was only about 10 minutes. I’d recommend peeling globes (we ended up eating around the skins), but probably fine to leave skins on Japanese eggplant.

Cook Time: 40 minutes Servings: Servings: 2 to 4 Source: smittenkitchen.com

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds eggplant; I prefer the long, thin variety here but any will do

Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 garlic clove

1/4 cup packed flat-leaf parsley leaves 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar, plus more to taste Red pepper flakes

1/2 cup plain yogurt

Directions

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Trim eggplants and cut in half lengthwise; season cut sides with salt and pepper. Coat a large roasting pan with olive oil (1 to 2 tablespoons). Arrange eggplants cut side down; sprinkle with more salt and pepper. Roast for 25 minutes on the first side, or until brown underneath then flip and roast 5 to 10 minutes more. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

Make tomato relish by pulsing garlic and parsley in a blender or food processor until finely chopped, then add tomatoes and pulse until they’re well chopped. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, vinegar, salt, freshly ground black pepper or a pinch or two of red pepper flakes and pulse to combine. No food process or blender? Not a problem at all; just mince the garlic and parsley well and finely chop the tomatoes; stir this together with the remaining ingredients. Both methods: taste for seasoning. We like this extra sharp and almost always add 1 more teaspoon vinegar and more salt. The longer it sits, the more potent it gets.

To assemble, schmear each eggplant half with a little yogurt. Spoon tomato relish over and serve the rest of all the above on the side.

AND Thank you Kathy! -

Here is a recipe that Kathy sent for ZUCCHINI OAT BREAD – Looks pretty yummy! Kathy says that she, like Seth, votes for “zini” at every meal!

3 cups of oat flour 2 teaspoons of baking powder 1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground ginger ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Pinch of ground cloves ½ cup unrefined brown sugar (use any sweetener of your choice)

¾ cup melted coconut oil (canola oil can also be used) 2 eggs beaten

2 cups grated zucchini tightly packed

Mix ingredients together in loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 45 minutes, checking for doneness.

Kathy also sent a recipe for BISQUICK ZUCCHINI FRITTERS - -

The recipe says that these are “simple zucchini pancakes that will make any kid glad to eat his vegetables”.

2 cups zucchini, grated (2 large or 5 small) ½ teaspoon salt

1 egg ½ cup Bisquick or more to get the right consistency

½ cup feta cheese, crumbled 2 green onions, chopped

1 teaspoon dried or 2 Tbsp. fresh dill, chopped OR you can try 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint

Freshly ground pepper to taste

Put the shredded zucchini in a strainer set over a bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Let it sit for about 20 minutes. Some of the water in the zucchini will start to drip out of the strainer. Wad up a few paper towels and push down on the zucchini in the strainer, squeezing more of the liquid out. Do this a few times. I don’t get manic about this - I know some people roll the zucchini in a towel and wring it out. I am not that dedicated! A little extra liquid won’t hurt the finished product! In a large bowl, beat the egg, then add the Bisquick, cheese, green onions and herbs. Mix it up – it will be thick. Now add the zucchini and mix again. You should have a batter the consistency of very thick pancake batter or muffin batter. Let it sit about 10 minutes; more liquid will come out of the zucchini and that is fine. Add a healthy dose of ground black pepper and that is fine. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat. I always use my cast iron pan for this – and add about 2 Tbsp. of olive oil. Drop the batter by tablespoonfuls into the hot oil. Fry the pancakes until both sides are golden brown. Repeat with the remaining batter. Don’t try and turn the pancakes too early and don’t skimp on the oil - either of these mistakes will cause the pancakes to fall apart. As the pancakes come out of the pan, put them on a rack set over baking sheet. I don’t like to drain fried things on paper towels – it makes them soggier than they need to be. You can keep them in a warm oven if you like, but I normally serve them at room temperatures because in our house they are definitely finger food.

Kathy also sent some links to other zucchini recipes – Izzy just left with the Zucchini Waffle recipe in hand! Check it out – it is on the link with the “15 Zucchini Side Dishes you will eat all summer” –

https://www.allrecipes.com/gallery/summer-zucchini-side-dishes/ - this one has the Waffle Recipe! 😊

https://kentrollins.com/squash-casserole-traditional-recipe/ - and this is another one that we are going to try!

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/zucchini-pancakes-recipe-1948910

Thank you to everyone for sharing recipe ideas! We really appreciate it!

So, the question for this week was, “how many people does it take to push the rototiller backwards up the hill?” and the answer for us was four or maybe 3 ½? 😊 I was tilling down in the bottom tunnel Sunday afternoon and Katy had brought the lawnmower down to mow around the tunnel so there was lots of noise and I did not notice any unusual sounds with my tiller until it was too late. The tiller was hesitating once in a while and then the tines quit turning so, I tried pulling all the built up twisted and tangled roots and stems out from between the sharp dirt cutters. Banged knuckles and sore fingers after sweating thru removing the dried debris and still nothing when I put the tiller in gear and that was when Katy noticed that the belt ends were sticking out and it was in two pieces and she said that although she is not a mechanic, she was pretty sure that was the problem! So, then the real task was how to push this very heavy machine up the hill to the shed where we could work on it. With Katy pulling and me pushing, and the tiller going backwards, we managed with Seth’s direction to get about ½ way up the hill when we broke down - no, not with another problem. We were practically rolling on the ground, laughing at what we must look like as we jerkily pushed and pulled the yellow machine backwards up a rocky path. Seth was worried at the sight of his mom and “moss” in such a state and called loudly for his sister to come and help saying, “we need help to push and we are knackered and you need to come and help” and at that, Katy and I were in danger of actually going backwards as we laughed and laughed at Seth picking up a term, “knackered” from a book series that Katy and I have been listening to and loving. Sobriety returned as Izzy with a questioning look appeared to help the “knackered” towing party finally make it to the top. Tiller is still broken down but at least we were able to recover enough to pick the bag and do chores! 😊

Blessings of health from the farm - Seth, Izzy, Dan, Katy, Zach, Jen and Teresa

Sunday afternoon dip – only it wasn’t in the pool. Instead, this guy jumped in his pen mates watering pan!

Seth loves that his big sis can hold on to the skinks but really it looks like he is holding on to her? This guy kept his tail and left only dents in Izzy’s finger!

Getting ready to start up the hill . . . .