Sundog CSA July 3rd, 2023
June ended with storms and wind damage at Zach and Jen’s home in Topeka while the hill had a typical summer evening with a little wind and .02 of moisture if you counted the dried scum and lone fly floating in the rain gauge. JULY began with RAIN here on the hill - .48 in the gauge that was cleaned and a new baby calf when we started evening chores. We were grateful for the moisture because up to last evening we were very dry. Unfortunately, lots did not receive a drop! It feels good when the whole area is blessed with that life giving water.
We spent part of Saturday at Zach and Jen’s loading up fallen tree branches and mending a boundary fence, all while ducking low hanging wires that were propped up on stakes. As Zach described it, we took home a “food truck” for the goats, loaded with leaves and tender branches which the goats loved. They were excited to unload our loot for us. We also brought home a little deadwood which became fuel for our clay oven Saturday night. Our oven needs some repairs and is on the “to-do” list for this summer but even with the cracks and holes, Izzy’s home-made pizzas were baked to perfection!
Gardening this week has been carrying hoses and water buckets, trying to keep everything alive while we waited for rain. The leaves of a lot of crops yellowed and got crisp at the edges with the intense heat through Friday. Squash plants continue to produce as we work to keep ahead of the beetles and bugs. We have a few tomatoes this week and are hoping for more. Our cucumbers have finally started to take off after sitting at the same height for what has seemed like weeks. The beans are slow and our hopes are that this recent moisture will make for a harvest that has better texture for the next picking. I am amazed at the grasses and weeds that seem to exist on air and thrive on heat. Our potato patch is filled with them and as we dig, we are piling them against our terrace logs to serve as barriers for run off and to give back to the land what they took to grow so huge! The potato harvest is low so far and just as an experiment, we kept back a few cuttings and they were stuck in the ground this week on a “root” day.
YOUR BAG THIS WEEK – grown in an organic manner 😊
- Squash
- Onions
- Tomatoes
- Chard
- Basil
- Rhubarb – please check out the recipes / links we are listing for recipes for this unique fruit/vegetable.
RECIPES:
Taste of Home’s Garden Fresh Recipes –
Spinach Salad with Rhubarb Dressing - Substitute Chard for some of the spinach called for in this recipe
DRESSING:
2 cups chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb ½ cup sugar
¼ cup vinegar ¾ cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons grated onion 1 ½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp. salt
SALAD:
6 cups torn fresh spinach (part or all chard) 6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
½ cup fresh bean sprouts ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 to 2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
In a saucepan, combine rhubarb, sugar and vinegar; cook over medium heat until tender, about 6 minutes. Drain, reserving 6 tablespoons juice; discard pulp. Pour juice into a jar with a tight-fitting lid; add oil, onion, Worcestershire sauce and salt. Shake well. Refrigerate for one hour. Just before serving, combine salad ingredients in a large bowl. Add dressing; toss to coat. YIELD: 6-8 servings.
RHUBARB LINKS: For the holiday we are going to try rhubarb ice cream. Here is a link to the recipe that we are using and a link to a recipe that does not require an ice cream maker. The No-Churn recipe is the one that Izzy made today – we will review it next week! 😊
https://theviewfromgreatisland.com/homemade-rhubarb-ice-cream-recipe/
On the top link we also found a recipe for Rhubarb Soda that looks very interesting!
https://ourtableforseven.com/no-churn-rhubarb-ice-cream/
I also found a recipe that might be fun for the 4th of July holiday - -LEMON BASIL CAKE (ANY fresh basil will work in this unique cake) This recipe comes from ONE UNITED HARVEST which is a book of recipes collected by Julie Sochacki. Subtitled: Creative recipes from America’s Community Supported Farms –
2 ½ cups cake flour ¼ cup chopped lemon basil
2 ½ tsp. baking powder ¼ cup chopped lesbos basil (another basil variety)
½ tsp. salt 2 Tablespoons finely chopped lemon peel
½ cup butter 1 tsp. vanilla
1 ½ cups sugar 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons buttermilk
2 eggs
Grease a 9 x 13 pan. Combine the first three ingredients. Mix the next five ingredients in separate bowl. Alternating with the buttermilk, mix all ingredients together. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Top with your favorite fruit.
RECIPE NOTE: Lesbos basil is also known as Greek Columnar basil. This recipe was shared by Rusty and Claire Orner of Quiet Creek Herb Farm in Pennsylvania.
From the same recipe book comes FARM FRESH MUFFINS (the variations are endless)
1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)
1 ½ cups buttermilk (as substitutes: add a tsp. of vinegar to regular milk or soy milk)
1 cup of wheat germ, toasted or raw
1/3 cup canola oil or butter, melted
¾ cup brown sugar
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves or allspice
2 eggs, lightly beaten (substitute: 1/3 cup of soy milk for 2 eggs)
2 cups shredded yellow squash
1 cup shredded zucchini
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl: flour, wheat germ, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. Then mix all wet ingredients in a second bowl: eggs, buttermilk, oil or butter, and vegetables. Combine the wet and dry ingredients with a few swift strokes. Use a rubber spatula to stir the batter from the bottom and sides of the bowl. Eliminate pockets of flour, but leave lumps in batter, so do not beat. Stir in walnuts or pecans. Scoop the batter into 12 to 16 greased muffin tins. Bake at 375 degrees in the upper third of the oven until browned and well risen, about 25 minutes. RECIPE NOTE: This basic buttermilk muffin recipe can be easily modified. Use different amounts of fresh vegetables or even fresh or dried fruits, sweetened coconut and chocolate chips. For a higher protein variation, replace part of the wheat germ with quinoa, amaranth or soy flour.
This recipe was shared by Annaliese Franz and Jared Shaw from Waltham Fields Community Farm in Massachusetts.
And the last shared recipe from the above book is MIM’S VEGETABLE MELANGE (featuring yellow squash and zucchini)
3-4 Tablespoons olive oil chunky sea salt
2-5 garlic cloves black pepper
1 onion, chopped 3 c. mushrooms, stems removed, caps thinly sliced
1 large, 2 med. Or 4 small zucchini or yellow squash or a combination of both
(10 oz.) fresh or frozen greens – spinach, kale, collards, chard
1 ½ Tablespoons fresh basil
1 ½ tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. sweet Hungarian pepper
Sun-dried tomatoes
Rice or pasta, full cooked
Sauté squash, onions and minced garlic in ½ oil for about ten minutes. Toss in herbs, salt and pepper and sprinkle with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. Toss in herbs, salt and pepper and sprinkle with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. Cover pan and cook over high heat for about 2 minutes. Then reduce heat and cook covered until the veggies are soft but not mushy. Meanwhile, sauté mushrooms in remaining oil until tender and a little brown on the edges. Defrost greens if frozen and squeeze out the water. Add mushrooms and greens to squash mixture. Stir and cook together for about 15 more minutes to blend flavors.
RECIPE NOTE: I added some sundried tomatoes for color and served this over rice or pasta. This recipe was shared by Mim Golub Scalin, Sprout CSA
Standing around chatting as we got ready to leave and a baby praying mantis was spotted on the back of Jen’s car - she sent this picture of him walking between her defrost lines. And here is the goat “food truck” – a self service vehicle filled with “goat goodies”!
Born July 1st, and of course we are calling her July and a surprise hatch on July 2nd ended up with seven baby chicks and one mad red hen who had thought that she was well hidden.
Supper in our clay oven under an almost full Buck Moon was a wonderful way to end Saturday night.
There are all kinds of risks out on the farm and they usually involve machinery or large animals or being tired and using the wrong tool for a job. We have had a lot of near misses because we have made rushed decisions but luckily, hopefully we have learned to think things out before we do something that could cause a bigger problem than the one we were trying to solve. This past week, Katy came up against a problem that we haven’t had a lot of experience with – yet. She was working outside and it was hot. All of a sudden, something bit her hard on the leg and she clutched her leg which seemed to intensify the problem and while holding her pants, she realized that whatever was biting her had flown in thru the rather large hole in the knee of her pants. No time to think this one out, she shucked her pants and disabled the angry hornet who had probably been caught in the crease of her knee. Having a hole in your pants is not usually what we consider a risk but patching has now moved up the priority list for Katy!
Blessings from the farm – and a Happy 4th of July! Katy, Izzy, Dan, Seth, Jen, Zach and Teresa