Sundog Farms

Sundog CSA August 7th, 2023

It is hard to believe that we are already thru the first week of August and also hard to believe how much the weather has changed in the last 24 hours. Those first few days of August were definitely “dog days”. I was curious about where that expression comes from and so looked it up only to find out that it was about a lot more than the hot, sweaty days of summer. It comes from ancient Greek and Roman times and is tied to the rising of Sirius, the Dog Star at sunrise which happens from July 3rd to August 11th. Sirius is the brightest star in the sky other than the Sun. In ancient times, the “dog days” were thought to be a time of drought, bad luck and unrest! Growing up, I pictured the dog days as when our old collie dog would find the coolest spot on the farm and dig in around mid-day and not appear again until late afternoon. She would let you lay on her without protest and those days were useful for plotting and planning or daydreaming the long summer afternoons away. Those were the dog days of my understanding 😊

Well, the first part of the “dog days” definition has certainly been true on the hill. In the last week, we received .06 on Thursday evening and .04 last night for a whopping total of .10 in the last seven days. The good news tonight is that there is a cool breeze coming in the windows and the forecast even had some 60 degrees temperatures for evening lows. I saw some pictures of rainclouds on there also and guess I will keep my fingers crossed. If the ancients were correct, August 12th would bring us some weather changes. We did plant some turnips and with soaker hoses have the tiniest of sprouts germinated this week. Squash bugs took out most of the cucumber plantings and all of the squash bed but we are planting short harvest varieties again Tuesday and hoping we miss the next hatch. We are also planting in the chicken pen in tubes in the hopes that the chickens will eat any bugs that attempt to enter their “sacred chicken space”. Speaking of chickens eating bugs, we have a red feathered hen that was keeping us company today as Izzy and I picked cherry tomatoes – orange, red, yellow ones in different shapes and sizes.

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Following us to the pepper bed, these tiny little black Silkies tried to have a “hen party” under the shade of a tiny Cayenne pepper plant while this little almost invisible frog was hiding out inside of a chard leaf. And on the underside of another chard leaf, was this beautiful moth, huge with hidden stripes that we think is a hummingbird moth. It sat on Katy’s hand and spanned her fingers almost as I took pictures of him. Lots of garden treasures today !

YOUR BAG THIS WEEK -

  • Large tomatoes
  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Potatoes
  • Onions
  • Peppers
  • Swiss Chard
  • Beets
  • Basil/Chives
  • And we threw a tiny little hot pepper in the bag for fun! 😊

RECIPE SHARE:

A few years ago, Cal and Kathy donated some recipe books to us and we found this recipe with fresh tomato sauce and pasta in The Classic Vegetable Cookbook by Ruth Spear. Thanks Cal and Kathy!

1 ½ pounds fresh ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and cubed 2/3 cup fruity olive oil

1 cup fresh basil leaves, washed and dried (about 20 leaves) salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 large garlic cloves, chopped 2/3 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

8 ounces imported penne

Put the cubed tomatoes in a bowl. Heat 1/3 cup of the olive oil in a small skillet and sauté the garlic for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Add to the bowl with the tomatoes, add the rest of the olive oil and let stand for one or two hours.

Put a large quantity of salted water to boil, and cook the pasta according to the package directions until just tender.

While the pasta cooks, warm a large bowl and serving dishes. Shred the basil coarsely and add to the tomatoes. Add salt to taste and a liberal grinding of black pepper.

Drain the pasta and put in the warmed bowl. Scoop a few tablespoons of the oil from the tomatoes, add to the pasta and toss. Divide the pasta among the heated plates, top with the tomato mixture and sprinkle with grated cheese. Serves four as a first course.

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Tiny turnips germinating under the Full Sturgeon Moon or sometimes called the Green Corn Moon. The end of August brings another full moon since it is a month of Blue Moons and also shorter day lengths by almost thirty minutes. It is a reminder to me to enjoy as many fresh tomatoes as I can hold because these days are flying by!

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