Sundog Farms

Sundog CSA July 22nd, 2024

One of the most beautiful weekends we have had this year - a long warm rainy day on Saturday and a beautiful sunny Sunday. At the end of Saturday, there was .44 in the rain gauge and we were grateful for every drop. It was slow and soaking and very beneficial for crops and people. It almost felt like an apology for last weekend’s roasting spell. We spent time picking in the tunnels, hanging out laundry, cutting winter wood (Dan), mourning the death of our squash and cucumber plants as we picked the last of that crop and fixing the electric fence since the escaped pigs alerted us to the fact that it was no longer working. It is still ticking on the low side but that is apparently enough to change the pigs’ minds about which direction that they are interested in exploring. We spend a lot of time walking the electric fence line and yesterday, mowed underneath it in the rain and repaired the pipe that encloses the overhead wire in the hopes that those were the problems. It helped and we are hoping that the wind dries out the rest of the grass and weeds and our charge goes up a little more.

Cucumbers and turnips were planted this past week in the hopes that the rain would bring them up and that the squash bugs having beat us in the first go-round would pack up and move on. Our peppers are beautiful and big – the variety that we picked today was Revolution. We pulled beets for the first time and encountered a problem that we have not had before -Root-Knot Nematodes. We noticed bumpy surfaces on the beets and think that this is our problem. Looking for some ideas on how to get these almost invisible pests to move on, we found that solarization might work so covering the soil with plastic and letting the dirt heat up to high temperatures kills them and their eggs. It is definitely worth a try however this year we are just going to have to put up with the bumps. We fired up our clay oven this afternoon and roasted some beets, potatoes, green beans, carrots and covered them with sliced and quartered onions and seasoned the whole cast iron skillet, added a few squirts of olive oil and stuck them in. They were delicious! So, the bumps have not affected the taste or texture yet.

YOUR BAG THIS WEEK –

  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Large Tomatoes
  • Green Beans
  • Okra
  • Cucumber
  • Squash – Lebanese Marrow (the large light green/white ones), Patty pan, Summer or Zucchini
  • Potatoes
  • Sweet Pepper

RECIPE SHARE –

Lebanese Marrow Squash are an heirloom summer squash with a thick skin which give them a longer shelf life. We were really hoping that our plants could somehow outwit the squash bugs because these are super squash! They can be used like any other squash so here are a couple of recipes to try.

Summer Veggie Pie from One United Harvest, Creative Recipes from America’s Community Supported Farms

2 cups chopped tomatoes (no need to peel) fresh herbs

1 box of cornbread mix (or you could mix up a batch of your own cornbread recipe)

2 cups other chopped veggies – onions, summer squash, peppers, corn, beans or any other fresh vegetables

Chop all vegetables into an ovenproof casserole dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or microwave for 8 minutes until vegetables are partially cooked. Remove from oven and top with the corn bread mix, mixed according to the package directions. Bake for an additional 20 minutes until cornbread is nicely browned. Serves 4 to 6.

Recipe NOTE: One of our previous CSA customers came up with this and cooked it often in his solar oven. I love the fact that you can use anything that is fresh from the field - Robbins.

This recipe is shared by Robbins Hail, Bear Creek Farms, Missouri

SUMMERTIME PASTA from One United Harvest, Creative Recipes from America’s Community Supported Farms

2-3 Tablespoons olive oil 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

2 garlic cloves 3 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1 medium onion, chopped salt and pepper, to taste

¼ cup chopped celery 5-6 cups chopped fresh tomatoes

3-4 banana peppers, seeded and sliced in thin strips 1 lb. whole wheat angel hair pasta or spaghetti

3 cups assorted summer squash cut into bite sized pieces

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In olive oil, sauté the garlic, onion and celery. When soft, add the banana peppers and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Add the summer squash, parsley and basil and cook 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat. Chop the tomatoes and place in a large bowl. Add the sauteed vegetables and stir. Let set at room temperature while the pasta is cooking. When the pasta is ready, drain and rinse with cold water. Drain again and place in a large bowl. Add olive oil and fresh grated Parmesan cheese and toss lightly. Serve the pasta and the tomato sauce at room temperature. Also pass Parmesan cheese for individual tastes.

Recipe share by Diane from Henry A. Wallace County Life Center, Iowa

GREEK-STYLE One Dish Meal from One United Harvest, Creative Recipes from America’s Community Supported Farms

1 lb. ground beef 2 tomatoes, diced

1 onion, diced 2 cups cut green beans

1 garlic clove, minced 2 Tablespoons tomato paste

12 cups beef broth 2 teaspoons oregano

1 ½ cup whole wheat penne pasta, uncooked ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup feta cheese

In a large saucepan, brown beef with onion and garlic. Add broth and bring to a boil. Add pasta. Return to a boil. Stir in all ingredients except feta cheese. Return to a boil. Add ½ cup of feta cheese. Simmer until sauce thickens, about 7 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Recipe share by Jeanine from Waltham Fields Community Farm, Massachusetts

Sharing some tomato pictures -

These are some of the varieties that we picked this week - starting on the top row left to right: Pineapple Pig, Early Treat, Pink Berkeley, White Tomesol, Cherokee Purple, Queen of the Night, and Plum Regal.

And a picture of Seth feeding chickens a treat, sitting among the Rose of Sharon blooms was almost as magical as moving day for a cicada that Izzy spotted while we were collecting firewood for the clay oven and cooking supper.

Speaking of magic and trying to see it in your days is hard and easy at the same time if I can remember that it is an option. Like tonight, it is late and we are just now finishing up the milking because we have had so many things we had to do and wanted to do. Summer days are long and you sometimes forget that the clock and the sun are not in agreement. I am bottling the last cow’s contribution and Seth is shouting at us to come and see something and the first reaction is not one of excitement but his shouts are loud and long enough that we stop and head out the door and see that he is pointing to the sky where the the full “buck moon” sits on a blanket of clouds. I realize that this moon is special because tonight is the only night that I will see it and that is magic – it is here and it is gone. So, walking carefully through the dark, we find a spot where we can see it in all its roundness and we stand a spell and take it in and hold it tight because we need all the magic we can find in this world! Thank you Seth for shouting! 😊