Sundog Farms

Sundog CSA August 26th, 2024

NO BAG NEXT MONDAY - WE ARE CELEBRATING LABOR AND HOPE YOU ARE ALSO! 😊

HOT and dry described the weekend weather. Shade trees became a gathering place for any conversations and we found ourselves moving slower and slower as the day wore on. We abandoned gardening chores other than watering and picking and instead went back to our building repair project. At least one side of the building was in the shade and progress was made by the time the day ended. We are patching the bottom stringers as only the ends of the old 2 x 8’s were broken off. The small shed boasts old lumber that is thick and possessive of every nail that was ever hammered into it and there were a lot of them as we uncovered the “bones” of the building. There is a loud reluctant sound that an old nail makes when you pull it from the place someone pounded it into years ago. I think about the builders of the shed and wonder what the day was like when they put those nails into boards and hope that it was cooler than our day was today. The back of the building is now fairly level with concrete block supports and our next step will be to replace some structure boards and maybe do the flooring while the back is off. We are crossing our fingers that the building holds together while we muddle through the repairs.

Our calves added to the general noisy chaos for a day or two because we decided that it was a good time to wean or at least the calendar said the day was perfect for that process. For a day or two, moms and calves did some loud talking to each other but all seem to have adjusted. The pigs spent Sunday afternoon luxuriating in a large lake because we ran the water tank over. They had excavated a large round depression and they were ecstatic to find it full of water. The pigs were so comfortable with only snouts blowing bubbles and waves lapping when someone shifted that it made it hard to regret the “overfill”.

We continue to pick worms and found a new one today. Research says this worm is “nerice bidentata”. He is an elm tree leaf “eater” and dweller and grows up to be a “Double -Toothed Prominent Moth”. Most importantly, he does not eat tomatoes! 😊

YOUR BAG THIS WEEK –

  • Potatoes
  • Large Tomatoes
  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Hot Peppers
  • Sweet Peppers of all colors
  • Swiss Chard
  • Chives w/a rosemary sprig! 😊
  • Okra
  • Onion

If you find yourself needing something to do with your cherry tomatoes, try this recipe. We love it!

DRIED TOMATOES – this recipe was shared by a friend of ours from the BETTER HOMES & GARDENS Canning magazine.

Wash and dry your cherry tomatoes and then split them in half. Preheat your oven to 225 degrees and arrange the tomatoes on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Using the following recipe, sprinkle on the tomatoes.

2 Tablespoons fresh thyme leaves (we substituted dried thyme and used exchange amounts – fresh to dried)

1 Tablespoon packed brown sugar

1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt to ¾ teaspoon cracked black pepper.

Bake for 5-6 hours or until leathery but not brittle. If you have a dehydrator, place in a single layer on the mesh shelves and dehydrate until leathery.

We allowed these dried treats to cool and then packed them into canning jars and ate them as dried food treats. One of the other suggestions was to puree into vinaigrette salad dressings or add them to sauces, soups, salads, etc. wherever you need a real tomato flavor standout.

HERBS: Drying herbs is a great way to save them for off season use. Hang them in string bundles or place them a small paper sack with ventilation holes and dry until leaves are crisp enough to crumble. We store dried basil in dry canning jars. You can also chop herbs and put them into ice cube trays that you then fill with water and freeze. Toss the cubes into recipes for extra flavor. Another fun thing to do with dried herbs is to get creative and make your own seasonings.

And from Farm Fresh Recipes by Janet Majure

Easy No-Cook Tomato Sauce

4 tomatoes, coarsely shopped

1 Tablespoon olive oil

¾ teaspoon each salt and sugar

½ teaspoon ground pepper

1 ½ - 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

In a good processor or blender, combine all ingredients. Process to make a rough textured sauce. Adjust seasoning to taste. Use on pasta or as a condiment.

For variations, add: ½ cup chopped fresh basil; ¼ cup chopped Greek olives plus 1 ½ teaspoon finely grated orange peel; ½ cup feta cheese plus ¾ teaspoon minced fresh rosemary; 3 Tablespoons capers plus 3 Tablespoons chopped parsley.

PICTURES from our week –

This coming week marks the end of another month and starts the countdown towards another season in a few weeks. I am not sure if every being is feeling the stress of time flying but it sure seemed that way today as we fished a cicada out of our bucket of rinse water in the barn tonight for the second time; moved a very determined tree frog out of the crate of tomatoes for the second time; listened to Hank (security dog for the farm) bark at the people who live here with him; observed a grasshopper make his get-a-way while the hens ran around the pen chasing each other instead of the hopper and watched Dan flush a tiny beetle who thought that he was at home for the evening, out of Katy’s ear. Seemed like everyone was either in the wrong place, or going the wrong way and I can certainly sympathize because that is how I ended up picking itchy okra on the hottest day of summer. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time! 😊

Stay cool and practice your rain dances!

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