Sundog Farms

Sundog CSA July 14th, 2025

We need rain. We are in the same place that we were last week at this time – dry! We did wake up this morning to some water in the gauge - .31 and were grateful to get it, however, it is not near enough to ease the dry conditions on the hill and in our surrounding neighborhood. So, if anyone knows the official rain dance, now is the time to put it into motion!

The hornworms and army worms have been joined by Green June Beetles.

I wasn’t sure what the difference between a Green June Beetle and a Japanese Beetle was until I examined pictures and saw that the Japanese Beetles have little white dots along their sides and rear and those dots are actually tufts of hair. This guy, sitting patiently on Katy’s finger, does not have white dots so I feel that he is a true June beetle, although really, he should either leave the country or call himself a July Beetle. Not only is he dressed in metallic colors, he buzzes loudly and flies very well, although a little awkward coming in for a landing. The information I read from the extension office said that the positive thing about them is that they are a crunchy snack for lizards, toads etc. and those creatures eat other pests in the gardens. At this point, it seems that they have more in the plus column than the negative column. And another plus is that they are beautiful.

Bugs of the week are 1st – Wheelie with beady eyes and a long “stabber”; next a dung beetle – valuable assets to a farm; next is a Giant Swallowtail Butterfly and last is a spider enjoying a late supper. It is amazing how many beings besides us live on the hill!

YOUR BAG THIS WEEK –

  • Roots - Carrots and Beets
  • Kohlrabi
  • Potatoes
  • Onions
  • Tomatoes – Cherry and Salad
  • Peppers
  • Squash – squash bugs are hitting it hard! ☹
  • Chives

RECIPE SHARE - from Nikol - Thank you so much!!

I’ve also been using tons of kohlrabi or turnips, peeled and julienned along with an apple if I have one and any sweet dressing with a squeeze or lemon or lime to make a great crunchy summer slaw. Also good with a little minced fresh jalapeño tossed in.

Pasta with No-Cook Zucchini Sauce

Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes Servings: 4–6 servings Source: Epicurious.com

Note: feel free to use more zucchini and less butter/oil; still delicious! The only time you are heating up the kitchen is to cook the pasta.

Ingredients

2 lb. zucchini and/or yellow squash (about 4 large)

1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 2¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, divided, plus more

7 garlic cloves, finely grated

½ cup (lightly packed) coarsely chopped basil, plus leaves for serving

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp. finely grated lemon zest

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1 lb. dried cannelloni or other small tubular pasta

6 oz. cream cheese, cut into ½” pieces

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into ½” pieces

4 oz. Parmesan, finely grated, plus more for serving

Directions

Trim 2 lb. zucchini and/or yellow squash (about 4 large), then cut in half lengthwise. Very thinly slice each half into ⅛”-thick half-moons and place in a large bowl (you should have about 7 cups). Add 1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt and massage into squash. (It’s okay if some of the squash break down slightly.) Transfer zucchini to a colander and set over same bowl; let sit at room temperature 30 minutes.

Firmly squeeze zucchini with your hands to remove any excess liquid; discard liquid in bowl. Place zucchini in empty bowl and add 7 garlic cloves, finely grated, ½ cup (lightly packed) coarsely chopped basil, ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, 2 Tbsp. finely grated lemon zest, ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, 2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, 1 tsp. freshly ground pepper, and 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt. Toss to combine and let sit at room temperature at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour.

Meanwhile, cook 1 lb. dried cannelloni or other small tubular pasta in a large pot of boiling heavily salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid. Shake pasta to remove excess water and place back into hot pot.

Immediately add 6 oz. cream cheese, cut into ½” pieces, and 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into ½” pieces, to pasta and vigorously stir until cream cheese and butter are melted. Add zucchini mixture, including any liquid in the bottom of the bowl, and 4 oz. Parmesan, finely grated, and toss to combine. Continue tossing, adding reserved pasta water a tablespoon at a time, until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth and creamy. Taste and season with more salt if needed.

Divide pasta among shallow bowls and top with basil leaves and more Parmesan.

Another of Nikol’s favorites ———-

Zucchini Cake with Ginger and nuts

Cook Time: 1 hour Servings: Yield 12 servings Source: cooking.nytimes.com

INGREDIENTS

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 ¼ cups sugar

2 large eggs

½ cup vegetable oil

⅓ cup orange juice

2 teaspoons orange zest

2 teaspoons peeled, grated ginger root

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ½ cups grated zucchini

½ cup finely chopped hazelnuts (optional, or another nut of choice—we used pecans)

DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, orange juice, zest, ginger and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the flour and stir until just combined. Fold in the zucchini and hazelnuts.

Butter and flour a tube pan. Scrape the batter into the pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack. Slice and serve. NOTES: Squeeze water out of zucchini and then measure it. Baked for about 36 min.

CARROT TOP INFORMATION: Carrot tops are edible and can be used in lots of different ways. They are rich in vitamins A, C, and K as well as calcium, iron and other minerals. Make sure that you wash them as you would any vegetable or salad ingredient. Use only the tender leaves and tender stems and discard any tough stems. They can be used either raw or cooked.

The week here on the farm was hot! Like the animals, we looked forward to the cooldowns in the evenings. Saturday and Sunday evening were exciting as Izzy caught two more huge blacksnakes in the chicken house. We bucket them and off they go to see the sights along the Dragoon Creek. Watering and more watering - animals, plants and people, took up a large part of the days for the at-home crew. Pearl and her calf (Jemma Sprout) are doing well. Jemma has made friends with Uma’s baby and they hang out during the day with both moms panicking a little when the “kids” are slow to come at snack time! This week’s to-do list has mulching at the top as we try to save some crops and evening worm picking is second. Katy took a picture of the high tunnel this evening at “picking time” –

And this is my feel-good picture for the week - not one seed planted by us. I wish all of our crops would spring up, flourish and amaze like this patch of black eyed Susans.

There are times when life feels like this - hanging on by your toes or webs? And then we remember that we can swim which is what this little guy did when the cows came to claim their drinking tank!

Remember to rain dance!

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