Week 9 Newsletter

Newsletter Archive

The Cicadas are Here, the Cicadas are Here!

 

The arrival of the cicadas marks the beginning of the most difficult time of the season.  They are here to sing the high notes while the rest of us are passed out on a lawn chair somewhere with watered down lemonade from too many melted ice cubes.  The cicadas pulse their buzzes on and off, overlapping and interrupting each other, hardly ever a moment of true silence.  We the humans are wiping our brows, feeling defeated by mother nature with our sun burns, our sweat pimples and our down right exhaustion from too much heat and humidity.  But the cicadas are in their moment of glory, their 15 minutes of fame.  If you actually listen to them long enough while you’re weeding your flower bed or hanging out your laundry, they’ll take you into a form of meditation.  You’ll notice how they all sound a little different and how they sort of compete with the crickets for the longest and loudest song. 

 

I’ve never really liked the cicadas.  In all honesty, please forgive me for this, I’ve never really liked summer all that much.  I know, it’s terrible, but it’s definitely my least favorite season, if I had my pick of the four.  Some people live for the heat and are reveling right along with the cicadas, but my body slows and becomes more sluggish.  I love cool spring breezes and watching everything come to life again, and wearing cotton and wool sweaters in the fall, while watching the garden go to sleep again.  And you all know how much I love winter, being a farmer and all.  But the arrival of the cicadas is a marking in time for me, a turning of the wheel.  For me, the survival game has begun.

 

This time of year happens to be our busiest time of year also.  We’re harvesting our spring plantings, and weeding our early summer plantings and trying to plant some of our fall brassicas.  All the rest of the seasons for us are mostly just planting and weeding, or weeding and harvesting, but planting, weeding and harvesting all at once when it’s 90 degrees and the days are waning, I just keep putting one foot in front of the other.  All personal time that I would normally allow for myself to stretch, or sleep in, or get off of the farm for a night is completely put on hold until the cicadas are gone.  It’s like I blame it all on them, and that sort of helps a little.

 

These hot summer days are long, yet predictable.  I know it’s a period of the summer that lasts for about three weeks and then things seem to mellow out a little and start to cool down again.  One day I may learn to sign with the cicadas, rather than dread them, but until that time I’ll just continue to observe them and try to find ways to be more like them, brave and obvious and constant. 

 

So….WHAT’S in the BOX???

Garlic–  Yep, more fresh garlic.  Sorry, we’re not taking the time to clean it for you, there’s too much else to do. 

Lettuce– Maybe just one more week for lettuce, and then it might stop for a little while, we’ll see. 

Cilantro–We thought we would give this one more time, real quick, because we don’t have any more successions coming on for awahile yet.  Eat it up while it’s here! 

Broccoli— Wow, the broccoli harvest this week surprised me.  Maybe just one more week, maybe.  

Cauliflower-  I wouldn’t exactly call it a bumper crop, but it gets  better every year. 

Green Onions-  More delicious green onions to use in place of the real thing.  We’re thinking in two or three weeks, the real onions will be ready for pulling. 

Kohlrabi-  Either a white or purple kohlrabi.  Kohlrabi is in the same family as broccoli, cabbage, kale and cauliflower.  The leaves are edible.  Peel kohlrabi and use for cooking or eating raw.  It’s getting a little hot now for this, but we probably have one more week of it left.

Summer Squash, Zucchini, Patty Pan, and/or cucumbers-Plenty of summer squash, zucchini, and or patty pans to go around this week.  They all taste the same, pretty much, just shaped and colored differently.  I’m afraid the cucumbers aren’t looking so good, but some folks did receive one.   

Beets-  Yeah!  The beets are finally here.  Remember the tops are edible too.  Use tops like you would use chard or kale.  Beets are in the same family as chard and spinach. 

 

 

Next week!  A short list of items that we may have next week, but will not promise to have.  Due to the unexpectedness of the season, anything could pop up or go down hill in no time. 

Lettuce, broccoli, parsley, cauliflower, green onions, garlic, cabbage, potatoes, summer squash, zucchini, patty pans,

 

Week 9 Recipes, by Momma Jane

 

Beet and Feta Salad with Honey-Oregano Vinaigrette

· 4 large beets                                                                

· Tablespoons olive oil

· 2 Tablespoons honey  

· 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar  

· 1 large garlic clove  

· 2 Tablespoons fresh oregano leaves or 2 teaspoons dried

· 1-1/2 tsp Dijon mustard 

· 1 small red onion, diced small  

· Fresh salad greens, enough to make a nice bed on a large platter  

· 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (cow's milk feta is milder than sheep's milk)  

· 1/3 cup chopped toasted walnuts  

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the tops off the beets, leaving 2 inches of the stems. Wrap beets in foil. Roast until tender, about 1 hour. Cool, peel and slice the beets. 

While beets are roasting, you can roast the walnuts and make up the salad dressing. I put the walnuts in a toaster oven, at around 250 degrees for about 10-15 minutes (if you do it in too hot an oven, the walnuts can burn). To prepare the dressing, blend oil, honey, vinegar, garlic, oregano and mustard in blender until thick. Season with salt and pepper.  

Wash and dry salad greens, and keep them fresh in the fridge until you're ready to assemble the salad. Arrange the greens on a serving platter. Top with sliced beets, feta, walnuts and red onion. Spoon dressing over.    Enjoy!

 

Roasted beet salad with beet greens and feta

A couple recipes from the Animal, Vegetable, Miracle Website

 

DISAPPEARING ZUCCHINI ORZO

¾ lb pkg orzo pasta (multicolored is fun)

Bring 6 cups water or chicken stock to a boil and add pasta. Cook 8 to 12 minutes

1 chopped onion, garlic to taste

3 large zucchini

olive oil for sauté

Use a cheese grater or mandoline to shred zucchini, sauté briefly with chopped onion and garlic until lightly golden.

thyme

oregano

¼ cup grated parmesan or any hard yellow cheese

Add spices to zucchini mixture, stir thoroughly, and then remove mixture from heat.

Combine with cheese and cooked orzo, salt to taste, serve cool or at room temperature.

ZUCCHINI CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

(Makes about two dozen)

1 egg, beaten

½ cup butter, softened

½ cup brown sugar

1/3 cup honey

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Combine in large bowl.

1 cup white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

Combine in a separate, small bowl and blend into liquid mixture

1 cup finely shredded zucchini

12 oz chocolate chips

Stir these into other ingredients, mix well. Drop by spoonful onto greased baking sheet, and flatten with the back of a spoon. Bake at 350°, 10 to 15 minutes.

 

 

 

Onions above, pepper below