We are bracing for another hot and humid week out in the fields, though hopefully by Thursday we’ll get a little relief. Harvest is taking up a large chunk of our days right now. Crops like summer squash, zucchini, cucumbers, and now tomatoes, need to be harvested on an every-other-day schedule so that fruit don’t get too big or overly ripe. That means if Wednesday is a zucchini harvest day, whether we’ve got space in our cooler or not we have to harvest it! We are constantly rearranging our cooler to fit freshly harvested crops, and we are also constantly washing harvest buckets. While lugging around full buckets of cucumbers in hot and humid temps is a challenge, the upside is that cooler rearranging and washing all the empty harvest buckets afterwards are comparatively pleasant tasks!
In addition to some exciting new crops (including peppers, tomatoes, potatoes and sweet corn), the PYO Flower field will open to PYO Flower CSA members this week. We anticipate opening the field to the general public next week!
In the CSA this week:
Tomato - As always, at the beginning of tomato harvesting season quantities are very limited in the CSA, but yields should pick up in the next week or two!
Green/purple pepper - Like tomatoes, they will be limited for now, but we expect to have larger quantities soon.
Potatoes - Dark Red Norland variety (red skin, white flesh).
Fresh Onions - We grow a white variety (Ailsa Craig) and a red variety (Red Long of Tropea). These fresh onions are milder than cured onions, and they should be kept in the fridge. Our onion plants have suffered more than some of our other crops in the hot, low precipitation weather. We have had far more onion thrip pressure this season than typical for us, so the green tops look twisted and the bulbs are smaller than usual. They should still taste nice though!
Frisée/Endive- These are slightly bitter leafy greens that can add nice crunch to salads. They can also stand up to some wilting or sautéeing if you want to mellow the flavor.
Carrots
Slicing cucumbers
Thin-skinned seedless cucumbers
Zucchini
Summer Squash
Mini Cabbage
Lettuce
Salanova lettuce mix - This is likely the last week of salanova until the fall. Lettuce in general doesn’t do well in the heat of the summer, so we take a mid season break from planting salanova.
Coming soon: celery, uncured garlic, new arugula plantings
CSA Pick-Your-Own:
Green Beans
Herbs: basil, dill, parsley, mint, oregano, chives and sage
Coming soon: cherry tomatoes and more sunflowers
In the farm store:
In addition to the items listed in the CSA, we will have:
Sweet Corn from Verrill Farm. Not organic.
Beets
Pickling Cucumbers
Garlic scapes
Scallions
Flowers
Mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm - Farmer’s Mix and Shiitake. Certified organic.
Baer’s Best Beans - Black Turtle variety is organic, the other varieties are not.
PYO Flower CSA
This week the flower field will be open to PYO Flower CSA members only, but we plan to open it to members of the general public. We still have a few PYO Flower CSA memberships available - visit http://www.barrettsmillfarm.com/online-store/pyo-flower-csa if you would like to sign up!
Flowers available for picking this week include: zinnias, snapdragons, gomphrena, ageratum, celosia, ammi, rudbeckia, verbena, amaranth, cosmos, decorative grasses, decorative basil and strawflower.
Sarah harvests some flowers for the farm store.
ZUCCHINI GRIDDLECAKES
By Adam Ried from The Boston Globe, August 19, 2007
MAKES ABOUT 24
2 1/2- TO 3-INCH CAKES
See below for several variations!
2 1/2 pounds (about 8) small to medium zucchini
1 medium onion
1 tablespoon plus
2 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
1/2 cup milk or half-and-half
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons pepper, or to taste
1 cup minus 2 tablespoons flour
Corn, vegetable, or canola oil (for cooking)
Using the shredding disk in a food processor or the large holes on a box grater, shred or grate the zucchini (you should have about 8 cups) and the onion. Place the vegetables in a colander, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt, and mix. Place the colander over a bowl and let stand 30 minutes until mixture exudes about 1 cup of liquid. Rinse under cold water. Spread a clean dish towel on a work surface, place the mixture in the center, gather the corners of the towel, and twist to wring out as much liquid as possible. Transfer to a large bowl, and break up clumps with a wooden spoon.
Stir parsley, eggs, milk or half-and-half, baking powder, 2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper into the zucchini and blend. Add the flour, and, using a rubber spatula, fold it into the zucchini mixture.
Set the oven rack to the center position and heat to 250 degrees. In a large, nonstick skillet, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Measure 2 or 3 tablespoons zucchini batter and pour into the pan to form a disk 2 1/2 to 3 inches in diameter. Repeat until the pan is filled, leaving about 1 inch between cakes. Cook cakes without moving (adjusting heat if pan becomes too hot) until the bottoms are golden brown, about 3 1/2 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the cakes and cook until the second side is golden brown, about 3 1/2 minutes more. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels and set in the warm oven. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve warm.
VARIATIONS
Herb and Parmesan Substitute 6 tablespoons mixed chopped fresh herbs such as parsley, mint, chives, tarragon, basil, and chervil for the parsley and add 3/4 cup grated Parmesan with the flour.
Mint and feta Substitute 6 tablespoons chopped fresh mint for the parsley and add 3/4 cup of crumbled feta with the flour.
Thyme and corn Remove kernels from 2 ears of corn, about 2 cups. (See Fresh Corn Griddlecakes for instructions.) Follow the Zucchini Griddlecakes recipe using 4 zucchini instead of 8. Add the corn and 3/4 teaspoon of chopped fresh thyme to the squeezed zucchini along with the parsley, eggs, milk or half-and-half, baking powder, 2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper.