Fourth week of August

The morning crew of stargazers Those are some long beans!

What a great week its been! Not only is it nice to come in at the end of the day and be able to enjoy the spirit and excitement of the Olympics. But right here in our own backyard this weekend we experienced exitement and the spirit of people coming together during our annual stargazing event! What a great turnout we had for the pot luck with four tables full of people eating good food and talking good talk! It was nice to sit back and listen to the din of people getting to know each other and catching up with old friends. We had a great clear night to lay out and have a campfire. Many people mentioned that it was their first time ever sleeping out under the stars with no tent above them. The bane of the tentless camper is dew, which can soak blankets and people in them, but between pieces of plastic, tarps, shower curtains, table cloths, a few tents, and a bivy sack, we all managed to have a nice night out. The moon was quite bright, but regardless, a few shooting stars were glimpsed. The campfire was small and cheery and s'mores were enjoyed around it as well as some late night "notdogs" and quite a few songs -- ranging from Kumbaya to Brittany Spears. Our youngest attendees went on a bug hunt and proved that little eyes are sharp by spotting lots of insects even in the darkness. I feel safe in saying that a great time was had by all! Thanks to all who made it out to the event, we really enjoyed having you all up to the farm!

Septembers event is looking like it will be held on the 27th, so put that into your calendar's now. We will have a cooking event since we haven't yet had one this year. Maybe a peirogi making day which has been a hit in the past, or perhaps depending on the basil supply at that time, we could make pesto to send home and freeze. The details are not finalized, but we wanted to get it into those busy schedules now. If there is a cooking idea you'd like to explore, please let us know, we'll through it into the consideration pot.

The tomatoes have finally started picking up a little, but boy has it been an especially long wait this year! The plants had been looking so great and disease free for a long time, but this week, after all the moist days we'd been having, they are beginning to look less hale and healthy. They still should last longer than in the past, but to see them is not as inspiring a sight as it was two weeks ago when it was five and a half feet of pure green leaves with fruits in between. Now, the bottoms of most plants has yellowed leaves with brown spots. Next year we will have to manage the plants a little differently in order to try to avoid the two dreaded diseases that we always seem to come up with-septoria and early blight.

This week's veggies:
Squash
potatoes
garlic
tomatoes
edamame
cabbage
chard/kale
lettuce
dill
PYO beans
PYO cherry tomatoes

Seasonal Recipes: Thanks to Laurie for this great new squash recipes this week, another one will be up next week!

Zucchini Patties (like potato pancakes, with zucchini instead)

2 cups grated zucchini

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup all purpose flour (whole wheat works)

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

salt to taste

2 T canola or vegetable oil

in a medium bowl, combine all but the oil together. Stir to distribute evenly

heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Drop zucchini mixture by heaping Tablespoonfuls and cook a few minutes on each side, until golden.

from allrecipes.com

Quick Savoy Cabbage and Celery

2 t extra virgin olive oil

3 small cloves garlic, smashed and peeled

2 celery stalks, thinly sliced and cut on the diagonal

6 cups shredded cabbage

pinch of salt

umeboshi vinegar

heat oil in wok or skillet, cook garlic for 5 seconds, and celery and stir-fry vigorously for 30 seconds ( i dont' know either how you stir fry vigorously, What is it like to stir fry without vigor?)

add cabbage, mix with celery and cook for about 1 minute, sprinkle on salt, cover and cook for 2 minutes, check to see if burning after 1 minute and adjust heat as needed

test cabbage, it should be light, bright green and slightly crunchy, serve hot with a splash of umeboshi vinegar.

from greens glorious greens serves 3-4

i guess that's it for this week, happy eating!

liz and matthew