Blue Gate Farm News – Volume IV, Number 13
– July 24, 2007
In this week’s box:
Basil: Genovese (please treat your basil like fresh flowers,
store in a vase on your counter, not in the fridge)
Beans:
Cucumbers: Diva (short,
green) *, Lemon (round, yellow) * or Suyo Long (long, green) *
Patty Pan Squash: asst.
Onions: Superstar (white)
&
Tomatoes: asst. heirlooms from Coyote Run Farm
Zucchini: 8 Ball (round,
green) * or Sebring (long, yellow) *
* from the upper
garden
For those with the Cheese
option: Lemon-basil feta & Chipotle chevre
For those with the Herb
option: Basil: Thai Magic, Garlic Chives, Sage
Featured Recipes (on back): Oven-fried
Vegetables, Chocolate Zucchini Birthday Cake
Rain this week: 1.2 ”
What’s up on the farm?
It has been a week
of harvesting here on the farm. While
its true that fall is the harvest time for many crops, mid to late summer is
the time for harvesting garlic and potatoes. The garlic is all out of the ground, bundled
and hanging from the cabin rafters to dry. We anticipate that some will be cured and
ready to go into your boxes next week. You
will continue to receive garlic periodically through the end of the season,
with the remaining cloves becoming the seed for next year. The potatoes have yielded quite well so far,
with about ¼ of the harvesting complete. Sean has also been harvesting honey this week,
the dining room table nearly groaned from the weight of it all.
We also welcomed
25 new chickens to the farm this week. They
are already of laying age and have started adding their compliment of brown
eggs to our daily gathering.
The big news for
the week is the arrival of the first tomatoes of the season from our friends at
Coyote Run. As we get a wide variety of
tomatoes from them, you will receive an assortment in your boxes. This week is a mix of the following:
Italian Heirloom:
large, red slicing tomato
Cherokee Purple:
dark reddish-purple tomato with dark green shoulders, rounded slicing tomato
Prudens Purple:
more pink than purple, rounded slicing tomato
Orange Blossom:
Medium sized, clear orange tomato
Please don’t
refrigerate your tomatoes unless you have already sliced into them (this goes
for onions too). Store them on the
counter, out of direct sunlight. The
best way to determine ripeness is by feel; always use the softest tomatoes
first. And no matter how you use
them…ENJOY!
More next week…
Best from the
farm,
Jill & Sean
Oven-Fried Vegetables
·
Nonstick spray coating
·
1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
·
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
·
1/8 teaspoon paprika
·
2 cups 1/4-inch-thick zucchini slices, onion rings, or cauliflower flowerets
·
2 tablespoons reduced-calorie Italian salad dressing
1. Spray
a cold cookie sheet with nonstick spray coating. Set aside.
2. In
a 9-inch pie plate stir together bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and paprika until well
mixed. In a medium mixing bowl place zucchini, onion rings, or cauliflower. Drizzle vegetables with salad dressing; toss until coated. Then, roll vegetables in crumb mixture until coated. Place the coated vegetables
in a single layer on the prepared cookie sheet.
3. Bake vegetables in a 450 degree F oven for 9 to 11 minutes
or until golden. Makes 4 (1/2-cup) servings.
Recipe Source: Better Homes & Gardens Website
Chocolate Zucchini Birthday Cake
2-3c. grated zucchini
2 c. flour
1 ½ c. sugar
1 tsp salt
½ c. oil
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1/3 c. cocoa
2 tsp vanilla
Mix all ingredients together,
pour into greased & floured 9 x 13” pan. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes.
When cool, frost with
Hershey’s Cocoa Frosting
1 stick butter
2/3 c. cocoa
3 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. milk
1 tsp vanilla
In a medium mixer bowl melt
butter, add cocoa and stir until combined. Alternating between powdered sugar
and milk, add to cocoa and butter, mixing between. When thoroughly combined,
beat in vanilla.
Makes +/- 2 cups.
Recipe Source: Blue Gate Farm