Greetings from Dancing Hen Farm! Welcome to Week 3 of our CSA. Week 3 is an egg week!
Happy Fourth July!!
We hope everyone had a safe and happy celebration. We spent most of the day getting boxes ready
for today's CSA delivery. We did sneak
away in the afternoon for nice relaxing picnic that even Shady and Rosie were invited. July 4th is not our dog's favorite
holiday. The "bombs bursting in
air" make them a bit nervous, causing them to hide in the house.
I am having trouble believing it is already July! It really seems to me that the summer is just
beginning. I am not sure why, because
when I walk our fields I see lots of summer veggies ready to be picked and/or
growing nicely. Our summer squash is
really starting to produce, so get your recipes ready. This year we have green and yellow zucchini,
yellow squash, eight ball zucchini and patty pan squash growing. Our tomatoes are looking good, with fruit
starting to appear on the vines, pepper and okra plants are sizing up nicely,
tomatillos have fruit on them and our snap beans, well soon, hopefully soon we
will have beans. Believe it or not, we
have planted beans four, yes four, times already this year and still no beans
to harvest. The first planting was
during the cool wet days of May and the seed rotted rather than germinated. The next two plantings came up beautifully,
but then were methodically mowed down by our resident deer population. The fourth planting is tucked under some
strong shade cloth, which, hopefully will deter the deer, and the groundhogs
and the rabbits!
Also in our fields, greens continue to look good. Look for chard, kale and salad greens to continue
to be available. Some of our Asian
greens are done until fall, but we still have some nice plantings of bok choy
to harvest. Peas are winding down. Last week's heat combined with pressure from
the deer reduced our pea harvest this year.
Cucumbers should continue to be available. Our first planting is starting to wind down,
but our second planting is just starting to ripen. Look for the possibility of beets next week. These will be from our Amish neighbor's farm
and certified organic. We do work
closely with some of our neighboring farms who have the same growing philosophy
(chemical free, sustainable) as we do.
As you have probably concluded from not only today's
newsletter, but from past newsletters as well, our farm has quite the resident
animal population. This includes, dogs,
cats, pigs and chickens nurtured intentionally by us and lots of other animals
also nurtured by us, but not necessarily intentionally. This year we have had our usual groundhog
pressure, but the deer pressure seems to be much worse this year. Just last night Farmer Don scared 3 does and
2 bucks out of our pea patch! And now
these unintentional animals are moving closer to the house. This year I have 2 snakes living in my herb
bed! They seem to spend most of the day
lounging together between a large sage plant and some tarragon. They are fairly brazen and don't move unless
someone gets pretty close to them. Now,
I totally understand the importance of snakes in our ecosystem and actually
think they are kind of cool. For the
most part, I am not afraid of them, but I have to admit, I have not been
pulling weeds because of them and really wish they had decided to make
somewhere up by the barn their home! How
long do you think it will take these two to become a family of snakes?
In the kitchen, we are in squash mode. This last week, we had our first zucchini on
the grill and our first Mom Miller's zucchini and sausage. I know every year, I talk about these two
ways of preparing zucchini, but they are such stables in our house and so easy
to prepare I cannot not help but bring them up.
Grilled zucchini is so simple. We
usually cut the zucchini lengthwise in approximately one quarter inch slices.
Brush the slices with olive oil and sprinkle with a bit of salt and
pepper. Place the slices grill and cook
until tender, turning once. Remove to a
plate and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and balsamic vinegar if desired. We also make zucchini pizzas on the
grill. For pizza, slice the zucchini into
rounds, brush with oil and place them on the grill. Allow the rounds to cook several minutes and
then turn them over. Once you turn them
over, place a spoonful of tomato sauce and a bit of cheese on each slice. Close the lid to allow the zucchini to
finish cooking and the cheese to melt. I
have served these pizzas as an appetizer, but we have also eaten them with a
fresh salad as a meal. Larger zucchini
and eight balls work really great for pizzas.
Now how could I talk about cooking zucchini without
mentioning my Mom's sausage and zucchini.
Again, very easy and no real recipe needed. Start by browning some sausage with some
onion and garlic. Next add some diced
zucchini and tomatoes, canned or fresh.
Put the lid on the pan and allow the zucchini to cook. In the mean time cook and then drain a cup or
so of elbow pasta. Once the pasta and
the zucchini are done mix everything together, top with some parm cheese and
enjoy.
A gentle reminder that we do reuse
share boxes, so please treat them gently, sliding the tops to open them. And please remember to return them to your
drop site, so we can pick them up. Also,
remember to return coolers from chicken shares or buying club orders. Egg cartons and green pint and quart boxes
are also reusable items for us. They can
be returned to your pick up site with your share box.
Once again, thanks to all our farm
members and friends for your continued support.
We are so happy and thankful to have you as part of our community.
And from Farmer Don: "be safe, be well and enjoy those
veggies."
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