Week Nine and Summer Squash

Yes, Zucchini and Summer Squash are one of those veggies that we're are delighted to see in early June but by mid-July we're thinking, "What on earth can I do with MORE of these?"

There's a story that goes like this:

Sonya: Bill, do you see someone out by the car?

Bill: Yes. I think it's Georgia, the next door neighbor.

Sonya: Yeah, but what is she doing?

Bill: It looks like she has a box that she's putting into the car.

Sonya: What?!? What kind of a box?

Bill: Something green, something shiny?

Sonya: Oh no! Not more Zucchini!!!

Well, maybe Bill and Sonya would have been more happy to receive Zucchini if they would have had a few more recipes like these from our family's kitchen. Post a few ideas if you have some tried and true ways to use up these prolific mid-summer veggies.

Zucchini "Crab" Cakes

3 cups grated Zucchini (or any summer squash)

1 cup cracker or bread crumbs

1 egg or equivalent egg replacer

1 Tbsp Old Bay

1 tsp salt

Shred squash and mix with salt. Let drain for 15 minutes. Mix with remaining ingredients. Form into loose patties and toast in a oiled skillet over low heat. Enjoy!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 cups regular all-purpose flour, unsifted
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 cup soft butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 teaspoons grated orange peel
• 2 cups coarsely shredded zucchini
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• Glaze (directions follow)

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

1 Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.

2 With a mixer, beat together the butter and the sugar until they are smoothly blended. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. With a spoon, stir in the vanilla, orange peel, and zucchini.

3 Alternately stir the dry ingredients and the milk into the zucchini mixture, including the nuts with the last addition.

4 Pour the batter into a greased and flour-dusted 10-inch tube pan or bundt pan. Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes (test at 45 minutes!) or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes; turn out on wire rack to cool thoroughly.

5 Drizzle glaze over cake.

Glaze: Mix together 2 cups powdered sugar, 3 Tablespoons milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until smooth.

Cut in thin slices to serve. Makes 10-12 servings.

We're Making Pickles in Week Eight!

Have you noticed this about life? It is the people we spend time with which influence our mannerisms, our ways of laughing, our taste in fashion? For those of you who have not had the pleasure of working with Amish friends, they call cucumbers "pickles". And yes, as we work along side them we too have started calling them "pickles" too! : )

This week we've really started into the cucumber phase of the season. And yes, at home I've been making "pickles" into pickles! So far I've only made Bread and Butter pickles, but am looking forward to working with a few friends to make Dill pickles. But there are a few more recipes out there I'd like to try, maybe a Hot Pickle recipe or the Dilly Beans we grew fond of in Vermont. Anyone want to share some of their favorites?

We hope the heat of this past week didn't wear you down too much and that you enjoy this bountiful season of summer!

Week Seven?

We're almost half way through week seven and it's hard to believe it's true! We hope you've been enjoying all the veggies we send - finding new recipes and cooking family favorites too. We're anxiously awaiting those first tomatoes and peppers, but this is the first week of sweet corn! I can guess that those ears won't last more than 24 hours in your fridge, but in case you are already looking for a new idea:

A volunteer who came to the farm yesterday suggested adding corn and scallions to pancake batter to make a savory pancake. I haven't tried it yet, but plan to soon!

All work and no play makes us dull people!

Last Friday we worked doubly hard in the morning so that we could take the afternoon off to have a work picnic! We enjoyed a potluck lunch and several rounds of volleyball. Sorry we can't post photos as our Amish friends would not approve of taking their picture, but here's a song we made up to thank each other for all of the hard work so far this season:

Farmer Pam Had a Farm

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had some cats, E-I-E-I-O

With a meow, meow there

And a purr, purr here

Here a meow , there a purr, everywhere a meow, purr, E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had four dogs, E-I-E-I-O

With a Sparky and a Daisy

And a Scout and a Lulu

Here a woof , there a bark, everywhere a woof, bark, E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had a Paul, E-I-E-I-O

Picking up the mushrooms

Delivering some boxes

Here a wrench , there a hammer, everywhere fixing things, E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had an Elvie, E-I-E-I-O

With a Market here

And a box of beans there

Here a market , there a pickup, driving everywhere, E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had a Rich, E-I-E-I-O

With a little mowing here

And delivering the boxes

Here a trimmer, there a hand-truck, everywhere helping out, E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had some Volunteers, E-I-E-I-O

With a Pat, Elieen, Linda

And a Grace, Felicia, Ed.

Here a Bethany , there a Erika, Janie and Katie too! E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had some Lapps E-I-E-I-O

With a Steffy and his big-wheel

And a Sadie who we miss

Here a Steffy, organizing the shed roof and tending to the bees. E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had some Millers, E-I-E-I-O

With a Martha and a Sarah

And a John and a Katie

Washing coolers, cutting herbs, everywhere working hard. E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had some Stoltzfuses, E-I-E-I-O

With a Bena, Barbie, Emma

And a Lizzie and a Rachel

Here a market , there a scissors, helping in everyway. E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had two Stolzfooses, E-I-E-I-O

With a Sarah making jokes

And a Danny planting herbs

Here a hoe , there a scale, working every Tuesday. E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had some Fishers, E-I-E-I-O

With a Grandma Arie, Sarah

And a Lydie, Katie, Arie

Packing boxes, planting popcorn, helping with the weeds. E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had some Beilers, E-I-E-I-O

With a Verna

And a Leon and Ruth-Ann

Weeding cilantro, weighing beans, and bagging beets. E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had an Alex, E-I-E-I-O

With a market on Wednesday

And a market on Sunday

Packing coolers, loading trucks, and driving everywhere. E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had some Wibbles E-I-E-I-O

With a Momma Rachel

And a Jaden and an Enid

Here a phone call, there a bike ride, thankful for helpful co-workers. E-I-E-I-O!

Thank you to all who make Calvert Farm possible. It is by your hard work and dedication that we make it through each wonderful and difficult situation.

THANK YOU!

Week Five and My Favorite Veggie: Kale

The weeks are streaming by, and without knowing it I've lost a whole week in the shuffle of lettuces and weeding and phone calls! We enjoyed a cooler week last week and have been starting into our second rotation of crops in some fields. The popcorn is just starting to peek out of the ground and the hot season crops (tomatoes, peppers, basils and eggplants) are coming along nicely.

This week's featured vegetable is my favorite, KALE! I recently learned that there are dozens of varieties of kale, but most often we associate with Green Boar Kale. In my own small garden I have ten plants of Rainbow Lacinato Kale, more than enough for our family of four. But we enjoy Kale in salad, stir-fry, casserole, and even smoothies (it's a great way to get some greens into your littlest ones). Here's a recipe one of our volunteers suggested:

Kale Chips

Ingredients

• 1 bunch kale
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
3. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

Week Three and Spring Onions

We had a very successful party this weekend. A HUGE thanks to all who attended! We planted 500 Tomato plants, 100 Eggplants, and lots of Basils! Now we just have to wait for them to grow and then we will all be enjoying the fruits (or veggies) of our labor! Pictures to follow.

Now for a word about spring onions:

Spring onions are onions planted in the fall or very early spring to be harvested early while their greens are still tender. If left in the ground, these plants will form bulbs and become "regular" globular onions which will be included in the late summer and fall boxes. We enjoy these as they make potato salads more colorful and add a savory addition to any stir fry. Have you tried grilling them on a low setting? They caramelize and are DELICIOUS! Any other ways you enjoy these early season treats? Post some ideas to share...

Week Two of CSA and Chinese Greens

Wondering what to do with Chinese Greens? Lots of us have tried Boc Choi in stirfry or Nappa Cabbage in Kim Chee, but what about the hundreds of others? One of our staff here is very fond of chinese greens and so we planted some for her this year. I hadn't tried Shungiku, Mizuna, or Oracle Greens before and I didn't even know what the plants would look like. But we have been pleasantly surprised by the way that they are growing in our garden. Whether or not you received some in this week's box, chances are you will sometime this season. Or stop around your local Oriental Grocer and see what they have in stock.

Here is a VERY informational website to give more specific information concerning Mizuna and the like:

http://www.specialtyproduce.com

Please comment as to how you used or would consider using chinese greens.

First Week of CSA

Hooray! It's finally time to send out our first week's boxes. We have been preparing for the last few weeks: labeling boxes, weeding lettuces, planting herbs. And even with all that work we still had a few start-up hick-ups, but we're proud to send to you this week:

Leafy Greens - Spring Mix, Spinach, Lettuces

Herbs - Mint or Chives (please enjoy the flowers of the chives, beautiful and scrumptious)

Mushrooms

Asparagus

Spring Onions

Pink Beauty and French Breakfast Radishes

and some lucky boxes will have Strawberries this week!

If you didn't receive Strawberries, never fear the season is off to a good start and you should be receiving them next week. Let's hope for sunny days to keep them coming on strong. Share a recipe for the Chive flowers or a new Radish Salad like this one from The Victory Garden Cookbook

Radish Top Soup

6 tablespoons butter, divided
1 cup chopped onions or white leek portions
8 cups loosely packed radish leaves
2 cups diced peeled potatoes
6 cups water, stock or combination
Salt
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
Freshly ground pepper

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in large saucepan, add onions, and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in radish tops, cover, and cook over low heat until wilted, 8-10 minutes. Meanwhile, cook potatoes until soft in water or stock with 1 teaspoon salt. Combine with radish tops and cook, covered, 5 minutes to mingle flavors. Puree in food processor or blender. Add cream and remaining butter, if desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot. (Note: To serve cold, omit butter enrichment.) Makes 4-6 servings.