Some like it hot

Text from our latest Newsletter...

The crops are growing well. Anytime it is uncomfortably hot for you or me, our field crops are soaking up all that solar energy, doing their little photosynthesis dance, and producing a plethora of branches, leaves, flowers, and fruit, which is just what we want. We are already picking the early crops such as zucchini and beans, we've just found a handful of ripe cherry tomaotes (the yellow ones, they're always ready first), and the early peppers should be ready in a few days. The past two summers have been cool, comfortable for people, but they produced so-so melons, and hardly any red sweet peppers. It is nice to have a true summer this year, with lots of hot days, meaning we'll have some great melon-eating days this August.

* Raspberries
So far we have had a great raspberry season, with lots of happy pickers, and a few hot pickers too! Right now the late varieties are at their peak. The weather was a bit too hot for a few days, but we were able to give the canes lots of water, and we had some good gentle rains, so the pick your own is still running full steam ahead. For the next week, we will have great picking, but with raspberries, the further we get into the season, the harder the picking. In other words, the sooner you come (or come back) the better!

* Pasta with Zucchini, Tomatoes, Olives, and Feta
It's time to dig out those summer veggie recipes. Here's one we dug out after picking the first cherry tomatoes a few days ago...

4 medium zucchini halve lengthwise then cut into ½" slices. Sprinkle with 2 tbsp kosher salt, drain for 30 min, then rinse
1 lb farfalle or other small pasta
5 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion chopped fine
3 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp lemon zest
½ tsp pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
¼ cup fresh mint leaves chopped fine
2 tsp vinegar
½ cup kalamata olives quartered
4 oz feta cheese crumbled

Cook pasta, drain and set aside in a large serving bowl.
While pasta is cooking:
In a large hot pan, brown rinsed zucchini in 1 tbsp olive oil (if pan is crowded, do it in two batches, you want air spaces between the pieces of zucchini), remove zucchini from the pan and set aside.
Cook onion with 1 tbsp olive oil (3 mins.)
Add garlic and lemon zest. Cook for 1 min and remove from heat.
To the drained pasta add: 2 tbsp olive oil, and everything else except for the feta. Toss, then sprinkle with feta. Serve warm or cold. Make lots -it's great as leftovers!

* Flowers
No sooner have we wrapped up the season, than it's time to get working on next year's crop. Yes, the 2011 flower catalogs started to arrive in the mail this week. As you enjoy your flower gardens this summer, take a look at what's doing well, what's not, and if you feel so inclined, let me know!

That's all for this newsletter. I hope everyone is having a terrific summer. I know from the number of "out of office" replies this newsletter will get, that lots of you are away on vacation and I do hope you're having a great time, but I have to confess, since I really haven't had a day off since I planted the first flower seeds (that would be way back on Feb 1st), I'm so jealous!