SOLAR GAIN!
It's official, the sun is now working for us! Revision Energy finished installing our solar panels last Thursday. The power gained from these panels should offset 100% of the farm's energy use. We are pretty excited about it!
The bounty keeps coming! We spent part of the weekend processing cherries, blueberries and raspberries. Zach's mom came into town just in time--she loves to cook--so this will give Zach a break from the kitchen : ) I have been soooooo busy harvesting, it's a daily from now until the end of the year. It's a fun time, seeing the fruits of our labor, but also exhausting because all the other daily tasks still remain constant as well. And the humidity takes the spring out of my step, so getting it done seems all that much harder. ANYWAY, life is good here on the farm. Hope you are enjoying!
This week's bounty: lettuce? (I think I may be between plantings), fennel, carrots, cukes, zukes, summer squash, eggplant, sweet peppers?, green beans, wax beans, chard, kale, tendersweet cabbage, baby leeks, mini red onions, basil, parsley and a watermelon for the full shares! (more coming for everyone soon)
Shareholder's Table:
"Fantastic meal from this week's bounty: lettuce, tomato, sliced pea pods,
chopped basil, cukes, broccoli, and salmon- lightly dressed with blue cheese
dressing" -Deb
"Thanks for another week of delicious food! I wanted to
share this recipe that I've made the past few weeks. So tasty and you can change
up the seasonings to fit your taste." -Kimberly
"Thought
I'd share this recipe with you. I made it over the weekend and it was a HIT!!
Fresh tomatoes are the key and I snuck in a little mozzarella!"
:-) --Jessie
Ingredients
|
·
2
to 2½ pounds fresh ripe tomatoes
·
1
tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
·
1
small onion, chopped
·
2 to 4
garlic cloves (to taste)
·
Salt and pepper
·
⅛
teaspoon sugar
·
2
sprigs fresh basil
·
1
tablespoon chopped fresh basil
If you have a food mill, quarter tomatoes. If
not, peel, seed and chop them. (See step 5.)
To make tomato sauce, heat 1 tablespoon olive
oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and add onion. Cook, stirring
often, until tender, about 5 minutes.
Add garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant,
30 seconds to a minute, and add tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar and basil sprigs. Increase heat to medium-high.
When tomatoes are bubbling briskly, stir and reduce heat to medium. Cook,
stirring often, until tomatoes have cooked down and are beginning to stick to
pan, 15 to 25 minutes, depending on consistency. Remove basil sprigs; taste and
adjust seasoning.
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Line 2 sheet pans
with parchment. Trim ends off zucchini and cut in half crosswise, then into
lengthwise slices, about 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick. Season on both sides with salt
and pepper and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Arrange zucchini slices on baking
sheets in one layer and sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Roast for 12 minutes,
until lightly browned and easily pierced with a knife. Remove from oven and
reduce heat to 375 degrees.
If using a food mill, put sauce through
medium blade. If not, pulse sauce in a food processor fitted with steel blade
until just coarsely puréed. Stir in chopped basil.
To assemble the dish, oil a 2-quart gratin
with olive oil. Spread 1/4 cup tomato sauce over bottom of dish. Arrange a
third of the zucchini in an even layer over tomato sauce. Spoon a third of
remaining sauce over zucchini and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan. Repeat with 2
more layers, ending with 1/4 cup Parmesan. Drizzle on remaining tablespoon
olive oil. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until bubbling and browned on the top and
edges. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
