Zucchini Bounty

Since August 7 marks the "official halfway-through summer" marker, 

we are still picking up steam from spring planting into summer's bounty. 

But for sure, these are plentiful days at the farm. 

Last week we riffed on our bean bounty.

like a sea of beans!

But you knew it was inevitable that we'd soon be talking about zucchini!

As is evident at the Farmers Markets, this is peak squash season.

thanks to our busy bees at the farm,
our squash blossoms abound

This is the time of year when you do almost feel challenged 

about what to create with zucchini. 

And if you are one of those running out of zucchini ideas, 

look ahead to August 8 (the day after the summer halfway mark)

which is "Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Day!" (seriously).

"Established by Pennsylvanian Tom Roy, who submitted the idea 

to Chase's Calendar of Events, while the day certainly 

allows you to unload the result of "overzealous planting," 

the real motivation was to encourage sharing within communities.

Here are some tips for how best to "sneak the zucchini onto your neighbor's porch."

Our chefs won't be participating though—they are inspired by what we are picking.

This week's Plat du Jour at the girl & the fig featured ENTRÉE:
garden squash salad - pine nuts, avocado, oven-dried cherries, poppy seed vinaigrette

squash abounds at the farm

we are even growing squash in the Orchard

Whether you decide to share with your neighbors or not, 

it is likely that right now you are overwhelmed with squash choices, 

whether from your own garden or as you 

peruse what the farmers are bringing to market. 

This week in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, one of our local food writers and friends, 

Michele Anna Jordan offers "Zucchini solutions, in the nick of time."

Did you know that not all zucchini are green?

Although our minds and menus are full of summer squash, 

we are looking ahead to their winter cousins. 

In the upper quad beds where our potatoes did so well, 

we've just planted Atlantic Great Pumpkin, Sucrine Du Berry, 

Red Kurri (Hokkaido), Table Gold Acorn and Butternut squash.

the newly planted beds of winter squash in upper quad
looking at the lush summer squash in the lower quad

And in a few months, we will be serving our popular honey glazed winter squash dish.

photo by Steven Krause for
Plats du Jour: the girl & the fig's Journey Through the Seasons in Wine Country

As much as the bounty of squash from the farm is the main event these days, 

there are certainly bursts of other colors and treasures every time we are harvesting.

one of our jewel-like Ping Tung Long Eggplants

the 800 tomato plants were planted
so they wouldn't ripen all at the same time.

Do you have a favorite squash recipe to share? 

With all that we are harvesting the farm, even though our chefs are very creative, 

we are always looking for new ideas! 

Squash chatter

Several posts ago we indulged in tomato talk 

as the seedlings were becoming starts, then full fledged plants 

ready to go into the beds at the farm.

We kept the tomato talk going because it's hard 

not to get excited as the plants take and begin to grow.

And even now, as the tomatoes are truly flourishing, 

you'd think that is all we have growing at the farm, but of course that's not true. 

Summer squash can rival tomatoes when it comes to going crazy.

There are so many varieties and they are so prolific,
you can sometimes feel over-run by squash. 

But we are excited about all the possibilities our chefs 

will have when our squash plants mature.

girl & the fig summer fave:
sauteed squash, olive oil, chili flakes & feta cheese

We've planted Black Beauty, yellow summer, Romensco, 

sunburst, patty pan and zucchini squash this year at the farm.

our first squash blossom
a true Black Beauty

sunburst squash

patty pans and zucchini just starting
soon this will be lush

"Archaeological evidence suggests squash 

may have been first cultivated in Mesoamerica some 8,000 to 10,000 years ago.

In fact, squash, whether summer or winter, were considered an important part

of the "three sisters" planting arrangement, with corn and beans.

The English word "squash" derives from 'askutasquash' which means 

"a green thing eaten raw," from the Narragansett language."

Squash has been around a long time, so there a lots of opportunities

to get creative with ways to use it.

We had to applaud this zucchini-without-the-pasta-lasagna!

courtesy of "Not Eating Out in New York"

Besides what our chefs will come up, everyone has creative ideas for squash:
How about Pickled Patty Pans? 

And can you resist Burrata Stuffed Squash Blossoms with Olive Tapenade? 

Since they are often plentiful at Farmers' Markets, try these
 ideas for what to do with the squash blossoms.

By now, you likely agree, that actually, as with tomatoes,
we can't have too much squash!

And if you want to engage in more squash chatter, check this out: 

A new addition to the rich-full-of-information Smart Gardner blog, "Ask a Gardener" 

tackled questions about summer squash as their first subject. 

Check out the questions and the tips about growing squash.

What kinds of squash are you growing?
How do you like to use it?

Farm Blossoms

Don't you just love squash blossoms?  

We agree with these musings from "The Kitchn:" 

When stuffed, battered, and fried, they are one of summer's chief delicacies. 

But we always had a slight sense of unease when buying them. 

Wasn't it quite a sacrifice for the farmer to sell each flower, 

since he was essentially sacrificing a future squash? 

Wouldn't this flower someday grow into a much larger (and more substantial) vegetable? 

It seemed almost greedy to eat a flower and deny it its future as a squash!

Well, it turns out that we were wrong. Not all squash blossoms will turn into a squash, and we can eat most of the blossoms in our own squash patch with impunity. Why?"

"The answer is really quite simple. 

Squash blossoms come in two genders: male and female. 

Only female squash blossoms mature into a squash. 

The male is just there to, well, fertilize them."

Here is a little more technical info on male and female squash blossoms.

You must be seeing the beautiful squash blossoms at Farmers Markets. 

One simple way to prepare them is to fill squash blossoms 

with a soft herbed cheese, brush with olive oil and 

bake until wilted and heated through. 

What do you like to do with squash blossoms?

summer squash bounty at our farm

Summer squash at the farm inspired Chef at the girl & the fig 

to create a grilled summer squash ratatouille to serve with day boat scallops.

And our friend Kristin Jorgensen featured a great recipe 

for Ribbon Zucchini Salad in Sonoma "Sun Eats" column. 

A lot of squash inspiration for our Chefs
What do you do with summer squash?

The sunchokes are looming over the squash rows. 

Did you know they can grow to be 10' tall?

We had so many sunchokes last season that
Chef John created sunchoke chips! Rivaled potato chips.

Nearby the fertile squash beds, our raspberries are also in full bloom. 

Besides being hard to resist, there are so many health benefits to raspberries.

so delicious right off the vine

we almost can't be sure they will make it to the bowl! 

Here are some great tips from Smart Gardener about growing berries. 

Perfect for dessert just as they are....

Or do you have a favorite recipe that showcases berries?

The farm is fertile and alluring right now.
What's growing especially beautifully in your garden?

More than one season at the farm

At the farm, we experience more than one season at a time. 

We are certainly well past spring and into summer now
as the plantings we put in the ground 

at our May "planting party" are now taking off. 

The chefs are having fun with all the padron peppers, which are in full swing. 

first plant in the ground (a padron) 

padron plant now 

Padron peppers are one of many chile peppers. 

Check out an interesting article in the current issue of Whole Living Magazine 

(including a "Pain O Meter" to help measure chile's heat) that details a lot about 

what a key ingredient chiles are for so many cultures: 

"Consumed in larger quantities by more people around the globe than any other spice, 

it's the underpinning of virtually every cuisine. 

Where would salsa, kimchi, and curry be without it? 

But because of the chile's signature bite, it's all too easy to forget 

its other qualities -- above all, flavor. 

Each chile contains a unique blend of notes ranging from 

nut to molasses, tobacco to licorice, citrus to stone fruit. 

And then there are its not insignificant health benefits. 

The heat in chiles dilates blood vessels, stimulating circulation and perspiration 

and speeding along digestion; when applied topically,

it's been known to relieve everything from headaches to psoriasis to shingles. 

Talk about a Renaissance fruit."

It definitely feels like summer in the upper quadrants at the farm 

with thriving basil, eggplant, summer squash including zucchini, lemon 

and white scallop varieties, merlin beets and sunchokes 

along with the padron peppers in just one section. 

And right next to all this, tarragon, asparagus, swiss chard, kale, fennel, carrots, 

lemon verbena and a few of the 350 tomato plants are growing.

summer squash, padrons and eggplants

sunchoke plants are almost 5' tall already. They can grow to 8 feet

first of the heirloom tomatoes appearing

But since our farm is a year round project, we are to committed succession planting 

where we plant at different times to vary our harvesting times. 

tomatoes, cucumbers and the abundant upper quad
overlook the lower quad planted with winter squash

So, here we are in July picking carrots and beets in the morning 

for the bartender at the girl & the fig to make a truly farm-inspired "Harlot" cocktail 

with carrot and beet juice spiked with Tequila 

(a server refers to it as "an intoxicated Jack La Lanne!"), 

while the lower beds are planted with winter squash.

photo by Jerry James Stone

Talk about thinking seasonally. 

Being sure the farm is planted for the season ahead 

even while we are picking what's fresh today gives us greater flexibility, 

is better for the soil as we change what is in the ground and 

certainly guarantees that the chefs always have farm fresh produce 

to feature on the menu.

summer and fall side by side: cucumbers and winter squash

 While you are picking the fresh herbs you've planted 

on your window sill or in your backyard, it is not too early to think

 about what you can plant for fall. 

So, go ahead be in summer mode and 

savor blistering padron peppers now while they are in season. 

(this video shows you how easy this is to do)

While you enjoy the heat of the peppers and the season though, 

do think ahead to fall, so you will be able to continue appreciating 

your farm project during cooler times. 

As we pick our summer lemon squash, we know it won't be all that long 

before the chefs will be serving

the winter squash that is just beginning to grow. 

honey-glazed winter squash on pg. 256 of Plats du Jour cookbook
photo by Steven Krause

What's in your summer garden? 

And what do you plant for Fall?