It’s quiet… Too quiet…
This week on Hawkins farm, the weather took a side swing, offering us some far chillier mornings than we had been used to the last couple of weeks (it has been hot!!). The mornings have been cool and quiet over here, where much of the sound that could be heard came from the motions of our harvest. Vegetables being shimmied, gripped, and sliced free from the ground. The placing and banging of bins. The rolling and squeaking of wooden carts. It’s been quiet…
Too quiet…
I’ll tell you why. Erin is in Guatemala! Not only does she keep us all on our toes with her speedy quick hands, Erin also lifts up the farm spirit with a constant stream of conversation and observation. It can get a little chatty over here between Erin and I, so this week has been a bit of a change of pace. A pace with long drawn out moments of… listening. Woohoo?
Something I would not have imagined that I was going to be exposed to on Hawkins Farm is the regular dose of Spanish I am now currently receiving on a daily basis. Being the only farmer out here who doesn't speak at least a little Spanish, it has been strange to come to grips with all the Spanish that is being exchanged around me between Erin, Michael, Kimberly, and Zach.
If you had stopped by Hawkins farm on Monday or Tuesday, amongst moments of chirping crickets, mourning dove “whoooops,” and playful chirrups of the red winged black bird, you might have walked in on the back and forth of Michael and Kimberly‘s sweet Spanish exchanges. Or the giggles in between Michael’s attempts to guide me through broken Spanglish. Or the musical sounds of Juan Luis Guerra and Rodrigo Y Gabriella decorating our long, drawn out harvests.
Given the circumstance that we are down a pair of hands for the next few weeks, our focus has shifted to maintaining all that entails a successful CSA week. I’d say we rocked it. Amidst the CSA quota, we made time for some unexpected crop outs (kohlrabi can sneak up on you if you aren’t careful), got started with some planting for the fall harvest and even got ahead on bin maintenance. Sometimes you just need a little silence and extra pressure to get things into gear.
Speaking of getting things into gear, how are your kitchen happenings? Are you having fun with your food? Feeling a little stuck? Either way, let’s just agree that there are a lot of fun things to choose from while we are managing our Harvie carts, and that it can be difficult to keep up with all of the pretty groceries we’ve selected to send to our refrigerators.
Take the zucchini for example. We all know and love the zucchini. It’s a classic. A staple. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I wish I could spice up my zucchini life from time to time. Something a little more playful than diced up, sautéed, and thrown into a stir fry or some eggs (I actually never get bored of eggs. Also, bok choy and scrambled eggs in the morning has become a very bright part of the day. But I digress.)
Long time CSA supporter Heather knows how you should spice up your zucchini life. Her suggestion is to fix up something she calls “Stuffed Zucchini.”
Instructions:
Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out insides. Place on a baking sheet or grill sheet. If the zucchini insides are firm and not overly seedy, chop and set aside. Heat oil in a pan on medium heat and add in carrots and saute about 2- 3 minutes, add onion and garlic and saute another 2 minutes or until onion is just translucent. Add in tomato and red peppers. Saute 1-2 more minutes. Remove from heat, and add parsley, salt and pepper (to taste). Add in the panko and half the cheese and mix well. Divide between the zucchini halves and bake uncovered for 30 minutes (or grill indirectly) until the top is nicely brown. Top with remaining cheese. Enjoy.
Ingredients:
1 large fresh Zucchini (works best with zucchini about 10ish" long)
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
carrots, diced
sweet red peppers, diced
large tomato or 1/2 cup cherry tomato, finely chopped
sweet onion diced
1 clove garlic minced
salt and pepper
1 T minced fresh parsley
1/2 cup of your favorite hard cheese - grated (optional)
You can find all of these ingredients in your Harvie carts starting right now, isn’t that fun? Between Hawkins, Berry Hill, RiverRidge, and the rest of our partner farms, lots of ground is covered as far as the vegetable offerings go. So try something new, and just have fun with it. Then find a way to tell us about it. We’d love to hear about it!
-Alex
