This week’s harvest: lettuce, zucchini, chard, kale, radishes, tomatoes, onions, , basil, cilantro, garlic (in case you don’t want to break into your braid).

Wow, the farm is growing fast these days. It seems we notice the plants getting bigger every night! We had no idea that the zucchinis would already be producing since it seems like yesterday we were wondering when they would start growing. But sure enough many escaped our attention and we found oversized zucchinis this Monday! Not to worry, though, we had one tonight for dinner and it was juicy and tender as ever. We’ll have to keep a daily watch on these guys from now until frost to make sure we harvest before they get too big. It seems that no matter how closely we look, inevitably a few always escape our harvest knife and turn into baseball bats overnight. We like to take the large ones, slice them thickly and throw them on the grill with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Or, chocolate zucchini cake (see below) if you have the time.

One success this year has been the balance between good bugs and bad bugs. We have the parsley flowers to thank for much of this success. The parsley was planted and harvested last fall,but it overwintered magnificently and we left it to flower. The nectar has been attracting parasitic wasps, lady bugs, bees, hoverflies, and lacewings. The hoverflies (pictured above) seem to be the most abundant and if you stand close you can hear them buzzing by the hundreds! Hoverfly larvae eat aphids (the most common pest of kale and many other farm crops) so they are a welcome site.

If you’re having trouble finishing your veggies, be sure to freeze them for winter. If you chop them up, you can pack much more into ziplock bags or reusable containers. I’ve never had the patience to blanch the veggies first, but Werner dips entire kale leaves for a few seconds into boiling water and then puts them into ice cold water before freezing. Blanching is supposed to preserve color, flavor and nutrition before freezing. If you’re in a rush, however, I’ve always found the chop and freeze method to work. You’ll be happy that you took the time when you can add them to your mid-winter soups.

As always, thanks for your support and we’ll see you Tuesday!

Linley, Peter, Werner

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (mixing 1 cup white with 1 cup wheat works well too)
• 1 3/4 cups white sugar *
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 eggs
• 1 cups vegetable oil *
• 1/2 cup applesauce *
• 3 cups grated zucchini
• 3/4 cup full-size chocolate chips (miniatures are too small)

* (If applesauce isn’t available, increase sugar to 2C and vegetable oil to 1 1/2C).

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9×13 inch baking pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
3. Add the eggs and oil, mix well.
4. Fold in the nuts and zucchini until they are evenly distributed. Pour into the prepared pan.
5. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool cake completely before frosting with your favorite frosting (if desired).