Farming is a pretty easy job to romanticize.  We work outside in the fresh air all day, we harvest baskets full of beautiful vegetables and we are rewarded at the end of the day with a sense of accomplishment in seeing that tidy row of carrots we just weeded.  It is a pretty awesome job and there is nothing we would rather do!  But I'm sure you know it's not all sunshine and rainbows running a farm.  We work outside in every kind of weather Vermont throws at us, we haul around really heavy bins of vegetables and throw a lot of it in the compost, we spend hours on our hands and knees weeding tiny carrots knowing we will be back weeding those same carrots again in a few weeks.  And we absolutely love it, it is the most rewarding and humbling job we have ever had.  We are surrounded by so much beauty here, from lovely little cherry tomatoes to the compost bucket filled with swiss chard stems!

Since we are swimming in summer squash & zucchini right now I gave these a try.  Next time I'll add some herbs and spices to the bread crumb mixture, but they were pretty good just like this-


Parmesan Squash Chips

• 2 medium zucchini or summer squash- slice into ~1/4" thick rounds
  
• 2 T olive oil
• 1/4c. fresh grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2c. bread crumbs
  
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• salt & pepper
  

Pre-heat oven to 425.  Combine Parmesan, bread crumbs, garlic, salt & pepper in a bowl.  Toss squash in olive oil then press each slice into the bread crumb mixture.  Put in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake for around 30 minutes until golden brown, flip them over halfway through.  

Cabbage, Kale & Carrot Salad-

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 T grain mustard
• 3T apple cider vinegar 
• 2t honey
• salt & pepper
• 1/2 bunch kale-  destemmed and chopped
• 1/2 medium cabbage- chopped 
• 2 carrots- grated
• 1/4 c. parsley- chopped
• 2 T chopped fresh onion
• 2-4 T sunflower seeds

In a large bowl whisk together first 5 ingredients.  Add in everything else and toss.  It is best if let to sit for an hour or so before serving.  Enjoy!

Over the next week or so you will see the barn fill up with our lovely garlic crop.  The weeds put up an especially good fight this year, but they were no match for Shane and his creative use of the weedwhacker!  Things are moving along nicely right now, we are starting to seed fall crops like carrots and beets.  The summer squash and zucchini are growing like crazy and very soon those tomatoes are going to be doing the same!

This recipe for Royal potato salad is adapted from Plenty an excellent vegetarian cookbook-

2 hard or soft boiled eggs
1 cup freshly shelled peas, blanched
1 1/2 lbs. new potatoes
1 c. basil leaves
1/2 c. parsley
1/3 c. walnuts
1/2 c. grated parmesan
2 cloves garlic
1 c. olive oil
1/2 t. apple cider vinegar
a few springs of mint leaves, finely shredded
salt & pepper

In boiling water cook potatoes for 15 to 20 minutes until they are soft but not mushy.
While the potatoes are cooking place the basil, parsley, walnuts, parmesan & garlic in a food processor and blend to a paste, add the oil and blend until you get a runny pesto.  Pour this into a large bowl.
Drain potatoes, as soon as you can handle them cut in two.  Add to the bowl with the pesto, toss with vinegar, peas and mint.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  
Cut eggs into large pieces and gently fold into salad.

We harvest our fennel much earlier than most farmers, our chefs love it at this size and once you try it you will see why, the flavor is amazing!  Fennel is great grilled, roasted, shaved into salads and in this simple slaw I found online the other day.  It only takes a few minutes to put together, but let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour for the flavors to settle in.
- Click here for the Fennel Slaw with Mint Vinaigrette recipe -

As the farming season gets more hectic our dinners tend to get a little later and a little simpler ( aka- lazier).  When it hits 90 degrees here and our favorite pizza place is closed we grill.  The other day we had a early season version of our favorite summer dinner.  I grilled garlic scapes, beets and the very first zucchini from the field.  I also grilled the beet greens, I stirred them around in a bowl with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt & pepper and threw them on at the last minute until they were just wilted.  We love this dish with rice, olives, plain yogurt, chèvre or feta and hot sauce.  

Our little one has been eating salad every day lately, which I obviously want to encourage.  I knew she would  love this dressing with strawberries and maple syrup in it!  I used some leftover grilled beets along with feta cheese and sunflower seeds in this salad.

Strawberry Maple Balsamic Vinagrette

• 1 Garlic Scape
• 4 Strawberries
• 1/4 c. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/4 c. Balsamic Vinegar
• 2T Maple Syrup
• 2t Whole Grain Mustard
• Salt & Pepper

Put garlic scape in a blender or food processor and chop finely, add everything else and blend it up!