Summer Fun is upon us!

I guess Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer, but I think I tasted the real signal that summer is here, our first Tomato!!! Had I been thinking, I would have taken a picture of it first, but no, I popped it in my mouth and bit down. Squish...sweetness with a little acid. Yum...a fresh tomato! (It was a tiny yellow/gold cherry tomato, Mirabell. This picture is from Gary Ibsen's Tomato Fest site...thank you!)

I am still working on the CPC (certified producer's certificate) and seem to find more to add to it. When you are making your living, well, part of your living as a farmer, you look at everything in the garden and ask yourself, do I really need to have roses in my house or could I get a dollar for one? That goes for the mint, the lavender and grape leaves. Hey, you COULD make dolmas out of them, right?

Tonight was the official start of Farmer's Market in Healdsburg, but we just didn't have it together to go. We still have to find a car battery to use for powering our scale and I have to find a stand for our new umbrella. Sigh...

One of the very worthy organizations to which we belong, Sonoma County Farm Trails, was featured in the New York Times this past week. Check out the article: http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/travel/01explorer.html?th&emc=th

Our little community is getting famous!

Eastside Farm goes to Market!

Farmer Jeff and Chicken Mama took the show on the road and went to Windsor Farmer's Market to sell produce and eggs! We are proud to say we have been certified by the county of Sonoma to sell produce, and can actually sell it anywhere in the state.

Above you can see a picture of Farmer Jeff, along with our newly picked squash (6 varieties), kirby pickling cucumbers, and our farm fresh eggs.

Working at the Farmer's Market was a totally new experience for me. I felt so proud of our little squashes, explaining the different varieties. It is really something to see them go from seeds, to little babies in the basement, to seedlings going into the ground and then, heavens, producing an abundance of SQUASH!!!

We handed out a recipe that used both eggs and squash, Summer Squash Casserole. Give it a try. It is really easy to make and SO GOOD!

Summer Squash Casserole – A favorite family recipe

1 ¾# ZIN Garden summer squash, whole = 5 c. finely shredded
1 tsp kosher salt
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (about 3.5oz)
freshly ground pepper
¼ c. chopped onion
1 clove garlic
¼ c. freshly chopped parsley
½ c. bisquick
4 Eastside Farm eggs – well beaten
1 T. salted butter, melted in microwave in 8x 8 glass baking dish

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Sprinkle shredded zucchini with salt and set aside for 1 hour. Turn into colander and press out liquid.
• Combine squash, cheese, pepper, onion, garlic, parsley, and bisquick.
• Stir in well beaten eggs until thoroughly blended.
• Melt butter in baking pan, distribute all over pan.
• Pour zucchini mixture into skillet. Bake in preheated oven 350 degrees 35-40 min (or until mix is firm and edges are browning.)