This week we face the consequences of small-scale crop planning failure as we find ourselves serving up not one, nor two, nor even three — but four varieties of summer squash, all ripened to perfection: your classic zucchini, the rotund ronde de Nice, an exotic Lebanese varietal and a yummy yellow one. In the face of such cucurbitaceaean (sic — don’t bother googling it, we made it up, but squash really does belong to the cucurbitaceae plant family) excess, you’ll have to unleash your inner veggievore. We can suggest a few delicious recipes, our favourite being a cold zucchini soup, perfect on a hot summer’s day. Indeed, zucchini, in our mind at least, means summer. Zucchini plants are as tall as they are wide, with broad prickly leaves reaching skyward; as a result, harvesting summer squash is an act that lies somewhere between masochism and heroism. Meanwhile, everything else in the field is growing well, including the weeds in our winter squash patch. We have no choice but to be on it (weeding, that is) – or we’ll harvesting squash come fall knee-deep in weeds. To sum things up: cooks to your kitchens, the summer cornucopia is upon us!
On a completely different note, this past weekend saw the launch of our new Hayloft Adventures project as we hosted a group of some 20 guests who came for a 40th birthday bash. It was a festive occasion, with children running amok and a lovely campfire. If the idea of sleeping on straw and waking up to a homemade country breakfast piques your curiosity, let us know.
