July 18th, 2013

Well the summer weather finally arrived this week.  With temps in the 90's and high humidity it actually felt like mid-July.  The heat is putting an end to our spring greens but fortunately our summer crops are doing well.  We are hoping that the greens will not be gone too long as we already started our Fall greens a few weeks ago!  It seems crazy to think about autumn but around here we constantly thinking 3-6 months out.

A good example of long term planning is with our potatoes.  We placed the order for our seed potatoes back in Dec 2012.  Seed potatoes are actually normal looking potatoes that are ready to send a sprout out from each eye.  The seed potatoes arrived in February and we planted them into the ground on March 17th.  Just prior to planting the seed potatoes we cut each one into smaller chucks that contain at least one eye.  We spaced the potatoes about one foot apart and then covered them with soil.  A few weeks later after they sprouted we went through with the tractor to "hill" the potatoes which helped keep the weeds away.  Now it's July and the potato plants have died back and now we can dig them up.  To dig them up we actually use a potato plow on the back of the tractor.  The potato plow is simply a large single spade that is pulled behind the tractor.  We run the potato plow down the row and it digs a trench and leaves the potatoes on top of the fresh dirt (see pic below).  I love harvesting potatoes because it only takes 1 minute to run the tractor down a row and when you turn around to see your work there are hundreds of potatoes nestled on top of the soil.  The last step is to gently place the potatoes into our harvest bins.   This year we planted somewhere around 2,500 feet of potatoes.  The Yukon golds are typically very prolific but for some odd reason our yields on these larger potatoes are down this year.  However, our fingerlings in addition to our purple and red fleshed potatoes are doing great and we look forward to several more weeks of spuds!

Enjoy your tubers!
Jeff and the Sugar Creek Crew

Purple Potato Salad via food network

Ingredients
2 pounds small purple potatoes
1 purple onion, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 lemon, juiced
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the potatoes until fork tender but not mushy, about 20 minutes. Drain, then rinse in cold water, and cut in quarters. Place the warm potatoes in a large bowl and toss with onion, celery, dill, and parsley. In another bowl, stir together mayonnaise, mustard, celery seed, cayenne, vinegar, and lemon. Check seasoning. Add the dressing to the vegetable mixture. Toss gently to coat taking care not to mash the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper.

Tomato, Mozzarella, and Basil Salad via food network

Ingredients
6 small tomatoes (4 medium)
1 pound fresh mozzarella
10 to 15 basil leaves
3 tablespoons good olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Slice the tomatoes and mozzarella and arrange casually with the basil leaves on a large platter. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve at room temperature.

July 12th, 2013

The rain has slowed down and I feel like we finally got some looming chores done on the farm this week.  We finished trellising eggplant and the pepper rows and got them mulched as well. All the garlic has been harvested and all of the weeds in block 6 have been tilled under (special thanks to Mr. Bill White for helping us fix our PTO shaft for the tiller today!). We conquered the weeds in the hoop house, and put on the shade cloth Natalie purchased. There is continuous planting going on in the new roadblock and it is filling up fast. Also we got around to weeding and doing some much needed maintenance on the hops.

My independent project this year has been hops. I have always been a craft beer fan and spending time in Asheville really got me interested in different flavors and aromas beer can take on. Last year while at the CFSA Sustainable Ag conference I took a workshop about growing hops in the Carolinas. Most of the information given was tentative because growing hops on this latitude is experimental. Commercial hops usually are grown from latitudes of 35 and 55 degrees because the yield depends greatly on the day length. North Carolina, specifically Advance falls on the 35.9 degree so we are right on the line where they can or will not produce. As of now there are two experimental hops yards in Western North Carolina and from what I read they were doing pretty well. So I approached Jeff and Natalie about my idea this winter and they liked it. After doing some research I chose the Cascade hop variety and ordered the rhizomes. Once they arrived I felt a fire to get the land ready and set up a trellis. I opted to do a tepee or a single pole trellis system. This seemed like a good fit for the space and the amount of rhizomes I planted. The team erected a 27ft pole and with the tractor and Jeff’s sturdiness we attached twine from the outer circle to the pole, creating a teepee effect. I planted 26 rhizomes in March and have kept them weeded and watered. Now in July they are starting to cone. The cone creates a powder called lupulin this is used to give the beer the bitterness or aroma. Later this month when the cone begins to loose moisture I will harvest. This first year will not yield enough for market but I look forward to doing a homebrew with them. In the future I am looking to sell them to a local microbrewery interested in local hops for a wet hop brew.

Drink a beer and enjoy the weekend!

Ann and the Sugar Creek Crew


Cucumber-Dill Soup via: Williams Sonoma

Ingredients
3 cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise and seeded
1 cup Greek-style or other thick, whole-milk plain yogurt
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
3 green onions, including tender green portions, chopped
3 Tbs. chopped fresh dill
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tsp. caraway seeds, crushed
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground white pepper
1 cup vegetable stock or reduced-sodium vegetable broth
2 Tbs. fruity extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
Coarsely chop 5 of the cucumber halves and transfer to a large bowl. Add the yogurt, lemon juice, green onions, dill, garlic, caraway seeds, salt and white pepper. Stir to combine, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour to blend the flavors. Dice the remaining cucumber half and set aside until ready to serve. 

In a blender, puree the cucumber mixture until smooth. With the machine running, slowly add the stock and puree until it is fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a pitcher, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours. (The soup can be prepared up to 12 hours in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If it separates, simply stir it until emulsified.) 

Just before serving, stir in the diced cucumber and olive oil. Pour the soup into widemouthed glasses or cups and serve immediately. Serves 6.


Warm Garlic String Beans via: thedailygreen.com

Ingredients

1 pound mixed yellow and green string beans

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

3 tablespoons minced garlic

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Directions
1. Blanch string beans for 2 minutes.
2. Rinse to cool.
3. Return to a saucepan with olive oil, butter, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
4. Cook 4 minutes on medium-high heat.
5. Toss with parsley and lemon zest. Serve warm.

July 5th, 2013

Do you know the difference between hay and straw?  (You horse folks can skip on down to the next paragraph – more hay and straw talk to follow)  I remember looking for straw for a Halloween costume/decoration in college and asking several folks working the Home Depot cash registers the difference and not getting a very sure response.  Later at the Rodale Institute, researcher Dave Wilson thought it important for us all to know.  So I’ll pass along what was imparted to me.  Hay is used for livestock feed, straw is used as bedding.  Hay is cut from a live plant – commonly alfalfa, clover, and young oats.  I just came across a website that goes into more detail on livestock and their eating needs/preferences – ex. the third cutting of alfalfa has very leafy growth which is higher in protein - great for calves, pregnant and lactating cows.  Straw is cut after the grain (commonly wheat) has been harvested.  Straw is the hollow shaft that’s left to dry, then it is cut, raked and baled.  It is great for construction – straw has got less weed seeds, and has a higher Carbon: Nitrogen ratio meaning that it’s harder to break down.

Why it matters to us? Mulch!!  A huge time, back, and knee saver.  The brassica block that we piled up with several inches of spent hay down the paths between kale, collard and broccoli plants on black plastic - has not needed weeding since!  Those hay bales sat out over the winter, allowing the weed seeds to germinate, grow a bit and then die back.  Perfect.  For the last several years we have used city leaf mulch to cover the garlic over the winter and help suppress weeds – usually a few weedings and we’re in the clear.  This year = a few weedings and then the weeds took off!  Seeing the success the hay had in the brassica block, we’ll look to do the same when covering our alliums this fall.  When the brassicas are finished, we've pulled the plants and plastic up, we'll till the beds incorporating the mulch, adding organic matter to the soil, feeding the microbes and adding tilth to the soil to better support and encourage the next crop's growth. A side note about the brassicas this year - this spring/early summer has favored this springs' greens considerably.  Looking at last year's notes, the last kale harvest was June 8th, the last collard harvest was June 15th!  

We pulled up the last round of garlic this week - which is currently hanging from the rafters for curing, trellised our third succession of cucumbers, and put in another round of green beans.  We're picking the first few cherry tomatoes and the bigger tomatoes look like they'll be turning in the next couple of weeks.  I hope you all had a Happy Fourth of July.  This year, we relaxed to celebrate the birth of our nation - and it was wonderful. 

Enjoy your produce!
Natalie and the Sugar Creek Crew

Savory Zucchini Bread (one of my favorites!!) from Closetcooking.com

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups zucchini (grated, squeezed and drained)
2 roasted red peppers (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (grated)1/2 cup feta (crumbled)
1 teaspoon oregano
2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:
1. Mix the zucchini, roasted red pepper, garlic, feta, oregano, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and eggs in a large bowl.
2. Mix the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and oregano in a bowl.
3. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
4. Pour the batter into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan.
5. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until a toothpick pushed into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.


or a little Jamaican Flavor, from jamaicatravelandculture.com comes

Callaloo and Codfish

Ingredients
1/2 lb Saltfish (dried, salted codfish)
1/2 lb shredded callaloo
1 medium onion
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp of butter
1/2 a hot chilli pepper (ideally Scotch Bonnet)
1 sweet pepper
1 chopped tomato
1 sprig fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
2 cloves of garlic (optional)
4 Scallion (or spring onions) (optional)
6 Slices of bacon (optional)

Directions:
1 - Cover the saltfish in cold water.  Let it soak overnight (min 8 hours) changing the water several times (this removes most of the salt) Same day method = put codfish in a saucepan with water and bring to a boil then drain.  Repeat 2 more times; drain, flake and set aside.
2 - Bring a pan of cold water to boil and gently simmer the fish for 20 min until tender.
3 - chope the onion, sweet pepper, chilli pepper and tomato while waiting for the fish to cook.
4 - Wash the callaloo in a pot of water and drain thoroughly.
5 - Remove the fish form water and allow to cool. Remove all of the bones and skin then flake the flesh of the fish.
6 - Melt the butter ina frying pan and add the onion, black pepper, sweet pepper, chilli and thyme.  Fry for about 5 minutes.
7 - Add the callaloo and half a cup of water, cover and steam for 15 minutes.
8 - Add the tomatoes and flaked fish and steam for another 10 minutes.
Serve with yam, green banana, fried dumplings and Irish potato.  This is also great over rice.

June 28th, 2013

Summer is officially here!  It's been a week since the summer solstice and the weather is everything you expect: hot, humid, with a chance of thunderstorms everyday!  The veggies on the farm are also making that transition from spring to summer.  Those wonderful leafy greens of April and May and now transitioning into the classical summer fruits and veggies.  Already the squash, zucchini, cucumbers, and potatoes have been plentiful.  Additionally, the tomatoes are getting ready to ripen, and I've noticed a few small eggplants, peppers, and greenbeans in the fields.  It's been a good year so far and we're not even halfway through!

One question I periodically am asked is how Sugar Creek Farm was named.  The truth is that I like names with a physical meaning so we simply pulled out a topo-map and sugar creek was the only named feature.  I have learned in subsequent years that sugar creek actually has some historic significance.  For years, I've heard about how the family of Daniel Boone lived in and around Davie county, but recently I was exploring the history of Davie county on the internet and I learned that Daniel Boone, "lived for about ten years near the fork of Sugartree (or Sugar) Creek, approximately two miles east of Farmington."   After reading that statement I realized that our farm is 2 miles east of Farmington so I pulled up a map and noticed that there is a large fork in the creek about 200 yards south of the farm!  Other information went on to say, "During this decade while living on Sugartree Creek, Daniel farmed, hunted, explored, and worked as a wagoner. According to the records, he received bounties for killing wolves, wildcats, and panthers."  It's probably a stretch to think that Daniel Boone farmed on the exact same land that we now farm but I feel rather confident that he hunted and explored here!

Enjoy your produce!
Jeff and the Sugar Creek crew

Roasted Rosemary Fingerlings from food.com

Ingredients
2 lbs fingerling potatoes, scrubbed and halved
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 450°F
In large bowl, toss potatoes with oil, garlic, rosemary, and salt.
Arrange potatoes in single layer, not touching, in nonstick roasting pan.
Roast 25 minutes until tender. Flip potatoes & rotate pan every 10 minutes so browning is even.

Zucchini Enchiladas from skinnytaste.com

Ingredients
1 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 medium green onions, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 medium zucchinis, grated
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1 1/2 cups grated reduced fat Mexican blend cheese
4 Large Whole wheat flour tortillas
1 cup of enchilada sauce (store bought, or make your own)

Directions
Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray. Add store bought enchilada sauce to the bottom of the baking dish. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium nonstick skillet, saute garlic and green onions in olive oil over medium heat for about 3 minutes; add zucchini, salt and pepper to taste and cook about 4-5 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Add zucchini mixture to tortillas, add Mexican blend cheese on top.  Enclose and put in your dish, seem side down.  Bake for about 20 minutes until the cheese is melty and delicious! Sprinkle cilantro on top.

June 21st, 2013

I feel like summer sneaks up on me every year. The summer solstice is on the 21^stand officially marks that summer has arrived. Here at Sugar Creek we have been doing a variety of summer activities to correspond with the season. We pulled up all of the sugar snap peas (that were a joy to have this spring) and planted late tomatoes in their place (pic below). We just planted another round of cucumbers and squash out in the roadblock as well as some Seminole pumpkins, which are superb pie pumpkins! Summer also means we have to be on top of our harvest game. Every other day requires harvesting all of our squash, zucchini, and cucumbers; otherwise the fruits will become too large and inedible. I am always surprised by the amount of fruit the plants yield in just a few days time. This week we also started harvesting garlic.
We pulled all three beds of our Russian red garlic out of the ground. Garlic is ready to be pulled when the bottom leaves of the plant start to turn brown, which is usually late June or early July. We use a mini pitchfork to loosen the soil and then simply pull up the bulb. As we pull we make piles of ten bulbs, which we tie together with twine to make a bundle. We do this so we can cure them. Garlic can be eaten fresh but to ensure the longevity we cure them in the barn for a few weeks, or until the stalks lose moisture. The bundles are hanging from the rafters out of the sun and there is a fan in the barn to create air movement (pic below). In a few weeks the garlic will be cut down, cleaned up and be market ready.


Hope you have a great weekend,

Ann and the Sugar Creek Crew


Shaved Squash Salad via: Farmhouse Delivery Blog





Ingredients
1 pound mixed summer squash, sliced very thin
1/4 c. basil leaves, coarsely torn
1 small red onion, sliced thin
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/3 c. olive oil
salt & pepper
1 Tbs. creme fraiche or sour cream
salt & pepper
1/4 c. sliced almonds, toasted
1/4 c. ricotta salata, grated

Directions
Combine squash, onions, and basil in a bowl.  To make dressing, whisk lemon juice and creme fraiche in a small bowl.  Drizzle in olive oil while whisking constantly, until emulsified. Toss squash with dressing, almonds and ricotta salata.  Serve immediately.

Smashed Potatoes with Chives via: Food Network

Ingredients
3 pounds medium-size unpeeled baby potatoes
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh chives
Salt and pepper

Directions
Place potatoes in a large pot, cover with salted water by at least 3 inches and bring to a boil. Cover and cook potatoes until fork tender, about 30 minutes.
Drain potatoes. Return pot to stove over medium-high heat and add butter. When butter foams, add drained potatoes and stir to coat. Smash each potato just to break the skin and cook until golden brown. Stir in chives, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve.

 Garlic curing in the barn

Out with the SugarSnaps, in with the Fall tomatoes!

June 14, 2013

I agree with Jeff - we can’t seem to get the ideal weather: dry days, rain in the evenings, dry in the days before tractor work and gorgeous on Saturdays, but not too hot.  

All of the rain earlier this week has resulted in a burst of growth – crops and weeds alike.  We’ve spent portions of the last several days slowly, but surely conquering the tomato block – pruning the tomatoes, weedwacking the amaranth in the paths, and trellising the tomatoes so that they all line up together and are off the ground.  The cherry tomatoes went from being knee high to shoulder high to ankle high in no time at all.  Cute green tomatoes have formed and are marking time until fully ripe – end of June/early July.  We use a system called the Florida weave to support the plants.  This means putting a stake down every 3-4 plants, then sandwiching the tomatoes between trellising twine, giving us Trellising Thursdays.

The guineas make another newsletter appearance because they've been so darned entertaining.  Our awesome volunteer Liz determined that one of the birds has larger red sideburns than the other – meet Tom, the other is Josh.  We were planning on letting one out at a time during the day and cooping them up at night until they call the pen home. That lasted 2 nights.  Yesterday afternoon Ann and I noticed some strange behavior – they were pacing their respective sides of the fence in sync and periodically pecking at each other.  When we opened the door, the one inside (Josh) ran out chest bumping Tom and they chased and ran after each other all through the garlic, green onions, peppers and eggplants.  So much for walking in the paths! (This is something I’m a stickler about.)  They were establishing dominance.  They spent the night out yesterday and had a good study of the field and environs (still haven’t made their way to our goal of the squash block – where there is an endless meal of squash and cucumber beetle awaiting their attention).  They waited out the storm from the shelter under Ann’s car and made their way up to the pen to check themselves out in the mirror.  They know where home is!   

A new herb we are growing this year = summer savory!  This is wonderfully aromatic herb – also known as the bean herb. It helps digest some foods which are harder to digest.  It's great on a variety of vegetables: from mixed greens and rice, we sauteed it with summer squash last week.  According to the 1984 summer edition of Mother Earth News, "Boiled with strong smelling foods like broccoli or sauerkraut, it helps prevent cooking odors.  Steeped in vinegar or salad dressing, it lends an aromatic flavor.  People on low-sodium diets may find it an agreeable salt substitute."  

Have a great weekend,
Natalie and the Sugar Creek Crew

Tzatziki + Cucumber 

1.5 cups plain yogurt

1 large cucumber
1 lemon – juice of ½ bunch of dill 1 clove of garlic salt and pepper to taste Thinly slice cumbers.  Mix all the ingredients together.  Enjoy!
3 T bread crumbs
1 T olive oil
¾ diced onion
¾ c diced fennel bulb
1 t minced garlic
2 c diced zucchini
1 link (4 oz) andouille sausage
½ t crushed fennel seed
Salt and pepper
3-4 oz Swiss cheese
3 large eggs
½ c milk
For garnish: diced roasted red pepper, chopped black olives, or chopped fennel leaves.

Zucchini, Fennel and Andouille pie from Asparagus to Zucchini Cookbook

½ T butter, softened

Heat oven to 350.  Grease a pie plate with the butter.  Sprinkle bread crumbs over buttered area.  Heat olive oil in skillet over med flame.  Add onion, fennel, and garlic; saute until vegetables are partially tender, about 5 min.  Raise heat to a med- high; stir in zucchini, andouille, fennel seed, and salt and pepper to taste.  Sauté until zucchini is tender, 3-5 min.  Spread mixture on platter; cool 10 min.  Meanwhile, grate cheese; sprinkle 2/3 of it into pie pan.  Beat eggs with milk in bowl.  Stir cooled vegetable mixture into egg mixture; pour into pan.  Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.  Rim outer edge of pie filling with garnish choice.  Bake until set, about 30 min.  cool 10 min before serving. Makes 6-8. 

Summer Savory Vinaigrette a take on Amanda Hesser's recipe in "the Cook and the Gardner"

2 T red wine vinegar 

6 T vegetable oil

1 shallot lobe, minced

1 clove garlic, crushed and chopped

1 scallion, thinly sliced

1 T freshly chopped summer savory leaves

Combine all and use to dress netural ingreidents like potatoes 

June 6th, 2013

Tropical Storm Andrea is beginning to make her appearance at Sugar Creek Farm today.  Already we've seen 1 inch of rain and the forecast is calling for 2 more tomorrow (Friday).  Fridays are one of our big harvest days on the farm so it's going to be a bit sloshy and muddy but all that rain should be gone by Saturday and I have a feeling it's going to be a nice day at the farmer's markets.  Farmers are optimist by nature so we're pretty glad to see the rain coming because that means we do not have to worry about irrigation for the next few days! 

In 2005 I put the first crop into the ground here at Sugar Creek.  The first crop was tomatoes that I started from seed in the basement of our old house in Winston-Salem.  In late May of that year, I transplanted out about 300 tomato plants into the area that today we call block 2.  Back then you needed a 4-wheel drive vehicle to access the farm in winter and there was no electricity on the property much less a well.  I'm not entirely sure what I was planning to do for irrigation but after I planted those first 300 tomatoes I noticed that they were beginning to wilt.  This taught me my first lesson in farming:  don't transplant into dry soil in the heat of the day.  I quickly drove the truck down to the creek and loaded up a bunch of 5-gallon buckets with water.  As I drove back up to the tomatoes, half the water sloshed out of the buckets but after a couple of trips back and forth to the creek I did manage to hand water all those plants.  Fortunately, the summer of 2005 was not dry and those tomato plants made it.  In August of that year, I sold the first harvest of those tomatoes at the Dixie Classic Farmers Market, for a grand total of $80.  It was the start of something special that has grown into what you are helping us with today. 

Since 2005, obviously a lot has changed.  We have electricity now, heck even a well!  The irrigation well we use for the farm only puts out 8 gallons per minute.  However, we use micro-irrigation to conserve water and this technique enables us to water our 2 acre annual area, plus another acre on the other side of the creek.  If I ever want to complain about the low yield on our well, all I do is recall carrying those 5 gallon bucks out of the creek and loading them onto the truck only to watch half the water slosh out.  A smile quickly takes over and I realize our small well is working just fine!

Stay dry and enjoy your produce,
Jeff and the Sugar Creek Crew


Massaged Kale Salad with Avacado from Frog Bottom Farm

Ingredients

• 3/4 lb curlyor russian kale, chopped into 1-inch ribbons
• 2-3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt to taste
• 1 avocado
• lemon juice
• additional vegetables, nuts, seeds

Directions

1. Put kale in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
2. Massage with your hands so that it’s well coated with the olive oil and it begins to wilt and darken, less than a minute.
3. Add 1/3 to 1/2 of the avocado, and massage again so that the avocado coats the kale like a thick dressing.
4. Dice the rest of the avocado and add it, along with the lemon juice and any other ingredients (try grated hakurei turnips, grated beets, or grated kohlrabi). Toss. Eat!

Baked Squash Fritters from Frog Bottom Farm

Ingredients (6-8 fritters)

• 2 cups grated summer squash or zucchini, pressed between layers of a clean dishtowel or paper towels to absorb some of the water
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/3 cup cornmeal
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. In a large bowl, toss the squash and onion with the flour, cornmeal, and cheese. Add the beaten egg and some salt and pepper, and mix until everything comes together. Use your hands if you like; it’s fun! It should have the consistency of meatloaf.
3. Using your hands, gently form the mixture into small balls (about 3 tablespoons of mixture for each fritter). Place them on the baking sheet and use your hand to flatten them into small patties about a half-inch thick.
4. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown on the bottom. Then broil for 2-3 minutes longer. The fritters should be a lovely golden color. Good warm or at room temperature. Serve with ketchup, fried eggs, tzatziki, or yogurt sauce.