It’s “babies everywhere” this week, with a forth tortoise hatched (a month behind its siblings), the chicks passing their two-week mark (and weaned off the heat lamp), and two brand-new lambs over at Cruzan Gardens! Cuteness is exhausting, so there have been many early nights, and much worry over just how rat-proof various pens and boxes are. With the summer slowness and all this cuteness to soak in, we’re anticipating being closed on August 26th and September 2nd, so be sure to stock up on everything this Wednesday! Eggs will still be available each week, so please email or reach out via Facebook for your egg pickup arrangements. This week’s special is a braided sweet bread for $10.

To tide you over those bread-less weeks, try making my Rye Pancakes with homemade lemon-butter!

Rye Pancakes
makes 8-10

1 Cup Rye Flour (or Buckwheat flour)
2 farm-fresh eggs
1/2 teaspoon yeast
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon melted butter (or coconut oil)
water

Beat all ingredients in medium bowl, adding enough water to reach a pourable consistency. Let stand for 30 minutes, then pour by the 1/4 cup into a preheated cast iron skillet on medium heat. Cook until lightly browned on both sides. They should come out about 1/4″ thick, with large holes.

Lemon Butter
makes 1 cup

1 pint heavy whipping cream
juice of half a large lime

Gently heat the cream in a small saucepan to a light simmer, stirring constantly. Add in lime/lemon juice and stir for another minute or so, until slightly thickened. Pour into a quart mason jar or a blender, refrigerate until cooled (this can be done in the freezer in about 15min or less). Then, with an immersion or standard blender, beat for a minute or two until the butter solids just barely separate from the buttermilk – you want a soft, creamy butter, not a dense, fatty butter. Use a sieve to separate your lumps of butter out, form them into a soft ball and refrigerate until serving. Alternatively, beat the cooled, soured cream with a whisk until thickened, you’ll then have a good quantity of delicious sour cream – without any of the chalkiness of the bought varieties! For mascarpone, simmer your mixture (at 180ºF) for several minutes, allow to cool (it should have thickened), then drain for several hours.

I like to serve the warm pancakes with any of the above, sprinkled lightly with demerara sugar.

Keep an eye out for sprouts on our market listing and roadside stand! In the coming season we’ll be growing sprouts of several different kinds, including  sunflower, buckwheat, and a leafy green mix. The drought may make it tough to grow full-size greens, but we’ll certainly still manage to have salads. We might even get some salsa verde, as the tomatillo plants are finally starting to set after several months of flowering to no avail. The newest batch of arugula and bok choy are trying really hard since the few sprinkles of rain last week – there’s still a little hope left!