Late Fall and a Bountiful Harvest

Hi everyone-

I don't really have any excuses for being such a terrible blogger. I just don't spend enough time on the computer to get new posts written. But I do have some time today and I thought I'd wrap up the season with a few things.

First of all, to all of you who subscribed to Lucky Moon's CSA this year, thank you so much for participating! We had a really great season with about 60 shares altogether. The weather was generally good, and we had one of the best crops of tomatoes in a long time. I've never seen anything like it, but I am a newcomer to growing on a large scale like this. Tables and tables full of tomatoes... it was quite a sight!

Well the tomatoes are gone now and Sue and Claude are busy getting everything ready for the winter. Even with the harvesting over, there is still lots to do before the snow flies. I've been over a few times and we have lots of great fall produce ready to sell at winter markets: lots of winter squash, tons of carrots, rutabagas, beets, garlic braids and single bulbs, onions, shallots, and still some cold weather greens (I think).

If anyone's looking for some excellent carrots to carry you through the winter to add to soups, stews, as sides or simply to snack on, feel free to give Sue a call.

Also, eggs are back into higher production as the young chickens have just started laying.

I've had some time to do more cooking and baking lately, and I wanted to encourage anyone who still has their pumpkin from the CSA sitting on their counter top to use it to make a real pumpkin pie. Until last year, I had never made one from scratch before, but it's really not difficult. Not to mention that the pumpkins you received make really excellent pies! Some people received long oval-shaped pumpkins (though you might not have recognized them as pumpkins) and others received more of a classic pumpkin, though a bit small to use for jack lanterns.

Cooking them is really very simple. Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds and strings in the inner cavity. Oil a baking dish and place the pumpkins cut-side down (though I don't think this really matters one way or another) and cover the pan with foil. Bake in the oven at 350-400 until the rind is easily pierced by a fork and the flesh is very tender. This might take more than an hour, so do it on a day when you'll be around the house and can check on it every so often. As a bonus, your house will smell great! Once the flesh is very tender, let the pumpkin cool in the pan until you can handle it comfortably. Scoop and scrape the flesh out of the rind and mash it up in a bowl. Don't waste any of that great pumpkin! At this point you can either use the mashed pumpkin in any of your normal recipes that call for canned pumpkin, or you can let the pumpkin puree cool completely and then put it in a container (tupperware works well) and freeze it.

Whenever you do plan on making that pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, or pumpkin pancakes, pull it out of the freezer and let it thaw. It handles freezing and thawing very well and really keeps its flavor. I froze some last fall and used this September and made the best pumpkin pie I've ever had. I also recommend the recipe in the newer Joy of Cooking- really topnotch.

Feel free to use any kind of winter squash to make a pumpkin pie. Winter squash and pumpkin are really the same thing, so don't let the names throw you off. Buttercup squash supposedly makes a really great pumpkin pie.

Well, I guess that's about it. I hope everyone has a safe and healthy winter- remember to spend time with family and friends and eat great food!
We would love to have you join us again next year for 2011 and please pass the word to other people you think might like participating in a CSA. We'll be in touch in the new year to send out information for next season.

All the best from Lucky Moon Farm!

Sarah