We got our first hard frost over the weekend.  It finally KO’d the basil, peppers, tomatoes and nasturtiums which were already just barely hanging on.  We took that chance to dig our sweet potatoes, harvest as many green peppers as we could and finally do some garden cleanup.  Frost makes parsley taste really good, too.

We finally lit a fire in Kendra’s oven over the weekend too.  While I put away the last of the firewood (well, the last of what we’ve gotten cut), she lit a small fire inside to help it dry out.  The oven still isn’t completely done, but it’s done enough to handle small fires and we’re hoping to make some pizzas out there this weekend.  The last few steps to completion aren’t too daunting and we’re hoping to have the bulk of it done this weekend.

Important reminder: last share of the season is Tuesday, November 4; two weeks from today.

All shares contain:

• Sweet Dumpling winter squashes
• Pie Pumpkin
• Asian Radish
• Parsley
• Leeks
• Hot Peppers (see important note below)

“Full” shares also contain:

• more Sweet Dumpling squashes
• Green Sweet Peppers
• Broccoli Raab

Veggie Notes

Sweet Dumpling squashes – If you liked the Delicata squashes from last week, you’ll like these as well.  They can be prepared the same way (cut in half, cored, roasted) or, for bonus points, you can cut out the top (like you would a jack-o-lantern), scoop out the seeds, fill with garlic and herbs and then roast.  They make great (if just a little bit big) single servings and one can easily imagine these as delicious little edible soup bowls.

Pie Pumpkin – We grew two kinds of really great heirloom pie pumpkins this year.  The round one with bumpy or netted skin (like a catalope) is called Winter Luxury and the oblong one (which looks like an overgrown zucchini) is called Long Pie.  If you’ve never made a pumpkin pie from scratch, you’re in for a treat: these squashes will produce one of the smoothest, creamiest pies you’ve ever had.  To prepare: Two methods: 1) quarter them, scoop out the seeds, peel, boil until soft, drain and mash with fork or 2) halve them, scoop out seeds, roast face down in oven (with a little vegetable or olive oil) until soft, let cool then scoop out the flesh and mash.

Pumpkin Pie not your thing?  See below for a savory baked pumpkin dish.

Asian Radish – We grew a wide variety of storage radishes this year as part of a variety trial for Fedco Seeds.  We’ve picked various Asian radishes for this week’s share.  Some of them are daikon types, some are stubbier and plumper.  They’re great stir fried, made into kimchee, grated into cole slaw or as crudites (just sliced and sprinkled with salt).  The greens are edible (if they’re still on); just stir fry them with some garlic and soy sauce.

Hot Peppers – We picked all of our hot peppers last week because of the frost and we’ve started to dry them.  You can either continue drying them (you can hang them or just leave them in an airy, dry place) or use them fresh.  Half shares shouldn’t have any trouble figuring out which ones are the peppers, but full shares recieved two orange hot peppers (and we do mean hot; you might want to use just a portion of them at a time) so that you won’t get them confused with the green sweet peppers.  For the half shares, the green hot peppers aren’t scorchers like the orange ones.  We refer to them as “warm”.

Green Peppers – These are sweet peppers; an Italian “frying” type.  If it’s too much to use at once, they can be chopped up and frozen to be used during the winter.  The won’t be crunchy, but they’ll still have great flavor.

Recipe Ideas

Pumpkin Tian
I’m sure some snobby food person would argue with this, but as I can tell, “tian” just means cassarole.  This is a really simple recipe of chunks of pumpkin baked in cheese and herbs, but it does take some time peel the squash and then bake.  It’s delicious and we look forward to it every fall.  I’ve adjusted the wording a little bit, but it’s originally from the book Simple Cooking by John Thorne.  The best part is that the original recipe ends with this great line: “The top of the dish will form a dark rich crust; the pumpkin within dissolves in the mouth into molten succulence.”  To be clear, the “dark rich crust” part never happens for us, but the “molten succulence” always does … especially when you use a Winter Luxury or Long Pie.

One small pumpkin (3-4 pounds)
1/4 cup flour
6 cloves garlic, finely minced
Generous pinch fresh thyme (approx 1 teaspoon)
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 325F.  Halve the pumpkin and remove seeds and pulp.  Then quarter the two halves and peel the rind or skin off the pumpkin.  (Generally easiest with a paring knife; forget those little veggie peelers.)  Cut the peeled flesh into 3/4 inch cubes and place them into a large colander.  Toss with the flour until the cubes are coated and the excess flour has “escaped”.  Toss again with the garlic, thyme, Parmesan, a fat pinch of salt and several gratings of pepper.  Coat a cassarole dish (9×9 is usually fine for a small pumpkin) with some of the olive oil, pack the floured and seasoned pumpkin into the dish and drizzle with the rest of the olive oil.  Set in the preheated oven and bake for 2 to 2.5 hours.

We hope you enjoy the share!

As always, we welcome your feedback. Please let us know if you have any questions, concerns or problems.