The Pumpkins are Ready (not for launching!)

Important Dates and Announcements:

October 1st is DeLaney's last WIC and shareholder workday.  Shareholders, that means you have just a few days left to add to your work hours.  We would love to see you out there!

October 6th is our last Harvest and Pick-up day for our shareholders.  It will be a nice and strong finish!

Gleaning Week is the second full week of October.  It is the last week that our remaining vegetable plants will be in the field. After the 14th, it will all be turned in and prepped for the winter.  Come and take what you can find (encouraged to come during normal farm hours) before its all gone!  

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Farm News:  So we are taking steps at the farm in order to get it straightened out for winter.  Fields are being cleared and prepped for their cover crop.  We have had tasks like pulling up the irrigation line and chopping down corn fields with machetes (safety first!).  Garlic will be planted soon and more chilly afternoons will settle in.  It has been exciting to see a farm rise and fall right along with the seasons!

Athough the weather is still hanging in the 80's, there will be some great fall vegetables coming your way! I have posted some great pumpkin-related recipes for you to try out!  Also, revert back to last week for a recipe on Butternut & Acorn Squash Soup.  If you are not ready to for the cold weather to come, keep these recipes for later in the year.  

Roasted Pumpkin with Shallots and Sage

Ingredients:

1 medium sugar pumpkin (about 4 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 2-inch chunks
4 shallots (or small red onions), peeled and quartered lengthwise
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup fresh sage leaves
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Preparation:

 Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Divide pumpkin, shallots, oil, and sage between two large rimmed baking sheets; season with salt and pepper, and toss.

Roast until pumpkin is tender, 30 to 35 minutes, tossing once and rotating sheets halfway through.

This next recipe sounds like a real fun one.  Looks a bit challenging, so get the family and friends involved!  I like it because it looks amazing and uses a fine array of this week's harvest.

Smoky Braised Mexican Pumpkin

Ingredients:

Three to six 1/4-to-1/2- ounce stemmed, dried chipotle chiles, or canned chipotle chiles en adobo
3 large cloves garlic

5 medium (about 8 ounces) tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and halved
2 medium round, or 4 to 5 plum, ripe tomatoes, or one 15-ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound lean, boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (optional)

1 medium white onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups sliced Swiss chard
1 teaspoon coarse salt
4 cups peeled, seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch cubes fresh pumpkin, preferably from a 1 1/2-pound wedge cut from a tan or green Mexican pumpkin or a 2-pound pie pumpkin

Preparation:

Make the salsa: If using dried chiles, preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chiles and toast, turning frequently and pressing down with a flat spatula, until very aromatic, about 30 seconds. Transfer chiles to a small bowl and cover with hot water. Let sit until chiles are rehydrated, for 30 minutes, stirring frequently to ensure even soaking.

Place garlic and tomatillos in the skillet. Toast, turning occasionally, until soft and blackened in some spots, 3 to 4 minutes for the tomatillos and about 5 minutes for the garlic. Transfer garlic, tomatillos, and their juices to the bowl of a food processor or jar of a blender.

Drain chiles, either from the soaking water or their canning liquid, and discard liquid. Add chiles to the tomatillos and process to a fine-textured puree. Set aside.

 
If using fresh tomatoes, place tomatoes on a baking sheet and place baking sheet 4 inches below the preheated broiler. Roast until blackened on one side, about 6 minutes. Turn tomatoes over and roast on the other side, an additional 6 minutes. Let cool, then peel and roughly chop. Transfer tomatoes and any juices to a small bowl; set aside.

In a large heavy skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add pork, if using, and onions; cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits of meat with a wooden spoon, until pork is nicely golden, about 10 minutes.

Add reserved salsa, tomatoes, and 3 to 4 tablespoons water; stir to combine. Add Swiss chard and season with salt. To make this dish ahead of time, cover and refrigerate sauce for up to 2 days, then continue cooking as follows.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pumpkin evenly in a 9-by-9-inch glass baking dish. Pour over pork mixture. Cover baking dish with foil and bake until pumpkin is tender, 40 to 45 minutes. Dish can be cooled and refrigerated at this point, if desired, then continue cooking as followed when ready to serve.

To continue cooking, uncover dish and raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Continue baking until sauce has reduced slightly and top becomes crusty, about 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

 Pear and Autumn-Vegetable Soup

• Ingredients:
• 2 medium Bartlett pears (8 to 10 ounces each) and 4 small Bartlett pears (about 6 ounces each)
• 1 sugar pumpkin or butternut squash (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 turnip (about 3 ounces), trimmed, peeled, and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 sprig fresh sage
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
• Preparation:
• Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Using a mandoline or a very sharp knife, cut 2 medium pears lengthwise into paper-thin slices. Arrange the slices in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until pears are dry, about 1 hour. Let cool completely on sheet on a wire rack.
• Meanwhile, peel remaining 4 pears; halve lengthwise, and core. Place pears, pumpkin, turnip, sage, and 1 teaspoon salt in a 4-quart stockpot. Cover with water (at least 4 cups). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
• Pour mixture through a sieve into a medium bowl, reserving broth and discarding sage. Puree solids in a food processor or blender, adding up to 1/2 cup reserved broth as needed.
• Return puree to the pot. Stir in 3 to 4 cups reserved broth to achieve desired consistency. Bring soup to a simmer over medium-low heat. Whisk in cream, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the pepper. Serve garnished with dried pears.