FARM TOUR NEXT WEEKEND, September 29!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you haven't already, please email Amanda at amanda.waterstrat@gmail.com if you plan to attend! The Farm Tour will begin at 4pm and the potluck will begin 5:30.
From our farm to your table this week...
Acorn squashBasilButternut squashLettuceOnionsTomatoes
Green zucchini (large)
Tips for using &/or preserving your produce…
Acorn Squash
A truly beautiful winter
vegetable, the acorn squash is both versatile and attractive, especially when
sliced in rings. Here is a simple recipe
that is as beautiful as it is delicious from the Williams-Sonoma kitchen: Acorn Squash Rings Glazed with Maple & Orange.
Basil
Have you been thinking about holiday gifts and treats for guests? That time is just around the corner. Small glass jars filled with your own dried basil make a wonderful treat for family and friends over the holidays.
Have you been thinking about holiday gifts and treats for guests? That time is just around the corner. Small glass jars filled with your own dried basil make a wonderful treat for family and friends over the holidays.
Butternut Squash
My first encounter with butternut squash was about ten years ago. One evening my roommate (a horticulturalist) convinced me to try a simple, baked butternut squash with brown sugar & butter for dinner. It was a lot like the recipe I shared with you last week for acorn squash (Delicious Baked Acorn Squash). It was so good that I ate an entire (LARGE) butternut squash by myself. Yes, friends, unfortunately that first blissful encounter was so extreme that I felt sick afterward and couldn’t eat the sweet autumn veggie again until about a year later. (I have obsessive compulsive tendencies.) Thankfully, I’ve mastered a little self-control (with butternut squash) and have tried numerous, delicious dishes including butternut squash risotto and, one of our favorites, Butternut Squash and Chicken Curry Stew. That’s the one I’ll share with you this week. It has just the right combination of smooth, creamy squash and warm yellow curry with a hint of cinnamon.
Butternut Squash and Chicken Curry Stew
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed1 small onion, finely diced
1-2 lbs chicken breast, cut into 1-inch chunks
24-32 ounces organic chicken broth, low sodium (depends on how thick you like your stew)
1 large or two small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
3/4 cup orange juice
2 tsp yellow curry powder
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp brown sugar
½ cup raisins
-Heat olive oil over medium heat in a Dutch oven. Cook onions and garlic until slightly browned then add chicken and cook thoroughly but don’t let it get dry or burn.
-Pour broth over chicken, and then add butternut squash. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a low simmer and cook for about 45 minutes to 1 hour (or turn it on low and leave it for a LONG time).
-When the squash is very tender and a few pieces have fallen apart, remove ½ cup of the liquid and combine with remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk together thoroughly and return to the Dutch oven.
-Continue to simmer for about 20 minutes, remove from heat and serve.
Optional- stirring in 1-2 cups of chopped kale, tatsoi, or spinach when you add the cubed squash is a great way to boost the nutritional value of this stew and it’s delicious. I always do this if I have greens on hand.
Lettuce
Lettuce is back! …and I’m sooooo glad. Lettuce, kale, spinach and Swiss chard are just the right plants for early spring and fall in Kentucky. Since our lettuce patch isn’t close to our house, Ford has had to patiently respond to my weekly question – “Are the greens and lettuce ready yet?” In the fall, my FAVORITE way to enjoy fresh lettuce and tender greens is to top them with chunks of fresh pears, slivers of purple onion, raisins, gorgonzola cheese and toasted walnuts. A sweet berry or apple cider vinaigrette makes the perfect topping. …oh, and if you’re feeling really extravagant, a few pieces of crumbled bacon push this simple salad over the top, turning into a great main dish. YUM!
Onions
These fragrant bulbs are great for slicing into thin slivers and layering on salad. They are also great to use just as you would any storage onion from the supermarket and they will last for several weeks in a cool, dry, dark place.
Tomatoes
This week I used some over-ripe tomatoes to help make the sauce for a sweet potato chili. The fresh tomatoes really added some depth and freshness to the otherwise heavy vegetarian main dish. If you don’t want to enjoy the last fresh tomatoes raw in a salad, I highly recommend using them in soups, stews, or roasting them and freezing them for later this winter.
These fragrant bulbs are great for slicing into thin slivers and layering on salad. They are also great to use just as you would any storage onion from the supermarket and they will last for several weeks in a cool, dry, dark place.
Tomatoes
This week I used some over-ripe tomatoes to help make the sauce for a sweet potato chili. The fresh tomatoes really added some depth and freshness to the otherwise heavy vegetarian main dish. If you don’t want to enjoy the last fresh tomatoes raw in a salad, I highly recommend using them in soups, stews, or roasting them and freezing them for later this winter.
Zucchini - green
The zucchini in your share this
week will probably be a little larger than the zucchini you got earlier in the
season. That means it’s a great time to make
zucchini bread. I’ve shared my favorite
with you before, but here it is again for easy reference: Grandma’s Zucchini Bread. The
grated lemon peel really makes this bread so don’t leave it out (like I did the
first few times I baked it). 
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