Winter - Week 4 (Nov 1/2)

I am excited to see more winter squash.  They can keep on the countertop or in the cupboard for months.  The Hubbard is sweet and dry, with good seeds for roasting and eating.  It has a thick skin, meaning it will keep well.  The buttercup lends itself to roasting and turning into a soup.  Both of these go very well in curried squash soups... cut them, remove the skin and innards, cube them, roast them in oil to make the sweet, mash them a bit, boil them with salt, basil, garbanzo beans, and Thai curry paste in coconut milk, mash it some more, and serve topped with cilantro and seeds (pumpkin or sunflower).  Perfect for the current weather.

Anaheim pepper
Bell pepper
Red Pontiac potatoes
Yellow onion
Bok choi
Turnip greens (a little yellow from the frosts, but fine)
Broccoli
Baby turnip
Spinach
Lemon cucumber
Swiss chard
Macintosh apple
Plums (a little wrinkly, but sweet)
Tomatoes
Hubbard squash
Black radish
Red meat radishes
Buttercup squash

MEAT: ground lamb

LtoR: Chard, Macintosh apples, plums, tomatoes, turnip greens

Clockwise starting left: Buttercup, lemon cuke, Hubbard squash
Anaheim peppers, bell pepper, bok choi

LtoR: Spinach, broccoli, baby turnips, black radish, red meat radish

It occurs to me that I put the potatoes and onion away in my potato basket before I got their picture.  There were pre-schoolers involved.

TIP:  Save your cuttings, such as the leaves from the broccoli, the tops of the radishes, and that one tomato you feel was a bit too squashed to eat.  They can be simmered with carrot peels, potato skins, the outer parts of onions, a few cloves of garlic, and herbs, to create tasty stock.  I keep a gallon ziploc in the freezer to collect the parts.  It is soup season -- you'll use them up quick, and it only takes about 30 minutes of simmering pre-soup-start to get a lot of flavor.

Throw in a couple of carrots and some tofu, and we have a full dinner that uses several of our ingredients.  Serve with rice and pickles or a salad.

MISO
dashi soup stock, or vegetable stock (or fish/shrimp/mushroom stock)
1 black radish, peeled, quartered and sliced
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, quartered and sliced
1-2 heads bok choi, sliced into ribbons
1/2 block extra firm tofu, cubed
2-6 Tbsp of miso paste

Boil all the veg and tofu together with the stock, until just tender.  Turn off heat, stir in miso paste until dissolved, and serve.  If it sits at all, be sure to stir before serving -- the miso will settle.

SESAME WINTER SQUASH
1 small winter squash, or 12 thin slices of a larger squash
2-3 Tbsp sesame oil
1-2 Tbsp soy sauce
3-5 Tbsp sesame seeds, split into two halves

Slice the winter squash into rounds or half moons, approximately 1/4-1/2" thick.  Toss with oil-soy sauce-sesame seed mixture and place on a cookie sheet.  Roast at 375 until pierced easily with a fork and just beginning to brown.  Serve, topped with the remaining sesame seeds.