Eating in season
We have been trying to eat what the farm produces and eat in season. A friend recently asked me why I haven't posted more recipes or updates on food. Well, to be transparent, we are a bit tired of eating in season. We were so excited the day that the squashes were ready; sometime during the end of September. Well, squashes are still in season! I have added squash to our eggs, squash soup, squash on our pizza, squash casserole etc. You get the picture, I think I'm ready for the next season...
I did find a wonderful recipe for pumpkins "Pumpkin Curry with Chickpeas":
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 3 tbsp Thai yellow curry paste (red curry paste also works)
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 3 large stalks lemongrass , bashed with the back of a knife (unfortunately couldn't find lemongrass in Texas)
• 6 cardamom pods
• 1 tbsp mustard seed
• 1 piece pumpkin or a small squash (about 1kg)
• 250ml vegetable stock
• 400ml can reduced-fat coconut milk
• 400g can chickpeas , drained and rinsed
• 2 limes
• large handful mint leaves
• naan bread , to serve
1. Heat the oil in a sauté pan, then gently fry the curry paste with the onions, lemongrass, cardamom and mustard seed for 2-3 mins until fragrant. Stir the pumpkin or squash into the pan and coat in the paste, then pour in the stock and coconut milk. Bring everything to a simmer, add the chickpeas, then cook for about 10 mins until the pumpkin is tender. The curry can now be cooled and frozen for up to 1 month. 2. Squeeze the juice of one lime into the curry, then cut the other lime into wedges to serve alongside. Just before serving, tear over mint leaves, then bring to the table with the lime wedges and warm naan breads.
Canadian Thanksgiving
When we first arrived on the farm, we noticed a couple of turkeys in the freezer and this spurred the idea of cooking a Canadian Thanksgiving meal for the entire farm. Bronwyn sent out invitations and we ended up with 40 RSVPs! Our menu was printed and displayed at each place setting, it included: rolls with herbed butter, roasted pumpkin soup, garlic mashed potatoes, oven roasted vegetables, apple cranberry stuffing, turkey with gravy, mustard greens with a creamy dressing, raspberry jellied salad, pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Because we were so busy preparing the dishes we did not have many pictures….oops!Everyone had a lovely time and we encouraged each table to participate in a Smith Thanksgiving tradition called “Thanksgiving Beans”. Two beans are placed beside each plate and a small basket is passed around the table. Each person thinks of two things they are thankful for and then places the beans in the basket. Lots of fun and so many things to be thankful for.
3 comments:
Great post! I understand your sentiments about the changing of the seasons... I always told Matt that TX only has two seasons: "hot" and "less hot". :) It's one of the reasons I am LOVING this cold, dark and rainy Vancouver day!
Glad you were able to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving with such wonderful food and friends.
Cheers!
I really agree with your observation that during the colder months we are 'stuck' with our winter veggies and a bit of a lack of variety. Perhaps that is like the slow parts of the liturgical year, in contrast to the exciting overtly active parts, or the rhythm of fasting/feasting. One really does welcome the next season, both in the garden and in liturgy.
I too sympathize with the difficulty of eating in season...it was certainly a challenge in this past year at Uminami Farm! I really love tomatoes, and I never realized how much til I was waiting for them to get ripe, and for the tomatoes to be abundant enough that there was some left for us after the paying customers had their share.
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