- Brussels sprouts!! Yipee! They are sized up like never before – enjoy
- Cabbage
- Fennel
- Celery
- Parsley
- Cippolini onions
- Shallots
- Leeks
- Daikon radish
- Salad mix with radicchio and arugula
- Winter squash
- Pie pumpkin
- Potatoes
- Kale or spinach
- Walnuts
- Persimmons
- Cauliflower or broccoli
Happy holidays to all! We are happy to have veggies for you to share with family at this time of year. We are featuring Brussels sprouts, acorn squash, cippolini onions (a whole bunch!) and a salad mix to die for. The harvest should be ready by noon, but have to wait for it to warm up a bit to pick the lettuce and leeks.
The fall has been mild which makes pest pressure high. The root maggot is particularly voracious (ever heard of the book “The very Hungry caterpillar” well that applies to maggots and caterpillars. The daikon was stunning, now you have to cut out the parts that the buggers started eating. I have been on a quick pickling frenzy. It is a great way to use all the parts that are still good on the daikon. I have tried the one from McFadden (6 Season Harvest) and made up my own. Here is the link to my favorite recipe so far:
https://pupswithchopsticks.com/quick-pickled-daikon-radish/
https://www.japanesecooking101.com/yuzu-daikon-recipe/
(I will try this one today!)
I am racing out to clean up my studio and get my new ceramics out for sale. It was a good firing with glazes coming out pretty much how I had hoped. There are lots of bunnies! I am trying to stop with the dried flowers and move on to only pottery but I am finding it hard. I will do one more firing before xmas so if you have a special order I will work hard to get it done by December 20th. Please do stop into my studio, it is open all week.
We had an amazing farmers market yesterday and sold out of almost all the holiday wreaths we made. There are a few in the barn and I can probably make a few more before I throw in the towel. We do have cedar garland which is very festive. Text or email me if you want one, otherwise first come first serve.
We give thanks to our Mother Earth for all her bounty and pledge to continue to work hard to protect her as best we can. We make choices everyday, let us all try to make them wisely. At this time of year my sister helps us refocus our “celebration of the harvest” and remember how most of us got here, on stolen land, through genecide, through slavery. We will keep fighting for a more just country. Least you think I am not engaged politically right now, I have been listening to the Impeachment Hearings and can not and will not have this mobster remain as POTUS. Call your representative every day!!!
More recipes:
OK, if you have not made my salad dressing now is the time:
Lyn’s Salad Dressing
1 cup olive oil
¼ – 1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar (this is the key ingredient)
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic pressed
Add all ingredients to a Mason jar and cover with lid. Shake until creamy and well blended.
Julia’s Perfect Pumpkin Pie
First the pumpkin:
Preheat oven to 350. Cut and remove seeds from one medium sugar pie pumpkin, or 2 small ones. Bake in glass dish cut side down for at least 45 minutes, or until a fork easily pierces the entire wall of the pumpkin.
Remove from oven and let cool.
Next the crust:
For best results use a 9 inch pie plate and have foil and beans or pie weights available
4 tablespoons EACH cold unsalted butter and shortening, cut into pieces
1 1/4 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
3-6 tablespoons ice cold water
In a food processor, whirl the dry ingredients together, then drop the butter and shortening pieces into the processor and pulse a few times until the mixture looks crumbly and there are no lumps larger than peas.
Mix above mixture in a mixing bowl with 3 tablespoons of the cold water. Add water a ½ tablespoon at a time and mix until the dough is pliable and releases from the sides, but isn’t too sticky. After 3 Tablespoons or so it’s easiest to use your hands to bring the crumbs into a dough. Don’t wash the food processor yet.
Refrigerate in waxed paper as a thick disk for at least ½ an hour while you prepare the filling. After about 30 minutes, roll out dough until it’s about 13 inches in diameter. Fold it over, and place into a 10 inch pie plate. Trim edge to about ½ an inch beyond the end of the pie plate, tuck in crust and pinch the edge into a design. Lightly place some aluminum foil or parchment paper onto crust, then put in some pie weights to cover the bottom (or dried beans) This step helps to make the perfect pie shell. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.
FILLING:
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon each ground cloves and nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cup half and half
4 large eggs
In the bowl of the food processor, remove any large clumps from the making of the crust, and add the pulp from the pumpkins, discarding the skin and any renegade seeds. Whirl the pumpkin until thoroughly pureed. Measure out 2 cups of the pumpkin, and reserve the rest for another use. (See soup recipe or add about a cup to any pancake or cookie recipe.)
In the bowl of the food processor, mix the pumpkin with the spices and the brown sugar. Remove to a saucepan, and heat until it’s lightly bubbling. In the bowl of the food processor, whirl the eggs with the half and half until mixed, then add gently to the warm pumpkin mixture. Cook for 2 or 3 more minutes, stirring a few times. Pour warm pumpkin mixture into the warm pie shell, and bake for about 25 minutes, or until center is still slightly wobbly. Cool on a rack for at least an hour. Enjoy with whipped cream or ice cream.
For Brussels Sprouts: