Fall Meals

By now, you know how much I love and appreciate locally grown produce. My kids like it, too. They're far more willing to eat food they grew themselves or purchased from a local farmer. I've posted many recipes that use seasonal produce grown in our garden. Here's one that made use of some beautiful delicata scquash from a local farm- Lucky Field Organics.

My sister originally cooked a variation of this recipe. It has now become a staple in our house during the fall and winter months.

Ingredients
delicata squash (I used two)
olive oil
tamari (Find it in the Asian section of your supermarket)
maple syrup (Get the real stuff)

Procedure:

1. Delicata are oblong shaped, kind of like a fat cucumber. Slice them crosswise to make rounds about 1/3 inch thick.
2. Scoop the seeds out of the rounds leaving all of the flesh and skins behind. (A teaspoon or small knife works well). My son likes to do this job. Unlike other winter squashes, the skins are tender and delicious.

3. Spread the squash rounds out in a single layer on a cookie sheet. You may want to line the tray with foil as clean-up can be messy.
4. Drizzle them with olive oil, tamari, and maple syrup. I used about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon each of tamari and maple syrup for the two squashes. Start with a little. You can add more as needed during cooking. Too much tamari, however will be too strong and make the squash salty.
5. Bake them in the oven at 375 degrees until the squash is golden brown, tender, and carmelized.

Vegetarians: You can use this same recipe with tempeh. Slice the tempeh about 1/4 inch thick and proceed as with the squash. Add some steamed kale and you've got a meal!

My kids happen to love sweet potato fries with this. Peel and slice the potatoes into fries. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Bake as with the squash.

Do you have a favorite fall/winter meal?

Related Posts:

A Passion for Pesto

Mant, Many Butternuts...

Many, Many Butternuts...

In October I blogged about the 35 butternut squashes we harvested from our scrappy squash and melon patch. Then, Mrs. CM posted an artful photo of one of our butternuts.

Today, I decided I should share one of our favorite squash recipes: Curried Pumpkin Soup. The recipe calls for pumpkin, but most winter squashes can be substituted. I made a delicious triple batch for Thanksgiving using one of our squashes and froze the extra.

Curried Pumpkin Soup
Yield: 6 servings

1 Large onion, chopped or sliced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 cups pureed pumpkin* or 1- 16 oz. can pumpkin
3 cups chicken stock (I use veggie stock)
1 potato, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup half and half (I use 1/4 cup light cream and 1/2 cup skim milk)
Worcestershire or Tabasco sauce to taste
salt and pepper to taste

1. Saute onion in olive oil in 2 qt. sauce pan until tender. Add pumpkin, chicken stock, potato, curry powder and nutmeg. Mix well. Cook over low heat until potato is tender.
2. Process several times in a blender. (Or use a stick blender like I do). Add cream, Worcestershire sauce , salt and pepper. Simmer until heated through.
3. Ladle into bowls. Garnish with a sprinkle of ground nutmeg.

This recipe comes from Global Feast Cookbook published by Mystic Seaport Museum Stores.

*Here's the easiest way to get fresh pumpkin or squash puree:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place the squash in an ovenproof dish and cover it tightly with a lid or aluminum foil.
3. Bake until tender, about 1 hour for a 1 pound squash. To test for done-ness, slide a sharp knife into the skin. If it slides in easily, it's done.  If the squash feel firm at all, keep cooking. Tip: On a butternut, the wide end cooks faster than the skinny end.
4. Let it cool. Then slice the squash in half. Scoop out the seeds and any stringy pulp and discard (or put it in the compost). Scoop the lovely orange flesh from the skins and fork mash, if needed before using in the recipe.

There are some natural places for kids to help with this recipe. Most kids can scoop the pulp and place it in a bowl as long as the squash is sufficiently cooled. Now that my daughter is 5, she has graduated to sauteing like her big brother. With close supervision, many kids aged 5 and up can handle this. Prop them up on a stool or chair and give them some safety directions before starting. My 8 year old son is good at measuring ingredients, though my daughter still needs someone to pre-measure for her and then she adds the ingredients. My daughter is also learning how to chop vegetables using a small sharp knife. Start cooking with your kids when they are young and gradually introduce new skills as they are mature enough to handle them.

Cooking with your kids has many benefits such as building math skills (fractions, measuring) and life skills. More importantly, they get to spend time in the kitchen with you and will probably want to eat what they cooked.

In the coming weeks, I'll share more squash recipes with you. (We still have lots of squash to eat!) My sister recently got us making butternut squash oven fries. Stay tuned!

Do you have a favorite squash or pumpkin recipe you'd like to share? How about a recipe involving another fall/winter crop?

Fall Leaves

Here in Southern New England, now is the perfect time to get outside with your kids and enjoy the blaze of color on the trees. Every time my five-year-old daughter steps outside, she finds another beautiful leaf to share. "Oooh, Mommy, look at this one!" is her most common phrase.

I remember that as I child, all I wanted to do was find a way to preserve those leaves so I could enjoy them in the dark winter months. I tried many methods, including the fairly well-known practice of ironing leaves between two pieces of waxed paper and hanging them in front of a window. This exercise was fun, but the bold colors didn't last long.

A couple of years ago I had a new idea, this time inspired my my kids' same desire to preserve their leaves. 

Leaf Placemats
Here's what you need:

• an assortment of leaves. Gather a variety of shapes and colors.
• white glue
• 11 X 17 paper (We used copy paper weight but any paper will do).
• access to a color copy center an hour or two after finishing the project
• clear contact paper or access to a copy center that does laminating

Procedure:

1. Take a nature hike with your kids. Collect leaves together. (If hiking in public a place, such as an arboretum, be aware that collecting may not be allowed). While you're walking, take advantage of the time together. Talk about which leaves you like and why.  Note the shapes of the leaves. Try to find which trees your leaves came from. 



Be careful of these leaves, though. That's poison ivy!

2. Bring your leaves home. Before rushing right into the craft, give your kids a chance to explore the leaves a bit. Maybe they'd like to sort them in some way or talk about them with you. 
Glue the leaves onto the 11 X 17 paper. Kids as young as 2 can participate in this with parent support. Ask the children where they want glue and help them apply it. Then they can stick the leaves down. Encourage older kids to make a pleasing design.  Note: the leaves do not need to be securely glued in all places. They just need to last long enough to make a copy.
3. As soon as the glue is dry, take them to the copy center and make color photocopies. (The cost varies but is around $1.00 per sheet). If you wait, the leaves will start to fade, so the results will not be as good. The quality of photocopies today is terrific. They'll look exactly like your creations.
4. To preserve the placemats, have the copy center laminate them. This is not a cheap process, so confirm the cost before placing your order. An alternative is to mount them on sturdy paper and cover them with clear contact paper. Public libraries sometimes have laminating machines and may allow you to use them for a fee. (I laminated ours at our public library). These coverings allow you to wipe the placemats clean with a damp cloth (DO NOT submerge them in water). We made ours 3 years ago and they're still in good condition.

Here's and alternative project  inspired by my daughter:

Leaf Rubbings

Materials:

• Assortment of leaves
• Light weight paper such as regular copy paper
• crayons
• tape

Procedure

1. Arrange the leaves upside down (vein side up) on a piece of paper.
2. Carefully place another piece of paper on top. Tape it down.
3. Using the side of a crayon, gently rub across the surface of the paper. The leaves' shapes and veins will be revealed in the rubbing. This process is magical for young children as the leaves "suddenly" appear.
4. Experiment with different colors. Even though my daughter loves pink, it was not a satisfying color for this project. Her favorite was a deep blue that clearly revealed the veins.
5. Ask the kids to embellish the rubbings, or not, as they feel inspired.
6. You can then frame these pieces or laminate them as above.

Relatives love to receive these projects as gifts and they're perfect for the Thanksgiving table.

For my readers from regions where leaves don't turn or who are overseas... try a project like this using flowers and green leaves. You'll need to gently flatten the flowers enough that they can sit on the deck of a copy machine.

Have you tried projects like these? Will you try one now? What other ideas do you have for preserving our beautiful fall leaves (or flowers)?

Cranberry Harvest

Yesterday we attended the A.D. Makepeace Cranberry Harvest Celebration in Wareham, MA.  A. D. Makepeace is the largest cranberry grower in the world. The festival offers a nice balance between fun activities and learning about the harvest (mostly through fun activities!). It was a pefect fall day to explore the cranberry bogs and learn about the cranberry harvest. For busy families, a festival like this is a great way to get outdoors together- no planning necessary- just show up!

One thing I love about this festival is that it really is all about the cranberries and what is local. And, it is affordable for families. Admission is only $2.00 per person, under 7 free. If you bring non-perishable food items for a local food pantry, admission is free. Once you're inside, there is plenty to do free of charge, including a bog tour. There are also loads of picnic tables in the main festival area, at the bog, and even in the parking lot, so families can pack a lunch (no coolers allowed, though). For those who want to spend some money, there's plenty of food to choose from, a crafter's tent, and various hay rides, moon bounces, and helicopter rides.

Yes, there are vendors, but this is not a highly commercial festival. Makepeace also hosts organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, the Lions club, and edible South Shore. These groups share news about their good work and, in some cases, raise funds for their organizations.

One of my favorites at the festival is the "bridge" set up at the harvest site. Visitors climb up and over the trucks as they're loaded.

From above, you can see the berries come off the belt  

and land in the back of a tractor trailer.

There were also jugglers, a bluegrass band, and an owl show. Then there's one of my kid' favorites...a GIANT sand pile that inspires kids and adults alike to roll, jump, skid, and slide. There's nothing like some good old fun for the kid in all of us. Best of all, we got to be outdoors.

Obviously, this harvest festival is over for the year, but the harvest continues. If you live in Massachusetts, you can probably find a bog and watch the harvest from the road. My son's school bus has been known to stop for a few minutes when they're ahead of schedule to watch the helicopters load up. We can still hear them working every day.

How about where you live? Is it harvest time now? Have you attended any good fall/harvest celebrations. Are there ones you plan to attend in the next couple of weeks?

Confessions of a Passive Gardener

Check this out. Do you know what it is? Come on... look really closely.

What do you mean you don't know? Can't you tell that's our squash and melon patch? Where are the squashes and melons, you might ask. I know it's pretty hard to find them among the weeds. This is what happens when life gets ahead of you. For me, a summer car accident, two weeks of house guests, and then a vacation prevented me from caring for this patch the way I should have. Did anyone else have a summer like that? Do you feel guilty for neglecting your garden, not planting a garden in the first place, or not "doing" enough nature activities with your child?

Lest you think I am the perfect Gardener/Naturalist/Mom/Teacher, I thought I should share this very clear visual that illustrates I am not. No-one is, so don't put unreasonable expectations on yourself. Do your best and celebrate your accomplishments.

Did you grow even one bit of produce this summer with your children? Did you cook a new recipe together with something you grew? Did your kids learn about plant life cycles by seeing a plant go from seed to flower to fruit? Did you explore the beach, or a pond, or a forest together? Each of these is a valuable lesson for your kids. Celebrate them. Once you celebrate, you can look for ways to improve.

 Here's the funny thing... despite the abundance of weeds, our melon and squash patch produced an abundance of food. We harvested 33 butternut squash (from 3 plants), 6 delicious cantaloupe (the woodchuck ate at least 3!) and three gigantic watermelons (there are two small ones still growing). The bigger message here is that you don't have to be the perfect gardener to grow some food for your family. You also don't have to be the perfect parent or teacher to raise wonderful kids.  In this "disaster" of a patch that we basically just managed to plant and water, wonderful things grew. The same is true for kids and classrooms and flower beds. Do your best. Love them. Nurture them as best you can. Don't beat yourself up for all the activities you didn't do. Celebrate the ones you did enjoy together and then make a plan to do more in the future.

What accomplishments are you celebrating today? Celebrate them publicly by posting them here.