Over our Canadian thanksgiving weekend, my husband, brother and I were on our way to my mother's for thanksgiving dinner. Since it's a town over, it not only gave us an opportunity for a leisurely fall drive but a trip to a favourite farm that carries many varieties of that famous October squash: the pumpkin.
One of the reasons that I really enjoy having our Canuck Thanksgiving celebration in mid-October is because of how intensely autumn has descended upon us at that point. This year, the weekend was beautiful and bright coloured leaves were falling from the trees. Our detour took us to a childhood favourite, Strom's farm, known for their sweet corn in the summer. Strom's also provides a very large children's outdoor play area, corn maze, pick your own popping corn (right off the stalk!), a bakery, and more. Yes, you can even have your birthday celebrations there. It's located just outside of Guelph (Ontario), on Wellington rd 32, between highway's 24 and 7. I have fond memories of eating Strom's sweet corn as a young girl, when my best friend worked on their farm over the summers. Still to this day, when I bring something to my mother that says "Strom's farm" on the bag, my mother lets out a bit of an excited noise.
A plethora of smells hits you when you first get close to the farm store. Inside, they are working away to bake pumpkin pies, apple crisps, apple pies and other treats. Outside, hot apple cider is waiting for you. We bought a few kinds of pie to take back to my mother's house for thanksgiving dinner (again, she made that excited noise). I picked their pumpkin pie and happily enjoyed it that evening. I'd say it's probably my current favourite store-bought pumpkin pie. It doesn't need whipped cream, it is that good. Then again, I'm a bit of a pumpkin pie freak. I love pumpkins.
Not surprisingly, one of my favourite things about visiting Strom's in October is that there are pumpkins strewn about as far as the eye can see. Anyone can find the right Hallowe'en pumpkin here, as well as many varieties for pies and cooking. They have more types of pumpkins that I'd like to admit I even knew existed (11 types of pumpkins this year). You can go out to the fields to pick your own, or choose from the hundreds they've made available at the store. They offer gigantic pumpkins, up to 60lbs, that one year I am determined to buy and turn into an epic jack o'lantern. There are also your standard pumpkins, pie pumpkins, and other small eating-types. My favourite section is the section of "gourmet" pumpkins, in some of the oddest colours and shapes. A friend bought a pure white pumpkin there last year, perhaps a Casper variety pumpkin. This year, my husband and I picked up a Jarrahdale pumpkin, which is actually a blue coloured pumpkin that looks like a blue-grey colour. It's going to make us an excellent jack o'lantern this month (post to come...)
By the time we were done, our little wagon (provided by Strom's) was filled with pies and pumpkins. In addition to our soon-to-be-halloween-decoration, I picked up a few of the sweeter pie pumpkins to cook and keep over the next few month. I love pumpkin soup, or just a plain pumpkin mash. Mmm.... pumpkin.
For the record, this year I have managed to find two separate uses for pumpkin puree that are new to me. The first is a knock off of Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice Latte which is not only cheaper to make at home, but tastes better since it uses pure ingredients rather then chemically produced flavours. The second use, oddly enough, is feeding it to our cat. Little known fact - pumpkin puree in a cat's food helps them with constipation. I can only wonder how it helps us too ;)
Thursday 14 October 2010
Wednesday 13 October 2010
As the season winds down...
Next week is our last CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) vegetable pick up. I'm having end of CSA anxiety: Did I put away enough veggies for winter? Did we let too much go to waste? Why didn't I get anything canned while the crops were being produced?
This is the third time that my husband and I have participated in a CSA season. The first year we tried, we wasted a whole lot of produce while we learned what we were doing. CSA's aren't necessarily easy things to be a part of for more urbanites. Once a week you are faced with a plethora of local vegetables, some of which you may never have seen before or which you don't cook often with. If you don't get through those, there is more coming next week, and the week after. The veggies can start to pile up, and eventually rot. It can turn people off of a CSA very quickly.
Let's be honest. Even with three years into my CSA experience, we still lose some veggies during the season. It reflects on how busy our lives are, and how much work it really is to clean and cook veggies all the time. But, like most things, practice makes us more efficient. Compared to our first season in a CSA, we lose next to nothing now. We make a point of freezing more items, and making more meals at home during the week. Sometimes we lose a few things.
I think of rotting CSA veggies as food for my composter.
So at the end of this season, I know we've done ok because we're getting better and better at it. I have food in my freezer to eat over the winter, even if it's not quite as much as I've put away last year. Maybe we're eating more of it when it's fresh, because we're not really wasting much.
CSA's offer a lot of benefits. It provides you with locally grown produce, usually harvested a day or so before you pick it up. That means very fresh produce which hasn't had much of a chance to lose nutrients. It's also almost always organic produce you get. Better for your body, and for the environment. You make a social statement when you join a CSA that you want organic and local foods, it's supporting a movement. You make a relationship with your farmer(s), and know everyone that has been in contact with your food. You can donate your time and help on the farm, contributing toward the harvest. And the constant stream of veggies means you're eating foods that are good for you too.
I encouraged my Mom to try a CSA. I wasn't sure she'd go for it, and when she jumped on the challenge, I was wary she'd enjoy it. Now, at the end of her CSA season, she is telling me how much she enjoyed it, and how she was looking forward to joining again next year. She got a small share, and made a routine for herself that weekly she cleans and processes most of her veggies for the week, and was able to keep up with most of it. My mom isn't someone that looks for organic/local foods, but it's so encouraging to see her getting benefits out of it. It's allowing her to watch the seasons, and enjoy new foods.
CSA's can be a great experience for anyone, although it takes work. I can't recommend them enough.
This is the third time that my husband and I have participated in a CSA season. The first year we tried, we wasted a whole lot of produce while we learned what we were doing. CSA's aren't necessarily easy things to be a part of for more urbanites. Once a week you are faced with a plethora of local vegetables, some of which you may never have seen before or which you don't cook often with. If you don't get through those, there is more coming next week, and the week after. The veggies can start to pile up, and eventually rot. It can turn people off of a CSA very quickly.
Let's be honest. Even with three years into my CSA experience, we still lose some veggies during the season. It reflects on how busy our lives are, and how much work it really is to clean and cook veggies all the time. But, like most things, practice makes us more efficient. Compared to our first season in a CSA, we lose next to nothing now. We make a point of freezing more items, and making more meals at home during the week. Sometimes we lose a few things.
I think of rotting CSA veggies as food for my composter.
So at the end of this season, I know we've done ok because we're getting better and better at it. I have food in my freezer to eat over the winter, even if it's not quite as much as I've put away last year. Maybe we're eating more of it when it's fresh, because we're not really wasting much.
CSA's offer a lot of benefits. It provides you with locally grown produce, usually harvested a day or so before you pick it up. That means very fresh produce which hasn't had much of a chance to lose nutrients. It's also almost always organic produce you get. Better for your body, and for the environment. You make a social statement when you join a CSA that you want organic and local foods, it's supporting a movement. You make a relationship with your farmer(s), and know everyone that has been in contact with your food. You can donate your time and help on the farm, contributing toward the harvest. And the constant stream of veggies means you're eating foods that are good for you too.
I encouraged my Mom to try a CSA. I wasn't sure she'd go for it, and when she jumped on the challenge, I was wary she'd enjoy it. Now, at the end of her CSA season, she is telling me how much she enjoyed it, and how she was looking forward to joining again next year. She got a small share, and made a routine for herself that weekly she cleans and processes most of her veggies for the week, and was able to keep up with most of it. My mom isn't someone that looks for organic/local foods, but it's so encouraging to see her getting benefits out of it. It's allowing her to watch the seasons, and enjoy new foods.
CSA's can be a great experience for anyone, although it takes work. I can't recommend them enough.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)