Ah, fall

I'm finally on a new computer, which means that I should be able to do exciting things like post pictures of our food again. Jean and I had a friend over to help me with the computer (Vista is terrible, in case anyone is wondering), and in return we fed him.

One of Elena's "signature recipes" is her spaghetti squash. We got a beautiful one from the The Food Project farm a couple weeks ago. Just cut it in half and pull out the seeds, pop it face down in an oiled pan at 400 for 45 minutes to an hour. Stick a fork in it to see if it's good n' squishy.

While it's cooking, you can make a sauce for the cavity in the squash. I fry up garlic, onion, and several kinds of hot and sweet peppers in my wok. Then I add chopped up Italian sausage from Chestnut Farms. Once it is brown, I add a can of tomatoes, and this time some thyme, salt, and pepper. Let it simmer until the flavors are blended, a good ten minutes or longer.

Take out the squash and flip it so that you can fill the cavity with the sauce. When you eat it, you pull the spaghetti strands with your fork and grab some of the sauce with it. Yummy, and filling!

I haven't yet blogged this week on the veggie farm, so here we go:

• 1 carving pumpkin! It's on our table, and looks really nice. I'd heard it was a lousy pumpkin season, so I'm happy we got one.
  
• 4 nectarines, full of flavor and just perfect.
• 1 bag of salad mix.
• 10 leaves of Swiss chard.
• 4 small tomatoes. I think tomatoes are about done for the year.
• 1 bag of mix n' match, including large turnips, small turnips, an eggplant, onions, peppers, carrots, and potatoes.
• 1 bag of pick your own beans. The beans have about had it, and taste a bit old. And yet, still better than the store.
• 1/2 pint of red raspberries. Jean and I don't even try to save these. When she gets home from class, we just wash them and snack on them for the night.

And then the fruit share:

• 1/2 peck of apples.

Jean and I made an apple pie this week! I bought vegetarian shortening to make the crust with, but it didn't seem to jive with my Fannie Farmer cookbook. It didn't hold together too well, so though the bottom crust was ok, the top crust was sort of a, um, patchwork. We didn't have to vent it. And then it never browned. Yet, despite it's ugly ducklingness, it tasted really good. Yummy apples, flakey crust. The shortening container has its own crust recipe, so I'll try that next time. I just want to get away from lard, having known a number of people who can't eat it. When there's pie, everyone should get a slice.