Pumpkins...and Pumpkin Recipes.

Howdy howdy,

Well I just got back from the Durham Farmers Market with Will from
Ever Laughter Farm, where I was helping him run the stand. It's a nice
market. You should check it out sometime after the CSA ends,
Wednesdays 3:30-6:30 and Saturdays 8-12. We had some leftover burgundy
okra, which you'll get to try tomorrow actually. I bought it off of
him at a generous discount to add to your bags, because I thought it'd
just be nice for you guys to try the red, almost purple okra. It's
pretty striking. Tastes about the same, but it just looks so pretty.
It'll be mixed in with our regular green okra. There'll be a little
more than usual, since you'll be getting my whole harvest plus the red
stuff. I would suggest okra and tomatoes, with onion, salt, and pepper
in the southern fashion. Or fried--Susannah is reported to be the
expert among us on frying okra. Maybe ask her how she does it...

The recipe this week comes from my mom, and uses a lovely New England
pie pumpkin (the name comes from the variety, not where it was grown
of course--it was grown by me right here in NC). It's real tasty, and
it's great to have a savory idea for pumpkin, since it's really too
early for pumpkin pie, right? Here it is:

South American Pumpkin Casserole
1 small pumpkin
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic
1 T olive oil
1 t cumin seeds (or ground cumin)
1 t ground coriander
1 cup chopped bell pepper
a few hot chili peppers, roasted (optional) or 1 t cayenne pepper and
1 t chili powder
3/4 t salt
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley (optional)
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa (sold in bulk bin at Weaver St Market)
1 1/2 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen (thawed)
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar or mexican blend cheese

Cut pumpkin in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and their surrounding
pulp into a sink of cold water. Allow to soak to help separate seeds
from pulp. Bake pumpkin halves at 350 degrees on an oiled baking sheet
for 45-50 minutes or until very soft.
While pumpkin is baking, roast a handful of hot chili peppers, if
using. Wearing gloves (try not to touch the inside of the peppers with
your fingers), cut off stems, slice open peppers, remove seeds, and
toss onto an oiled baking sheet. Coat pepper flesh with oil and place
skin side up. Roast under the broiler for 5-10 minutes, until skin
blisters and begins to blacken, watching constantly, as this happens
fast. Remove from oven and allow to cool a bit. Scoop peppers into a
plastic zip-lock bag and close. This can be done ahead and stored in
fridge.
Saute onion, garlic and spices in olive oil until onion is
translucent. Add bell peppers and salt, stir, cover and leave on low
heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in roasted chili
peppers.
Allow cooked pumpkin to cool, scrape from shell and mash well.
Beat eggs and mix into mashed pumpkin, followed by cooked quinoa. Add
corn, sauteed onions and peppers, cilantro or parsley, and grated
cheese. Stir to mix well.
Bake in an oiled dish at 350 degrees for 20 minutes covered, then an
additional 20-30 minutes uncovered.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
While baking prepare pumpkin seeds for roasting. Spread seeds onto an
oiled baking sheet, toss to coat with oil, then sprinkle with salt.
When casserole comes out of the oven, turn heat down to 325 degrees.
Roast seeds for about 25 minutes until toasted golden brown and
crispy, stirring every 10 minutes.

---

UPDATE:

So I have been throwing around the idea of taking a week off since the
harvests are getting thin and I'm waiting for radishes, among other
things, to mature. I didn't think the sweet potatoes would be ready
until late September, but it turns out that some of them can be
harvested now. I'll harvest some tomorrow, cure them for a week in the
house so that they will store better, and bring them to you next week.
Same thing the week aftert that. We'll harvest a little at a time
until they're gone. As is stands, tomorrow will be the 16th week of
produce distribution for the year. That means that September 23rd will
be the 20th week, and the last day of our 2010 CSA.

As concerns what we're going to do once the market ends to get
everybody their shares. I've decided I'll deliver everybody's shares
next Thursday (9-2-10) between 6 and 7, and if that works well, we'll
keep doing that until the end of the season. Tomorrow I'll ask
everybody for their exact addresses to make sure I have them right,
and we'll see how that works the following week. TOMORROW IS NORMAL
PICK-UP AT THE MARKET, unless you're a Carrboro person whom I normally
deliver to. Great!

Recapping the harvest:

Okra (red and green)
Tomatoes
Thai basil
Peppers
Pumpkin

See ya tomorrow then!

Ben