This week’s box includes: Okra, butternut squashes, spaghetti squash, potatoes, apples, and cucumbers! You can see a photo that can help with identification on our Facebook page or check out our weekly video on Instagram.
Need storage instructions? Visit our fruit & veggie home pages. Click on the pic and a new page opens with storage instructions and a list of recipes curated by Conne Ward Cameron over the years.
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The apple train keeps a rollin’. This week’s boxes included shiny green Mutsu apples, also known as Crispins. Their crisp texture and sweet/tart flavor makes them suitable for cooking and eating fresh.
I believe they’ll also make a delicious applesauce. It’s as easy as peeling, coring, cutting into chunks and cooking with a splash of water over low heat until the pieces break down into mush. Adding your preferred sweetener along with a dash of cinnamon and salt is optional; I find apples alone to be perfect. The sauce freezes well if you need to make room for more apples arriving next week.
Butternuts are the big news this week. They are the best “keepers” of all of the winter squashes They’ll last for months in a cool but not refrigerated space – at least long enough for the temperatures to break.
We have a thing or two to say about what to do with a butternut on our website. That butternuts and apples are harvested at the same time of year is a tip-off to their complimentary nature in recipes. Try this easy recipe for Apple Butternut Squash Soup.
Got a bit more time? This NY Times cooking recipe for Roasted Spiced Squash with Whipped Feta & Pistachios seems to be all the rage. I first had something similar at Whoopsie’s on Moreland but made with braised carrots. The fresh mint + pistachios, olive oil and of course the feta was eye-opening. Bonus: I bet it would be delicious at room temp.
Roasted Spiced Squash with Whipped Feta & Pistachios
2 ½ pounds winter squash (such as butternut, honey nut or delicata), deseeded and cut into 1-inch-thick slices
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
½ cup toasted pistachios, roughly chopped
Handful dill, parsley or mint, roughly chopped
Crushed red pepper, to top
FOR THE WHIPPED FETA
1 (6-ounce) package feta, crumbled
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
½ lemon, finely zested, plus 1 tablespoon juice
3 to 4 tablespoons milk or water
Heat the oven to 425 degrees.
Place the squash on a sheet pan and add the coriander and cumin. Drizzle generously with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, then toss until the squash is evenly coated. Arrange in a single layer and roast until tender and golden, 25 to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the whipped feta: Place the feta, garlic, lemon juice and 3 tablespoons milk into a small blender or food processor; purée until completely smooth, adding another tablespoon of milk if it’s too thick or chunky. The texture should be thick and velvety but easily spreadable (similar to hummus). Stir in the lemon zest and season with lots of black pepper. Spread the whipped feta onto a large serving plate or platter.
Place the squash on top of the whipped feta and then scatter over the pistachios, herbs and crushed red pepper. To finish, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
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Late season cucumbers were a surprise. I’m seeing it as one last chance for us to make our favorite cucumber salad or that relish that you haven’t put away yet or your favorite cucumber salad. Creamy Cucumber Salad made with miso sounds delicious. You’ll still have enough cucumber to mix Cucumber Sangria, which makes use of an apple! Pretty, cooling & green, it’s what we need now.
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Next up? Can fall greens be coming soon? Given the last hurrah from the cucumber and this heat, who knows?
Stay healthy, y’all. I caught a nasty virus on a plane late last week. It incubated for 4 days before roaring to life. Don’t get it.
~Suzanne