Hello everyone, Jess here. This weekend’s post is a bit different from our usual Sunday dinner with the Bucks. Between prior engagements and Sarah’s busy schedule with Whisk Baked Goods, our respective weekends were so packed that we were unable to fit in our traditional Sunday plans. At any rate, this weekend turned out to be a farm family adventure for the Andersons.
On Saturday morning, we stopped over at our friend Elizabeth Almeida’s to enjoy some pick-your-own mushrooms at Fat Moon. We came home with some shiitakes, oysters, and even a small lion’s mane mushroom. We also enjoyed a bit of a dinner swap – I had made too much squash curry and she had made too much vegetable rice, so we swapped some to keep things interesting at the family dinner table.
Farmer Elizabeth’s veggie rice, complete with egg, carrots, beet greens (hence the pink color) and broccoli. Scrumptious!
On Saturday afternoon, we headed over to Springdell Farm for the 6th annual Halloween Bash in the ‘Dell, which was more well-attended than ever!
Hostess Farmer Jamie was there to greet the many folks that stopped by to enjoy a special day on the farm.
One of the events was pumpkin painting, which many kids enjoyed throughout the day.
Building your own scarecrow was lots of fun, and they happily greeted fellow Springdellians as folks arrived.
Costumes were encouraged, so my little guy was happy don his mailbox as he overlooked the happenings on the farm from the field path.
Even the ponies were dressed up for Halloween, ready to bring the kids for rides over the green.
The setting sun gave way to the glowing lights of a scene that screams New England – the parade of jack-o-lanterns carved by fellow Springdellians throughout the day!
As the day grew colder and darkness began to set in, the bonfire was a welcome addition on the hill.
Today, we woke up to another farm adventure. In the morning, I sliced up some apples for a third round of slow cooker applesauce. This time I’m hoping I’ll get some in the freezer, as the last two batches were quickly devoured by the kids. Luckily, I still have reserved in the jars from last year’s harvest, so we still have winter reserves.
Some of the apples went home with my mother and grandmother, who baked a couple of pies for tonight’s potluck.
On the way home from church, the boys and I stopped by the Community Garden to dig up another batch of our carrots. Some of those in the best shape for storage will go into the root cellar (aka my cardboard box filled with sand in the mudroom). The most tender greens will be made into a pesto and frozen for winter use, and the carrots that are ready to use are being shredded for a slaw.
Meanwhile, I’ve tried to cut into this Golden Hubbard squash, to no avail. I usually put hard to cut squash in the microwave for a bit to soften it a bit, but this one wouldn’t even fit into our microwave. Into the stove at 350 it went whole, with a good puncture to release steam. After about 20-30 minutes (I wasn’t really counting, this softened it up enough for cutting.
I peeled the cubes of Hubbard and tossed them with a bit of olive oil before roasting at 425. Every 5-10 minutes I’d check them and give them a flip. As soon as they were heading toward tender, I drizzled some maple syrup to taste right into the pan, and tossed the cubes to coat.
Meanwhile, on the stove, I took a big ole hunk of Amish Roll Butter and when the butter stopped foaming and the color just began to change, tossed in some fresh sage leaves. Everything came off the heat just when the butter began to brown and the sage leaves were crisping up. (It smells awfully good in here at this point.)
Next, I tossed everything into the roasting pan to coat, and then transferred everything to my serving bowl. We are ready to roll!
I arrived to the Community Garden Potluck dinner just in time to hear Andrea Knowles, the head of the Community Garden, giving the opening remarks.
What a lovely potluck of fresh garden veggies!
Here is the bright carrot slaw from our carrots picked this morning. Tossed with a simple honey mustard dressing, it was a hit with the kids!
I wish I got a “before” shot of Nan’s apple pies, but this was all that was left by the time I had a photo opportunity.
Hello to our Pumpkin Pie!
I had more than enough extra pumpkin filling, so I also made a pumpkin mousse.
Here was the hubbard making its debut on the table.
…and here it was not long thereafter. Thank you, Springdell!
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Maple Roasted Golden Hubbard Squash with Browned Butter and Sage
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds Golden Hubbard Squash, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes (roast whole in the oven to soften beforehand see explanation above)
- Maple Syrup, to Taste (1 used maybe about 1/4 cup)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 handful sage leaves, washed (maybe 30-ish)
- 4 tablespoons amish roll butter
Toss the cubes of Hubbard with olive oil before roasting at 425. Every 5-10 minutes check them and give them a flip. As soon as they were heading toward tender (no more than 25 minutes), drizzle maple syrup to into the pan, and tossed the cubes to coat. Roast just a few more minutes before removing from the oven.
Meanwhile, melt butter into a pan over medium heat and stir until the butter stops foaming, and becomes very fragrant toss in your sage leaves and watch the pan closely until the butter takes on a light brownish hue. Remove butter from heat and drizzle the contents of the butter pan into the roasting pan. Toss to coat and transfer the squash to a serving dish.
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If you are a fellow Westfordian, I hope to see you tomorrow at the town meeting at 7:30pm. One of the articles under discussion is funding for a well at the garden.