I can homeschool and cook. I can cook and write.
I can probably even homeschool and write.
But I don’t think I can do all three.
These are words I said to my husband a few weeks ago. It was mid-September when I last wrote about how we’re using our farm share. Life picked up its pace when we started homeschool lessons the first week in September. Week after week passed without a true meal plan. We’ve been making it up as we go.
Leaves on the ground are mixing with a chill in the air and we know Winter is on her way. As we continue to pick up food from the farm a couple of times a month through the winter, CSA Adventures will shift to monthly posts rather than weekly. We try to go to the grocery store as little as possible, even during non-harvest months. Each month I’ll offer recipe suggestions using seasonal goods as well as preserved ones; my hope is you’ll find inspiration on eating local year-round.
Much of what we got in our final Summer Shares (and are getting in our ongoing Fall Share) is resting comfortably in a cold room in my basement for now. Although Farmer Jamie said this won’t be a great year to store Winter Squash long-term, we’ve been able to store it for a week or two before using it. I hope to use it or freeze it all before the end of the month.
This month brings shorter and colder days and I’m relishing all the cozy things. Soups, stews, pies, and cakes are finding their way to our dining room table. I’m beginning to meal plan for longer stretches at a time and am leaning on old favorites to get us through the hectic afternoons that come with having one kid in dance and the other in gymnastics several days a week. And with a fridge (and basement) full of fresh produce ready to be eaten, early November seems like the perfect time to start thinking about holiday meals.
What We Have
to Work With
acorn squash, apples, beets, broccoli, brussels sprouts, buttercup squash, butternut squash, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cranberries, daikon radish, delicata squash, garlic, kale, leeks, onions, potatoes.
Helpful Pantry Goods
Pasta, dried beans and lentils (we love Rancho Gordo), flour, rice, farro
Meal Ideas for the Month
When we get acorn or delicata squash, I like to make Shepherd’s Pie. After the birth of my second daughter, a neighbor brought me Shepherd’s Pie. Although I was incredibly grateful for their feeding us that night, no one really enjoyed it and I’ve been afraid of it ever since. But a couple of years ago another friend made Shepherd’s Pie for us and used sweet potatoes as the topping. It was like a completely different meal, and I was hooked for life. I use Alton Brown’s recipe, using half potatoes and half acorn squash for the topping. I use 1 lb of meat (ground lamb is our favorite, but ground beef works too) and double the carrots, add celery, and sometimes use green beans instead of peas.
While we’re talking about acorn and delicata squash, this week I’ll make Deb Perelman’s Pork Tenderloin Agrodolce as well as Black Eyed Peas with Roasted Delicata Squash and Beet Greens. The beet greens will come from my freezer and the black-eyed peas just came yesterday in my latest Rancho Gordo shipment.
This basic recipe for Minestrone Soup is a great way to use up any sad veggies in your fridge. We often call it “Refrigerator Soup.” It’s a different soup every time we make it. Sometimes I’ll use beet greens and kale, sometimes I’ll add lentils [this is a great recipe for lentil minestrone], sometimes it has zucchini; other times it has potatoes. Sometimes we add pasta. Sometimes we don’t. You really never know what will show up in a pot of Minestrone Soup.
Speaking of soup, David and the girls got me a Cooks Illustrated cookbook for my birthday. The first meal I tried from it was Lentil Soup, and it was so good there were no leftovers for lunch the next day.
Winter Squash Risotto is one of those meals my kids cheer for. It’s the first thing they ask for when we get winter squash in the share. Butternut is our favorite, but any winter squash will do.
We love this Fried Cauliflower recipe—even my cauliflower-hating daughter will eat it. Instead of tacos, we make grain bowls, topping a bowl of rice or farro with fried cauliflower, cooked chickpeas, pickled daikon radish, sauteed greens, and anything else that sounds good. If you don’t like the idea of grain bowls, make it part of a veggie plate. You could make Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Au Gratin Potatoes (any potatoes will do) to go with it.
In an attempt to catch up on using all the cabbage in my fridge, I bravely made this Kalpudding recipe. Cabbage and meat pudding sounds disgusting, I know, but ya’ll …. this is, quite possibly, the best meatloaf I’ve ever eaten. It uses an entire head of cabbage and is even better reheated on day two. Don’t forget the sauce. We used cranberry sauce in place of lingonberry. (Use what you have friends. Use what you have).
In the spirit of cabbage, this cabbage pasta makes an incredibly fast weeknight meal. Again, I know cabbage on pasta sounds strange, but somehow cabbage turns into something amazing when you cook it in butter and oil for a while. (I add butter to the pan with the olive oil. I like butter, I cannot lie.)
And for breakfast, don’t forget about these Kale Tacos. You need to get your day started off on the right food.
Holiday Ideas
It looks like we’ll be having a small Thanksgiving for our family of four this year, so I’m not quite sure what we’ll make. I love this Butternut Squash Stuffing—in fact we’ve already had it twice this fall. I don’t use mushrooms, and I add kale or some other green. It makes for a great main dish or a side to roast chicken or pork chops.
If you’re heading to a potluck (do people still have potlucks in a post-pandemic world?) bring these Twice Baked Potatoes with Kale. If you make extra, they freeze well, and will be a great lunch (or fast dinner) later down the road.
If you’re feeling adventurous and want to veer away from the traditional Turkey dinner, why not try this Squash and Sage Lasagna? I made it last night with Acorn Squash instead of pumpkin and it was truly delightful.
Don’t forget the cranberry sauce! It goes well with everything (see my note about Kalpudding above).
Now, for dessert. Growing up we always had Strawberry Rhubarb Pie (I wish I had a recipe to share, but I’ve never made one), Pumpkin Pie, Pecan Pie, and Apple Pie for dessert. That’s a lot of pie! Or you could make Apple Cake, Pumpkin Cheesecake, or Chocolate Cake instead.
A note about pumpkin: You can substitute any winter squash for pumpkin in any recipe. Buttercup, butternut, and honeynut squash all make delightful pumpkin pies.
Whew. That’s a lot of food! I hope you’ll save this email and come back to it all month. I’ll be back in your inboxes the first week of December with some ideas for easy meals to get you through the holiday crunch.
Now it’s your turn. Tell me—what are your favorite November meals?
Did you know I send out a monthly newsletter that isn’t all about food? You can check it out here. If you like what you see, subscribe. The November issue will come out just after Thanksgiving.
Photo by Hello I'm Nik on Unsplash
