It was hard to believe that it was November 1st when I was napping in my hammock this afternoon in a t-shirt. It was 70 degrees this afternoon, and I am still picking arugula and tomatoes from the garden.
I couldn’t make it to the market today but one of my friends kindly said that they would buy things for me and I gave them a shopping wish list which included a request for ‘anything else irresistible’. I got some fantastic vegetables and even better some amazing home-baked vegan muffins when I went to collect my goodies.
My market produce included my first cauliflower of the winter, more of the fantastic broccoli from Toad Hill as well as more of Tim’s superb tempeh.
Sweet potatoes, beets, brussels sprouts and these amazing red carrots.
I also got more apples – a mix of ida red and granny smiths. I am definitely on the ‘apple a day’ health regime at the moment, although it didn’t stop me getting a cold! This website is a good resource for all of the various Ohio apples.
Cooking this week has included a lot of squash, so I didn’t get any more squash this week. I might regret it.
Spaghetti squash and sweet dumpling delicata squash with tomato sauce.
Spaghetti squash is a great substitute for pasta and the delicata is sweet and chestnutty. I roasted them whole in the oven. I definitely want to get some more of the sweet dumpling delicata squash, Another winner from Toad Hill.
Pumpkin, Pear and Fennel Soup: another great Peter Berley recipe from Fresh Food Fast.
I made this soup to help use some of the musque de provence squash from Wayward Seeds and picked up the rest of the ingredients I needed from the Greener Grocer. I followed the ingredients, but I don’t have a pressure cooker so it took longer to cook than the original recipe. It worked fine, was very creamy even though it is vegan friendly (or it was when I used earth balance and olive oil instead of butter).
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (or equivalent)
2 medium leeks, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups of winter squash, roughly chopped into cubes
1 pound of ripe anjou or bartlett pears (2-3 pears)
3 cups of water
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
2 teaspoons fennel seed, roasted and ground
apple cider (optional)
freshly milled ground pepper
cinnamon to garnish
Can also garnish with cream fraîche or yoghurt.
Sauté the leeks for a couple of minutes, add the rest of the ingredients except for the cider. Cook until soft. Puree the soup with an immersion blender, or in batches in a regular blender and thin to taste. Season, reheat and serve. If I made it again I would probably use stock instead of the apple cider to make it a bit less fruity. 
