Pumpkins, Peppers, and Perfection

Recently we have been having some classic autumn weather, rainy days, crisp cool mornings, gusty afternoons, and some days where the bright warm sun almost makes it feel like it is still summer. This weather seems to be perfect for peppers. Both our sweet and hot pepper plants are continuing to produce an abundance of fruit to harvest each week. With our sweet peppers we have a range of shapes and colors from yellow to orange to green to purple, and red. They are sweet and crunchy making them perfect for a tasty snack raw or cook them up and add them to your favorite dish.

We have just harvested a new variety of pumpkin, Tan Cheese aka Long Island Cheese. These handsome wide-ribbed flattened tan fruits with smooth skin, look like big waxed wheels of cheese. They have bright orange meat that is sweet and tender. As noted in one of my favorite seed catalogs, Fedco Seeds, it was “identified by Hedrick in Cucurbits of New York (1937) as ‘one of the oldest varieties cultivated in America,’ a distinctive group that has ‘remained remarkably stable.’ Introduced to commerce in 1807 by McMahon. Some folks call this variety Long Island Cheese because it was once the preferred pumpkin for pies in New York, New Jersey and on the island.”

We are big fans of gourds, we just think they are so pretty and are super fun to grow. We have small warty gourds in various shapes and colors. We have larger dried gourds that are fully cured and perfect for all your craft projects. You can pre-order these through our online shop but if you’d like big green gourds you have to come out to the farmers’ market to pick out which ones you’d like. One of the best ways to celebrate autumn is by using these fun gourds and pumpkins to decorate your front porch or counter top.

Thanks to everyone that came out to the Easton Farmers’ Market this past weekend the weather was a little grey but our booth was colorful and warm, especially since we are now serving soup! This week’s soup will be Tomato Basil, made of course with our heirloom tomatoes. This delicious soup will be vegan and gluten-free.

Our taco special this week will be everyone’s favorite Cochinita, slow roasted pork cooked in the Yucatan tradition then served on a corn tortilla and garnished with pickled purple onions. Since we only have 9 farmers’ markets left this is most likely the last time we will be offering cochinita this year so don’t miss out. A warm cup of soup and taco, what could be more perfect on a Saturday morning in autumn.