Pie pumpkin

OLGS and I share a membership in a CSA farm. We get a huge bag of veggies every week. The last couple of deliveries have included small pumpkins. Last year I used all the pumpkins for decoration, including the one labeled "pie pumpkin". This year, because Kevin, our Chinese students, said he loves pumpkin pie (and I don't think my cooking always hits the mark, although he is too polite to say so), I resolved to use the pie pumpkin.

A revelation--it's not that hard. Just cut the pumpkin up, take out the guts, and steam it for a while. Then peel off the shell. It is sweet, rich and flavorful and tastes nothing like an insipid butternut squash or something else along those lines. I can see why it's called pie pumpkin.

Never again will I use a pie pumpkin for a jack o lantern. Sometimes you just have to learn from your mistakes.

And then we can have pie for breakfast.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

Yet another fabulous bag of veggies arrived today. Every Tuesday from spring through fall (or greens through brussels sprouts) we pick up the bag (cloth, of course) from a neighbor's porch. In this week's shipment were purple and green peppers, cabbage, parsley, onions, carrots, broccoli, eggplant, and the most gorgeous bunch of thyme. The kitchen smells wonderful.

What do we pay for this bounty? For a mere $250 a season we get these weekly shipments--in essence, we're buying shares in our farm, Spring Hill Community Farm. We have the duty and pleasure of occasionally helping at the farm. And we have the knowledge that we are supporting and are part of an alternative to corporate agriculture.

And, did I mention, that the cloth bag in which the produce arrives needs to be washed before returning it for the next shipment--in fragrance free detergent, natch.