Why should you make the weekly trek to your local farmers' market instead of to the nearest mega-grocer? It starts with quality. The ingredients from your farmers' market will always be in season, meaning they were grown and harvested during peak conditions. The farmers' market also brings you food from right outside your front door. The fresher your food, the longer it will last and the better it will taste. I believe we only have about a month left here-let me know if I am wrong! I hear Falls Park Farmers Market is open till the end of the month.
Arguably fall's favorite (and most prevalent) vegetable, winter squash can be seen on seasonal menus across the country. Whether simply roasted with butter and sage. Winter squash is an ideal vegetable side dish, tossed with a bit of melted butter, a dash of salt and a quick grinding of nutmeg. Cubes of squash can be tossed with butter or olive oil and lots of garlic slivers and baked as a gratin. If your squash is a bit stringy, it's a candidate for mashing. Winter squash can be the basis for a rich and filling soup. When making soup you may bake the squash, then mash or puree and add this to the simmering broth, or you can peel, dice and cook the squash directly in the broth. Roasting produces a deeper flavor. For added sweetness some cooks like to add a bit of chopped apple or pear when sautéing the onions for the soup. Impress your guests by serving your soup from a hollowed-out pumpkin.Spaghetti Squash is my FAVORITE!!! Use it in place of your pasta is has a great flavor and is good for you. Spaghetti squash is unique in that when it is cooked its flesh can be pulled into long strands that resemble spaghetti. Remember to puncture the spaghetti squash before baking or it may explode in the oven or microwave.
Long a staple of Middle Eastern cuisine, the pomegranate has recently become popular because of its intense health benefits. Available from September through January, the pomegranate has almost 20% of the daily required vitamin C for adults, and its juice is packed with healthy antioxidants. Mix the seeds into whole wheat couscous or sprinkle them over a green salad with orange segments for a Mediterranean-inspired meal.
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