This is the final bag of the summer OAS program! We hope you enjoyed all of the wonderful flavours that are available in Spring, Summer and the beginning of Fall in Ontario! This week, we hope you’re able to share some Ontario produce with your friends and family on Thanksgiving. They may enjoy fingerling potatoes, delicata squash, or a delicious Boston lettuce and watercress salad. I’ve included lots of recipes this week, including 101 make-ahead recipe ideas! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!
On the Menu this Week:
Fruit:
Northern Kiwi (Barrie Hill Farms)–yes, a kiwi grown in Ontario!! These little cuties taste just as delicious as your ordinary kiwi, but they are much smaller in size and aren’t furry, so you can eat the peel. To Store–if they are very hard, then leave on the counter until they ripen. Once ripe, store in the refrigerator.
Concord Grapes (Warner’s Farm)
Veggies:
Delicata Squash (Brooks Farms)–see feature below
Fingerling Potatoes (Brooks Farms)–remember to include these during Thanksgiving!
Watercress (Sleger’s)
Graffiti Eggplant (St. David’s Hydro)
Boston Lettuce (Sleger’s)
Multi-colour Carrots (The New Farm)
Peppers (St. David’s Hydro)
Onions (Hillside Farms)
Cheese: Cape Vessey, by Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Co. Back by popular demand! This cheese is always a hit with our customers because it’s soooo yummy! In case you’re not familiar with it, it’s a delicious firm goat’s milk cheese with a pleasant chewy washed rind. It is slightly salty with complex flavours. And it’s an award winner! It was the Grand Champion Goat Cheese at the 2008 Royal Winter Fair. If you haven’t had it before, we’re sure you’ll be buying it again!
Pantry: Cornmeal, from Oak Manor Farms–A delicious whole grain! see recipes below
Meat: Lamb–we have different cuts of lamb because we purchased 6 lambs and had them butchered a few weeks back. This method is a more sustainable way to buy meat! They come from Belanger Organics.
Featured Ingredient: Delicata Squash
Delicata squash is a winter squash with distinctive longitudinal dark green stripes on a yellow or cream colored background. Inside, it has a sweet, orange-yellow flesh. It is also known as the peanut squash, due to it’s shape, or the sweet potato squash because their flavors are similar. Although considered a winter squash, delicata squash belongs to the same species as all types of summer squash including zucchini!
Delicata squash is delicious roasted, but it can also be sauteed or steamed. You can also eat the seeds! If you peel then slice the squash into rings, you may want to keep the seeds in the centre of the rings–that way the seeds will roast at the same time. See recipes below!
Storage: Store whole delicata squash in a cool dark place for a few weeks (it doesn’t store as long as other squashes, like butternut or acorn). Once cut, store peeled and diced squash in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days.
Featured Recipes: Delicata Squash
Delicata Squash with Rosemary, Sage and Cider Glaze
If you don’t have room in your oven, thanks to a giant bird in there, you may enjoy this recipe because you make it in a skillet. It’s by Jarry Traunfeld, in The Herbfarm Cookbook, Posted on Epicurious in March 2000
Pear, Shallots and Delicata Squash Soup
Pears and squash are a delicious combination. Try this easy soup from Saveur magazine
Roasted Delicata Squash Salad
Who said squash is always a warm side-dish on it’s own? Why not make it part of a thanksgiving salad? This recipe would also work with wilted or raw kale. And instead of the ricotta salata, you could use thin shavings of your Cape Vessey cheese. This recipe is from Chow.com
Roasted Heirloom Carrots
This is an ideal recipe for a Thanksgiving side. Although this recipe calls for baby carrots, I recommend using the carrots in your bag, and if they seem too big, cut them in quarters lengthwise, and then in half. This recipe is easy to prepare and can be served warm or at room temperature. I love the fact that the raisins are roasted at the same time as the carrots! You could also use dried cranberries or cherries instead. It’s by Heather Shaw of the Globe and Mail, Sept 30th 2011
Polenta with Squash
I love the flavours of warm cornmeal and squash! This recipe is from Bon Appetit, Oct. 1999
Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins
Got some frozen Ontario blueberries in your freezer? or another fruit? If you don’t mind removing the seeds from your grapes (this can be done by simply slicing them in half first), try using them for this recipe! They’ll be like grape jam in you muffins! This recipe is from Marthastewart.com
Cornmeal Pancakes with Vanilla and Pine Nuts
Got friends over for the long weekend? Why not whip up a batch of cornmeal pancakes? Ontario butter and maple syrup is a must!
Worried about timing when it comes to Thanksgiving recipes?
Here are Mark Bittman’s 101 make-ahead recipe “ideas” (they are written in paragraph form, with minimal measurements–one tip is that “roast” or “bake” means do it at 375 degrees). Perfect if you like to be inspired by recipes, but don’t necessary follow them to a tee. They are seasonal ideas, and you’ll find many of the ingredients available now in Ontario.
Have a wonderful long weekend! Hope we’ll be in contact again on Oct. 20th!