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This weekend was the last farmer's market of the season. Actually they're doing another day right before Thanksgiving and again right before Christmas, but the official market is over and only the vendors with crafts, meat and other things that don't require summer weather will be selling. So officially, it's over. I've been stocking up over the last few weeks. Longer if you count all the canning. I think I've got enough to get the two of us through the winter, plus feed the family at Christmas and accommodate any other occasional dinner guests along the way.
This weekend my favorite farm, Jay Hill Farm, sold me a 15 pound Cinderella pumpkin. What a beauty. It yielded at least 8 pies worth of rich pumpkin puree, most of which I froze for later. I put up a couple dozen jars of whole tomatoes, apple butter and pumpkin butter which, I must say, is probably the tastiest confection ever to dance on my taste buds. After stocking those things away along with a few other items, I stepped back for a quick inventory. In the sweets department we have crab apple jelly, peach butter, apple butter and pumpkin butter. In the freezer there are enough peaches, apple slices and pumpkin puree to make a dozen pies. In the realm of tomatoes we have whole tomatoes, pasta sauce, ketchup and salsa. In the pickled category we have dills and pickled hot peppers. I've also got at least a year's worth of honey and popcorn, and enough horseradish to get through to next summer. I've also got a stockpile of onions, potatoes, raw cheese still in the rind and winter squash, plus a freezer full of chickens, elk and bison. I'll have access to fresh eggs, milk and meat all winter long. I think I have enough sugar left to last two years, including next year's canning. (If I wanted Colorado sugar I had to buy it in a 50 pound bag!) And every bit of everything listed above, with the exception of a few spices, was grown in Colorado, most of it near Boulder.
I also made the first pumpkin pie of the season, pictured above, and found time to go to a "Dia de los Muertos Halloween After Party" at a fabulous house in Denver Saturday night. It was perfect. Laid back, casual, catered. Lots of really nice people and great conversation. They even had a Dia de los Muertos shrine set up where people could place photos of their deceased loved ones, make an offering and say a prayer. Other than Gerard I didn't see any hispanic genes in the place.
Now that the "harvest" is in, the garden is slumbering and our Indian Summer is going to be blown away by tomorrow's snow, I'm looking forward to kicking back and enjoying the holidays. Let the parties begin!
2 comments:
DAMN you make some good-looking food. How did you do the leaves?
At least the pies are good-looking. I'm not sure about the boy-cow bangers just yet.
LOL
Thanks! I've really gotten into cooking since moving to Colorado. I've always liked it, but there's just something about living locally and enjoying fresh ingredients grown by myself or my neighbors. It's neat to watch seeds become tomatoes and tomatoes become pizza, to know that I was there every step of the way. It's fun learning how to make things like butter and sour cream and cream cheese, things that always seem like a mystery in the grocery store. Plus mine taste way better.
I used small cookie cutters for the leaves and just arranged them around the pie dish. Presentation is half the fun!
And the boy-cow bangers were really tasty, though I must admit I too was a bit hesitant in the beginning. The worst part was taking them out and making that first cut. After that it was easy. Serve them hot with some Cholula and it's a lot like eating chicken tenders, only with a beefier taste.
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