Hurricane Squash

Fall is in the air. A couple of cool nights reminded us of what a wonderful season fall is! School is starting. We are noticing the leaves on various trees starting to turn yellow. My Autumn Joy Sedum is turning slightly pink which is always a sign of fall. Will fall be early this year?

In the boxes this week expect potatoes, spaghetti squash (pictured below), tomatoes, green peppers (some starting to turn colors), a few patty pan squash and zucchini. Possibly there will be a cucumber and a few eggplant. This first wave of eggplant is not producing well, but perhaps the next will be better. We are also seeing some beautiful acorn squash. If they are not in the boxes this week, they will be soon. Season change!

We started calling these individual-sized spaghetti squash “hurricane squash” the year we had two hurricanes back to back. In those days we were still supplying vegetables to some restaurants downtown. That week they all closed their doors (and cancelled orders) because there was no electricity. CSA Members, however, still arrived for their boxes and were quite happy to have something which they could cook on the grill and eat from the shell–no electricity or dishes required. And now you know why we switched all of our produce marketing to CSA Members!

For tips on preparing the spaghetti squash go to the Recipes “W” for Winter Squash and scroll towards the bottom of the page. They are great served with sauteed peppers and summer squash! Or just use a quality spaghetti sauce.

One final note:  The Farmer says the winter squash were unable to properly harden this season due to the weather patterns. So don’t try to keep them sitting around for any length of time. FYI, they can be cooked and the pulp frozen for later use. It will taste just like the day you baked it. And if you use vacumn seal bags for storage (after freezing first), the “spaghetti” will taste great for years! We know this from experience!