This Week's CSA Box: Autumn has arrived!

School has started.  The temps are beginning to drop.  I even saw a leaf or two that had turned a shade of red this week.   Our CSA box is no exception.  It is just screaming "Autumn!!"  Although it is still really warm outside, it's time to start gearing up for longer, cooler nights.  Let's focus on spices that remind us of backyard bonfires and roasting marshmallows with friends.

What We Got:

Cucumbers - 3

Kuri Squash - 1

Spaghetti Squash - 1

White onion - 1 large

Zucchini - 1 really big one!

Yellow summer squash - 2 medium 

Large tomatoes - 3

Cherry tomatoes - 1 pint

Green peppers - 3

Sweet potatoes - 3

Apples - Yum!  A nice bowlful

Wow!  That's an amazing assortment of textures, colors, and tastes!  I can't wait to get started.  

Here's What to Do With It!

An actual photo of squash in my kitchen last fall!

1.  Squash Sauce:  I created this recipe last fall.  Check out the photo above!   Clearly, I had a huge variety of squash in my kitchen.  😁  So, I set to work creating a smooth, creamy, satisfying sauce that I could use in a variety of ways.  "Squash sauce" was born.  Although the title of the recipe is not terribly descriptive, the finished product tastes amazing and freezes fantastically!  There's a link on the post for a downloadable PDF of the recipe.  Or you can take it right off of the original post.  Give it a try and let me know what you think!  

2  Oatmeal Brown Sugar Baked Apples:   This recipe is seriously easy!  It will fill your home with the smells of autumn.  I made a double batch and the doubled filling was the perfect amount for 8 apples. 

  3.  Autumn Sweet Potato Soup:   This soup uses zucchini, onion, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes from this week's box.  I pureed about half ot the soup. leaving the rest chunky.  Perfection!  This recipe is reminiscent of traditional African peanut stew, while adding zucchini and a little different spice signature.  Here's where I admit to you that the whole idea of adding 1/4 cup of peanut butter to a soup freaks me out a little.  That's a lot of fat and calories.  So, whenever I make African peanut stew, I use PB2.  Somehow (don't ask me how) they remove most of the fat from peanuts, dry them, and then grind them up into a powder.  Although it doesn't say it on the label, I would recommend sticking the jar in the fridge after opening.  In my experience, like all fresh nut products, the oils will tend to make it go rancid without refrigeration. 

PB2 adds the flavor of peanuts to your soup without the fat and calories.  Here's a photo and link.

 
https://amzn.to/2NCUOQm

 (*Note - This is an affiliate link.  If you make a purchase, I will be compensated. )

4.  Almost Hands-Free Dill Pickles:  I posted a recipe a couple of weeks ago for homemade bread and butter pickles.  So, now it's time for dill pickles.  I have never seen an easier pickle recipe in my life!  It says that they will last a week in the fridge.  I'll bet you're lucky if they last through the day after your family tastes them!  If you are like me and have a family member who must eat low sodium, this recipe was really easy to cut the sodium way back and let the herbs do their job to flavor the pickles.  Either I sliced too many cucumbers or the recipe was a little "light" on the amount of liquid.  Either way, you may want to make a little extra of the vinegar liquid for your pickles.  I just used what it made and I'm sloshing around the liquid every few hours while it marinates in the fridge.  I figure they won't last long and soon all the remaining pickles will be immersed in liquid.

 5.  Spaghetti Squash Pizza Crust:  For my keto friends!  We just put cauliflower crust on notice:  There's a new veggie crust in town!  It's low carb and looks delicious and easy!  I'm willing to bet I can get the crust to stick together using an egg substitute, making it vegan friendly too!  I'll let you know how it turns out.  If I make two crusts, I can create one pizza for my cheese-loving family members and one for me to enjoy too!

Tomato corn basil salad

6.  Tomato Corn Basil Salad:   This my photo of the finished salad. In the past I used Graham Kerr's version of this classic salad.  Alas, I could not find a link to the recipe I used.  So, I found one that is very, very similar.  Notice that I also put my corn in the center of the plate and sliced the tomatoes.  I just thought it looked prettier that way.  It was fun to serve and the kids were intrigued! 

Yellow Summer Squash Bake

7.  Southern Baked Yellow Summer Squash:  I would never have
thought of combining these ingredients together!  I had to change the original recipe just a bit to make it vegan.  But, oh boy!  Does it look good! Perfect for lunch or dinner! 

 

 Your Turn!

That's it!  Enjoy your week.  If you try some of the recipes, do let me know how you liked them.  I've tried to center each week's recipes around a certain theme.  Also, if there is a specific focus for the CSA boxes that you'd like to see, let me know that too!

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Do all to the glory of God, 

Hope