Happy Halloween everyone! I hope you all had a fun and safe evening. As for us, we have been celebrating Halloween for nearly a week now. It all started last Friday when we went to Boo at the Zoo and boy was it a blast! Here is a pic of all of us dressed up in our costumes.
Two bakers with our adorable and delicious cupcake! We were originally planning on a Sesame Street theme this year since Harper LOVES Elmo, but when we saw this costume at Target, we just couldn’t resist. Plus, who knows? This uniform might come in handy one day ;)
From cupcakes to veggies, time to get this party started!
Last week we had a total of 24 link ups! And again, it appears to be all about the squash. We had some Squash Tortilla Soup, Squash and Pumpkin Gnudi, Squash Enchiladas, and Squash with Pasta. Fall is looking mighty delicious :) Thanks to everyone who linked up. We are sad to see some of our participants link up for the last time as their CSA season has ended. But we hope you continue to visit and as always we love to hear your ideas on what to do with all this fresh produce!
So let’s check out this week’s tricks and treats…
A pumpkin! A pumpkin! For week’s now I have seen tons of folks with pumpkins in their boxes. And to be honest, I started to harbor some pumpkin envy. So I was excited to finally have one of my own :) I am super grateful for all the previous pumpkin posts that have been linked up to the party because now I can learn what the heck to do with this thing! Looking forward to seeing what fresh pumpkin is all about.
My other surprise was white beets! I thought I had seen it all, but apparently I was wrong. I’m most excited because white beets means less mess when I am cooking up a batch of beet fritters. No more stains :)
One of my favorite fall dishes is Braised Pork with Orange and Fennel. I made it the last time we got fennel, but I can’t resist making it again. The flavors are just so delicious and since it cooks for quite a while it gives the house such a lovely aroma. The onions will come in quite handy for this dish as well. I normally serve it with white rice, but seeing those spuds makes me think that it would be delicious atop a bed of creamy mashed potatoes. And as always, I plan to accompany my dinner with a trusty green salad (because butter lettuce makes the best salads!).
I am dying over this fruit! Loving fresh strawberries this late in the season. Harper was on those right away (in fact one of the pics I took has a half eaten strawberry in it…). I am actually thinking about cooking up some oatmeal and slicing some on top. Such a yummy way to start the day. I am also stoked about the pears. Pears always remind me of fall. I love to snack on them as long as the skin is off. I can’t stand the skin. Too tough. And finally, fuji apples. They are my favorite variety. In fact, when we went apple picking a few weeks ago, I might have eaten 3-4 by myself. They are just so good!
Last but not least, tomatoes. After weeks and weeks of tomatoes, I am starting to get a bit uninspired. I have done my best to stay creative but I think I have hit a tomato wall. So all ideas are welcome :)
Your turn: What are some of your favorite ways to use the fruits and veggies shown? Any special recipe, tips or tricks you’d like to share? Looking forward to reading your responses :)
Linking up for the first time? Click here for more info…and Welcome!
PS: Don’t forget to enter the giveaway! You only have a few days to get your entries in. Remember to leave a comment on the original post letting me know that you have completed the tasks. Your comments act as your entry into the giveaway. Good luck!
What a great family Halloween picture–and such a clever idea too!
Thanks for noticing my enchiladas, I got another butternut squash in my box this week and think I may have to make another batch since they were so good.
Today starts my friend Allison’s November Fitness Blitz, where she makes small changes to improve her health, keeps it up until Thanksgiving-ish, and donates $ to charity. It’s fun! To give ideas for the small change of eating more veggies, I’ve linked up an essay (with more photo collages, thanks again for learnin’ me ’bout Picmonkey).
Since you don’t like pear skin, you may want to peel your pear before trying out my Fresh Pear, Fig Jam, and Goat cheese pizza (second link).
Tomatoes-at this point I’m done. Really, I was done mid-August! ADD of the palate? So, because I’m all about the eating from the farm share even when I’m not getting the farm share, I slow roast my tomatoes and freeze them for winter sauces. Alanna at A Veggie Venture has a great tutorial on how to slow roast if you haven’t done it before. I just did another 2 quarts this week.
Thank you for the beet fritters recipe–I’ve been seeing beets in Clean Eats Fast Feets’ smoothies and they look so good. This week my farm share provided us with a HUGE bag of beets, so I’ll be making her smoothies, and a Thanksgiving leftover salad, but I’ll try my hand at the fritters with some of the rest.
That pizza sounds divine! Love the “pearing” of pears and goat cheese :)
You are going to LOVE the fritters. A household favorite around here for sure.
Thanks for the tips on the tomatoes. I have never tried slow roasting them but that sounds perfect.
Have a great rest of the week. And as always…thanks for linking up!
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I kind think pear skin is yucky, too. I can deal with it. But, eeew.
Are they white beets or are they parsnips? They look like short parsnips to me. If they are parsnips I am jealous! I love parsnips We just peel them and then parboil them until soft. Then we slice them and brown them in a little butter until they are slightly caramelzed. OH MY GOODNESS yum on a plate.
They are definitely beets…although I thought the same thing at first because I had never heard of white beets. But I love parsnips too. Hoping to get some in my box soon. And I will definitely be trying your delicious recipe :)
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That picture is adorable; you have a beautiful family.
And holy cow – strawberries!!!
Thanks. We had a good time!
I know right…I am in strawberry heaven :)
Apples, pear and strawberry are fresh fruits so I just wash them than eat them right away.
Onions, tomatoes and potatoes can cook with beef or make vegetable soup.
Yummy! Thanks for the tips :) Funny…I put tomatoes in soup all the time but they are always canned. I bet fresh would be so much better.
I love the costume and wouldn’t it be amazing to wear that coat for real! I think all us food bloggers should start a business or something.
You box, as always, looks amazing. I’d take every last stitch except the fennel. I’m not a fan of licorice so it freaks me out. The butter lettuce is a huge score. I’m envious.
For your tomato wall, you should try this pasta. You have to love olives and garlic though, but it’s amazing and not your typical sauce. This dish packs a real flavor punch. http://cleaneatsfastfeets.com/?page_id=505.
You could also try some salsa or a caprese salad. Yum.
That pasta sounds awesome! Pasta is always a winner :) Thanks for the tip…
I LOVE caprese salad but the snob in me prefers heirloom tomatoes…is that bad? But I am loving the salsa route too…hmmm…decisions, decisions…
I made my pork with fennel last night and it is such a winner…do you eat pork? I promise you would love it!!!
No it’s not bad at all. Heirlooms really are the best for caprese. I don’t eat meat, but I know my husband would scarf it down.
Oh, the cuteness! What adorable family Halloween costumes!
As ever, I am jealous of your fruit. And the pumpkin!!
Thanks Lauren :) How was your Halloween?
So excited about the pumpkin!
Your costumes are darling. Such a great fit for our family. Love ya
Thanks Aunt Rosemary! Love you :)
AMAZING costumes!!!!!!
Thanks Koko :)
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I linked up!
I’ve never seen white beets before either. I cooked red ones twice this weekend, and even though I wore gloves for the peeling and chopping, I still turned a little red when I tossed them with oil barehanded. Hazards of a cook’s life. :) I love fennel sliced raw atop greens with an orange-dill dressing. As for the tomatoes, every time we get any, I just turn them into sauce. Talk about uninspired. At least it’s tasty!
Fennel and orange make for a great combo. Thanks for sharing! And as always, love having you at the party :)
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