The Fall is bring wonderful bounty from the farms and the chill to the air is inspiring home cooks to seek out comfort food using in-season, local ingredients! Just this weekend, I found myself cooking treats I hadn't thought of having all summer: apple pie made from tart local apples, mac n' cheese with cheeses bought through Lewis Waite Farms and fresh bread made with Cayuga farms Whole Wheat bread flour. Yum, yum and YUM!

We've been getting sweet potatoes and winter squash from Green Thumb but with so much produce coming every week I have been putting aside these two treats as they can last, properly stored for months! Keep your squash on a book shelf or counter in your kitchen and they may last four to six months without too much moisture or heat. Store your sweet potatoes in a cool, dark and dry place and they will also last a long, long time. However, if you simply cannot resist the call of acorn squash or yummy yam yams, try these two recipe links for a change:

http://pinchmysalt.com/2010/10/25/spicy-pumpkin-soup-with-cilantro-pepit...
(Please note you can replace the called for pumpkin with any winter squash you may have on hand including a mix of acorn, pumpkin, butternut or other types. Those of you with an herb share may have dried sage leaves that can be used in this recipe but you can also use thyme and/or rosemary, both of which will be arriving in this week's share.)

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roasted-Sweet-Potatoes-with...
(This recipe would be lovely served on a bed of escarole lettuce or with sauteed swiss chard as a side.)

Radishes are another item we are receiving that last a month or more if stored properly and can therefore be used later after more perishable items in your share. Separate the greens from the root, using the greens in a saute or pesto as soon as possible, and store the roots wrapped in a clean cloth and a reusable plastic bag in your crisper. Bring one or two out for salad toppings, a snack or a saute with ginger and garlic as the dominant flavors.

If you can't resist eating your mini-tomatoes immediately, I certainly understand but if you don't, consider spreading these out on a cookie sheet and freezing them whole for roasting in the deep winter months. There are a variety of vacuum packaging products available at fairly low cost, now, so consider blanching your beans and vacuum sealing them in freezer bags for a treat this March.

We are receiving wonderful greens now that the heat is over and they can thrive again. Swiss Chard is lovely in several classic egg preparations. Mizuna is a wonderful salad green as is escarole. Escarole is also lovely as a classic ingredient in soups. See this link from Smitten Kitchen blog for a classic comfort soup with escarole and note that Lewis Waite provides access to local ground turkey making for excellent turkey meatballs:

http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/02/escarole-and-orzo-soup-with-meatballs/

Last but not least, we are receiving an incredible amount of pears and apples and will continue to do so through the end of the season. I encourage you to consider a canning project perserving homemade pear and apple sauce as well as whole preserved pears, pear butter and apple butter. You can also make sauce with both fruits and then make apple (or pear) sauce cakes, that can then be frozen as well as treating yourself to various apple and pear tart and pie recipes available on the internet and in cookbooks probably on your bookshelf right now.

Whatever you do, I hope you continue to enjoy these wonderful items as they arrive in your homes each week. If you find you simply cannot eat them all in time, share with a neighbor or friend or find a friend in another CSA and make trades (I did this just this week with a friend who belongs to the CSA in Sunnyside! Collards! So tasty!). It is a hard time in the world right now and a neighborly gesture can go a long way!