If you look hard enough there are still just a few peaches left. I almost overlooked them at the Fort Greene Farmer’s Market last week, mistaken them for another variety of apples among the already half a dozen or so other bins. Between canning, crisping and just straight out eating, I feel like I’ve gotten my fill of peaches for the summer. But when the last of a harvest is about to leave you for almost a full year, somehow you find the need to buy just a few more.
It was a typical CSA pickup. I checked in. Grabbed my peaches, then started towards the veggies. I came across the usual leafy green suspects, turnips, lettuce and then stopped. I stared into the bin. A large, slightly misshaped purple thing stared back at me. Hello kohlrabi. Think broccoli stem, but more round and purple. It was seriously ugly with a few stems haphazardly extending from its base. Certainly new to me, but after being a CSA member for three years, not much phases me anymore. I picked it up, added it to my haul and headed home without the faintest idea of what to make.
Squash might very well be one of my favorite vegetables. I’ve never heard a person say, “I don’t like squash.” There are so many varieties, saying you dislike squash is like saying you don’t like herbs. It’s hard to generalize. I’m not a huge fan of spaghetti squash. Perhaps it’s because I don’t quite “get it”. But shying away from that one variety isn’t going to put me off squash for life. In the summer, I love zucchini, bright yellow summer squash and all the mini variations that come with it. Winter warms me to butternut squash, acorn squash and pumpkin (yes, pumpkin is a squash too!). I put up both summer and winter varieties, shredded or chopped in the summer, pureed in the winter so I’m never without.
September is an important month. The season’s bounty is in full bloom. Somehow those dreary months of winter when only cellared root vegetables and greens are available seem so distant. Heirloom tomatoes overflow from farm stands, pumpkins shine brightly in the sun, and apples arrive crisp and fresh off the trees. It’s like a rainbow, shades of every color draw you in, inviting you to indulge in far more produce than you could consume. September is aptly dubbed National Organic Harvest Month and also marks month-long NY Locavore Challenge, sponsored by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY).
I love corn. I mean really, REALLY love corn. Off the cob, on the cob, plain, buttered, in a salad or in a soup. I just LOVE corn. As soon as it hits the markets, I’m buy up as much as I can. I eat my fill during the season but the cravings start in early winter. Luckily, I freeze several quarts and put up jars of corn salsa to keep me satisfied until the following summer.
Brooklyn Locavore 