Sunday, October 14, 2012

Your Mother Was RIGHT!

Eat your veggies!  They're good for you!

We're now in that post-awesome summer/early autumn local abundance of fruits and veggies.  *sigh*
It WAS a superb time of year to grab everything SO fresh and... um, well... local.

So, what is left?

We still have kale (that green leaf power-house!) and I hear reports from local backyard gardeners they're still getting tomatoes (even turning red?!) and eggplant... but I find that both hard to believe and if true, very short lived.

One thing we do have to enjoy is the blessed winter squash!  Like what?  Well, we have butternut squash, pepper squash, acorn squash, spaghetti squash and my personal fave... PUMPKIN!

A quick look on the internet tells us these squashes are...

"a low-calorie, good source of complex vegetable carbohydrates and dietary fiber.
It is an excellent source of vitamin A, a great source of vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber and manganese, and a good source of folate, omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin B1 (thiamin), copper, tryptophan, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), vitamin B3 (niacin) and vitamin B5(pantothenic acid).]
It is also a source of iron and beta carotene. Usually, the darker the skin is, the higher the beta carotene content".


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All of that beta carotene can give you a healthy orange glow through the winter, apparently.  Who needs the Caribbean?  Well, let's not go THAT far.

There are a MILLION or more recipes for cooking up these tasty treats to be found.  One of my fave ones involves roasted butternut squash and making them into a maple/walnut dumpling sort of heaven.  It's a little time consuming though.  
Instead, I'll leave you with another one of my favorites.  This one is quite warming and includes that pumpkin I seem to be using like it's going out of style lately (reference the amount of pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin pies, pumpkin waffles, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin curry, etc. coming out of the kitchen these past couple weeks!).

CHILI PUMPKIN CRANBERRY RISOTTO.... (from the PPK).... mmmmm.




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