Local In-Season Harvest Foods
Autumn's bounty comes just in time for the holidays
by Rebecca Horwitz
Fall is a season of great abundance in the Hudson Valley, offering many
kinds of food from turkey to winter squashes to interesting varieties of wild
mushroom, such as hen of the woods (Grifola
frondosa).
Starting in the vegetable world, farmers markets are loaded with things
like Brussels sprouts (I honestly
don’t know why so many people dislike them—they’re delicious roasted with
carrots and rosemary), cabbage, kale
in many varieties, and collards. Root
vegetables include potatoes, carrots, parsnips, rutabagas, turnips, and of course beets large and small. One fall
vegetable you may be unfamiliar with is celeriac,
also known as celery root. It’s not the most attractive veggie at the market;
it’s been described as looking like “a hairy softball,” by Fine Cooking’s book In Season. But it has a nice light
flavor “like a cross between celery and parsley,” and can be used in salads,
soups, or gratins.
The superstars of the fall veggie season are the squashes. With so many unusual and fun varieties—acorn, carnival, spaghetti,
butternut, delicata, Hubbard, and everyone’s favorite, pumpkins—even people who
don’t necessarily consider themselves vegetable fans seem to end up with squash
in their kitchens and dining tables. As decorative as they are culinary, winter
squash offers many possibilities. The famous sugar pumpkins are the smaller
ones used for cooking, not carving, and they can be transformed into gorgeous
Thanksgiving pies, soups, or for the culinary ambitious, ravioli (butternut
works well for this purpose as well). Try a warming soup made with cubes of any
kind of winter squash, and spices such as cumin, coriander and ginger. Use
either a homemade broth or stock, and/or canned tomatoes (one day I’m going to
learn how to “put up” my own tomatoes). If you ended up with a surplus of some
kind of vegetable from your garden this year—like jalapeños in mine—dice them
up and add to the soup.
Let’s not forget the fruits of the season. Apples and pears are
ready at this time of year, and while usually eaten raw and in hand, they can
be cooked up in all kinds of delicious ways. I recently made a ginger apple
crumb pie, from a recipe in the previously mentioned In Season (my new fave cookbook). I used local Braeburn apples and,
if I do say so myself, it was to die for. Pears, too, are delightful in all
kinds of desserts, but also as an addition to salads and an accompaniment to
roast meat and vegetable dishes. My personal favorite way to eat pears is in a
grilled Brie sandwich—life doesn’t get much better!
You may be surprised to know that there are some locally grown nuts here
in the Hudson Valley. There are numerous wild nut trees around here, such as walnut, hickory, and less commonly, the American chestnut. This last one is an “at risk” nut as chestnut
trees have been blighted for many years by a fungal infection. However, my
sources tell me that there are some trees producing enough nuts to put on the
market, and chestnuts were seen for sale at the High Falls Co-op earlier this
fall. Hazelnut trees are also around, producing nuts for those lucky enough to
own such trees, but local ones are not commercially available. Some local
gardeners and farmers who practice permaculture use hazelnuts in their
landscape. Maybe some day they’ll be at the farmers market!
Last but not at all least, some of our Hudson Valley farmers produce turkeys, ready for sale in time for
Thanksgiving. While turkey is generally available year round, many people believe
it tastes its best at harvest time in the fall when eaten with seasonal
produce. Northwind Farms in Tivoli grows a heritage breed of turkey that can be
pre-ordered. Four Winds Farm in Gardiner offers free-range, organic turkey, and
one can purchase free-range, hormone and antibiotic-free turkeys at Fleischer’s
Meats in Kingston. Fleischer’s sources its turkeys from local Hudson Valley
farms. You should plan to pre-order local turkeys, as they sell out due to
their popularity.
Turkey ordered, you can plan for all the wonderful accompaniments for
your Thanksgiving table. How about baked acorn squash, roasted carrots and
beets with thyme, braised wild mushrooms, and butternut purée?
Along with your dinner you must partake of the regional wine offerings.
Local vineyards offer seasonally delicious Rieslings, Chardonnays, and many
others.
Enjoy the season’s bounty!
Posted by Chris Hewitt
on 2:43 PM.
Filed under
buy local,
Feature,
Food & Restaurant,
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