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Got lots of winter squash? Make pie!
November 7, 2007
Got lots of winter squash? Make pie!
Los Ranchos grower got her start at markets with abundant crop
Farmers' Markets DENISE MILLER For the Journal
Editor's note: Through the winter growers' market season, Denise Miller of the New Mexico Farmers' Marketing Association will keep tabs on local growers and their winter crops. Starting today, her column will appear on the first Wednesday of the month.
Pumpkin pie is a great way to recycle your jack-o'-lantern, but if you want to try something even sweeter this season, trying making a pie from locally grown squash.
Grower Cathy Lewandowski thinks squash is even more flavorful than pumpkin and just about any variety of squash (except spaghetti squash) makes a great pie.
Lewandowski grows acorn and butternuts. If you're lucky enough to get one at Los Ranchos' Winter Growers' Market -- or if you have already put a few into cool storage -- making a pie from fresh squash is fun, Lewandowski says. Plus, "you know where it comes from."
Squash pie
Winter squash is a relative of melon and cucumber. It comes in many varieties with a range of shapes, colors, size and flavors.
Generally you'll need 2-3 cups of squash meat to make a pie, so one medium squash should do the trick. You can peel and boil the squash or cook it in a crockpot, but Lewandowski prefers baking the squash.
To get the squash meat, slice the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. After you lightly spray or brush a foil-lined baking sheet with cooking oil, place the squash cut-side down. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in 400-degree oven, until soft.
Cool the squash, scoop out flesh and refrigerate to cool completely. The squash is now ready to prepare for baking.
In addition to making pie, quick and easy ways to prepare winter squash include: puréeing and topping with cinnamon and maple syrup, steaming cubes and dressing with olive oil, soy and ginger or adding cubes of squash to your favorite soup.
While most locally grown squash was probably picked about three weeks ago before the first frost, their hard protective skins give them a long storage life -- from one to six months when they are kept in a cool dry place like a garage or unheated pantry.
To market
Lewandowski has been selling at the Los Ranchos market for 10 years and is also the volunteer comanager of the market. Along with her husband, Steve, and son, Joe, she grows a wide variety of vegetables in her 3,000-square-foot garden at her North Valley home.
While she's been growing pesticide-free produce for more than 25 years, before selling at market she gave it away to friends and neighbors. Things changed the year her swiss chard went bonkers and her son needed to raise money for a school trip to Washington. "The rest is history," Lewandowski says.
Work to be done
While winter is when most growers get a break from the peak work of summer and harvest season, tasks such as cleaning, mulching and composting take place year-round.
And, for growers like Lewandowski who attend one of the several winter growers' markets around the state, the break is minimal.
Lewandowski says shoppers who come to Los Ranchos Winter Market can expect to find products such as fresh greens, cheese, eggs, organic apple cider and Arkansas Black apples.
To bring her limited chard, kale, collards and mustard greens to market this winter, she started her plants about six weeks ago. The plants will then get transferred to her hoop house, which shelters plants from winter's low temperatures.
Lewandowski, who also works full time in Albuquerque Public Schools, says December and January are her slowest growing months. That's when she sits by the fire perusing seed catalogs to see what looks good for next season.
By February she will start about 200 tomato plants in the house, and then it's off and running for the season to come.
Lewandowski has no plans to stop what she's doing and says she really loves meeting customers. "I enjoy knowing that I'm selling customers food that is good enough for my family," she says.
Lewandowski always encourages young people to try their hand at growing and selling at market, both to understand more about food and as a way to earn some cash. "It's a neat way to earn extra money, and other than picking on Friday and being at market on Saturday, they don't have to miss time with friends since most of the chores can be done early in the morning," she notes.
Whether it's from the Lewandowski's garden, that of another local grower or your own, knowing where our food comes from is a great feeling all year long.
