Meg and Pete were very excited about the tomato puree this week. They had some red pepper puree in the freezer from this past summer and decided to mix it in with the tomato. They report that this batch has a wonderful taste and texture. Keep the puree in your freezer until ready to use. Defrost in the fridge the day before you plan to use it. You can also thaw it by placing the container in tepid water for a couple of hours before use.

We are coming to the last of our frozen bounty from last year's growing season. In order to cover everyone today, we ended up with a mix of squash and tomato purees. The squash puree is a mix from our fields, as well as High Mowing. If you see any teeny green flecks, that is just some acorn squash skin that squeezed through the food mill. It's entirely edible and shouldn't harm the consistency. The tomato puree with red pepper will go to Sweet Clover share members and would make an excellent pasta sauce, sprinkled with grated Bonnieview Ben Nevis cheese. Try sauteing some minced onion and garlic, adding the puree with some dried basil, marjoram, salt, pepper, red wine and honey, and then simmer for about an hour. Both of these should go right in the freezer, if you don't plan to cook with them in the next few days. Thaw in the refrigerator over night.

In the Fall we put up our year's worth of frozen squash puree. The annual making of our squash puree is a joint effort. High Mowing Seeds grows several super sweet varieties of winter squash in order to collect the seeds for their customers. They do the seed extraction at our farm and we take all the flesh of the squash and steam it to make the puree. We choose varieties with a very high sugar content like Butternuts and pie pumpkin varieties.  

This is just pure frozen winter squash goodness. Use this in recipes calling for pureed winter squash or pumpkin - particularly soups, pie, baked items like pumpkin bread, muffins or cookies, or for casseroles or rice dishes. Also fantastic just on its own sweetened with a bit of maple syrup, enriched with some cream and served as a side (for a side you may want to drain some of the water that separates from the squash when you thaw it. Your puree will then be a bit thicker). 


If your frozen squash puree has thawed a bit when you receive it, no worries. Just pop it back in freezer until you are ready to use.

Nothing more than cooked down Champlain Orchards apples, our sauce is all natural sweetness. In addition to an easy and delicious side, applesauce can be used as a substitute for sugar in baked goods or take the staring role in an applesauce cake. The applesauce will come to you cold but not frozen. If you don't plan to get to it over the next couple of weeks, toss it in the freezer. Thaw in the fridge overnight.

The onion puree in your share this week was inspired by the French onion puree called soubise. The onions were cooked very slowly in their own juices until the flavor mellowed and sweetened. You can use the puree in many different ways. Mix it with a little mayo and some cayenne, or paprika or another spicy spice to make a nice onion dip. Heat some up, put in a bowl and crumble a little of the feta in and then spread on some toast made from a crusty bread. Use in tomato sauce or a sauce served along meats. I have given a recipe below that uses it both in a tart and an onion confit that goes with the tart.