Well folks, we are getting down to it. Wrapping up the season, we are. Just one more share after this one. The last pick up days will be Oct. 24, 25, 28, depending on if you pick up on Wednesday, Thursday, or Sunday. Look forward to more potatoes with the dirt still on ‘em so you can store them longer, and a bit more squash, and brassica goodies. Potatoes store best, longest at 45-50 degrees, high humidity and in darkness. Maybe you have a porch or garage like this? The refrigerator works great if you have room in it. The German Butterball potatoes are great for roasting and mashing, and creamy soups, but will fall apart, so don’t use them if chunks of potato in the soup is what you want. Instead, opt for the rose finn apple fingerling potatoes. Don’t be afraid of their bumpy lumpy shapes, remember you don’t have to peel them. And they are supposed to look like that.

It’s finally time for the romanesco. Many of you have been patiently waiting all summer long for this delicacy. It’s like cauliflower only better. It has a mild nutty flavor, lime green color and pointed pinnacles spiraled all around. You can leave it out on your table to admire for a few days before you eat it and it will still be good, but to store it properly, bag it and stick it in the fridge. It should be good for a week, and still useful for another week after that, but really, won’t you just gobble it up right away? I love it. The most beautiful and delicious of all the cauliflowers.

Due to an irrigation difficulty earlier this season, many of our squash plants never really got up to size, making fewer smaller squashes than usual. Fear not, plenty of squash to go around, just not 100 of all the same kind. We grew Butternut, Red Kuri, Green Kabocha, and Red Kabocha, Acorn, Pie Pumkins, and lots of little stripey ones. As I mentioned last week, most of these make great pies or soups, or pumkin treats. Any time you see a recipe that calls for pumkin, canned pumkin usually, you can substitute cooked mashed squash of any sort. If the skins are tender to the fork and the bite, then I usually eat them as well. No need to scrape them off or avoid eating them, just if they get too crispy in the oven.