Two Vegetables. One Blogger Post.

One day this fall my husband came home with a box full of garlic and green tomatoes grown in the community garden at his graduate school. Busy, and daunted by the task of figuring out what to do with green tomatoes, I left them in the box on the counter. Coming home from work the next day I discovered the most lovely monochromatic arrangement of those very same tomatoes and garlic, nestled among two acorn squash.

It wasn't until later, when to my surprise the tomatoes began to ripen in their bowl, that I got around to painting his lusciously composed still life. And I couldn't help snacking on a few of those bright yellow tart tomatoes as I went along! This unexpected pairing of end-of-summer tomatoes with winter squash sure helped me out when it came to blog posts as well - seeing as I didn't get a tomato post up for its chosen month. (Thank you for providing the inspiration, Love.)

If you ask me, a winter squash, roasted simply, with a generous pat of butter is perfect just the way it is. The delicata we got at the last farmer's market of the season from Bruce, of Abenaki Springs Farm, was a stand-alone for me. My girls need a little more enticing when it comes to squash, however. Thus, I give you a recipe - of my very own!

Maple Cream Cheese Delicata Canoes
Roast the delicata on a buttered pan at 35o until fork-tender. While these bake place a cup or so of cream cheese in a small bowl. Whisk in a couple tablespoons of pure maple syrup to taste, and just a touch of milk to achieve a creamy consistency. When the squash are ready, sprinkle them with sea salt and spoon the maple cream cheese mixture into the boats.

(An aside: I don't like recipes that have the word "boat" in them. Categorically. I scan right across those recipes and move on to something else. So, yes, I'm hedging around that with "canoes," but after slicing the squash lengthwise and scooping out the seeds there's really no denying their nautical look - and probable seaworthiness.)

While I'm sneaking back to tomatoes this month, here are some photos from our Vegetable of the Month Club Summit in July. These were taken in Ryan and Katy's bountiful greenhouse.

A heavy branch of large green tomatoes broke and fell. We mustered the gumption to slice and fry them up (Laura has a hot oil burn scar to prove it.) They were delicious. Does anyone still have that recipe to post?

There was so much life in the greenhouse - floor to ceiling wonders - like these young okra and marvelous tomatillos.








The scent of tomatoes on the vine is one of my most favorite smells in the whole wide world.