10.4.17 Wisconsin Grown | Part 22

Fall appears to finally be here, both according to the calendar and the weather, and I’m absolutely loving it. At last, I feel like I can finally enjoy all of my favorite fall things - fall baking, hot cider, raking leaves, buying pumpkins, and basically anything else in that vein that just feels wrong in 90 degree weather.

We kicked off this bout of glorious fall weather with a trip to Door County last weekend, and all in all, we had a great time. DC this time of year has lots of good fall vibes - fall foliage in spades, so many apple orchards, beautiful hiking - it was almost perfect, except for the fact that for some reason, Leo decided this trip would also be a good opportunity to see what would happen if he just completely gave up on sleeping. It was not great, but I can’t help but be amazed by the amount of energy this kid still has after only 3 hours of sleep in an entire night. Maybe someday he’ll share his secret. In the meantime, I’ll just continue to be exhausted.

Exhausted, but definitely well fed, since this week’s CSA box is once again full to bursting with more fall veggies. I can’t wait to get cooking with it all; here’s what we’re making this week:

Yay for more winter squash this week! This week’s giant Butternut Squash is most likely ending up as a big bowl of this Thai Butternut Squash and Peanut Soup, because I love all things spicy. And if we have enough squash left after that, Food52’s Butternut Sage Scones are definitely happening, which is good because we have lots of Sage this week too.

You can’t go to Door County without bringing home plenty of smoked whitefish (at least, I can’t). Luckily, plenty of Leeks and Potatoes in this week’s CSA box means we’ll definitely be making a big pot of Smoked Whitefish Chowder.

Tired all the Tomatoes yet? Yeah, me neither. Now that I feel like it’s cool enough to use my oven again, I’m thinking roasted tomatoes are the way to go, whether they’re cooked low and slow and used to top toast with a big dollop of ricotta, or gussied up in this Roasted Tomato Tart from Wild Greens and Sardines.  

I have no doubt in my mind that the best thing to do with our Bell Peppers this week is combine them with loads of Garlic to make Smitten Kitchen’s Piri Piri Chicken. And per her recommendation, we’ll serve it with some roasted Potatoes, and a simple Tomato salad.

This week’s big bunch of Collard Greens are getting sauteed up and tossed with pasta, parmesan, and italian sausage, as in Alexandra Cooks’ Orcchiette with Hot Italian Sausage and Wilted Greens.

The thing about Jalapenos in our house is that they never last long because I tend to put them on everything. This week’s will most likely get scrambled up with eggs, cheese, and Tomatoes to make for some seriously good breakfast tacos.

Our first Cabbage of the season arrived this week as well, and it’s sure to be gone in no time once I whip up a batch of this Indian Spiced Cabbage with Potatoes. Plus, this recipe is the perfect catchall for any leftover Onions, Garlic, Tomatoes, or Jalapeno peppers that somehow didn’t get eaten already.