Organic chem replaced organic veggies

It's not yummy and not fun, but it's true; organic chemistry took the place of our organic farm share.

During the last few weeks of the CSA I was so busy with my class that I composted more moldy radishes and yellowed, wilted collards than I care to admit. I also lost the opportunity to sign up for a winter share, which I was considering. Sigh! I did make a pot of delicious minestrone with almost all farm share veggies, which I brought to a friend's birthday potluck.

Oh, by the way, I noticed that there was an error in my minestrone recipe. It's not supposed to be an entire 32 ounce can of tomatoes - it should be about 1/2 a cup. Oops! Sorry if you followed it and your minestrone was too tomato-y and you didn't like it... Personally I prefer it with less tomatoes.

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Last week I went to Whole Foods with local on the mind and was able to buy the following: apples, collard greens, butternut squash. I know there must be Massachusetts-grown root vegetables for sale somewhere! Where are they?! (If you know, please tell me where I can buy them.) This makes me so mad about the systems in place!

Of course I also bought frozen salmon and shrimp, and all kinds of other non-local stuff. It's time for non-farm-share season survival mode. I do a lot of pantry cooking in the winter and frankly just buy less fresh vegetables.

There's also the issue of not having enough time to cook fresh food. But is that really true? Look at this article I came across.

I'll continue to share recipes post farm share when I can find the time - then before we know it, June will be here. Here's one I made last night - and in fact I was able to use one delicata squash left from the share. The ginger, garlic and curry are so warming - this is a great winter soup.

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Indian style butternut squash soup ~ adapted from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman

3 TBS butter (or oil if you'd like a vegan version)

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 TBS garlic, minced

1 TBS ginger, minced

1 TBS curry powder

3 pounds butternut squash, pumpkin or other winter squash (I used one average sized butternut and one small delicata), peeled, seeded and chopped into 1-2 inch cubes

2 1/2 cups vegetable broth

2 1/2 cups water

1 cup coconut milk

cilantro for garnish

Warm the butter in a soup pot, on medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, curry and squash. Saute, stirring, for 5-10 minutes, until the onions begin to soften. Add some salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Add the broth and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce until the soup is bubbling gently, cover partially, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes or until the squash is falling apart.

Next, blend the soup using whatever method you can - we have a hand blender to put right into the pot. Finally, stir in the coconut milk. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Garnish with cilantro and enjoy.