Remoulade sounds fancy, right? Just imagine, you can set this on your Thanksgiving table and announce its name, and your guests will swoon. It’s basically the French version of cole slaw, but we’ll keep that between us.

Remoulade is traditionally made with celery root, but it adapts well to other vegetables. To keep your remoulade crunchy, make the dressing tonight, then grate the kohlrabi and apple tomorrow and stir everything together. Easy, fancy-sounding, and a much-needed raw counterpart to all that starch? Yes, please.

- Moriah Simmons

Kohlrabi-Apple Remoulade

Makes 6 small servings

• 2 small kohlrabi
• 1 crisp apple
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tbs Dijon mustard
• 2 Tbs lemon juice
• 1tsp kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Make dressing:  Mix together mayonnaise, mustard, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Refrigerate until just before you plan to assemble and serve the salad.

Peel and grate or julienne the kohlrabi and apple, stir in dressing.

Photo from Pumpkinrecipes.org

You know that charming little pumpkin from a share two weeks ago? (You may have magicked part of it into juice.) It really wants to be a pie. The thing is, the round orange vegetables we know as pumpkins are generally lighter in color and milder in flavor than a lot of their squash cousins, who make up most of the burnt-orange canned “pumpkin” pie filling we all know. But that’s ok because we are going to work with what we have, darn it!

The spices in this pie filling are adapted ever-so-slightly to work with the squash at hand, so it’s not the cinnamon-bomb you might have grown up with. Rather, it’s a classy citrus and nutmeg custard pie, which will fit right in at your classy Thanksgiving feast.

- Moriah Simmons

Pumpkin Pie

Makes 1 9-inch pie

• 1 pie crust, rolled and set in the pie pan. (Keep this in the freezer while you make the filling, it’s best if the crust is very cold.)
• 2 cups pumpkin purée (Roast your pumpkin first, then scoop out the flesh and purée until smooth)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp freshly-grated nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups cream (or evaporated milk, if you’re my mom)

Preheat oven to 425.

In a medium bowl, stir together pumpkin, sugar, spices, and lemon juice. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the cream.

Pour pumpkin custard into chilled pie shell and bake immediately. After 10-15 minutes, lower heat to 325 and bake about 40 minutes more, or until the filling is firm. Let cool an hour before slicing.

You’ve read at least one Harry Potter book, I’ll wager. So you know that the most compelling beverage in the whole series is the pumpkin juice served in the Hogwarts dining hall. I’m pretty sure this is made-up and not based on any traditional British recipe (unlike butterbeer), so I have invented a recipe for it, to make a tasty, booze-free Thanksgiving drink that conveniently uses the small pumpkin from the CSA share a few weeks ago. You’ll just need some pumpkin, sugar, spices, and water. Magic optional.

-Moriah Simmons

Pumpkin Juice

Makes 4 small servings

• 1 small pumpkin
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 whole nutmeg, crushed
• 3 cups water

Preheat oven to 350. Wash pumpkin thoroughly, then cut in half and scoop out seeds and pulp. Lay pumpkin cut-side down in a baking pan, add water and spices. Bake for 45 minutes, or until pumpkin is tender. Remove from oven, let cool.

Line a mesh strainer with cheesecloth and place over a tall pot or bowl. Put as much pumpkin pulp in the strainer as will fit, but don’t press or your juice will be cloudy. Leave this in the strainer to drain for at least 30 minutes. Seriously, go watch an episode of Parks and Recreation to distract yourself. You can also put the whole shebang in the refrigerator and leave it overnight. Reserve the pulp for your very own homemade pumpkin pie.

After this demonstration of patience, taste the juice and add a little sugar or lemon juice if you like. Serve in flagons.

Pink Applesauce

Makes about 1 quart

• 2 pounds red-skinned apples, washed, cored, and quartered
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup water

In a large pot, combine apples and water. Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer about 30 minutes, or until the apple flesh separates from the skin. Press through a fine mesh strainer to remove the peels.

To freeze, pour applesauce into freezer-proof container, let cool to room temperature while uncovered, then cover and freeze.

To can, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil jars and lids. Remove lids and jars with tongs, and fill with applesauce, leaving 1/2 inch space at the top. Dry lids and put them on the jars. Carefully return the jars to the waterbath and boil 5 minutes. Remove jars from water, let cool overnight. Check the pop-up button seals on the lids the next morning and refrigerate any jars with un-popped seals.

Apple Butter

Makes 4 8-oz jars

• 4 cups applesauce or apple puree
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnammon
• Pinch of ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced

Add apples and ground spices to a medium saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring frequently. Cook 1-2 hours, until thick and smooth. (Old recipes often say to cook apple butter 4 hours, but you can shorten the cooking time by pureeing the applesauce with an immersion blender.) Stir in lemon zest and juice.

Pour into jars, top with clean lids, and boil in a waterbath for 10 minutes.

{Recipe and Remembrances after the jump.}

Servings: 12 medium muffins

Cooking time: around 20 minutes (preparation+ 25 minutes (baking)

Ingredients:

Directions:

I can hardly believe the CSA season is drawing to a close–especially since I still have remnants of previous weeks’ fruits and vegetables lurking in the fridge!  I’m preserving what I can, including the pears from last week’s fruit share. This is an adaptation of a recipe in Lianna Krissoff’s book Canning for a New Generation, which is a lovely seasonally-organized guide to home preserving. These sweet-and-sour pears will join the summer’s radishes and cucumbers as part of a pickle plate before Thanksgiving dinner, and I’ll make some into a relish to serve with roast pork this winter. Read on for the recipe. -Moriah Simmons

Pickled Spiced Pears

• 2 pounds ripe but firm pears (about 3 pears)
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tsp whole cloves
• 1 tsp  whole allspice
• 3/4 c  white sugar
• 2 1/4 c white vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp salt

Parsnips will be showing up in this week's share. Photo from Flickr by Matthew Folley.

We’re at the time we all knew would sadly come: The last CSA share of the season. But there’s a few special treats to mark the occasion …

From Kristen: “Each year I try to plant a couple hard-to-grow crops I didn’t the year before. It’s a HTG crop if it a) has to be in the ground for longer than 60 days; b) takes up a lot of space and c) is really picky about its growing conditions.

This year I wanted to grow enough cabbage and broccoli for a fall harvest — and parsnips despite how long they take to mature. Luckily, we had success for both crops! Granted, some of the cabbages and parsnips are tiny because they were planted in beds that get some shade. Please enjoy this last harvest. I hope some of you are able to use your share in some holiday cooking. I’ll be making mashed parsnips and potatoes!”

{This week’s share details after the jump}

Come pick up your final share at the farm on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This week’s shares will include:

• Cooking Greens (Collards or Chard)
• Escarole
• Kohlrabi
• Parsnips
• Cabbage/Broccoli
• Turnips
• Sweet Potatoes
• Garlic
• Herbs

A few weeks ago, one of my friends ran off to Morocco with my suitcase, leaving her weekly CSA share, which included sweet potatoes, in my care. I made a delicious Smoky Chipotle Vegetarian Bowl, using a Fresh and Foodie recipe I found through Gojee.com.

So when this week’s CSA share contained sweet potatoes, I knew exactly what I would make. Though this recipe calling for sweet potatoes, onions, black beans and chiles in adobo can be prepared as a vegan dish without the shredded cheese or sour cream garnish, it’s also good as a breakfast burrito filling when paired with eggs. (And maybe even a slice of crisp bacon if you’re so inclined.) —Josie Rubio

{Recipe after the jump}

You’ll just need one chipotle and a bit of sauce from a can, but they keep for a while. Also keep in mind they pack a spicy punch, and a little go a long way. The sweet potato hash with black beans and brown rice can also be put into a tortilla to create a burrito. I personally skipped the cilantro and when I couldn’t find a ripe avocado, I used guacamole I picked up from Calexico. I also topped my meal with fresh salsa.

In this recipe, I doubled the rice, mostly because I think it’s difficult to make half a cup of rice, but that’s just me. Feel free to halve the rice recipe back to the orignal. According to recipe author, leftovers (save for the garnish) can be put in a bag and frozen for later.

Smoky Chipotle Vegetarian Bowl
Preparation time: About 30 minutes
Serves 3-4
Ingredients
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into ¾-inch cubes
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 chipotle in adobo, finely chopped, plus 1-2 tablespoons adobo sauce (from a can of chipotles in adobo)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 handful of cilantro, finely chopped (divided)
2 cups cooked brown rice (using 1 cup uncooked rice)
2 scallions, thinly sliced (divided)
Salt and pepper
Diced avocado, shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream (for serving)

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray or drizzle with olive oil.

2. Toss sweet potato, onion, chipotle, adobo sauce, olive oil (and salt and pepper to taste) in a large bowl. Spread evenly on baking sheet and roast for about 25 minutes or until potatoes are browned.

3. Put two cups of water in a pot and bring it to a boil, and stir in a 1 cup of brown rice and reduce to simmer. Cover and cook for ½ hour or until all the water is absorbed.

4. After the potatoes have been roasting for 20 minutes, put black beans in a small sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add half of the optional cilantro, season with salt and pepper, and heat until warmed through.

5. Fluff the cooked brown rice and add half the scallions and the remaining half of the cilantro.

6. Layer the rice, chipotle potatoes and black beans in each of your serving bowls. Top with remaining scallions, avocado, shredded cheddar and sour cream.

Hot peppers are enjoying their last hurrah. Flickr photo by time_anchor.

It’s the second-to-last week for our CSA shares, but the fall crops are enjoying the mild temperatures and sunny weather. Sweet potatoes are making an appearance in our shares at last. Other crops are on their way out: This is the last week for our tasty assortment of hot peppers.

Those with fruit shares will get loaded down with apples and apple cider. New York goes into apple overdrive in the fall; the good news is, they’ll hold up for months stashed in your veggie drawer. Or you can cook ‘em down into apple sauce and apple butter and start your breakfast off with a taste of fall.

{This week’s share details after the jump}

Pick up your share at the farm on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This week’s share may include:

• Sweet potatoes
• Kale or collards
• Hot pepper (last week!)
• Broccoli or savoy cabbage
• Beets
• Head lettuce
• Rosemary/sage
• Flowers
• Radishes/turnips
• Garlic