THURSDAY - SEPT 2

Good morning!  It is a wet, dark, very cool morning and we are headed outside, between rain storms, to finish gathering for today's final market in Rochester.  Future produce will be fall related and can be obtained by ordering and pick up at Carson Framing on Thursday's from 3pm to 6pm.  Please call me no later than 5pm Wednesday to place your order.  We will update the blog Wednesday morning on what is available.

That said, today we are bringing the following:

FRESH PRODUCE

Tomatoes - Sudduth's brandywine, plum lemon, and red zebras.

Peppers - sweet and hot

Squash - summer and butternut and a frenchie variety

Zucchini

Potatoes - Sweet (They are superlicious - we enjoyed some grilled with onions, olive oil, and garlic last night.)

Herbs - Rosemary, lemon thyme, basils, sage, oregano

BUTTERNUT BASIL SOUP

(from the Minnesota HomeGrown cookbook)

1 large butternut squash
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 T butter
2 T olive oil
3 gloves garlic, chopped
4 tsps dried basil
1 quart veg stock
4 slices American or soft cheese
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
Brown sugar, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste

Scrub the butternut squash and microwave for 3 minutes to soften for cutting.  Place on a cutting board and cut in half.  Do not remove seeds.

Place the halves, cut side down, on a buttered baking sheet.  Bake in a 350 degree oven until soft.  Meanwhile, saute onion with butter and olive oil in your favorite soup pot until translucent.  Add garlic and dried basil.  Stir for one minute and enjoy a deep whiff!

Quickly add veggie stock and let simmer.  When the squash is done, remove seeds and process or mash the pulp until it's smooth, adding a bit of broth if necessary.  Combine the puree with the broth and add sliced cheese.  If the soup is too thick because the squash was dry, adjust the texture of the soup by adding more broth.  Stir in balsamic vinegar.

Taste the soup and add up to 2 tsp of brown sugar to enhance the flavor of the squash.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

See you at the corner of 4th and Broadway at 4pm.  In Lake City on Saturday morning from 8am to noon, and this Sunday, Sept 5, from 9am to 5pm in Lake City for FUNKY SIDEWALKS!