OCTOBER COLORS
It’s not over yet! Local produce abounds in October.
The last tomatoes and peppers of summer join crisp fall green beans, collards, turnips, tatsoi, arugula, and kale. Look for delicate salad greens in a array of hues and textures.
Fall orange pie pumpkins join winter squashes in an autumn rainbow of choices (some of them etched with fall themes).
You will also find flavorful apples from around Charlottesville.
Look for produce this week at Mattawoman Creek Farm, New Earth Farm, Grace and Gratitude, and The Neighborhood Harvest.
Eat as you browse with a hot bowl from Hashi Food Truck or soup from The Stockpot.
With your premium cup from Three Ships Coffee, grab a yeasty cinnamon roll from Whole-ly Rollers or a bear claw from Artisan’s Bakery.
Muffins and pastries from My Vegan Sweet Tooth and Beach Biscotti are so satisfying.
Wide selection, true tastes, deep colors. That’s October at Old Beach.
RECIPE
ROASTED ACORN SQUASH QUARTERS
With Olive Oil Drizzle, Pumpkin Spice and Fresh Thyme
Some of my favorite flavors of fall are the sweet and earthy tastes that come from winter squash and similar vegetables. Who doesn’t love a wonderful pumpkin soufflé, butternut squash soup or roasted acorn squash this time of year?
Roasting acorn squash is quite easy – and rewarding. Start with a small- or medium-sized squash, and using a large chef’s knife, carefully cut it in half from top to bottom. The squash may rock back-and-forth a bit, so make sure it’s steady.
With a large, sturdy spoon, scrape out the seeds and stringy parts around them. Then cut each portion in half again from top to bottom to have four equally sized pieces.
Preheat the oven to 400F. Drizzle some olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet and swirl it around to coat; place the squash pieces on the baking sheet skin sides down. Drizzle with a bit more olive oil, sprinkle with a teaspoon of coarse salt and roast in the oven 35-45 minutes, checking for doneness by piercing the skin side of one quarter with the tines of a fork – it should easily go in.
Dot the quarters with a teaspoon each of unsalted butter, sprinkle on some pumpkin pie spice (email me if you’d like a homemade recipe with “pumpkin pie spice” in the subject line at PatrickEvansHylton@gmail.com), and add some fresh thyme and freshly-ground black pepper. Serve immediately. Yields 2 servings.
From Chef Patrick Evans-Hylton
VENDORS
Artisan’s Bakery & Cafe
Beach Biscotti
The Creative Wedge
Croc’s 19th Street Bistro
Edmonds Farm
Fudge Grudge
Full Quiver Farm
Give, Treat, Love
Grace and Gratitude
The Green Cat
Hashi Food Truck
Jubilee Seafood
Lavender House
Mattawoman Creek Farms
My Vegan Sweet Tooth
The Neighborhood Harvest
New Earth Farm
Pelon’s Baja Grill
Shady Goat Farm
The Stockpot
Three Ships Coffee
Vy’s Pies
A Weekend Baker
Whole-ly Rollers
Zinnia Girls
