Monday, November 22, 2010

Thanksgiving Side

Local foods are sometimes difficult to find this time of year unless you've done a fair share of canning, drying, or freezing. However, thanks to Farmer Nick "making" us travel all the way to Greyslake to pick up our pastured-raised, 26 lb bronze beauty for our Thanksgiving feast, I've discovered a farmer's market that's open long after most have closed.

The Greyslake Farmer's Market is located in the center of downtown Greyslake and is open from 10am -2pm on Saturdays until Christmas. There was quite a variety of vendors with all types of meat (bison to beef to poultry), eggs, olives, cheese, wine, produce, as well as beautiful homemade candles and flower arrangements.

Also, even those of us who lost track of the summer months and failed to preserve the local bounty probably have a few winter squash lying around. I still have a small mass of acorn and butternut squash that require no maintenance to keep.

Here is a perfect recipe to grace your Turkey Day buffet that looks as beautiful as it tastes! Plus, you cook it in the microwave, which is great because we never have enough oven space on the holidays!

Fruity Stuffed Acorn Squash
(adapted from Fruity Acorn Squash on allrecipes.com)
makes about 4 servings

2 acorn squash
1 peeled and diced apple
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 Tbsp raisins
1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1. Cut acorn squashes in half lengthwise and remove seeds.
2. Place squash cut side down in a greased microwave safe dish and microwave uncovered for about 7 minutes (until almost tender). You may have to do this in batches depending on how large your microwave is.
3. In a bowl, mix remaining ingredients.
4. Flip squash over and fill with the mix in your bowl.
5. Cover and microwave about 4 minutes longer or until everything is tender.