"The pumpkin is a vegetable that represents this idyllic farm life, and the best sort of moral virtue. And Americans have become attached to that."
Cindy Ott, author of Pumpkin: The Curious History of an American Icon
Hello Hudson Farmers' Market Friends!
For this newsletter we're focusing on gourds-- the many colors, flavors, and shapes that these abundant plants offer us and what they look like locally!
We're talking the classics: zucchini, pumpkin, butternut, acorn, spaghetti. The more obscure: delicata, kabocha, hubbard, eight balls. And the downright weird: which is basically any and all of the decorative ones with their bizarre bumps, mottled splashes of color, and ability to last until the following summer.
The market is loaded with these guys right now and the best part is that they storewonderfully, so no need to panic about frost. Stock up if you can! Throw em in your basement! Throw em in your freezer! Throw em in your belly!
These are all great roasted-- you really don't need much. A little bit of time in the oven, a couple pads of butter, and a sprinkle of sea salt-- and you're ready to experience the sweet deliciousness of these abundant beauties.
Here's a great recipe for acorn squash soup. We threw in some peanut butter, a little fresh ginger from Blue Star Farm, and a splash of coconut milk to make it even MORE creamy. Simple and perfect for the cold weather days ahead. Grab a bowl, curl up on one of the sheepskins from Northern Star Farm, and warm up your heart!
Gourds have taken a prominent place in our culture for hundreds of years.
We have Celtic and Druid lore that originally used turnips to carve face into--- this tradition has been replaced by gourds and spread out far beyond the limits of those little islands. The faces were carved into veggies to trick spirits when they walked the earthly realm during the high holiday of Samhain. The spirits would see the faces and assume they were human. People thought doing so would spare them bad luck, omens, and possession throughout the year.
We have the story of sweet Cinderella who's Fairy Godmother turned magically transformed a pumpkin into a carriage for her to go to the ball. What a wonderful memory: the thing of a bob that does the job is bippity boppity boo! The success and love of this movie has even inspired the creation of a variety of pumpkin called Cinderella!
And we have a Native American origin story for the gourd called the Wise Man's Big Head. Story goes: a young man didn't understand or really fall in line with the teachings of his tribe. He decided to search out knowledge for himself. He traveled around his world soakingupinformation and wisdom from interactions with people, nature, and spirit. With all that wisdom he began to lose his hair and his head swelled to the size MUCH larger than normal.
Once he returned to his tribe, he was much older. He was known as the Wise Bald Man and gave counsel to his people. When he was on his death bed a medicine man said that it was a shame to let all that knowledge disappear with him, so he spoke words over the man's body to slowly transformed him into a gourd. This way his wisdom is forever with his people, constantly nurturing and feeding them.
Happy Belly will have a delicious peanut rice crisp with a peanut butter pumpkin caramel on top! They are using pumpkins from the Martins! Remember they are gluten free and vegan so for those with sensitive bellies get there early!
Our guest vendor this week is Joy Newton Designs and Emily Beck will be providing some sweet sounds this Saturday!
