Newton Community Farm
November 18, 2020
Nutrition and Healthy Recipes:
Sugar Pumpkins
|
|
Thank you all for reading this weekly gardening/cooking newsletter and watching our YouTube shows. For the winter months, the frequency of this newsletter and our shows will change to once per month. |
|
Sugar pumpkins are in the winter squash family along with butternut, acorn, delicata, and kabocha squash, and can be prepared in the same ways. You might also see them called pie pumpkins or sweet pumpkins because they are smaller, sweeter and a great choice for baking and cooking. Sugar pumpkins have dark orange flesh which is also quite thick. When you pick up a sugar pumpkin, it should feel heavy for the size.
The bright orange color is a tip-off: sugar pumpkins are rich in vitamin A. They are also a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. Eating sugar pumpkins may help support eye health, as well as cardiovascular and digestive health.
|
|
Quick recipes ideas:
A sugar pumpkin's solid texture turns creamy with roasting, steaming, sautéing, or pureeing. The sweet-savory flavor works as well with sweet ingredients (like honey, maple, brown sugar, and molasses) as it does with savory ones (like dried crushed red pepper, salty cheeses, and wild mushrooms). Herbs such as cilantro, rosemary, and sage are wonderful with sugar pumpkin.
Side Dish: Coat chunks of sugar pumpkin with olive oil, butter, salt, pepper, and lime juice. Roast until tender; sprinkle with fresh thyme.
Salad: Toss chunks of roasted sugar pumpkin into a salad of frisée, endive, and radicchio; accompany with a balsamic vinaigrette.
Pilaf: Stir cubes of roasted sugar pumpkin into wild rice toward the end of cooking; season with rosemary.
Soup: Simmer cubed sugar pumpkin in vegetable stock, along with sautéed onions, chopped sage, salt, and pepper, until pumpkin is tender. Puree and thin with more stock, if desired.
|
|
Roasted Pumpkin Puree
Pumpkin puree is a nutritious ingredient for many fall dishes, from breakfast to dessert (and even pasta)! Here is a simple way to make your own roasted pumpkin puree to store and use with your favorite foods.
Ingredients:
1 2-3 lb. sugar pumpkin
1 Tbsp oil
1 pinch sea salt
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Using a sharp knife, cut pumpkin in half lengthwise. Use a metal spoon or ice cream scoop to scrape out all of the seeds and strings.
Brush the pumpkin flesh with oil, sprinkle with salt, and place flesh down on the baking sheet. Pierce skin a few times with a fork or knife to let steam escape.
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a fork easily pierces the skin.
Remove pan from the oven and let the pumpkin cool for 10 minutes before scooping out the flesh.
To purée, put the flesh in a high-speed blender or food processor and blend until creamy and smooth. If it is too thick to blend, add a little water.
Baked pumpkin and pumpkin purée will keep covered in the refrigerator up to one week or in the freezer for one month or so.
|
|
Check out our shows on gardening, cooking and story time on our YouTube channel. You can also view our shows on NewTV. Past newsletters on gardening and cooking are available on our website.
|
|
Thank You Healthy Harvest Bag Customers |
|
What started out as an experiment ended as a success thanks to you! Due to the health pandemic, we made the decision to sell Healthy Harvest Bags by pre-order and scheduled pickup instead of opening our farm stand this year. From June through November, we sold 770 bags of produce! We appreciate your support as we worked on this new way of doing business.
If you have been a harvest bag customer, you will receive a survey within the next few weeks asking for your opinions so that we can make this program even better if we offer it again next year. Also, after Thanksgiving we will check our inventory and our crops to determine if we can offer more Healthy Harvest Bags this year. Please keep an eye on our website.
|
|
Please Help Keep Our Farm Strong |
|
This year has been incredibly challenging, in different ways for all of us. And we are all seeking joy and comfort. Have you been cooking and sharing more meals with family? Exploring your neighborhood while walking, biking or hiking close to home? Or taking up a new hobby or learning a new skill like canning or gardening?
Has Newton Community Farm been part of your life in 2020? This Farm is built on our community and your gift is important to keep it strong. Please donate today!
In 2020, the Farm:
- Implemented a new pickup system for our CSA to ensure that everyone was able to get their shares safely and efficiently with social distancing
- Replaced our farm stand with weekly pre-packed Healthy Harvest Bags, which sold out nearly every week since June
- Contributed more food to Newton residents in need by increasing our produce donations
- Supported more home gardeners than ever before with our Seedling Sale, distributing over 20,000 seedlings to gardeners throughout Newton and the surrounding area, and our new Gardening Newsletter and YouTube Show, which provided weekly tips to keep your plants healthy and productive.
|
|
Make a gift and ensure that 2021 will be a year to grow, flourish, eat well, and learn. It all happens at Newton Community Farm.
P.S. Did you know? The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed by Congress in response to the Covid-19 crisis encourages giving to nonprofit charities by December 31, 2020. Individual taxpayers can deduct donations to a qualifying charity up to $300 (or $600 for married couples filing jointly) in addition to the standard deduction if they do not itemize deductions. Also, the deduction cap is increased from 60% to 100% of adjusted gross income for those who itemize deductions.
|
|
Newton Community Farm is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, EIN #20-2482452. If you would like to donate by mail, please send a check to Newton Community Farm at the address listed below. Don't forget to ask your employer if matching funds are available. |
|
NEWTON COMMUNITY FARM
303 Nahanton Street
Newton, MA 02459
617-916-9655
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
