Autumn is coming into full swing, life on the farm, a monthly appearance at Harvest, and three notable absences.
Autumn means pumpkins in the field offices at Harvest. Which is to say, the farms and kitchens around Tasmania. There is always somewhere new to see in Northern Tassie, and almost always a new pumpkin recipe as well. More on that later, first a roundup.
33% more cheese at Harvest this week
That can only mean one thing. The monthly visit from Genaro and the family La Cantara. It’s always an exciting and delicious chat with Genaro and the family, and we certainly love seeing the extra offering of cheese in the market. Don’t fret, we’ll keep the pressure on them to bring their ready-to-eat offerings to us as well!
Autumn’s blush is coming over us. The sweetcorn from Elphin Grove continues, we’re hoping for celeriac soon too. The delightful Rob and Sally from Shleduck Farm are back from a brief hiatus involving Scotland! Presumably research wink wink. Martin and Sophie from Lentara Grove are back from a little jaunt into the forest. We’re really, really hoping that this will be the last week that Wanderlust is absent. Have a Blast at Panama festival guys! The late berries and tomatoes remain consistent, and the early brassicas like colourful chard are appearing. We have a new premium fish supplier almost up and running, snaffle the last of the leeks before they get woody, and we hear-tell of ideal growing conditions for the mushroom people. With new products mooted to boot.
Unfortunately, we can expect the absence of Georgetown Seafoods, Takin’ It Home and Sweet Wheat this week. An unfortunate coincidence in timing, but all with good cause. None of our amazing members ever miss without good cause.
Life on the farm and load up the pumpkins
Oldway Farm isn’t as far down Glengarry road as you’d expect. When we told Bjarke we were coming his way from Low Head for the spit we underestimated our driving time by some margin. Arriving to find him midway through moving the cattle, we took a moment to take in the surroundings of Bjarke and Margret’s magnificent property. We learn something every time we chat to Bjarke, and in the time it took us to grab the spit and load up, we’d had the rundown. The largest stand of Elm’s in the north, formerly Governor Phillip’s farm, regenerative practices, future plans and coolroom construction. We drove away absorbing it all and, in what is a typical outcome of talking with any of our members, amazed and proud of what they offer to the Harvest community.
All this is a long-winded way of saying thanks for lending us the spit Bjarke, LT’s wedding feast wouldn’t have been the same without it. We only kind of set it on fire, a bit. Joking not joking.
Those pumpkins though
We teased you with pumpkins, and we’ll deliver. Incarnate as one of the veg sides for LT’s wedding feast, the loaded pumpkins actually somewhat stole the show, at least for the non-meat eaters. The best thing about the loaded pumpkin concept is that it both shows off the pumpkin itself in a speccy way, but is also a vehicle for your creativity with the glaze and stuffing. Allow us to elaborate. For ours, we went with a maple and pepperberry glaze, with chard, apple, sage and hazelnut stuffing and purple mizuna, shallot and parsley salad with lemon dressing. It’s easy to see how you can go wild here, once you understand the dish.
Take a round pumpkin of any variety or size really. Decide on your glaze and make it. cut the pumpkin laterally in half, and scoop out the pulp. Oil, baste with your glaze, season, and bake in a 150-degree oven, basting with your glaze periodically. While it’s going, decide on your stuffing and make it. If it needs cooking out, stuff it in your pumpkin cavity about halfway through the cook. Remove the pumpkin, glaze it again and slice it into wedges like a pie. Garnish with your salad element and serve. These are easy to make look seriously impressive, pack heaps of flavour and nutrition and are relatively easy to prepare once you get the hang of it.
Happy pumpkin shopping. Enjoy!
Thanks for reading, until next week.