DC Harvest

Pumpkins and Squash at Comus Market

Have you ever been out to the Comus Market?  Art has it inked on our calendar for November every year now.  They have the most incredible selection of locally grown squash!    It’s located in Montgomery County, MD — about 45 minutes from the District.

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He was Pushed!

The perils of CSA deliveries.

We had seedless sugar baby watermelons last week. I managed to drop only one of them; I opened the back of the van and it escaped. For the delivery I laid all of them out on the grass and let people pick theirs. One shareholder came around with, as he usually does, his five-year-old son. Paul had a good deal of fun rolling them around in the grass, which I did not mind at all. But then he picked one up and hurled it. Without my having to say a word about it the boy’s father scolded him, “We do not throw the watermelons! That one’s ours now.” he said picking up the cracked fruit. I felt relieved; the dad did not ask if there were any extra he could take instead of the damaged one. A small example of a responsible shareholder and parent.

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Zingiber officinale

I had hoped to hit a different market this weekend, but with house guests and a whole mess of other things happening, I had to go with the familiar. (Really, I needed one that was open at 9:00 on Sunday and was close to me).

Among the vendors in the bank parking lot, I cannot for the life of me remember their name right now, was one selling fresh local ginger root. That’s right, Zingiber officinale itself grown right in our own backyard. I grabbed one of the roots and then decided that having two would be better. You see at home, The Wife was in the first few days of a cold, nursing a sore throat among other symptoms.

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Now We're Just Showing Off...

Menu: Cibola Farms Bison Hot Dogs wrapped in Torpedo onions and beet greens from Tree and Leaf Farm and topped with Fields of Grace Gouda and homemade Green Tomato Ketchup. Tomatoes on the side from Bull Run Mountain Farm (also the source of the green tomatoes) with Fields of Grace mozzarella. The buns are Homemade from Moutoux Orchard Whole Wheat Flour.

The hot dogs were excellent; the inch-plus wide links come fully cooked and had enough flavor that we did not feel like we were eating something meant for kids. I halved the torpedo onions and wrapped some of the larger shells around the dogs before putting them in the frying pan with a bit of water. They are good onions, but I undercooked them and had a hard time biting through the thick pieces.   The beet greens were intended to add a bit of astringency to the dish. The raw milk Gouda was perfect for this, I put it on at the end so it would melt just a touch. Fields of Grace’s Mozzarella is the pre-packaged low-moisture kind and I must confess a strong preference for the fresh variety. Still, F of G’s is far better than any store-bought version and I would love to try it on a pizza sometime.

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Now We're Just Showing Off...

The Menu:

• Hot Dogs:  Cibola Farms Bison Dogs
• Onions:  Tree and Leaf Farm torpedo Onions
• Cheese: Fields of Grace
• Buns: Homemade from Moutoux Whole Wheat Flour
• Tomatoes: Bull Run Mountain CSA
• Green Tomato Ketchup: Homemade from Bull Run CSA tomatoes

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