Hi there,
I hope you are having a wonderful week and looking forwards to the long weekend! We have had such a nice week welcoming autumn. Days are shorter and the nights are cooler. The Japanese maples around our house are already turning and will eventually become the most glorious shades of red, orange and brown. We have started the collection of firewood (always later than when we intend to have it done by!) and the winter woollies are finding their way back into our wardrobes. It is my favourite season up here in the Adelaide Hills and a lovely one for produce too!
I have it on good authority that apples will finally be making their way back into our boxes as of next week! These are the much coveted, crunchy and sweet apples grown on the same soil as our packing shed in Forest Range. Also, the same apples that you'll find in our apple juice and apple cider vinegar. As I drive down the road to our packing shed multiple times a week, I have been watching and (im)patiently waiting for the pickers to appear and yesterday they did! Due to the cooler summer, the ripening has happened later and so we are very pleased to finally have them ready! I am hoping we might have some nashi pears available soon too! Another autumn delight. Tomatoes are slowing down and broccoli has been incredibly hard to get! So far the awful Queensland floods haven't impacted on any supply but we'll wait and see what happens with the bananas.
This week we welcomed back pumpkin to our boxes. Packing them in this week had me thinking about pumpkin soup with parsley sprinkled on top served with a side or Uraidla Bakery bread. A favourite in our household! I also might turn some of the parsley and rainbow chard into a pesto. We have a vegan in our household and so pesto is often parmesan cheese free but still delicious. I add a big handful each of parsley and chard, a few cloves of garlic, a good drizzle of olive oil and salt. Whizz it all up and use as needed. Great as a sandwich base or stirred through pasta. I'm thinking I might grate the beetroot up with carrot and shredded lettuce for a quick side salad. I also love roasted veg salad so will maybe even roast up the beetroot, sweet potato, pumpkin. carrots and potatoes and mix through with shredded lettuce and parsley. The options are endless! Do you have a favourite beetroot dish? If you end up making it and can share it with us on social media I can share it with others.
I hope you have a great long weekend and get a break from all pressing responsibilities in your life and allowed to relax for the whole weekend! I'll be out pottering away in the garden as usual and perhaps will take a trip down to see my family on the coast (although the petrol prices might play a part in deciding that! Sheesh!). Whatever you do, I hope it involves good food and good company.
See you next week!
Sending lots of love,
Peta
xoxo