Fall 2025 #7/10: PIE PUMPKIN WEEK & 2026 CSA PRIORITY REGISTRATION
It’s that time of year again! A farm-to-family Thanksgiving is only 10 days away, so this week and next, we are loading up the farmstand with a few extra Fall favorites--organic potatoes for mashing, roots for roasting, apples, pears to fresh cranberries and so many flavorful and fun varieties of Winter Squashes and Pumpkins.
IT’S PIE PUMPKIN & SQUASH WEEK AT WILD HARE!
Tomorrow morning, we’ll get ready for one of our favorite Wild Hare traditions--hauling out all of the varieties, great and small, round and oblong, orange, pink, green or otherwise for folks to prep, puree, stash in the freezer or share with a neighbors and loved ones. In addition to the tried and true sweet Sugar Pie Pumpkins, we'll have a few of our striped Tonda Padana, Long Island Cheese Pumpkins, Blue Ballet Hubbard, and a few North Georgia Candy Roasters out for for folks to choose from. Our hope is to send our CSA members home with a pie squash of their choosing so that they can get a leg up on those desserts and sides a week ahead of time. For tips on how to get from gourd to gorgeous pie (and beyond), be sure to hop down to the recipe section at the bottom.
SAVE YOUR SPOT! 2026 PRIORITY CSA RENEWAL & REGISTRATION IS LIVE!
If you’re a continuing or returning CSA Member, now is the time of year to save your spot for 2026. Between now and December 12th, we are offering Priority Regsitration & Renewals for next year. Payment is not due until the start of a given season; however, filling out the online form to pre-register helps your farmers plan ahead (and keeps YOU from getting left out). If you’re not currently a member but are interested in joining the CSA in 2026, please make sure you are on our waiting list. I will begin opening up registration for next year’s available shares in the new year.
LASA GIVING BOXES
There’s a little adage that I’m quite fond of— “When you can’t take anymore—give.” And that is exactly what I’m hoping our CSA Members and patrons will do again this year as we host Giving Boxes for LASA (Living Access Support Alliance) and the many people they support in Pierce County. There are an array of "wishes" for you to consider fulfilling for people in need of all ages. Just choose a tag (or more) from the box and return your corresponding item to the farm, unwrapped. We will continue to collect donated items between now and December 11th when we close for Winter Break.
Many Thanks,
Katie
IN THE FARMSHARES THIS WEEK:
Choice of Pie Squash or Pumpkin:
Sugar Pie, Winter Luxury, Long Island Cheese, Hubbard, Kuri, Kabocha, Tonda Padana & MOREWinter Kohlrabi
Broccoli
Carrots
Fresh Cranberries
Choice of Pears: Bartlett & Bosc
SEASONAL RECIPES, TIPS & INFO
WINTER KOHLRABI
Winter Kohlrabi is on this week! In the summer, I encourage folks to look for the smaller bulbs, knowing that the bigger summer Kohlrabi might be woody and tough. These cold season varieties are totally different--they get big in order to stand up to storage, but when the outer skin is pared away, they are tender and crisp on the inside and make truly scrumptious grated or shaved up raw salads, soups worth savoring. It is a real showstopper when sliced up for the veggie tray that you offered to bring to Thanksgiving dinner.
ON TURNING WHOLE PUMPKINS INTO PUREES:
It is worth repeating that my go-to technique, especially when wrestling with oddly shaped squashes and sharp knives, is roasting squashes whole if they’re too tough, big or oddly shaped for me to cut up. Even using the oven (or microwave) to soften the pumpkin for a few minutes at the start can make cutting the pumpkin easier if that’s what you’d like to do. Just be sure to poke a few deep holes in your squash or pumpkin (to keep it from exploding all over the sides of your oven) Then, let it cool to the touch and go from there. Yes, the cooking time is a little bit longer, but at 425 degrees, even the biggest squashes that our oven will hold don't take more than an hour, tops. My mom swears by using her Instant Pot to cook her pie pumpkins and squashes.
Pumpkin Pie Bars - Food & Wine
Pumpkin Tiramisu - Noble Pig
38 EASY Plant-Based Pumpkin Recipes - Minimalist Baker
10 Delicious Kohlrabi Recipes to Make on Repeat - The Kitchn
Easy Pumpkin Apple Butter- Gourmande in the Kitchen
Oven-Roasted Self-Saucing Pears - Not Quite Nigella
Fresh Cranberry Orange Sauce - Once Upon a Chef
Shaved Kohlrabi with Apple & Hazelnuts - Ignacio Mattos
Pear, Cranberry & Gingersnap Crumble - Smitten Kitchen
Pumpkin Mac & Cheese With Greek Yogurt - Well Plated by Erin
Cranberry Curd Tart - David Tanis
Broccoli Kohlrabi Crunch Salad - Dishing Up the Dirt
Kohlrabigemüse (German Creamed Kohlrabi) - Recipes from Europe
Simple Perfect Roasted Kohlrabi - Cooking on the Weekends
Creamy Cranberry Smoothie - Downshiftology
Orange Cranberry Loaf - Samantha Seneviratne
