Food Friday Locavore: Fall Produce

Story by Kaynan Goldberg. Kaynan is CaryCitizen’s 13-year-old columnist on all things frugal, crunchy, healthy and green. She also blogs at VeggiesGoCrunch. Photo by Hal Goodtree, CaryCitizen’s Chief Cook and Bottlewasher. He also takes pictures over on FotoHal.

Cary, NC – It’s October.  I’m so excited for autumn – it’s my favorite season, hands-down.

I like the piles of crunchy leaves, the cozy sweaters I can bring out from my closet, the warm, rich food… hey, I’m a food blogger, right?  I’m always thinking about what I can eat, and in fall, there is a cornucopia of choices – and I’m not just talking about Thanksgiving dinner.

Fall Apples

I do love apples….

For one thing, there are apples.  I love apples, especially Granny Smith, with a bit of peanut butter or creamed honey.  Or in pie.  Or cooked with a bit of butter, and served with breakfast.  Or just plain – crunch!  Fall is apple season – if you live up north, you’ll probably have bushels of fresh, local apples flooding the farmers markets.  Even down here, we’ve got a couple farmers selling apples.  And, boy, are they good.

Just Say No to Canned Pumpkins

Another fall produce item is – duh – pumpkins!  Everybody knows that fall means pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin soup… the list goes on.

However, look at almost any recipe for any of these dishes, and what will it say?  “2 cups canned pumpkin.”  AARRGGHH!!  We seem to think that edible pumpkin only comes in a can.  Well, it doesn’t – you can eat the flesh of any pumpkin, same as any squash.  Markets sell special “pie pumpkins,” which are grown specially for making pie.  However, if you really want to, you can make pie – or any pumpkin dish – out of one of the pumpkins sold on the side of the road.

Other Fall Produce

There are a lot of other veggies and fruits that we seem to think don’t even have a season.  They do:  fall.

Some of my favorites include grapes (yep, grapes are an early fall produce item), cranberries (you can get ’em fresh), potatoes, sweet potatoes and onions.

These are all available year-round in the stores, so I guess we don’t ever think about when they’re in season.  But, like I’ve said before, food is so much better for you and your taste buds when it’s fresh, local, and in season.

Enjoy Your Fall Produce

Take advantage of the autumn harvest season right here in North Carolina. You’ll be amazed at the varieties of apples, pumpkins and other fall produce you will find at the farmers market.