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What’s In Season Now: October Edition

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While other months may be able to stake claim to being most bountiful October is probably one of the most interesting months during which to eat local. Many places, even in the cold northern regions, still have the tail-end of summer harvests trickling in as the short-season, cool-weather crops we saw at the beginning of spring make their reemergence and the long-season, fall-specific crops make their debut. It makes for a combination of flavors and textures that cannot be accomplished during any other time of year; meals based on cool weather staples — many green and leafy — spiked with the fading flavors of summer and complimented by the hearty, warming hints of autumn and the impending winter.

As you venture to your local farmer’s market and on-farm stands this month take both plenty of reusable produce bags — small, lightweight — and larger, heavy duty reusable sacks to cart back your finds; they’ll range from tender baby spinach leaves to heavy, heirloom squashes. Here’s a short list of what you should be on the lookout for:

Greens

  • Spinach
  • Lettuces
  • Collards
  • Kale
  • Cabbage
  • Chard

Winter Squashes & Pumpkins

  • Buttercup
  • Butternut
  • Spaghetti
  • Pie Pumpkins
  • Jack-o-lanterns
  • Cinderella Pumpkins – like that pictured above, actually a scrumptious variety of squash.

As a bonus, hard-skinned squashes and pumpkins store well under even adverse conditions, making them prime candidates for edible decor. Stack a few of your favorite small varieties atop a cake stand for a center piece, allow larger varieties to adorn front walkways and porch steps until they make their way to the dinner table.

Root Vegetables

  • Potatoes
  • Onions
  • Radishes
  • Rutabega
  • Daikon

Late Summer’s Leftovers

  • Peppers – hot, sweet, mild and bell.
  • Beans – bush and pole
  • Tomatoes
  • Eggplant
  • Summer Squashes

Of course I would be remiss to leave out the star of last week’s column, apples, like those pictured above. And, since I couldn’t possibly include every in-season item in any one column, do be sure to check out previous installments of What’s In Season Now for more ideas.

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All Produce featured in this week’s column was photographed by the author and sourced from local, Michigan farms. To find farms and farmer’s markets near you check out Local Harvest.

Good on Gyros & With Jam

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I love a good lamb gyro perhaps as much as anyone can love any food. Ever. In the world. But I also have a soft spot for lambs. I cannot resist their particular brand of cute. So much so, in fact, they are the only livestock I have been reluctant to try my hand at raising for meat myself. I simply cannot say with any sort of confidence whatsoever that processing day would be even the least bit tolerable. And since tolerable is the best any processing day can ever be, I’ve yet to take the plunge.

Luckily, others do not harbor my biases and sheep farms are anything but scarce in most of the United States. And though the traditional holiday for lamb eating may have already passed, a good rack of lamb is a celebration in and of itself fit for any time of year.

In fact, there is an often unforeseen bonus in buying lambs after the Easter holiday has passed — especially if you’re buying a whole or half lamb — ethnic markets for lamb are strongest just before Easter and demand for a smaller carcass there drives down the size of lambs sold around that time of year. After Easter has passed lambs are often grown out longer, making for a larger end product; a bonus if you’re feeding a family of four or more as am I.

In an ideal world we’d all buy our lambs — whether we’re looking for wholes, halves, racks, legs, chops, roasts or a combination of all of the above — from the farm down the road, and we literally have a sheep farm down the road here, but not everyone is so lucky. To find fresh, local lamb you can search Local Harvest for sheep farms near you, but if that fails you can also buy lamb online. Upper Dry Creek Ranch, a family owned farm in Western Oregon, offers their lamb products on Foodzie. That’s a picture of their loin chops above.

And as long as you’re at it, don’t forget the toppings, rubs and marinades. And don’t be afraid to think outside the box, the Chipotle Pepper Jam by Uncle Berch’s Foods, also via Foodzie, is reportedly a great accompaniment.