What to do with CSA veggies?

A few months ago a friend mentioned that she missed the CSA she belonged to in Chicago. Of course, I didn’t know what a CSA was…and I’ll assume you don’t either. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. It originated with folks like me buying a “portion” of a farm and then getting part of the produce it produced. It has become, thanks to technology, a great way to get local fruits and vegetables at their freshest. I started to investigate and found a CSA here in Alpharetta/Roswell (www.localfoodstop.com). Each Monday or Tuesday you get a list of what is available and place your online order for small or large bags; fruit, vegetable or mixed and tell them where you want to pick it up (several locations around the area). You are not obligated to buy every week and can make substitutions if you know your family won’t eat something included. It has been very fun for us, and made me try some fruits and veggies I might not normally have tried. This week’s bag included Acorn Squash. Now, I know Acorn Squash are not exactly exotic but for some reason we really never ate them. So, here sits this nice squash and what to do with it? Well, it was AWESOME. I found a base recipe for Squash stuffed with sweet/spicy sausage and swapped it around a bit. We also had some gala apples in the bag that I thought the apples would be nice cooked with the squash…and rather than go buy sausage I had some wonderful spicy Boudin in the freezer (Cajun sausage made with meats and rice…really nice spice). So…here is my interpretation. My only mistake was not taking a picture…but we were so hungry by the time we ate that we dug in before I remembered the camera.


Acorn Squash with Spicy Sausage

Ingredients:

2 Acorn Squash, halved and seeded
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot finely chopped
1-1/2 pounds spicy sausage, casings removed
1 cup brown sugar (I used less)
2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
2-3 Tablespoons dried cranberries
2-3 tablespoons red wine or port (optional)


Preheat oven to 350. Place the squash halves face down in a baking dish in 1 inch of water and bake until the flesh is tender, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and cook the shallot for 1-2 minutes (can use mild onion), add the apples and sausage until starting to brown. Meanwhile, soak the dried cranberries in the wine (or water) and add to the sausage mixture after it is browned up some.

Once the squash is tender, discard the water. Cut a small part of the bottom if needed to sit up straight.  Sprinkle half of the brown sugar on the inside of the squash. Fill the squash with the sausage mixture and top with reserved brown sugar (I didn’t use it all). Return the squash to the oven until the sugar starts to melt, about 15 minutes.

Serve with a green salad and enjoy!