Peach season is drawing to a close, and apple season is starting up. In a typical fit of end-of-season overindulgence, I bought a giant batch of peaches from the Oakland Mills farmer’s market on Sunday. I’m planning peach crumble, peach chutney for pork chops, and pureed stewed peaches for the kid. Mmm, peaches.

Anyway, back to the CSA. Week 12 marks the halfway point in the program, and I feel fortunate that although the weather has not exactly been ideal, the harvest is still bountiful. We got corn, mushrooms, apples, plums, peppers, tomatoes, bread (sourdough), and yogurt instead of eggs. I traded beets for kale. Frankly, I’m kind of tired of beets, and besides, I had a hankering for colcannon.

Week 13 brought us corn, green beans, onions, apples, tomatoes, garlic, eggs, and bread (lavender foccaccia). I traded even more beets for extra potatoes (colcannon again!). There’s so much corn now that I’m cutting it off the cob and freezing it for the winter.

The bread was ok, but I probably won’t get it again. I’m not sure about the taste of lavender in my food; to me, it’s more of a perfume ingredient. Breezy Willow is touting their new honey lavender ice cream. I’m kind of dubious about that as well.

With the recent glut of apples, I’ve been making applesauce for the kid. He loves it. Who wouldn’t? Making applesauce is so easy it’s almost easier than buying it in stores — simply peel and core the apples, cut them into chunks, and put them in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until they get soft and mushy. That’s it. No need to add water, sugar, or cinnamon (unless you want to). I give it a little extra mashing for the kid, since he doesn’t
have teeth yet, but adults can just eat as is. Makes the house smell amazing, too. I even forgot about it and took a nap, leaving it simmering gently on the stove for an hour or two, and all it did was get an even sweeter, deeper flavor. You can’t lose with applesauce.