CSA deliciousness and apple picking!

Week 3 of the CSA brought some smaller butternut squash, so much so that they were two per option instead of one.  I mixed and matched with a small butternut, regular-sized acorn squash, and of course, concord grapes.  You can smell those babies across a room.  Otherwise I got a few apples (not too many, since we'd be picking soon), tomatoes, onion, and pears.

Stuff we made:
-  African Peanut Soup from The Dirty Radish - very tasty. I served this to some guests on Friday night, and the reviews were rave.  I emailed the recipe to my Grandma.
- Acorn squash and gorgonzola pizza....or at least, our own special variation of it.
- Butternut squash and chickpea salad from I Flip For Food.
- Cakeballs from Eat Run Read.  OK, these had zero to do with farm-freshness, but they were a HUGE hit with the gang at home, in the office, and on our picnic.  Red velvet.  Decadent.

J just demanded that I take a wedge of tomato and suck out the seedy gooey part "like an oyster," because "this is the sweetest tomato [he's] ever had in [his] life."  I obliged.  Thanks for sharing, friend.

Apples are still ready for picking.  We love pairing local farms with wineries (see Stribling Farm adventure, and we've also done Great Country Farms + Bluemont Vineyard).  So Homestead Farm + Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard seemed natural.  I'd been hearing about SMV from my very favorite future sister in law for quite some time, and it was high time I enjoyed the stunning view of the mountain, a $5 tasting, and a glass of sangria.  Plus, we stumbled upon the perfect farmstand for J3 to find a beautiful white pumpkin.  Did I say beautiful?  I meant spooky!