Hi, I’m Jessica, the farmers’-marketoholic, so nice to meat you…

I hit up the Westminster Farmers’ Market last Friday on my way home from work to get… well… well I really didn’t need anything, but I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m a farmers’-marketoholic. I ended up leaving there with a bunch of parsley, some delicata squash, and a few decorative pumpkins.

I also chatted with my “local farmer” Kerri Hertel. She was setting up orders for her chickens, which were “processed” this weekend and were ready for pickup on Sunday. Now, I would say I’m a flexitarian, in that I usually eat vegetarian, but I also, on occasion, eat fish (+pescatarian) and eggs (+ovovegetarian) and sometimes chicken. In my quest for local foods, I decided to order a chicken. I’ve been following the lives of these chickens through Kerri’s weekly farmers’ market emails and blog, and felt compelled to support her and her family in their farming endeavors. Plus, I wanted to taste what FRESH (and I mean alive-this-morning-on-the-plate-this-evening) chicken tasted like.

I continue to develop my views around what’s ethical and appropriate to eat. Some days, I want to be a vegan because I am appalled at the poor treatment and violence that goes into making some of the meat sold in this country. Other times, I feel that if the animal has been treated with kindness and fairly throughout its life, and my purchase is supporting a local farmer who is trying to make a living, then I can be at peace with it being my meal. So, my current food philosophy is that I try only to eat locally grown meats that can be traced to the farm; otherwise, I try and choose lactoovopescavegetarian meals.

More on the chicken meal later this week. Back to my farmers’ market trip…

When I arrived home with my goodies, I decided to make tabbouleh with the parsley, and roast the delicata squash. I settled in with a glass of red wine and got to work.

I sort of meandered through the cabinets, not completely satisfied with a meal of tabbouleh and plain delicata squash. I  started to sauté some chick peas with onions and carrots I dug from my garden:

Then, this beautiful dish began to take form. I decided to make stuffed delicata squash, and what a good idea it was!

Stuffed Delicata Squash

2 delicata squash, cut in 1/2 lengthwise

1 onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 can chick peas

1/2 cup chopped carrots

cinnamon, nutmeg, turmeric, cumin (1/2 tsp of each)

Salt and pepper to taste

Roast delicata squash, open-side-down for 30-45 minutes at 350 degrees, or until meat of fruit separates from skin.

While squash is roasting, sauté onions, garlic and carrots in olive oil for about 10 minutes, or until onions are transparent. Add chick peas and spices. Mash enough chick peas so that the mixture in the pan is the consistency of paste.

Scoop out the flesh of one squash and add to chick pea mixture. Scoop mixture into remaining squash halves. Sprinkle roasted seeds on top.

I was so revitalized by the end product of this dish, that I got a second wind and decided to make plum sauce! More on the plum sauce coming soon…