Tara Howley's Molasses Squash Pie

Ingredients:
• Double Crust Recipe (makes enough for 2 pie crusts)
• 2 1/2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
• 2 very cold sticks of butter, cubed
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Generous pinch of sea salt
• Approximately 5-6 tsps. of ice water and 1-2 tsps. of ice cold vodka
In a food processor, gradually pulse the cold cubes of butter into the flour, sugar, and salt.
When all the butter is in, and the texture of the flour is a bit sandy, start adding the water and vodka until it comes together. Don't go overboard on the vodka, as we are sometimes wont to do. It will make the crust too crumbly to roll. But what little you do use will make the crust very tender. Just eyeball it.
Split the dough ball in half and roll out one half on a large piece of floured parchment paper (save the other half in the fridge for another pie).
Roll the crust into a pie dish and trim the edges so about 1/4 inch is hanging off the rim.
Flute the edges to make it look pro. Place in fridge as you prepare the squash filling.
• Squash Filling
• 1 Butternut Squash, cubed
• 2 organic, free range eggs
• 1 1/2 cups evaporated milk
• 2/3 cup organic raw sugar
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1 1/2 tsps. ginger powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. all spice
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spread out cubed squash on a baking sheet and bake until nice and soft - about 45 minutes.
2. Let squash cool a bit and then either mash by hand or puree in a food processor until smooth (mashing by hand is more rustic, pureeing makes it silkier). Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, whisk eggs and evaporated milk.
4. Whisk sugar, spices, and 9. and salt into eggs and milk.
10. Add squash to milk/egg mixture and whisk well.
11. Place the pie crust on a cookie sheet and dump the squash mixture into the crust.
12. Bake in a 375 degree oven until firm-ish in the center - about 50 minutes.
13. Cool thoroughly before serving.

Georgia's Italian Cheese Pie

Ingredients:
Crust
3 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup melted butter
dash salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup water

Filling
3 lbs ricotta
2 cups sugar
sprinkle of flour
8 eggs
1/2 cup rum (I think spiced rum is best)
2 tsp cinnamon
8 oz dark chocolate chips
dash lemon
2 tsp vanilla
Directions:
Make dough 30 minutes to an hour in advance and chill. To make dough mix everything together in stand mixer or food processor (or by hand). Form into a ball and wrap with seran wrap. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut dough into three equal pieces. Roll two out for the bottom crusts and place them in pie plates. Sprinkle about half of the chocolate chips into each crust and spread evenly.

Mix filling (again in either a stand mixer, food processor or by hand - this is not a delicate filling) and pour half into each pie plate.

Roll out the last third of dough and use it to make a lattice on each pie and finish as you wish. I like a thin lattice so that much of the surface is open faced.

Bake for about an hour until golden and the middle of the pie looks cooked (you can also test it with a knife to make sure it comes out clean).

Update from the Field

Finally we are beginning to feel the effects of summer winding down and the fall kicking in. Last Thursday we seeded our last planting in the field: an experimental, late planting of fast germinating radishes. Every year it’s a gamble when the first frost will be, and thus we play around with when the last radishes and the last baby greens can go in, two of our fastest growing crops. While some farmers I’ve spoken with are hoping for an early frost to take care of all the disease and pests that are having a field day with all the rain we have had, I am hoping for a late frost. Many of our fall crops got in the ground late because of the rain and so I want them to have as much growing time as possible to size up. Be prepared for a plethora of miniature crops in November! Now with the field plantings finished, we are focusing our energy toward the hoop houses and cover cropping. This is the first year we have had three hoop houses (the plastic greenhouse-like structures in our field) in production and I am excited about having more winter growing space. One hoop house will be dedicated to baby greens (arugula, pea shoots, spinach, lettuce mix and mesclun mix), one will be dedicated to cooking greens (collards, kale, chard, and maybe some mustards if I have room), and one will be bok choi, tat soi, scallions, radishes, hons tsai tai, lettuce and turnips. Two of our hoop houses are still missing their plastic coverings, so we have our work cut out for us in the next few weeks. These crops will be for winter sales at farmers markets and to Weaves Way Co-op.
Cover cropping is a satisfying project that I look forward to. It is the act of deeming a bed completely finished for the season, and giving it the attention it needs to be covered for the winter and full of organic matter for the spring. Cover cropping means planting a crop in an empty bed that will not be harvested but cut and returned to the soil. This prevents undesirable weeds from growing, protects the soil from erosion and nutrient-leaching over the winter, and it also adds necessary, replenishing organic matter to the soil in the spring. We typically use rye, oats, vetch, field peas and clover for cover cropping. The act of cover cropping is simple as the seed is broadcast (scattered) on the bed and gently raked in. You don’t need to pay attention to specific spacing or narrow windows of planting times.
The early setting of the sun necessitates a less ambition plan for the day, now that we have to start cleaning up and putting away tools at 6:30pm. You’ll see me hanging around the end of the pick-up more as it becomes too dark to work in the field. It’s a great time of year to start drafting the winter list of things to do, which feels like a welcomed agenda of luxurious items that can’t be tended to during the growing season. It’s also a time to start day dreaming about winter time off and how to spend that vacation time. Perhaps a bike trip in a warmer climate? Or reading in front of the fire at my parents’ house in Vermont. Although who am I kidding? If I go on a bike trip, I’ll probably visit other farms, and chances are I’ll be reading seed catalogues in front of the fire!