It’s starting to feel like fall now, and the cooler air at night keeps our dozens of pumpkins at the farm stands fresh and happy. If you haven’t decorated your front step for Halloween yet, I guarantee you that some trick or treaters will mention it, so it’s better to get some pumpkins up before you’re that unfestive house on the block. Not sure what to do with your pumpkins after they’ve passed their peak? If you aren’t keen on eating it yourself anymore, try taking it to the local woody areas and smashing it open. The deer, squirrels, and other critters love to eat pumpkin and will definitely appreciate this treat.

We’ve reached the final two weeks of the CSA season, and most of the summer-ish vegetables hanging on have now been replaced with a variety of crisp baby greens and hearty winter produce that makes for excellent and healthy comfort food. So many people think summer is the prime time for local produce, but our CSA list has been growing longer and longer each week, which shows that this season truly has so much to offer. There’s not much better than that first bite of a juicy, crunchy, and super sweet apple to remind you of that.

It’s the perfect time to reserve your turkey for Thanksgiving, which is coming just around the corner. Our turkeys come from Sho Nuf Turkey Farms, an all-natural and free-range farm in Fulton, MD. We are proud to offer these delicious local turkeys from our friends out here, and the freshness and quality never disappoint. Keep an eye out for John at the CSAs as he can tell you more about this amazing farm and help you reserve the best turkey for you and your family.

This week at the Culinary Institute, midterms have ignited buzzing energy of tension and adrenaline throughout the student body. Unlike a traditional college, our midterm studying involves whisking sauces together in the communal kitchen and super-focused knife skills tutoring, where all you can hear are the sounds of deliberate chopping and blades gliding over a wet stone. My chef instructor was proud to tell us this week that, as a whole, we finally resemble a professional kitchen. This compliment is a beautiful thing to hear, as I’ve realized that culinary school has more to do with functioning as a team than it does with just perfecting your own skills. No matter how skilled you are, if you can’t join in on the choreography of a full kitchen, you won’t get too far in the culinary world. With identical uniforms and a shared mission, we are an unstoppable force and satisfying sight to see. Moreover, we produce more impressive individual work with this collective drive, as the serenity to focus is available. As a result, my kitchen mates are starting to feel like family, and each day we complete production together, we grow stronger together.