Our friends Charles and Lauren were with Red Fire Farms last year, but switched to a closer one this year so they could visit the farm more often-- Waltham Fields Community Farm. Anyway, it's been interesting comparing what we've gotten and what we've done with it over the past few months. Since the beginning we talked about getting together and having a veggie party. Well, we finally got around to it Sunday. A little unfortunately we've moved beyond the bulk of variety and outdoor grilling options that would have been the highlight earlier in the season. We still had a nice time and some great food.

I made us some more butternut squash in the simple walnut and butter method, since we had 5 to work with (still have 3 left).

I also whipped up some everything starchy mashed goodness-- consisting of red and russet potatoes, rutabagas, parsnips, and even 1 pear (for curiosity's sake). Alli found me this recipe which sounded pretty cool, and I loosely followed it-- the caramelized onion topping is a great touch. Of course the pear was my own addition. I also forgot to use any garlic, and added a few slices of cheddar as the mixture was going into a casserole dish. It was a hit I think, quite tasty.

Alli came through with a braised chicken and celeriac recipe she found. It was also quite good, especially the celeriac. We used 2 chicken breasts from our meat share, which are relatively thick and thus don't really flavor through all the way. Oh and yes, this was a veggie "party fowl" (Charles' joke), but we're not really sticklers.

Alli also made us a new apple pie. Delicious as always, though slightly different this time, chiefly, I believe, due to the different variety of apples. These were Rome apples, the really pretty red ones-- less tart than what we had prior.

Alli has gotten quite adept at her pie-making skills. So adept, in fact, that she hardly even has to pay attention any more. Well, there were a few leftover apples that would not fit in the pie this time. Alli had one, and was surprised to find it was not nearly as good before as after baking. Several minutes later, as we were walking out the door, I also had one, and concurred. This is when it occurred to Alli that she had forgotten a rather crucial ingredient-- sugar. Off came the masterfully crafted top crust, out came the filling, sugar was added to appropriate degree, back into the pie, and the crust was reformatted. No harm done. This only worked because we were running late and chose to actually bake the pie at C+L's. We could keep this information to ourselves, but where would the fun be in that?

Oh and I also brought some lambic to share. Charles was definitely a fan.

C+L came through with roasted turnips and kohlrabi. Unpeeled, just cut into french fry shapes, oiled, salted, and peppered, I believe. Good and easy.

They also committed their own party fowl by making turkey-loaf muffins. I'd never considered making a meat loaf into a meat muffin, but it works out pretty well. Don't know any details on the recipe there, but they were topped with something spicy that was nice.