Fall is a beautiful time to visit the Farmers Market as the winter squashes begin to arrive. While big, orange pumpkins attract a lot of attention as the unofficial sign of cooler weather, there are dozens of winter squash varieties in the Curcubitaceae (gourd) family. Each of the winter squashes are uniquely beautiful with a vibrant range of colors, a variety of shapes, and textures that range from smooth, to ribbed, to bumpy. We often create wonderful fall displays, both interior and exterior, using our winter squashes, corn stalks, mums and Indian corn – all of which we hope will be available at the market – but did you know that most of these winter squashes taste even better than they look?

Fall Palooza, scheduled for Saturday, September 24, will be a celebration of our winter squash harvest at the market. The UT/Union County Farmers Market Fresh and Nourish Kids programs will be bringing you winter squash recipes each Saturday leading up to the festival. There are so many ways to prepare winter squashes. Everyone immediately thinks of pumpkin pie and other sweet treats like custards, cakes, scones, muffins, bread, cake rolls, cookies, ice cream and more, but winter squashes are great in savory dishes also. They are easily stuffed, make wonderful soups, lasagna, ravioli, stews, and are excellent roasted and added to salads or taco’s and burrito’s – use your imagination!

Farmers Market Fresh will kick off this winter squash season on Saturday, September 3 adapting our Sweet Potato Pancake recipe to use butternut squash. Tastings and the recipe card of our featured recipe are always available as well as the recipes from previous weeks. It is an 8-week program and will conclude on Saturday, September 10 when we will highlight roasting winter squashes for use in salads and grain bowls. Recipes from all 8 weeks will be available as well as a ring binder to store them in. Need an extra incentive to attend? UT Extension always provides an incentive - equipment like measuring cups, colanders, vegetable scrubbers to help in your preparation of fresh, healthy produce. Come visit and see what we have available!

Nourish Kids usually includes a cooking portion of the program and they too will be using some winter squash. Nourish Kids always meets on the 3rd Saturday of each month (September 17) and is sponsored by Nourish Knoxville.
There are so many health benefits of a diet rich in all the fruits and vegetables available at the Union County Farmers Market. Winter squashes, in general, are low on the glycemic index, containing about ½ the carbs of a sweet potato. They contain lots of carotenoids which our body converts to vitamin A, as well as providing vitamins C and B6, a little magnesium, potassium and lots of fiber.

When selecting a winter squash, choose one that has a firm exterior with no soft spots. The finish should be matte and hard to pierce – not shiny and soft. Be sure there is no mold on the stem. If you plan to store the squash, it will need to be in a cool, dark space but not the refrigerator.

The variety of squashes is astonishing. You will find decorative pumpkins, sugar pumpkins, decorative gourds and a variety of great eating squashes. We have seen a lot of butternut squashes (one of my favorites!), East Tennessee has always had a lot of cushaws, and the market has had delicata, spaghetti, acorn, candy roasters, and hubbards in past years but, there are even more – buttercups and honeynuts, sweet dumplings, kabocha – the list goes on and on! come see what you can find at the market especially during the Fall Palooza and Heritage Festival.

Join us during this last full month of our market, “where our community meets”, we will be open every Saturday through Heritage Festival on October 1. Then the on-line market will be running once again, and look for special event, “pop-up” markets – especially around the holiday season. Don’t forget to stop by the UT Extension/Union County booth and say “hi” on Saturdays – we love talking to each and every one of you!