I’ve definitely been taking advantage of these beautiful fall days lately, with bike rides, striped sweaters, and a trip to Letchworth State Park. Even having taken these pleasant outdoor excursions, however, my taste buds still have a way of dictating the majority of my seasonal activities. There’s the apple cider and butternut squash, of course, but mostly there are pumpkins. Pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin pie, pumpkin ale–you name it, I’ve had it. Yum.
With Halloween just around the corner, the many versatile uses of pumpkin are apparent. Being surrounded by farm country like Rochester is, pumpkins are a great excuse to get out and enjoy (and support!!) local farms during the close of their season. Plus, amidst the mayhem of cheap costumes and yards and yards of soon-to-be-thrown-out spider web decorations, pumpkins are a rather sustainable holiday option. You can buy or pick a local pumpkin (reducing the emissions that couple with transportation), carve it (fun!) and toast the seeds (yum!). But wait, there’s more. After Halloween, you can cook down your pumpkin in the name of making a delectable dessert and boom, you’ve used almost the whole pumpkin in one way, shape, or form.
To help inspire your pumpkin-related fun this weekend, here is a list of Rochester-area farms that you can swing by:
- Chase Farm in Fairport
- Green Acre Farms in Rochester
- Powers Farm Market in Pittsford
- Stokoe Farms in Scottsville
So go get yourself the season’s (and one of western New York’s) finest fruit. You may be able to enjoy a hay ride, a corn maze, or a caramel apple while you’re at it, too. Keep up your interaction with local farms throughout the winter as well. The Highland Park Winter Market starts in November and runs through April, on Wednesdays from 3-6 PM in Cornell Cooperative Extension in Highland Park.
Hope you all have a spo0o0ky Halloween!
Written by Kathleen Shannon, Class of 2013