Butternut Squash and Eating Locally

As any busy college student, I am rarely finding the time to cook meals for myself.  However, in the meals that I have cooked, I used vegetables from the Colgate Community Garden and Common Thread.  I find getting these items more convenient than heading to Price Chopper, plus they're cheaper and fresher.  I also just really enjoy knowing the ground where the food I consume comes from.  I have a very weird dichotomy in my diet: eating out and not knowing the source or ingredients in what I'm eating (and not really caring), or eating in and knowing that all but maybe one or two ingredients is from within a couple minutes of my house (and caring a lot).  Today, I used butternut squash from Common Thread to make two dishes, which I find incredibly tasty now but will probably be sick of after I eat it for dinner every night for the rest of the week...(oh, college).

Butternut Squash Soup
Butternut squash (Common Thread)
Onion (Colgate Community Garden)
Celery (Common Thread)
Carrots (Common Thread)
Garlic (Common Thread)
Vegetable Stock (Not local. But could be homemade with local ingredients...)
Herbs (nutmeg, ginger, oregano, salt, pepper) (Not local)
Olive oil (Not local)

In a large pot, sauté the onions and garlic in olive oil for a few minutes until translucent.  Add the carrots and celery, cook until tender.  Then add a box of vegetable stock, the herbs, and butternut squash (peeled and cubed, the hardest part).  Cook for about 30 minutes on medium heat.  Puree.

In the picture, I sprinkled parmesan and nutmeg on top.  Lame photo, but warm soup on a rainy fall day is the best.

Baked Pesto Pasta with Kale and Butternut Squash
Pasta (I used whole grain pasta) (Not local)
Butternut squash (Common Thread)
Kale (Common Thread)
Onion (Common Thread)
Scallions (Common Thread)
Garlic (Common Thread)
Cheddar cheese (NY state)
Parmesan cheese (Not local)
Pesto (Not local)
Olive Oil (Not local)
Salt/Pepper (Not local)

Bake butternut squash (peeled and cubed) with olive oil, salt and pepper in preheated oven at 400 degrees.  Boil water in a pot, add kale for a minute and then remove.  Cook pasta in boiling water.  Dice kale, onion, scallions, garlic and mix together in bowl with drained pasta, pesto, parmesan, and squash.  Put mix into baking dish and cover with cheddar cheese.  Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

(This photo makes it look kind of gross. Food photography is hard.  See Martha Stewart's failed attempts here: http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelzarrell/someone-needs-to-tell-martha-stewart-her-food-tweets-are-dis )

Cooking these items was very inexpensive and tasted so fresh!  Eating locally and seasonally is so rewarding, both in the taste and in the knowledge that I'm supporting two farms I care about.  I trust the people whose time and labor went into growing the majority of the meal.  A lovely fall Sunday.