Happenings November 2023

November 2023

Get Out the Vote for Cornell Cooperative Extension Putnam County

Pumpkin Time! History, pollination and uses for pumpkins

When Life Gives You Green Tomatoes . . . Make this warming, fall chili to celebrate the harvest

Troubleshooting Problems when Canning Applesauce

In The Lab: Composting Diseased Plant Material?

Give the Gift of Warmth

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Get Out the Vote for Cornell Cooperative Extension Putnam County

Regular exercise is essential to good health. Exercising your vote affects your health and the health of your community. Be the healthy change you want to see. Exercise your right to vote regularly.

At Cornell Cooperative Extension Putnam County, now is the time your vote is needed for three vacancies on the 2024 Board of Directors and proposed 2024 Constitution.

Voting is open to all eligible persons interested in the work of the association. Persons become eligible by:

a. participation in programs or activities of the association, evidenced by registration or lists generated with respect to such programs or activities,

b. requesting the association to place their names on an association list that will be maintained for one calendar year, or

c. serving the association as a volunteer.

If you are eligible and haven’t yet voted in the 2024 Cornell Cooperative Extension Election, you may do so by clicking HERE.

Election results will be announced at the Annual Meeting on Thursday, November 9, 2023.

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Pumpkin Time! 

History, pollination and uses for pumpkins

There is no more iconic symbol of autumn than the pumpkin. This large squash native to the Americas belongs in the family cucurbitae, and is now grown around the world. One of the oldest known crops in the western hemisphere, archeological evidence suggests the pumpkin was cultivated in the Americas for 5000 years. There are a few different pumpkin genera including Cucurbita maxima, C. moschata and C. pepo. Most canned pumpkin is from the winter squash C. moschata. The orange squash we carve into jack-o-lanterns are Cucurbita maxima.

The word “pumpkin” is derived the Greek word “pepon” which means “large melon”. The French word for the “pepon” was “pompon” and the English changed the latter to “pumpion”. American colonists are 

credited with changing “pumpion” to “pumpkin, “and the name is still associated with this squash.

Already present in the Americas, this squash was used as a long-storing staple food, as suggested by this American poem (circa 1630):

“For pottage and puddings and custard and pies,

Our pumpkins and parsnips are common supplies:

We have pumpkins at morning and pumpkins at noon,

If it were not for pumpkins, we should be undoon.”

Around the world this squash is eaten as a staple of the diet as a cooked vegetable, as a base for savory soups and stews, or as a baked-in-the-bowl edible container. (See recipe for vegetarian chili baked in a pumpkin). Only here in the United States and Canada is it primarily used in sweet foods like pies and muffins.

As a vegetable pumpkins are low in calories, fat, and sodium and high in fiber. Pumpkins are also a good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin B, potassium, protein, and iron. A cup of cooked, mashed pumpkin contains only 49 calories and has 11 grams of fiber.

These warm season vegetables do best in areas with long hot summers. Vines can grow twenty feet or more, though some dwarf varieties produce foliage that is more compact. In general, if you plan to grow pumpkins, give them lots of room to run! When Columbus returned to Europe with pumpkin seeds, they did not grow very well in the cool of northern Europe. They are a staple food in Africa and parts of Asia where these long-season squash have plenty of time to stretch out.

In order to store them for a long period, pumpkins must be fully ripened and cured. Curing is a process that causes the pumpkin skin to harden and promotes healing of small wounds in the skin. Place pumpkins in an area with 80-85° F and 80-85% relative humidity for about 10 days. After curing pumpkins keep them in dry storage at 50-60° F for 10 weeks or more. Keep them off the ground to prevent moisture from accumulating around them and causing them to rot. You’ll find a wide range of pumpkin recipes, from savory to sweet, from around the world. The pumpkin is a versatile vegetable!

Sources:

• Pumpkin: A Brief History, David Trinklein, University of Missouri, Division of Plant Sciences
• Choose Store and Display Pumpkins & Gourds for Fall display, University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Sarah Browning, Extension Educator
• USDA.gov, National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference
• Photo J. Lerner

Notes from a Pollinator:

Squash bees: a solitary bee with a mission

You may have seen these bees ( Peponapis pruinosa ) nestling down in the depths of a squash blossom. This native bee has only one nectar and pollen source in mind: squashes and cucumbers (which include pumpkins). They are so reliant on squash and cucumber plants that they did not live in North America until squash plants were cultivated by Native Americans and early European settler. The bees’ range spread specifically with this crop. These solitary bees make a tunnel about 12” to 18” deep in the ground near squash plant. Unlike other bees, squash bees are uniquely adapted to digest the spikey pollen of squash plants. That’s good for us! As they travel from one squash flower to another collecting nectar and pollen, these bees pollinate our squashes. The female provisions her tunnel with squash pollen and lays her eggs in the tunnel so the emerging young will have food when they emerge next year to pollinate another garden. For more information on the history of this bee, see  news.ncsu.edu/2016/06/squash-agriculture-bees-2016/

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When Life Gives You Green Tomatoes . . .

Make this warming, fall chili to celebrate the harvest

The first touches of frost are in the air. There is little chance for the last of the tomatoes to ripen on the vine. What do you do with all those green tomatoes? Without the sugars that give them sweetness when ripe, green tomatoes add wonderful tang and texture to stews. Here’s my favorite green tomato recipe, with wonderful, rich, and mild chili powders, and great textures from wild rice, quinoa and hominy (a type of corn). When baked in a pumpkin, the and creamy sweetness of baked squash adds depth . . . and lots of vitamin A!

This dish is vegetarian, and can be vegan if you omit or substitute the cheddar cheese.

Fall harvest Chili with Green Tomatoes, Rice (and Baked Pumpkin, optional)

Serves 6

Order:

• Preheat oven to 375 or 400: Pumpkin takes 45 minutes to an hour
• Start Brown/Wild Rice: 45 minutes
• Start Chili: 30-45 minutes

Chili

• 3 T. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 ½ peppers,* chopped, red, yellow or orange (green is okay too)
• 3 T. ground Cumin (Reserve 2 T for finishing)
• 2 T. Ancho chili powder (reserve 1 T for finishing)
• 2 t. Chipotle chili powder (reserve 1 t for finishing)
• ½ t. Cayenne (or to taste)
• 3-5 medium green/unripe tomatoes chopped (or 1 ½ c. unripe cherry tomatoes, halved)
• 1, 12 oz can diced or stewed tomatoes, with liquid
• 1, 12-16 oz can dark red or red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1, 16-20 oz can Hominy (White or yellow), drained and rinsed
• ¼ c Quinoa
• Water as needed to achieve desired thickness

Salt to taste

Optional: grated cheddar to garnish

Sautee onions and peppers in olive oil over medium heat, until beginning to soften. Add cumin and chilies, remembering to set aside reserved portions for finishing. Mix vigorously for three minutes, coating the onions and peppers. Do not allow seasoning to burn or stick. Add chopped green tomatoes. Stir again, allowing the juices from the tomatoes to lift the seasonings. At this point you can add the canned tomatoes, beans and hominy, bring to a simmer and lower heat. Stir occasionally. Twenty minutes before you are ready to serve, stir in Quinoa. Add water as needed (depending on wetness of tomatoes you may need half a cup to a cup) and stir. Quinoa required 15 minutes to cook. Five minutes before you are ready to serve add remainder of seasoning and salt to taste, stirring well but gently.

Serve with:

Mixed Wild and Brown Rice .

• 1 T. olive oil
• ¼ c. wild rice
• ¾ c. brown rice
• Pinch salt
• 2 c. water

Bring water salt and oil to a boil. Add rice and stir. Return to boil. Lower heat to a simmer, and cover. Cook for 45 minutes (check for tenderness at 40 minutes). When cooked, wild rice will split at the ends.

Baked in a Pumpkin or large squash. Carefully cut top of pumpkin or squash, scoop out interior, bake top and pumpkin in a casserole pan with a ½ c water and t. of oil in the bottom and loose covering of tin foil. This seems to get the best combination of steaming and baking. Bake until fork-tender (depending on size, that is about 45 minutes to an hour at 375 to 400 degrees).

Once cooked, drain pumpkin and baking dish. Then add 1/4 to 3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese to inside of pumpkin, fill with chili and return to the oven. Bake until bubbling (about 15 minutes at 375). Top with more grated cheddar and the pumpkin lid for a beautiful presentation. Serve by slicing or scooping portions. Serve rice as a side.

* Sweet and hot peppers freeze beautifully. Simply wash and freeze them in resealable-bags, double bagging is preferred because their odor can contaminate other foods. Bring them out frozen and break off what you need, or pre cut them and then freeze them in small portion ready for cooking (blanching is not necessary). Do not pre-cut hot peppers before freezing and take care to protect your hands and eyes while working with them. Use within 8 months.

Source: University of Nebraska at Lincoln http://food.unl.edu/web/preservation/freezing-peppers

Photo J. Lerner

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Troubleshooting Problems when Canning Applesauce

Air often the problem

Many of the problems with applesauce are caused by air. Although an apple is firm and solid, it actually contains air. About twenty-five percent of an apple's volume is air. Think of bobbing for apples at a Halloween party. It is the air that causes the apples to float. Unless the air is driven from the apple during the preparation of the sauce, there is oxygen present.

Enzymes

Enzymes are naturally occurring substances in foods that promote the normal ripening process. Enzymes in apples cause oxidation (browning) when cut surfaces are exposed to air. This can occur when the apples are peeled or during the canning process.

Adding ascorbic acid or commercially available antibrowning products to the holding water reduces color changes when peeling apples and other light-colored fruits. One method of making a holding solution is to dissolve 1 teaspoon of ascorbic acid in a gallon of water; six finely crushed 500mg vitamin C tablets equal 1 teaspoon ascorbic acid.

Siphoning

Putting cooked apples through a sieve, food processor, or blender incorporates additional air into the product. After making the apples into a puree, be sure to bring the mixture to a boil and maintain a gentle boil while filling the jars. Leave adequate headspace (½ inch) to accommodate expansion during processing.

It is common for applesauce to siphon from the jars when removed from the canner. The thinner the applesauce, the less siphoning there seems to be. Try to maintain a constant rolling, but gentle, boil while processing; large temperature fluctuations during processing forces product out of the jar.

Freezing Homemade Applesauce

If you are new to home food preservation, making and freezing applesauce is a great way to begin. It can be prepared plain, seasoned, smooth, chunky, or even mixed with other fruits.

Tips for Freezing Applesauce

• Make the sauce using your favorite recipe and with apple varieties that are suitable for cooking. Some of the best sauces use a blend of apple varieties.
• Improve the color by adding lemon juice, ascorbic acid, or commercial color preservers.
• Adjust the sweetness to your taste. The variety of apple will determine the amount of sugar to add.
• Artificial sugar substitutes can be used; however, do not add aspartame before cooking the apples.
• Cool the cooked sauce quickly; you can set a larger pot of sauce in a sink of cold ice water changing the water frequently. Stir the mixture while it is cooling.
• Pack it into rigid containers leaving adequate headspace. It will expand when frozen.
• To use, thaw in the refrigerator.
• Sauce served before it is completely thawed tastes similar to a slushy.

By Penn State University, 2023

Resources:

Zepp, M., LaBorde, L. & Hirneisen, A. (2023, May 30) " Let’s Preserve: Apples ". Penn State Extension. 

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In The Lab: Composting Diseased Plant Material?

On a recent “Ask an MGV TV” call, we had a question about composting diseased plant materials with your regular compost. Like many questions about gardening, the answer falls along the spectrum of “it depends.” Most home compost piles don’t reach the high temperatures required to kill pathogens (150-180 degrees).

In general, discarding diseased plant parts into compost is not a good idea, especially if you use the compost in the same type of garden. For example, if you know your tomatoes have a particular leaf disease, and you use your compost each spring in the veg garden, you shouldn’t add diseased tomato foliage to that compost. However, if you use your compost as a top-dressing for a shrub border on the other side of your property, you may be fine as most tomato diseases will not infect woody shrubs. A keen reader might have noticed we used the word “may.” In nature there are always exceptions, and some pathogens like verticillium wilt, can infect a wide array of plants and plant types, so if you want to be absolutely safe, bag, burn, bury, or better yet, create a separate area where you can discard diseased plant parts.

Learn more about composting on our “Composting Resources” webpage:  https://cceputnamcounty.org/gardening/compost-resources

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Give the Gift of Warmth

On October 9, 2023, a headline in the USA TODAY read “Coat drive demand spikes, as aid groups put out plea for more winter coat donations.” Claire Thornton, the author of this article writes “Across the country, coat drives are in full swing this month as more Americans than ever lack the winter clothing they need to stay warm. The need for coats coincides with new data from the U.S. Census Bureau showing the poverty rate shot up dramatically in 2022 for the first time in more than a decade. More Americans don’t have enough resources to meet their basic need for food, clothing, shelter, utilities, and internet access.”

Cornell Cooperative Extension Putnam County is proud to partner with the Carmel Rotary Club again this year for their local coat drive. The drive will continue until November 17, with two locations equipped to handle your new or gently used coat donation. The locations are Putnam County National Bank’s main location at 43 Gleneida Avenue, Carmel, and Cornell Cooperative Extension Putnam County at 1 Geneva Road in Brewster.

Your donations will be distributed to individuals and families within Putnam County by local Human Services agencies. Help residents in need this winter by donating your unwanted coats and giving the gift of warmth.

Image by thank you for “Heart” from Pixabay

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Last updated October 25, 2023