The happiness of harvest days

Written by Robin Glowa
Wednesday, 12 October 2011 00:00

“Believe in yourself, your neighbors, your work, your ultimate attainment of more complete happiness.

It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the Spring, who reaps the harvest in Autumn.”

— B.C. Forbes

Without the hard work of farmers and gardeners, we would not know the great pleasures of delicious, fresh, natural foods.

Whether it be produce, fruit, dairy, poultry or meat, farm fresh products are one of our closest links with nature and one of the best ways to feed our bodies. Autumn is the time to enjoy crisp, crunchy apples, plump pears, round, rotund squashes, bright orange carrots, all piled high at your local farmers markets.

At Clovernook Farm in Bethany, there was a steady supply right though until early October of the world’s most delectable corn, as well as fat, juicy tomatoes, hot peppers, onions, zucchini, cucumbers and more.

On my most recent visit there, I found gorgeously ripe Bartlett pears. It is most unusual to find pears that are ripe and ready. Typically, you have to bring them home and let them ripen on the counter for a few days, but these golden beauties were at their peak of perfection and became the inspiration for an awesome autumnal salad.

Known as a “gift of the gods,” pears offer a multitude of healthy attributes. Containing vitamin C and copper, pears offer high antioxidant activity. Full of fiber, pears offer caridovascular and colon protection, and help to promote regularity and eliminate constipation. Pears are considered to be hypoallergenic and are often used as one of the first fruits introduced to babies.

Once ripe, pears are quite perishable, so enjoy their sweet perfection right away. Sew the seeds of your delicious life and enjoy all the bounties of the autumn harvest!

Awesome Autumnal Salad

Serves 6

10 cups mixed salad greens

2 ripe pears, washed and cut into chunks or thinly sliced

1/2 cup toasted pignoli nuts

1 crisp apple, washed and cut into chunks

1 cup gorgonzola or blue cheese

Mix all the above ingredients together gently in a large bowl.

Dressing

1 cup dried cranberries

3/4 cup apple juice

1/2 cup red wine

1/2 cup cranberry juice

3 tablespoons minced shallots

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

Combine cranberries and apple juice in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil. Remove from heat, let stand for 10 minutes. Remove cranberries and reserve. Add wine and cranberry juice to the pan and cook until reduced to 1/3 cup. Pour into a bowl. Mix in shallots, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk in oil. Add cranberries to salad mixture, drizzle with dressing and toss gently to coat.

Robin Glowa, HHC, AADP, is a food and wellness enthusiast who earned her certification in holistic health counseling from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and Columbia University Teachers College.

She specializes in teaching healthy cooking classes for children and adults, as well as cooking presentations and wellness workshops for many local organizations. For more information go to theconsciouscook.net, call 203-393-1037, or http://confessionsofaconsciouscook.blogspot.com.

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