Weekend on a Farm, in a Valley, in another Valley, in Pennsylania

October 18, 2010

I had the opportunity to spend about 36 hours at my buddies farm in western pennsylvania. His family has been living in this one unique valley within a larger valley for almost a hundred years. There are two barns on the property that each are over 100 years old. I spent two nights in one under about 5 blankets. Barns are somehow cooler inside than out. Outside it was 40 degrees… inside it was frosty.

Prob the highlight of my weekend was when I had the opportunity to make a punpkin pie from scratch (though I used a calabash squash instead of a pumpkin) in a hundred year old amish barn.
I had to cobble it together from the limited ingredients I had… and it was VERY stringy. But overall it turned out really tasty. The crust was the same shortbread crust I use for just about everything. The filling was:

1 Calabash Squash (cut into 1.5inch pieces and brazed at 350 for 25 minutes until soft)
1 stick butter
6 eggs
3 tablespoons cinnamon (it was a big squash)
1 cup 2% milk (use whole if you have it)
1 cup light brown sugar

Blend together until fully mixed (use a food processor if you have one for a less stringy version). Boil on stove for 10 minutes. Pour into crust and bake for about 40 minutes. Tastes great right out of the oven. Tastes even better three days later (if it lasts that long).
Anyway, I had a great time. Its always a good thing to get out of the city for a little bit… and when you can do it for next to nothing (except for a little bit of ‘free’ labor) you gotta take advantage of it!