The Haul

Every once and a while I'll take advantage of an off brand groupon that our local newspaper offers.  I try to support businesses that are local and that support a healthy lifestyle.  We tried out Seeds a really healthy restaurant over in Bettendorf that I'm sure we would patronize more often but it is a long drive over there. I also bought $40 of coupons for $20 from a business called Happy Hollow U Pick.  I knew they had pumpkins later in the season and thought it would be a fun Saturday event to go to a pumpkin patch.  Happy Hollow is so much more than a pumpkin patch and I can't wait to go back.

It's over in East Moline so it was a bit of a drive, but it really isn't far off the beaten path.  The place is crawling with cats and kittens and goats and June was having a ball before we even figured out what we wanted to do.  I had a faint hope that this farm would have Hubbard squash - a large variety of winter squash we became acquainted with in Frankenmuth with warm, mellow, orange flesh and knobby gray skins.  My hope was fulfilled and I saw a stack of smaller hubbard squashes near the shed.  I asked the owner about them and he said he doesn't grow the large ones anymore because he'd end up with a bunch of rotten large squash at the end of the season because no one wanted to tackle such a large squash.  They don't know what they're missing.  I've already baked the first of two Hubbards we bought and divided it into four meal portions.

The owner, Steve, is quite the character (he carried around a half gallon of chocolate milk - how awesome is that).  He took us on a tour of the farm on a golf cart pointing out all the varieties of veggies on his farm letting us know what was picked over, what didn't grow this year, what we really needed to get, and what we should avoid.  The farm is awesome.  After our tour we grabbed a wagon, loaded up the kids, and took off. This farm caters to a number of ethnic groups so there were some varieties of gourds, peppers, and beans that I've never seen before, but Steve said were really coveted by different cultural groups in the area.  While we were there, I heard at least 3 languages other than English being spoken.  Quite the cultural experience for a small Illinois farm.

June loved riding in the wagon and helping us pick peppers and tomatoes and okra and eggplant, but she especially loved the dirt.  It was a nice soft clay soil that had clods that were perfect for picking up and crumbling.  Ruben felt a little pent up because we wouldn't let him maul the tomato plants, but enjoyed the wagon ride (mostly because it gave him opportunity to maul his sister).  We walked back to the shed to check out and pick up our squash and watermelon and had no idea how much of the $40 we would spend on what we thought was a huge haul.  I spoke with the lady at the checkout while she was weighing and pricing out our produce.  She was very talkative and friendly and filled me in on a lot of the history of the farm.  After writing out nearly a whole sheet of neat figures, my total was $17. What?! For all of this! I made Karl grab a few more squash, I grabbed some cucumbers, and we crossed our fingers hoping we'd make it over the $20 mark to use the whole of our gift certificate.  Whew! With two Diet Pepsi's to go we made it to $23.02.  That's $13.02 for my records since I paid half price for the certificate.  All of this!

Our menu for the next week includes Hubbard Squash with Salmon and purple beans, Jambalaya, Chiles Poblanos, Eggplant Parmesan, and Alfredo with fresh veggies.  If I were you, I'd envy our family. Plus, we loved spending time together enjoying a beautiful day learning more about how different vegetables grow. Thank you Happy Hollow U Pick!