There are other alternatives

I discovered, wanting to go all out on the exception to the rule with sugar-bombs from a box cupcakes with spooky frosting.  Cue classmate with severe dairy and peanut allergies.  No cupcakes allowed.  So Family Fun saved the day, with this healthy idea:

The classmate got a separate one with hummus instead of spinach dip and pretzels.  I made graves from carrots instead of the wheat thins in the recipe.  Broccoli bushes.  Boiled egg ghosts with black olive faces.

Last weekend, we made lucrative trades, exchanging our plethora of salsas and ketchup for muffins, apple pumpkin butter, different jams, and sweets at the request of my spouse.  The next RI Food Swap should be in January.  I'll post when I know the details.

Last CSA this week.  Kale again.  Kale in home fries.  Kale in soup.  Sautéed kale with garlic.  Kale for the pets.  Kale for wall-paper.  You get the point.  Anyway, we also got Sfumata (?) eggplant, beets, radish, turnip, a new squash, and cranberry beans.  Here's how I used the cranberry beans with the corn I boiled and froze a few weeks ago.

Vegetarian Option

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Corn & Bean Chowder

Taste of Tex-Mex New England

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Prep: 15 minutes  Cook: 35 minutes  Makes 10 servings 

2 tbs. butter or olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 tbs. whole wheat flour

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

2 cups low-fat milk

4 potatoes, washed and diced with skins on

1 cup carrots, cut into half-moons

1 cup fresh cranberry beans

3 cups fresh-cooked or frozen corn

10 sliced of bacon, cooked well and drained (optional)

3 tbs. chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne

1 tsp. cumin

1 tbs. brown sugar

1 cup half-and-half or light cream

Melt butter or heat oil over medium heat in large stock pot.  Sauté onions five minutes.  Stir in flour, cooking two minutes.  Slowly pour in broth and milk.  Add potatoes and carrots and bring to boil.  Reduce heat to simmer and cook 15 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.  Meanwhile, bring water to boil in sauce pan.  Cook cranberry beans until just soft, about 20-25 minutes.  Reserve.  Add corn and mix with immersion blender (or run half of mixture through blender and return to stock pot).  Crumble in bacon, the stir in beans, herbs, spices, and cream.  Serve immediately.