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Squashes have been showing up at the farmer's markets and I've started buying a variety of them. They're pretty cheap right now, and they can keep for a few weeks or a few months depending on whether you store them in the kitchen, a larder, or root cellar. There are just so many recipe options for squash, but I was in a soup mood, so I made this creamy squash soup with some of my home-canned roasted tomatoes.

One of my go-to dishes is sausage and peppers, because it's so easy to make, requires minimal ingredients, and is versatile. I usually keep some hot Italian sausages in the freezer so I can make this; as long as I have tomato sauce, garlic, onions, and peppers, I'm pretty much all set. You can adjust the recipe to be spicy or not spicy.

At the farmer's market in San Rafael a few weeks ago, I was delighted to make an unique discovery. These might look like red bell peppers at first glance, but look closely at the bottoms; they're pointy, giving the pepper a heart shape. These are pimento peppers.

If you've ever visited an izakaya in Japan, chances are you've had this braised pork belly dish called buta no kakuni. Tender and fatty, the pork belly is simmered for a few hours in a broth of sake, mirin, soy sauce, and other ingredients until it falls apart and the fat is silky. It's a very simple dish that requires little preparation, and is a good introductory dish if you want to learn more about Japanese home-style cooking.

In September, a group of friends were invited to the farm of someone that our group knew up in Sonoma County. The farmer invited us to come camp out in his grove of fruit trees, pick apples, spend the night, and then make apple cider the next day. Someone in our group had all the necessary apple pressing/cider making supplies. It was a great way to spend a weekend - we picked apples for ourselves, and helped the farmer pick his other crops.

Last Saturday, November 7th, was the opening day of recreational Dungeness crab season in California. This means that people like you and me can go fishing for our own Dungeness crab as long as we follow the rules! I'll talk about the where and the how in this post. The commercial Dungeness season is expected to open this Saturday, November 14th. Look for crab prices in the seafood markets around San Francisco, including Sun Fat Seafood, to decrease.

Every week, I cruise the Farm & Garden section in Craigslist to see if there are any edible offerings. In the past I've gotten large amounts of lemons, chestnuts, vegetables, and even chanterelle mushrooms for very low prices. Most of the items come from gardens of people who can't keep up with the harvest. Anyway, last week, a local family was selling 20 pounds of homegrown organic tomatoes for $5. What a steal!

Perhaps you've seen this vegetable at Asian grocery stores or at farmer's markets. These long bundles of green (or purple!) pods are usually gathered together with a rubber band. Usually called Chinese long beans, they also go by asparagus bean or snake bean.

Have you ever had umeshiso maki sushi? The next time you are in a sushi bar, ask the chef if they can make it for you. It's a simple maki roll with two fillings; umeboshi pickled plums and fresh shiso leaves. The saltiness of the plum contrasts nicely with the freshness of the shiso. It's also very easy to make at home.

The first time I had mashed potatoes with rutabagas was at a friend's house. She had cooked dinner for us, and asked her why the mashed potatoes were a particular golden color with such a rich flavor. What kind of potato was this? "I added some rutabagas to them," she smiled. I thought this was an exotic creation she had devised, but she told me it's common in Northern Europe to do this.

Perhaps you've passed that section of the produce aisle in your local grocery store where they have the vegetables that most people don't know how to cook. Vegetables like celery root, parsnips, turnips, and rutabaga.

Recently, I came across a post on Kyoto Foodie (one of my new favorite food blogs!) about a seasonal dish called yakikuri gohan, or roasted chestnut rice. The ingredients were few and simple, and seeing that I'd just bought a big batch of chestnuts at the farmer's market, I decided to make this!

In the next week I will be purchasing a freezer for our new basement store room. I have a problem. I can't decide if I should get a chest or upright freezer. I'm hoping that some reader input can help me decide which option is best for me.

To me, few things signal the arrival of autumn better than the sweet chestnut. As soon as I see them at the farmer's market, I happily scoop them up, filling a bag with them. Chestnuts have to be cooked before they can be eaten. The meats are large and sweet, and do well on their own as a snack, chopped and added to savory stuffings, or added to desserts. Peeling and roasting them is a bit time-consuming, but knowing a few tricks can help expedite the process.