butternut squash & kale gnocchi

with rosemary brown butter sauce

As I sit and type this, wind and rain are thrashing outside and I’m grateful for this warm, dry house where we still have power. I woke up this morning thinking about all the people who awoke to chaos wrecked by Helene, and my thoughts are especially with farmers who are navigating devastating crop losses, and who must figure out how to continue to farm with the reality of more extreme and unpredictable weather events caused by climate change. I know today will be a scary one for millions more people as Helene moves north, so stay safe out there everyone.

If there's one skill you need to be a successful farmer/gardener, it’s being a close observer of Mother Nature. And honestly? I haven’t been very observant lately.

I’ve been deep in mom-mode these past few weeks, and I haven’t had nearly as much time to get outside and really LOOK at our fall crops and see how they’re doing. So when I finally had some time this week to take a farm walk, I saw that my brassica beds (filled with kale, collards, cabbage, broccoli, etc) were pock marked with giant holes and dark green poop, both calling cards of cabbage worms.

Cabbage worms (pictured below) are bright velvety green caterpillars, and while they start out small, over time they can grow to be quite big and can cause a ton of damage. Cabbage worm eggs are laid by white cabbage moths (also pictured below), so if you see those moths flying around your garden, you’ll want to be on the lookout for cabbage worms as well.

cabbage worm (and worm poop) & white cabbage moth

If you’re also dealing with cabbage worms, here are my tips for getting rid of them:

• If you have a small garden, check your leafy green brassica plants 1-2 times a day and simply hand pick/squish any cabbage worms you see.

• For larger gardens where hand-picking isn’t efficient, I recommend getting some Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) and applying it to your plants when you first start seeing cabbage worms (apply no more than once every 1-2 weeks). Bt is an OMRI organic-approved solution, which contains a naturally occurring bacteria that is lethal to certain insects (like cabbage worms) but non-toxic to humans and animals. Here’s Bt concentrate and here’s a ready-to-use Bt spray.

• Another tip for preventing cabbage moths from laying eggs on your plants is to cover your brassica crops with thin insect netting (like this one).

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Okay, and I have a quick barn project update! (If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, get the latest here).

Last week we were able to seal the freshly scrubbed barn floors, which means now we can start filling up the space with furniture that I’ve snagged on Facebook marketplace. There’s still a long way to go (starting to realize what a big space this is…), but so far I’ve got an awesome handmade farm table + bench and a nice big rug for my “office”, and a retro green velvet couch for the future “lounge” space. I’m still on the hunt for another big rug, some comfy chairs, and a cool coffee table… and maybe a fun bar cart? Matthew also strung up some bistro lights, and it is such a *VIBE*.

Here are the latest before/after pics:

barn before & after (but still in progress) !

Need some culinary inspiration for the weekend? Here’s my weekly round up of seasonal recipes from around Substack (and my ever-growing recipe index) to help you eat like a farmer:

• Moroccan Spiced Whole Roasted Cauliflower from yours truly :)

• Beef Short Rib Stew from

  Carolina Gelen
  /
  SCRAPS

Keep reading for this week’s new recipe – butternut squash & kale gnocchi with rosemary brown butter – available for paid subscribers.

If last week’s recipe was my swan song to summer, then this week’s recipe is an absolute banger to kick off fall. And I’m just going to say it… this butternut squash & kale gnocchi situation is hands down the best thing I’ve cooked/eaten in LONG time. Really.

The roasted butternut squash is so lovely alongside soft pillows of gnocchi, the kale lends a nice savory note, the walnuts give much needed texture, and the rosemary brown butter sauce wraps everything up in a warm, autumnal, and luscious hug. This is a great recipe for multi-tasking – while the butternut squash roasts in the oven, you can prep your veggies, cook your gnocchi, and make the rosemary brown butter sauce. So by the time the squash comes out of the oven, you’re ready to throw everything together and sit down for dinner within a few minutes.

Also, am I the only one who is just realizing how awesome pre-made/store-bought gnocchi is? I don’t know why, but I’ve never really cooked with it before, and now it’s going to be a staple on our weekly grocery list. Store-bought gnocchi (found in the pasta aisle) is shelf stable until you open the package, super affordable, and endlessly adaptable… winner winner pasta for dinner.

A few quick recipe tips:

• For the brown butter sauce, I think it’s fine to use salted OR unsalted butter. Technically, salted butter will get more “foamy” while it’s cooking and it’s a little harder to tell when it’s done browning, but I love salt and honestly I only buy salted butter (sorry not sorry), and it always turns out great. A note that if you do use unsalted butter, add about 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt to the skillet at the point in the recipe when you add the chopped rosemary and minced garlic to the browned butter.

• Another note for the brown butter sauce – in this recipe I use rosemary mainly because I have a TON growing right now, but sage is another classic tuscan herb that would be delish. Just sub with 1 tablespoon finely chopped sage.

• Don’t skip the fresh lemon juice to finish the recipe! This is a rich dish, and the lemon juice gives everything a bit of zip and heightens all the flavors.

Keep reading for the full recipes (and a handy 1-page PDF for easy printing).

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Butternut Squash & Kale Gnocchi with Rosemary Brown Butter

Serves 4