Having harvest fun: Fall festivals well underway and full of possibilities
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - We're fortunate here in western Pennsylvania to have a lot of farms in the area which are great for family getaways and this weekend, it looks like it will be perfect in the corn maze or the pumpkin patch or even a hayride.
There will also be plenty of great fall produce.
Pumpkins aren't just great for carving and apples are only limited by your imagination.
If fall has a trademark, it's the pumpkin, but it has plenty of cousins ready and waiting.
"We have everything from spaghetti squash, delicata squash pie pumpkins," said Amy Soergel.
Amy Sorgel said her family's orchard, Soergel's Orchards, has them in all in ever size, and they aren't just for decorating.
"They're so low in calories and so incredibly versatile," she said.
Nutritionist Leslie Bonci said to school out a pumpkin and blend it into a puree.
"That could go into a soup that could go into a stew, that could go into a chili, that could go into a taco mix, go into a sauce, whatever it is you want to do with - it even in a smoothie," she explained.
Bonci said pumpkin and squash can be utilized when chopped up into chunks.
"[It's] like doing like a stir fry with pumpkin and maybe some broccoli and adding some of those pumpkin seeds in there too for the crunch," she said.
Let's also not forget - Jonny Appleseed's descendants are everywhere.
"We have a really nice, strong apple crop," Soergel said.
"Things like the Macintosh tend to work really really well in a cooked application," Bonci said. "So, whether you're doing an apple sauce or an apple pie, or a baked apple type of a thing."
Thinking more savory, Bonci said to try a Granny Smith cooked with pork or to even just core an apple.
"Put some nuts [in], a little bit of Raisin in there, a little brown sugar or honey or maple syrup, whatever, you haven't just begun at the delicious dessert," she said.
Soergel said their apple orchard is available for the family to walk up to the top of the hill in Franklin Park and pick their own.
All the farms really pull out the stops for families to have their fun. They go by different names, but fall festivals are in high gear every day, especially on the weekends.
It's a great way to get the kids away from the electronics and enjoy some family fun.
