Sunflower growers seeking alternative markets | Black Watermelon Seeds

Boscawen resident Steven Geddes set the record for second-largest pumpkin in the world at the Deerfield Fair in late September, weighing in at a whopping 2,528 pounds. Courtesy photo

Chef Brandon Gauthier and his wife and house manager Victoria Gauthier with their children Jackson, 5, and Elijah, 2, at Confluence.(Photo: Patrick Breen/The Republic)

The record-breaking, cream-colored monstrosity checked in at a plump 2,528 pounds Thursday night, with the pumpkin resting on a pallet and the numbers registering on a digital readout. Geddes’s creation is the second heaviest pumpkin ever grown in the world, a mere 96 pounds less than the giant produced in Belgium in 2012.

Dozens of food world luminaries answered the call, with plenty of responses that delighted us as fellow food lovers, plus a few that genuinely surprised us. The only restaurant that showed up more than once, actually made the list three times. Looks like we all need to make plans to go to Blue Hill Stone Barns next time we’re ready for a splurge in upstate New York. On the less-pricey end of the spectrum, Uproxx-fav Tocabe was the only fast-casual place in the United States to get a nod.

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“It’s just because I had exposure,” says Moko, quick to come to Omar’s defense about his late-blooming kitchen skills. She grew up in San Francisco with a mother whose passion was French pastry, and Moko was, therefore, “making cream puffs at, like, 10.” Today, her crispy-on-the-outside, doughy-on-the-inside cookies, hand-rolled with deeply flavorful ingredients such as Italian hazelnuts or 70 percent German dark chocolate, are gaining a reputation for being the best in town, while Omar’s savory dishes—like creamy labneh whipped with minerally, fruity olive oil from Puglia and sprinkled with za’atar—cause even the French to put down their utensils and clean the bowl with their fingers.

Down six winding flights of stairs, across the street, and onto rue Faidherbe, the quartier’s main thoroughfare—with its poppy-themed florist, organic and biodynamic market, local post office, and neighborhood record shop—I take a quick left on the narrow, cobblestoned rue du Dahomey and another onto rue Saint-Bernard. I could do the four-minute walk in this far east section of the 11th arrondissement—my home for the past two years—with my eyes closed and still land precisely on the chocolate-meets-caramelizing-onions-scented doorstop of 5 rue Saint-Bernard.

We’re serving it with a seasonal gratin – sprouts and chestnuts, a classic pairing, beefed up with nutty borlotti beans and earthy sage. If you like, you can fry some extra sage leaves as we did to garnish the top: heat a little oil in a pan, add the sage and fry for a minute or so, until they crisp up (they become slightly darker once done). Drain on kitchen paper and scatter over the top of the gratin.

Arvada & Lakewood While most kids erect lemonade stands in their front yards, Kelly Conley’s and Ginny Kooyman’s children are more likely to be found selling scones and other treats that their mothers bake each week for their four-month-old CFA bakery, Counter Currant. Arvada-based Conley and Kooyman, a Lakewood resident, first crossed paths five years ago at a home-school meetup, where they bonded over their shared love of all things DIY—including baking. “Now we just bake a lot more,” Kooyman says. “[Counter Currant] gives both of us the flexibility to work on a level that works for us.” Their selections—apple pies, pear tarts, sticky fig cake, chocolate shortbread—change weekly, often star local produce, and there are always gluten-free options available. The mamas’ can-do venture is even inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs: Kooyman’s 13- and 11-year-olds and Conley’s 12-year-old are teaming up to launch a CFA-certified granola line this month.How To Buy: Weekly menus can be found via @counter.currant’s Instagram account; prices range from $6 for two croissants to $27 for a 10-inch pie. Order online by Thursday for Saturday pickup in Lakewood or Arvada.

We lucked out with 4th place at Damariscotta Pumpkinfest.  Our biggest pumpkin in 2018 weighed 1368.5 lbs.  It’s the 3rd biggest pumpkin our family has grown.

Cold-water fatty fish, including herring, sardines, and salmon, may benefit the skin, as they are abundant sources of omega-3 fatty acids.

For every drink I pour, there has to be something to eat. It is a rule, a way of life. Thin slices of jamón ibérico with a tiny glass of sherry, some curls of gravlax with frivolous bubbles, and maybe something along the lines of a punch with plump, parmesan-crusted muffins.