My biggest regret about this gardening season is that I didn’t cook more. As you’ve probably already discovered if you are endeavoring to eat more local and seasonal food, cooking fresh and cooking fast are often mutually exclusive. continued »
This garden year has been one full of surprises, and I’m certain we’re not done yet! The morning’s shock was lurking under our dead and blackened squash leaves, which I was rifling through to find the few fruits I thought might have survived the frost. To my great delight I found dozens of colorful ripe Carnival squash that I didn’t think had made it out of the blossom stage. But there they were, and here they are. They must have been hardening up for weeks, hiding there beneath the monstrous canopy of vines. Here’s what else is in the box: continued »
Last week we had three frosts but it was the last one that really counted. A “killing frost” is what the forecast warned and that is what we got. continued »
Right about in the middle of every week, I experience a flutter of nerves that we’re not going to have any produce to put in the CSA boxes. Of course, harvest day comes and we always have way too much. Our boxes are twice the size they should be and a customer last week mentioned something about “vegetable fatigue.” Oh, well. I recall having these same apprehensions when I was a newspaper reporter. Every time I turned in a feature, a bigger piece that required more effort than the typical town-board-type story, I was pretty convinced it was the last one I’d ever be able to write. I’m not sure what this particular neurosis is, but right now the cure for it is nasturtiums. continued »
This morning we woke up to a gorgeous, sunny, CRISP fall day. The grass on the back acres was laced with white frost and we actually had ice on the windshields of the cars. Beautiful. It sent me into a panic. continued »
Today we made the first woodstove fire of the season. OK, I was jumping the gun a teeny-weeny little bit, but the chilly rain made field harvesting a dreadful chore this morning and when I came in this afternoon, I wanted a bath and a fire. Got both. And then I wanted soup. This super savory dish comes from my friend JD Ball, with whom I work at another local organic farm. We pass the cold mornings and sweltering afternoons in field and greenhouse by talking about food. He’s a great cook and fearlessly experimental eater. Right now he’s into fermented stuff, but this is just straight-up hearty fall feasting. Of course, now that the fire’s roaring and soup’s on, I’m in a tank top! continued »
Big ole’ Honeybun is most definitely comfortable now in her role as the mascot of my Summer Kitchen Dye Studio (the gussied-up name for my garage workspace equipped with an old stove, an old washer and a slew of shelves full of wool fleeces). continued »
Except for the fact that it’s been in the high 80s all week, it’s really starting to look and feel like autumn here in our pretty valley. The bees are out in force, the pumpkins are oranging-up and the neighbors have had us over to pick and press Paula Red apples. I had to clean fallen tree leaves off the salad mix before I harvested it this morning! continued »
