10/30/2019
Dear Farm Journal,
As the growing season narrows to an end, it’s time to focus on storage items. Most of the crops have been brought in and I arrange them all according to their required storage temperatures; potatoes, onions, winter squash, apples, carrots, cabbage, beauty heart radishes, cauliflower, broccoli, beets, brussels sprouts, garlic. They all have their place. While I rearrange the pack shed and cooler, I see that the tomatoes, tomatillos, and peppers of summer have started to fade, and a good portion of them go to the compost. I think about the time clock on all of these items, hoping they will last. Once everything is in it’s desired storage area, I take some of the number twos to the house to process for ourselves. I blanch and freeze bags of broccoli and cauliflower. Cheesy cauliflower bake is one of my winter favorites, always a hit at parties. Then I bake and puree delicata squash, looking forward to a creamy squash soup during a cold snap. This season, I have come to really love these afternoons in the kitchen, chopping, baking, blending, and packaging a portion of our winter food supply. It makes me feel decidedly sustainable and grown up.
~Joy