Whenever there is a disaster, the paper calls to ask about the damage – to quote Geraldo (and this will be the one and only time) a house that is not on fire is not a story. Well, the object is to be truthful, not lament the losses, but focus on what is good. So, yes, we have sustained some serious damage to the farm, and it IS depressing—economically and emotionally. HOWEVER, the corn that didn’t get flattened is amazing and the peaches and apples seem to have held up and are sweet and juicy and everything you would want in a fruit. With the exception of the melons, the low plants seem to have fared the best. The tables are groaning with a beautiful assortment of peppers and eggplants and beans. There are lots of other wonderful successes and these are the good things we shall remain focused on. Thank you for all of your well wishes.
Fall brings the best apples, sweetest greens and biggest corn. It is a great time of year. We should see cabbages soon and how I wish there was a way to preserve the beautiful lettuce we are harvesting. Hopefully the carrots will come along now, and some of you may be seeing celeriac, an ugly but tasty root that has celery leaves on top. The root is the main food part, as the leaves are very tough, fine for soup, though. I love it roasted along with a few potatoes.
It’s a good week for fruit crisp:)
Farm Dirt
Hurricanes stink. OK, got that one out of the way.
Adorable baby bunny brought in by the cat
This week I will try to get the beans and salsa put by. I always think of my friend Stephanie telling me of her mother in law putting peaches by. Apparently, one day her husband returned from market with bushel baskets full of peaches so ripe that the next day they would be spoiling. She started to prepare them and Stephanie went to bed, she was quite pregnant, if I am telling the story correctly. Anyway, the next morning all the peaches were “put by”. This was with a wood cook stove and none of the easy conveniences today. I think Stephanie told me that the summer she lived there, she counted 2500 quarts of food in the cellar. AMAZING. I try to think of this whenever I am dragging my feet about freezing beans of canning tomatoes. I don’t even need to keep a fire going! Having said that, there is little else better than pulling your preserved food off the shelf or out of the freezer and serving it up. It sustains ones body and soul.
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