Fall and winter food plans w/ 9 Bean Rows share

October will end in a few hours. We had a monster of a windstorm last night and all our trees were left bare sticks. And this morning was the last outdoor farm market day *sniff* Whether I like it or not, winter is coming.

I'm always an avid canner and I try to use the freezer to store what I can't use right away from my vegetable garden but this year I'm really trying to cover all the bases. I have a freezer that includes not just my usual homemade pasta sauce, stocks and frozen vegetables but also major load of local meat. I spent more time drying herbs for tea and spicing. I have dried pumpkin from my garden, dried apples from our land and a batch of local shiitakes drying as we speak (to replace the tasty but slightly dubious Asian market ones I love). And for the first time I committed to a CSA share for the fall and winter.

Yes, I'm late to the CSA party but I was reluctant to give up the pleasure of market shopping and the freedom to not eat Swiss chard. But the damn good bread and allure of permaculture treats (as well as the H1N1 factor and not wanting to be out and about as much this coming winter) made me want to give 9 Bean Rows a try. Plus, as much as I would have loved to get a hoop house up and running this year on my new garden it just wasn't in the cards. So now I'm all set for the winter with someone else to do the work.

Pictured above is this week's haul: (clockwise from top) fingerling potatoes, French breakfast radishes, bread, chestnuts, onions, apples, carrots, lettuce mix and collards (with a garlic bulb hidden underneath). I roasted half of the chestnuts for a Halloween party last night and I'm nibbling on a bowl of hot ones right now. The onions, radish tops and collards are going in a coconut red curry and the carrots will be roasted with a chicken and some other root vegetables from my garden for two meals later this week. I've been dressing my salads with a cashew-tamari dressing though I might switch to apples and cheddar this week with mustard vinaigrette. The rest of the apples and radishes will be snacked on. Oh and don't bother asking about the bread, my son and husband circle like sharks to snatch it out of the box. Sometimes they leave me an end to eat with olive oil.

My load of beef and pork from Gallagher's Centennial Farm from a few weeks back,
John is seriously addicted to their burgers and I love their arm roasts as pot roast.
See that pile of squash and pumpkins behind the boxes? That's just part of the haul from my garden.

Happy Halloween!
I've been listening to this soundtrack all day, despite constant complaints from
the grumpkid to turn off the "crazy music". He should be thanking me for
not digging out my Magenta costume for this evening.