Lori, Neils and working members have been busy buttoning up Harvest House Farm for the winter. Tomatillas, tomatoes and peppers were just harvested from the hoop houses. Nick just came in with two handfuls of fresh eggs. The pumpkins, in their assorted shapes, sizes and colors, have been brought in from the field. As a working member who has helped with Thursday harvests, it's hard to imagine our season is over already.
I'm learning a little something about food after four years at the farm helping out on harvest days! I laugh when I think back to Lori asking me to go out and harvest a particular vegetable. I looked quizzically at a fellow working member asking, "What does it look like?!" Kohlrabi, fennel, lemon balm... I finally convinced myself I could eat a flower and have come to love the peppery taste of nasturtium in my salads. Every week, especially toward the end of the season when our share bags are overflowing, we are challenged to learn to use food we might not normally purchase at the grocery store. I've taken the time to can salsa, have made killer tomatilla sauce, recently froze corn fresh off the cob (Okay, I did overcook it by getting distracted, but it will still taste great in something this winter.) and have come to love my food processor that slices and shreds at a push of a button in just seconds.
I hope the rest of you have learned something practical about food as you've enjoyed your garden share each week. I'm reclaiming some more space in my refrigerator as the last of the vegetables are being eaten. (Most of the science projects have been cleaned up.) And, I look forward to taking on a new vegetable next summer!
