Tuesday, October 6, 2015

CSA Week 19 and Roasted Jerusalem Artichokes



I haven't been on here in a while. It's funny how time seems to just slip away.
One week I am meditating in Tobermory, the next I am back and working in the garden, amazed by how much food needs to be gathered and dealt with.
Honestly, I will say....it is the best of times. There is so much food, the weather is great to work in again, with the heat of the summer a memory.
But it is also the worst of times as my closest friend has been diagnosed with leukemia and is undergoing treatment. Chemo is tough. I've been through it with my mom and it is a worry. One of my friends said to me that in a hundred years people may look back on our cancer treatments of today as being primitive and I hope that is true. I hope it gets better for people struggling to get well.
I think about her a lot when I am in the garden. The garden is a place of peace for me, especially at this time of year.
The girls are both back in school, the conservation area down the road is closed up for the season and it is just quieter here.
I'm getting ready for the winter. 6 cords of wood are stacked and there has been the occasional fire in the wood stove on a chilly night.


I've dealt with some of the food that needs to be tucked away for the winter...squash, potatoes, onions, garlic, sweet potatoes and apples. Oh, the apples. I've made apple butter, applesauce, apple cider and am working on a brew of hard cider. Wish me luck.
I tried my hand at making soy milk too. Its easy and I have enough soybeans to keep me in soy milk for the whole year. My thing is though the soybeans are green, not your typical beige and the milk has a nice green tinge too. Mollie is not impressed. I told her I could also use my black soybeans. She was less impressed.
If you want to try your hand at making soy milk, I am happy to add soybeans to you CSA share next week. I'll tell you how to do it too.


I've still got lots of greens in the garden, carrots, beets, tons of peppers, still a few tomatoes, tomatillos, and other assorted small fruit. I am hoping for a good spell of sunny and warm to get all the beans dried. There's lots and lots. Some for seed and many more to eat as dried beans in the winter.
Today is the second to last delivery of the 2015 season.


Sometimes early in the season, I can carry multiple baskets at a time up to the drop off locations. Today it was one at a time. There was lots of food.
Squash, carrots, jerusalem artichokes, onions, thyme, parsley, chives, rosemary, sage, horseradish, watermelon, hot and sweet peppers, tomatoes, kale or chard and cut lettuce mix filled the baskets, boxes and the odd-assorted containers nicely.
The jerusalem artichokes are good in many ways. Mashed or fried and I have even been known to crunch on them raw. They have a nice distinctive and nutty flavour. Or perhaps roasted?


Roasted Jerusalem Artichokes
Scrub and cut chokes into bit sized pieces. Toss with olive oil, sea salt, onion or garlic and chopped thyme.
Layer on a baking sheet and roast them for 35 or so minutes at 350. Carrots are nice to add to this too.

Enjoy and we'll chat next week! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.