Thank you, Barbara

Inspired by Barbara Kingsolver, I am stocking our root cellar with local produce for the winter. Considering the fact that I actually have a root cellar and the fact that I was able to go to a farm and buy the produce amazes me. We definitely weren't at this point 2 years ago, physically or philosophically - though certainly working towards it.

We bought the book Root Cellaring by the Bubels on eBay once we knew we were moving to a place that had a root cellar. It is a great reference book - filled with information about vegetables and how to keep them, but it also gives specific instruction and options for those who do not have root cellars (which would probably be the majority of the population). It is possible to "put up food" in root cellar-like conditions without a root cellar - but it does take more work. Check out the book, if you're interested. It's great.

The farm I connected with is a vegetable growing operation that is the mainstay at several of the local farmers' markets - not in our town, but in my in-laws' town. In September, I started going and buying huge canvas bags of onions, potatoes, and fabulously large and totally gorgeous celery, when I realized: hey! I should be stocking up for the winter. Another DUH! Moment.

I was fearful that I was too late in the season, but I called the farmer and made an appointment for this past Thursday morning. It was great fun - Diego loved running around the gardens and commenting on the plants he recognized [and playing with their enormous yellow lab, Tigger] and I enjoyed walking around and seeing their operation. Nestled in our root cellar is now 90 lbs of potatoes, 20 lbs carrots, and 40 lbs onions. I also bought several cabbages, as I am total sucker for cole slaw and cabbage in soups. I would have liked more carrots, but that was the last of them. Serves me right for not getting on it sooner.

From our own garden, we also have a store of 15-20 buttercup squash upstairs from (they don't like root cellars); and several flats of green tomatoes, in addition to the green tomatoes still on the vines and hanging upside-down in our garage. [Thanks Sandy!] In the freezer, we've got 20 or so quarts of frozen tomatoes and 10-15 quarts of frozen chard and spinach; two quarts each of frozen raspberries and strawberries. There is still kale in the garden (delicious...love it) and there are three enormous bunches of celery in the freezer (so fragrant). And I have two of the three quarts of lard left.

It has been so much fun! I wouldn't say it has been too much work, either. In general, it has been a this-and-there job; prepping and storing the food when it is ripe. It is so satisfying to know that we have stores of food on hand; it also makes grocery shopping so much less of a chore. It has definitely been a several-year journey to get to this point - I am so excited to see where we are at a few years from now.

I'll close with a funny note on our raspberries. We planted two raspberries last fall and three this spring/summer, so they are still very immature and generally not producing; however, two of them grew berries this fall and we have harvested -- get this -- a total of 15-20 berries over the past two weeks. It ain't many, but they are so vibrantly delicious that I get the happy shivers just thinking of their future. Both boys love to go out and check to see if there are any red berries available - Truen flaps his arms and looks very focused at getting at the bush, and Diego will search the plant to see if there are any "wipe berwies".