I know I told you we said goodbye to our CSA members two weeks ago. But then we had this “problem.” After the CSA ended on October 18th, our basement storage was still packed full of onions and potatoes (I’m talking hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of pounds of fully cured storage beauties) and our fields were still filled with the root vegetables we’d planted in an early August panic when we realized our winter squash was going to have serious disease issues. It appeared we had overcompensated. And even after loading our CSA members up with bright orange carrots, radiant purple daikon (my personal fave), beets, celeriac, onions, shallots, potatoes, and purple top turnip, we were seriously overloaded with bounty.

It’s not a bad problem to have. We’re keeping our home basement stocked with goodies that seriously should last us through at least the end of January (!!!!) and probably beyond. But there was still more. More than we could possibly eat (even over the deep dark slumber of a Wisconsin winter). More than we could sell to restaurants. More than we could handle. So we decided at the last minute to do something we had never done before: offer a one-time only fall storage box to our local supporters.

It was a hit. Everything I ever imaged a fall share to be! The eating is completely different than peak summer, but abundant still to be sure. The response to our first foray into selling storage crops was a wild success and it feels good to end a season that had some serious emotional struggles on such a high note.

The goodies in the basement are honestly only the half of it. We’ve never had so many veggies heading into the winter months and it feels good. Almost safe. Comforting and cozy in a way that only someone who produces their own food for six months out of the year can understand.

Alongside the basement full of onions, potatoes, garlic, shallots and butternut squash, we’ve got 52 jars of charred salsa on the shelves, Our fridge is packed full of more perishable items that were harvested before the first frost (scallions, spinach, arugula, broccoli) and roots that will store in there for months.

And the freezer. The freezer is a whole story in itself. Bins packed with pork and beef from my parents’ farm sit beside beautiful stewing hens that were a gift from my dear friend Vanessa and venison from the deer Kyle killed himself last fall. All of this takes up about half the space. The rest is packed with even more produce: frozen berries in mason jars, box after box of Michigan blueberries, spinach in bags, colorful peppers, whole tomatoes and piles of chopped broccoli for our desert tortoise Norman.

I’m enormously grateful for the abundance this time of year and keeping most meals simple. With a laser focus on developing systems and improvements for the 2018 season, an ambitious winter reading list, and more day trips and vacations with the people I love than most people would find realistic, there isn’t a lot of time left in the kitchen. And that’s okay with me. I’m still playing with my food but trying to do it while also only getting one or two bowls dirty. Eating good food is still at the center of everything I do but it’s with a new approach: a good balance of nourishment without total consumption.

I’m excited to share some of my favorite quick meals with you all over the upcoming months. I have a backlog of delicious recipes that will leave your belly full and your schedule open. So unbury that crock pot, grab your roasting pans and get ready for a meal that is as simple as it is delicious.

All my well-nourished fall love,
Your Leek

P.S. I’m presenting at a farmer conference for the first time in a month! Come listen to me babble about CSA!

P.P.S. Meal planning is back and here’s what we’re eating this week:

• • Buffalo chicken wings with carrot sticks and roasted brussels ala Dishing Up the Dirt. Is it obvious that the Packers are playing Monday night football?
  • Fried rice with red cabbage, peppers, scallions, purple daikon and a generous helping of the most beautiful kimchi I’ve ever seen made by friend and employee Natalie
  • More Andrea Bemis classics: Sesame Noodle Bowl with Lemongrass Pork Meatballs
  • The most lovely simple Curried Butternut Squash Soup ala Minimalist Baker

PORK CARNITAS WITH ROASTED VEGGIES 
If our brussels sprout crop wasn’t such a disappointment, I would have used lots more brussels and no broccoli but alas we have heaps of broccoli and limited quantities of brussels so this is what our roasting mix looks like these days.
This recipe makes a lot of pork and a lot of veggies so it’s plenty for a meal for several days. We’ve been known to also make a big ol’ batch of brown butter mashed potatoes and eat on this all week long. If it’s more meat than your family usually eats in a week (or you get sick of repeat leftovers) just throw half the pork in the freezer so it’s ready whenever you’re short on time.

Serves 6-8
Takes 8 hours inactive time, 30 minutes active time