October 5, 2022
After posting last week’s
essay, my husband and I set off, having decided that the time was right to complete
one item on our autumn check list: veggies down for the winter.
There’s a farm-market place
outside of town, one that we’ve frequented for years. Some of the produce is grown
by the family that runs the store. But some is brought in from other farms, all
within this province.
My vegetables of choice for this
final round of preserving: green beans and more squash—butternut squash this
time. This is our favored squash for soup, and the goal was to have some put
down for the dinner table and some for the soup pot.
The green beans looked very
good. They were a nice dark green, slender and fresh and straight. Thursday
afternoon, after my writing was done for the day, I processed the four quarts of
beans we purchased, netting eight bags which translates to 8 meals. Added to
the five bags we froze from our own garden we now have beans aplenty ready to
be included in any winter menu.
And while we only purchased 4
large butternut squash (we grabbed up 8 of the acorn), I believe four would be sufficient.
David was kind enough to chop them because I just don’t have the strength in my
hands these days to do that myself. In all, we had 34 cups of raw squash cubes
which turned into 26 cups of processed for the freezer—ten bags of two cups,
and two bags of three.
I do know that one doesn’t
need to blanch this squash; you can freeze it raw, by laying out a layer of
chopped pieces on a tray covered in parchment, and then setting the tray in the
freezer until the veggie is frozen. Once solid, you simply place the pieces
into a larger zipper bag.
I’ve embraced this preparation,
but my freezer was too full to do that. Maybe I’ll try that next year? If I can
remember to try it, which interpreted means I should not load my freezer so
full, so early in the harvest time.
Sunday saw one more fairly
recent tradition here in the Ashbury household. Sunday last was cabbage roll
day. Fortunately, I am the sous chef for this event. My daughter loves making
cabbage rolls. I thought that might be a thing of the past when, two years ago,
she gave up meat. But no, she can use her plant-based burger meat in her own portion
of rolls, and good old fashioned hamburger in the rest of them.
She bought two large cabbages
this year. There are a few clients my daughter sees, as a PSW working in the
community, as well as a friend who used to be a client. These women who she
visits on a regular basis don’t get a lot of home-cooking brought to them.
Because that is so, when we are having what one would consider “comfort food”,
like a pot roast, or a beef stew, or cabbage rolls, Jenny always sees to it
there’s enough to share with these ladies.
Our daughter has a very good
heart and is a generous soul. Her attitude when it comes to people is simple
enough that everyone can emulate it: if I can help, I help. Since that is an attitude
that I’ve always shown, my heart is full of gratitude. And speaking of being
grateful….
Next Monday is Thanksgiving
Day, here in Canada. I’m grateful for what I have, and what I can do to help
others. And I am especially grateful for my readers—both the readers of my
essays and those who read my books.
I hope my words give you, the
reader, distraction, comfort, or thought. In other words, I hope they help,
even if it’s only in a small way.
Love,
Morgan
http://bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury
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