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Wrapping Up the Growing Season

Posted at 11:54 AM on October 9, 2008 by Autumn Long (7 Comments)

Temperatures are dropping, the nights are growing longer, and the forests are swathed in glorious hues of gold, orange, and red. My titular season has arrived in all its splendor! It's time to clean up the gardens and wrap up the canning season. We've been chipping away at end-of-season chores little by little, but various other projects and unexpected incidents have taken precedence. We managed to stay somewhat ahead of the curve on firewood this year (for a change), and it is so satisfying to see all that dry wood neatly split, stacked, and ready to burn. I'm looking forward to cooking on the woodstove again.

Much work remains to tuck in the gardens, and ourselves, for the onset of winter. The majority of the potatoes still need to be dug, as well as the sweet potatoes. Soon we'll need to sow a winter cover drop and plant next year's garlic. I've been pulling old tomato plants a few at a time, but many remain in the ground, their brown, shriveled, drooping skeletons a rather forlorn sight. I'm savoring the last fresh tomatoes of the year before heavy frosts end their seasonal reign. The peppers, of course, are still booming. Hot sauce and hot-pepper mustard will cap my canning season this fall. Yesterday I canned apple-pie filling and pickled Hungarian wax peppers. Our diet is hovering on the cusp of summer and fall seasonal foods; we're still eating tomatoes, as I mentioned, and summer squash, amazingly enough. But the cool evenings turn my thoughts toward hardy soups and stews, slow-baked pot roasts with root vegetables, and warm, crusty bread fresh from the oven.

Wishing everyone a pleasantly crisp and cozy autumn...

Comments (7)

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Hi Autumn,

Hot pepper mustard? Will you share your recipe? I have been drying, pickling, canning and freezing for weeks, with a few frost nips to hurry me along in the cold end of the garden. Tonight is predicted to be 35, possible snow tomorrow and freezing for sure by this weekend, so a new hot pepper recipe would be wonderful!

I feel warmer already.

Kathy

Posted by Kathy | October 9, 2008 4:11 PM

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My acorn squash which grew from composted scraps is indeed true acorn squash and full of flavor. I recently roasted wedges of an acorn squash with carrots, potatoes,turnips and garlic on a bed of fresh sage and thyme. So simple and a great way to use that one turnip or handful of carrots left in the vegetable bin.

Posted by Pat Brannon | October 10, 2008 9:01 PM

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WOW! the season is coming to an end. i have really enjoyed your blogs. I am so impressed with all that you manage to do. My dream has been to become self sufficient and after getting down the basics this past summer I have realized how much work it is. producing your own food for a family is a very daunting task. i give you a ton of credit. i sure hope that you manage to do this blogging thing next year. good luck to you!

Posted by megan | October 12, 2008 8:05 PM

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Kathy, Pat, and Megan, thank you for your comments. I really appreciate all the folks who have been reading this blog, offering suggestions and encouragement, and generally supporting the cause of local foods.
Kathy, I am going to get you that hot pepper mustard recipe, I really am...as soon as I can remember to find the recipe, bring it to the computer, and type it up. It won't be long now, I promise!
Pat, congrats on the compost-grown acorn squash! What a tasty surprise, eh? Roasted root vegetables really make me feel warm and cozy this time of year. Enjoy!
Megan, thank you so much for your kind words. It's great to know that you are on the self-sufficiency bandwagon as well! Doesn't it feel great? Good luck in all your endeavors. I don't know what the future of this particular Locavore Nation project will be (honestly, I feel like it has lost steam in a lot of ways, although I've been trying to keep up with my weekly blog posts), but you can rest assured that I am committed to the ideal of a local and sustainable diet as a lifelong pursuit. I do hope to keep up some type of communication with fellow bloggers and readers. We'll see what happens in the next few months as this year wraps up.
Thanks again for all your support and wisdom,
Autumn

Posted by Autumn Long | October 14, 2008 12:42 PM

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Okay Kathy, as promised, here's that hot-pepper mustard recipe. Better late than never, right?...
This is my late grandmother's recipe, so first I'll share it exactly as she made it.

--1 qt plain yellow prepared mustard
--30 banana peppers
--several jalapeno or habanero peppers (to taste)
--5 cups sugar
--1 qt cider vinegar (divided)
--1 1/2 cups flour

Cook sugar, half the vinegar, and mustard in a large saucepan until simmering. Meanwhile, chop peppers finely in a food processor with half the remaining vinegar. Blend flour with the rest of the vinegar to make a paste. Add the pepper and flour mixtures to the cooked mustard. Cook until thickened. Cold pack into sterile pint or half-pint jars. Makes 7 pints.

As you can see, this recipe is very simple. It's delicious as is, but it cries out for experimentation. I like a lot of spice, so I usually make it with mostly or all jalapenos and habeneros, and maybe some Hungarian wax peppers if I have a few laying around. Be sure to remove the seeds from the really hot peppers before chopping them. I probably add more peppers than the recipe calls for, too; at any rate, I usually make a double batch. Also, I cut back somewhat on the sugar. It's all according to taste! I think this recipe would also be great with some added horseradish, or maybe some garlic... The possibilities are endless! One more note: Be sure not to boil the mustard too long, or it will get too thick. It might seem kind of runny while hot in the pan, but it will thicken as it cools off in the jars.

Happy cooking!
Autumn

Posted by Autumn Long | October 17, 2008 4:12 PM

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Thanks, Autumn

I will definitely try this recipe. My whole family loves mustard, all of us have at least 5 kinds in the fridge at any time. Your dill pickled peppers are wonderful, a permanent addition to my annual end of season pepperfest.

Check out Cher's Farm Journal Tomato Butter. I made it and it is great!

Posted by Kathy | October 21, 2008 10:28 PM

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Glad you like the pickled peppers, Kathy. Good luck with your late-season processing!
Cheers,
Autumn

Posted by Autumn Long | October 23, 2008 2:37 PM