The Most Wonderful Produce of the Year
Roasted veg + big bubbling pots - what more could you want?
Over last weekend my husband and I were on vacation in Chicago, which was a lovely way to spend the long weekend. We had never been there and done touristy things together so it was just what the doctor ordered! We went to museums, ate at fancy restaurants and cheap places, walked a lot, lounged in the hotel bed with TV, and went on an architecture tour! Here are a few of the food highlights specifically:
We got back from the trip late Sunday night so we didn’t get to do our normal prep for the week, so it’s been a weird food week in our house. We’ve been relying on our freezer for meals - thank you past me for freezing leftovers knowing we would use them in the future! Our friend picked up our fall CSA for us and split it with us, so it’s been a comfort to know we have veggies stocked in our fridge without the stress of having to go to the grocery store after work. I’m so eager to dig deeper into fall seasonal cooking in the coming weeks now that life is slowing down a little for me - thank goodness! This month has been too much in too many ways!
Also, I made sort of a depraved but delicious dinner this week that I want to tell you about. I felt so sick on Tuesday that nothing sounded good to eat. I had seen on Sohla El-Waylyy’s Instagram stories that she has been eating savory oatmeals for breakfast and THAT sounded good. So I made soft boiled eggs, oatmeal with chicken broth, and topped it with a drizzle of soy sauce, sesame oil, chili oil, cilantro, and sesame seeds. It was so salty and yummy but it felt strange eating oatmeal in this way, and not with maple syrup and peanut butter (my usual). 8/10 - would make again!
October Produce Storage
This is my favorite food time of year. I’m a winter season lover, but I really LOVE fall produce. There are usually some late summer holdouts like cilantro and tomatoes plus the return of early summer veg like fennel and broccoli. But the most momentous moments of the fall for me are the first butternut squash soup (which I haven’t had a chance to make yet) and the first taste of leeks sautéed in butter.
As we move into the rest of the “-ber” months (October, November, December), there will be more tips and tricks I have for prolonging the life of root and storage veggies. For now though, there are only a few new and notable foods to focus on.
Our fall CSA is a month underway, and we have gotten two boxes so far. We get one box every two weeks and we didn’t even get through all the veggies from our early October box before our mid-October box came. The wonderful thing about getting the CSA though is that the veggies are still fresh as ever from early October. Sometimes the veggies you buy at the store have been picked, transported by truck, and have sat in a freezer or fridge for weeks (and sometimes months depending on the store and veg)! This is part of why our CSA veggies last so long, along with smart storage.
A week and a half ago, we got the following in our fall CSA box: bell peppers, broccoli, carrots, cherry tomatoes, cilantro, collards, fennel, garlic, jalapeño peppers, kale, leeks, onions, potatoes, shishito peppers, and tomatoes.
Here is how I store the new-to-the-season veggies to extend their shelf life:
Leeks - Ziptop bag
Shishito peppers - Ziptop bag with a paper towel to absorb moisture. Our shishito peppers from a MONTH ago are still good to eat alongside the new ones from a week and a half ago!
If you’re curious about how to store other kinds of produce, you can read my previous newsletters here: early summer produce, mid-summer produce, end of summer produce, and early fall produce.
Deep Autumn Meal Planning + Weekend Kitchen Projects
These lunches and dinners are truly where I thrive in the kitchen. I like the spring and summer meals enough and definitely have favorites, but these hearty meals are where I feel most at home while in the kitchen. October has been an impossibly busy month so there are also a lot of weekend kitchen projects I had to get done to preserve our veggies and prep for our weeks ahead. It’s a lot of work but it was a very pleasant and sacred way to spend an afternoon or two!
Saturday lunch: Veggie hash & eggs
uses, bell peppers, carrots, kale, onions, and potatoes
Saturday dinner: Turkey burgers & shishito peppers
uses onions on the burgers and shishito peppers
Sunday dinner: Spaghetti & meatballs
uses onions and tomatoes
Monday dinner: Roasted veggie bowls
uses carrots, fennel, and onions
Tuesday dinner: Pan roasted chicken, carrots, & mashed potatoes
uses carrots and potatoes - we have A LOT of them so we need to use them up!
Wednesday dinner: Nachos
uses jalapeño peppers and onions
As usual, all our kale is stripped from the stems and goes right into the freezer for use throughout the winter, the tomatoes also go straight into the freezer to be thawed and peeled for sauce.
Weekend Kitchen Projects
I had a lot going on food-wise this weekend. It was both a lot of work and very rewarding. Here is what I tackled:
Friday night post work and Costco run:
Defrosted 6 gallon bags of tomatoes to prepare them for sauce making on Saturday
Took out the sourdough starter from the fridge to wake it up and fed it to bake bread on Sunday
Saturday afternoon:
Made a big batch of tomato sauce to freeze in souper cubes for the winter. I kept the flavors neutral so we could use it for pasta, pizza sauce, chili, and curries.
Pickled jalapeños for the next three months to use on tacos, quesadillas, and in chili.
Made pumpkin bread in the bread machine for breakfasts.
Fridge and freezer audit to assess what we have, what we need to toss, and what we need to use quickly.
Sunday morning:
Baked bread for breakfasts, sandwiches, and to have with dinners this week.
I hope the dinners you have this week are as nourishing and full of fall flavor to celebrate the best produce season of the year! 🍂
Things I Like
Mini pickle galettes! Who is coming over?
Prepping my winter craft materials: air dry clay, yarn, rubber stamp carving kit - your girl is ready for hibernation season!
This post from Lord Cowboy that pushes what community means, and what we can do for each other.
In case you missed it, my interview with Kel is live over on their Substack! Read it here.
Watching so many current episodes of Real Housewives! I am rich in rich lady content.
May your week be gentle and may you eat well. 🌲🥣