A few weeks ago I made a post and referenced two articles on Mother Earth News about eating with the seasons and storing foods for the winter. Here's a little update on what we've been doing to put some food up for winter.
First, we've been eating all of the fresh produce we can so that we do not dip into our winter stores. That means right now we're still eating a lot of salad greens, tomatoes, summer squash/zucchini, eggplant, and peppers. Even though we have potatoes, winter squash, and kohlrabi we're saving those for later.
Aside from our CSA, I've been supplementing our produce with stops at another local farmer's stand on Rt 11, just North of Chambersburg (near Green Village if you know where that is).Map of 2891 Philadelphia Ave Chambersburg, PA 17201-7904, US The address is actually for McDonald's which is across the road, but it'll get you there. They have a very nice selection -- not organic, but still local. Their farm is near Path Valley. I've been stopping every week and buying butternut squash, acorn squash, spaghetti squash, and apples.
I also stopped today at Shatzer's fruit stand on Rt 30 West (between Chambersburg and St. Thomas). I posted a map to their location in a post a month or two ago. Their apples are a little cheaper and better quality I think. While they are not organic, they also do not spray indiscriminately. Today they had several varieties of apples, pears, winter squash, pumpkins, cider, apple butter, honey, and a few other things I've forgotten.
Most produce needs cool temperatures for storage. Exact temperature requirements vary as do requirements for humidity, but it's not rocket science. See those articles I referenced for more info. If I get time, I'll post a little more later about storage ideas since most people don't have root cellars anymore.
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My wife and I have been doing much the same thing, since reading "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle." I also needed to make some dietary changes for health reasons -- I was overweight and not feeling, well, right for some time, despite what I thought was a healthy diet according to most guidelines. Long story short, this summer has been spent feasting out of farmer's markets and local orchards, and we just signed up with a local CSA and started sourcing our dairy, meat, and eggs from local farms.
I have that copy of Mother Earth, and it is a good overview. We did a little canning and freezing, and next year will probably do much more. I've talked to co-workers and friends who are now moving in the same directions (buy local, eat in season, put up for the winter), and suddenly there's this whole "canning chic" where such a practice used to seem like some quaint holdover from Grandma's times...
Whatever you want to call this movement -- real food, traditional food, unprocessed food, slow food -- it's taking hold, in a big way. I think we've only seen the tip of the iceberg, and when it hits, well... IMO, there's gonna be a revolution, folks.
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