Food For The Cold

As the temperature begins to drop at this time of year, my mealtime thoughts begin to turn towards warm, spicy food.  With our weather, Adrian has been seen tending the barbecue on the back porch during a seasonal downpour - but soups, stews, chili and other comfort foods made in the safety of the warm, well-lit kitchen (or happily pulled from the freezer) often feature prominently in our Fall and Winter dinners.

These temperatures outside also prompt a shift towards harvesting everything I can before I risk losing it to a sudden early frost or weeks of rainy days.  Yesterday was the first sunny day in a relatively long stretch.  The chickens were comically basking in the sunshine instead of huddling under cover, the bees were absolutely boiling about the hive, and the bunnies were napping, eyes contentedly closed between nibbles of alfalfa.  I was out there with my dad's old flannel vest to get some things tidied up and continue preparing the garden for some down-time.  I pulled the last of the dry bean plants to get them under cover before another round of rains turned *all* of them mouldy, planted more Winter Rye for the bunnies, pulled weeds, cleaned the cobwebs out of the rabbitry, re-applied Vaseline to the fruit tree barriers, and harvested all of the chard, celery leaf, oregano, sage, and tomatillos I needed to make a huge batch of chili.  The tomatoes that had ripened on the dining table, along with a generous helping of home-grown onions. dried vegetables and spices, and a selection of canned goods from our pantry went into a pot, and simmered into a delicious dinner and more servings for the freezer.

Of course, the tortilla chips with melted cheddar broiled on top helped round things out!