Peter Piper picked a lot of peppers.
A bounty of colorful peppers.
Hot Pepper Jelly. YUMMY
We joined CSA this Fall—Community Supported Agriculture. In case you are like me and this is a new term for you, when you participate in CSA you purchase a share of the farms crops. This purchase gives local farms the means to buy their seeds etc for the subsequent growing season, while you benefit from a weekly haul of produce and other products. It is a risk to purchase a share because there is no guarantee of a return, for instance, if the crops are bad or the weather is destructive. But it’s a cool thing to do because it supports local farmers. We need local farmers to thrive, now more than ever.
A Fall CSA is shorter than the spring/summer version. As you might imagine, the variety of possible produce is smaller too. That being said, this year we have gotten an abundance of food. Lots of end of summer corn, tomatoes and melon, winter squashes, pounds and pounds of potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage….and peppers. OH MY GOSH. So many peppers.
Because there was no possibility that the two of us could eat so many, we made a dozen or so jars of Hot Pepper Jelly. Have you ever had it? First of all, it’s easy to make. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be able to do it. Second…it is DELICIOUS. Sweet, hot, yummy with any kind of cheese (especially cream cheese).
I think we might try canning cranberry sauce next. Stay tuned.
Grateful.
This is the next-to-last week for my summer CSA. Every week my partner and I put on our masks and head to a local farm to pick up our share of fruits and vegetables. The farm also has a small farm stand, so also pick up other essentials, like local cheese, bread, eggs, beef (locally raised and processed), and chips—and as you can see in the back right of the picture, sometimes also apple fritters.
The farm stand requires masks and social distancing, and usually has only a handful of people anyway. This little local business has enabled us to always have fresh food during a period when we didn’t think we could because grocery shopping was too risky for us. I am grateful for them.
In this crazy, scary time, it’s hard to appreciate the things that aren’t so crazy. I’ve been thinking a lot about gratitude, and reminding myself to consciously be grateful. I am ever so grateful for my partner. I’m grateful for my skilled and understanding doctor. I’m grateful for my employer, and the care it is taking to make sure we’re safe and enabling me to have money to pay my bills.
And I appreciative of my readers who have been on this writing journey with me. Cheyenne also sends his gratitude. Along with a proposition, of course.
What are you grateful for?
