The End of a Season

Forget the actual calendar date, it's safe to say that in my little world, it's officially Fall now. As many of you know I started my first (real) garden this year; a hodge-podge little thing that I didn't initially have very high expectations of turned into a full-on mecca for squash and tomatoes. I'm sad to say I didn't preserve nearly as many tomatoes as my over-ambitious heart had set on, but I've got plenty in my freezer and a counter full of green tomatoes to experiment with.

True to form, this little experiment has driven me to (you guessed it) yet another ambitious goal of providing my own produce for the year from my garden/local farms. I don't think I can adequately describe how much peace it brings my heart to work in my garden and, through that labor or love, if I can provide something good for my family, it just makes my heart all the happier.

Experiencing the joys of harvesting food from the seeds I've sown has also brought a whole new dimension of closeness to the Lord for me; not only is my garden a place where I can block out the 826 things that would otherwise be occupying my mind, but I always find myself both praising the Lord for the work He's done in my garden and really genuinely feeling in His presence. Now that I've taken the final harvest from my humble little garden, I'll admit I'm experiencing some pangs of loss--regret that I didn't plant more, grow more. I'm also going through withdrawals since our Farmer's Market has already had it's last day.

How will I ever survive the winter? It's frozen vegetables for me. After reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver I feel an amazing amount of contempt/guilt/disgust (with myself) when purchasing produce from the grocery store; not only am I not supporting local businesses, I'm eating fruits and veggies that have had to make the trek from places like Mexico, South America and occasionally New Zealand. That's a lot of fuel for a few tomatoes that have been bred to hold up to rough travel with their thick skins and pale, mealy interiors. Don't even get me started on bananas or the fact that I can't stop eating them. (My overly ambitious side is looking into a banana tree...seriously)

Anyway, this year I'm making the choice to weather the winter with frozen veggies because their taste and texture is already compromised anyway, but the nutritional value is higher. Vegetables and fruits that are frozen (in most cases) are allowed to ripen on the plant and are then flash frozen. Fresh produce is picked before it has reached it's full ripeness and is intended to ripen in transit, depriving it of nutrients it would have otherwise had remaining on the plant.

I don't know why God has put it on my heart to be so consumed by what foods I put in my family's bodies, but it's an obsession. I hope it's one that will produce fruitful (pun intended) results--that I will be able to bless my family and friends with food that will nourish their bodies in the best way possible.

I'll let you know next August, when I'm covered in tomato guts, whether I really think this is a good idea.