2 Year Old Carrots and Harvest begins

It's nearly 7 PM and my dear husband is still in the garden, tilling the parts that are ready for a winters rest. Dinner is on the stove and in the oven. There is nothing more local than a home garden.

In the over roasting are our 2 year old carrots - the same carrots I am harvesting seeds from to save and give away in the New Year. The same carrots that were surprised by an late autumn snow fall last year - the first snow that never went away. These were the funckiest looking things to clean, peel, and cut. Many had last years withered knot below the greens followed by a neon orange root from this growing year. Gnarly orange root stocks with catfish whisker like appendages. In a roasting pan ccompanying these nether world roots is the remainder of this years beets and three, yes only three were ready, provider bush beans. I was shocked to see those buggers still flowering to boot! On the stove I am simmering a stir fry using our own scallions, red and white onions, green peppers, and broccoli.

The only things in dinner not from our garden is the chicken, oil, and marinade. The chicken is not local but it is from the nearest Hannaford and I can only hope the chicken came from the nearest processing plant possible. To my surprise after digging it out of the depths of the jelly cabinet, the cashew ginger marinade is from Grey Maine! As for the oil, that is one of my questions and things to research - cooking oil. It is needed and I also need to make careful choices with it because cholesterol, heart disease and diabetes run in our collective families.

Which of the best choices of oil come from the most local sources? I am pretty darn sure olives don't grow in New England.

Tomato sauce is ready for the food mill this evening. More tomatoes are awaiting their simmering finale. I have no guage of how much tomato sauce our family can consume in one winter. I am sure there is still not enough to sustain us until next summer. I wonder if I should try to dehydrate some. Hmm... I need to go add Barbara Kafka to my bibiography - she's our goddess of high temperature roasting.