Critters, Culture, and Compost: Happy Lughnasadh!

The other day on Facebook, one of the pages I follow wished everyone a Happy Lughnasadh. I’d never heard of that one, so naturally I Googled it. Lughnasadh was/is a Gaelic festival traditionally held halfway between the summer solstice and autumnal equinox. It celebrates the start of the harvest season, the reality of which I’m currently living. 

Harvest. A word that typically conjures thoughts of cool temps, pumpkins and apples, hay rides and corn shocks. Right now, though, it means “what the heck do I do with all these zucchinis?!” and “Oh look, I have 500 more cucumbers ready.” Roadside stands/boxes/wheelbarrows can be found with various excess produce placed next to a sign that says “FREE.” 

My own kitchen is filled with a backlog of zucchini. My counter is covered in tomatoes and tomatillos, a couple peppers and onions. The basement already holds turnips, rutabagas, and a couple kohlrabi. My refrigerator is full of cucumbers. 

And those are the vegetables that aren’t processed yet! 

Having a garden, doesn’t matter how big or small, means living in tune with the seasons. For me, it means focusing less on man-made constructs of time and more on the natural cycle of the earth. Growing food not only feeds your body, but (in my oh so humble opinion) feeds your soul by connecting you to nature. And so, while it can be overwhelming and no short amount of work, I love the bounty of food that each late summer brings with it. I love putting up as much as I can before the frost returns, and feeding my family with homegrown produce through the cold months. 

Gardening is delayed gratification at its finest. 

What, pray tell, do you DO with all those vegetables, I imagine you’re asking. Already tomatoes have been cored, cooked down, seasoned if needed, stuffed into jars, and sterilized in a water bath canner. My daughter and nephew have helped make pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, and crushed tomatoes for soup and stews. I still need to turn tomatillos and a bunch of tomatoes into salsa. I’ll probably make a couple quarts of chili sauce too. I grow a lot of tomatoes.

Zucchini that’s not being sauteed is being baked into brownies and bread. Occasionally a loaf of bread will find its way to the freezer, but the brownies haven’t lasted that long yet. Extra green beans and sweet corn have been blanched and frozen. All those cucumbers will soon become pickles. The potatoes and other root veggies are good with cold storage in the basement. Hot peppers will be used for salsa, of course, but also hot sauces, spicy pickles, and BBQ sauce. 

I haven’t even had the chance to put up fruit yet, although those peaches and blueberries won’t be here much longer. 

So, if you have a garden, Happy Lughnasadh! And if you don’t, pick up some extra produce from a roadside stand (free or otherwise), stop into the Huss Project’s Fresh Food Initiative, hit up a farmer’s market or my personal favorite Corey Lake Orchards. Soak up the harvest and connect to Mother Nature. If you’re looking for a more immersive experience, I got plenty of weeding, harvesting, and canning over here for you. 

PS: Here’s the recipe for my current favorite way to use up those zucchinis — Flourless Zucchini Brownies. I used peanut butter and butterscotch chips. Double the recipe, they won’t last long. 

Amy East is a freelance copyeditor, wannabe homesteader, and recovering archaeologist living in Cass County. She loves her family, her menagerie of animals, and her garden, although depending on the day, the order of those may vary. 

---

Any views or opinions expressed in “Critters, Culture, & Compost” are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Watershed Voice staff or its board of directors.