I’m wondering if I might be able to preserve enough of the harvest to easily manage the Dark Days Eat Local Challenge this winter. Perhaps I could even eat three entirely locally-sourced meals a week this winter, not just the one per week required of those taking the Challenge.

Last week I started thinking about pickling some of the bazillion cucumbers I’m growing. I went in search of my canning equipment. Hidden in a mason jar box were lime pickles I’d made in 2005. As with a number of other foods, I have fond associations with lime pickles. My dad always made them, and I was reminded of him and his ever-expanding garden. The cukes I pickled in 2005 were from Vanguarden CSA, where I worked and learned to grow vegetables on a scale larger than my small home garden. Opening the pickles, I was reminded of how little I knew about farming, how exciting it was to learn so many new things at once, and what fun it was to work with farmer Chris.

All that thinking led me here. Wondering if I might be able to preserve enough of the harvest to take on the Dark Days Eat Local Challenge in style.

Serendipitously, three quarts of pickles were left for me in the CSA distribution area last night. Fantastically delicious pickles, at least the ones I’ve eaten thus far. Thanks, Kim!