The Goodbye Gourd

Last Squash Standing

As I bid adieu to 2011 I finally tackled the last of my giant squashes. This little beauty weighed somewhere around nine pounds; large enough for my cat AppleJack to nap on – and she did.

What I like about growing squashes is that they are so damned easy, they get big beautiful tropical-ish leaves (which I sorely miss here in the Pacific Northwest) and are, what I call, givers. In a word they are prolific. In two words they are deliciously prolific. Oh, and pretty healthy too (three words). All they need is some sun, space, and pollination to produce.

Yet, nine pounds of anything can be a bit much to contend with,

Lookout sun, oranges are on the horizon

My sink, full of fruit

Now that school is out it is time for me to start thinking about the birth of the baby Jesus, bringer of presents, stocking stuffers, and a reason to hate (for some dummies).  Yet, in my house this little child of Santa and Mrs. Claus inspires a whole slew of mildly panicked baking, candying, and preserving. At the top of my list is marmalade, that sweet sticky stuff that is also a little bitter. Like me.

Why marmalade? Well, aside from marmalade being delicious, oranges are also in season – so it is the best time to get the best price on organics. And to make it last year-round I’ll jammify it.

You may wonder – hey, aren’t oranges from several states away? That isn’t very “local”. Well, yeah. You caught me. But I respond with, we need compromises in our lives and being from the sunshine state myself, oranges are not something I can go without.

Next up, pears. A more local fruit for which, like oranges, we have our flying pollinators to thank. I think I’ll make bread.