Fall Harvest Thyme

Every day we are feeling the deepening of Fall here at Thyme in the Country. Calling the cows in for milking, the early morning light is a little dimmer and the air a bit chillier each day. Our gardens too are coming to the end of their season of abundance. Daily harvests have dwindled but  we still have an abundance of beautiful Kale and Swiss chard that seems to thrive on the cooler weather making it crisp and deep blue green in color.  Realizing the end of  these prolific greens is coming we have taken a renewed interest in eating them. A recipe from the cooking blog Orangette for boiled Kale with a fried egg and toast has been of our favorite ways to use Kale this week. Our little veggie stand is now featuring Turnips and parsnips, cheese pumpkins and pie pumpkins and Delicata squash. There are a few hot peppers left to pick and a whole lot of green tomatoes (the pigs and chickens love these, thank goodness) and of course our large bed of herbs: Thyme, Parsley, Cilantro, Dill and Basil. We have inventoried the shining jars of preserved fruits and produce from this summer’s harvest and are satisfied knowing we will have plenty of tomato sauce, jams, dilly beans and pickled beets long after the gardens are turned over and put to bed for winter.