Life Beyond Harvest

Editor's Note: This column was written on Oct. 7. Due to space, it was held over to this week's issue.

We are done with worrying about our wheat crop. The snow and strong winds combined to finish it off. Most of it is broken off or lying on the ground. Now we wait to see if the crop insurers agree with us and how they'll treat us.

I do still have tomatoes. Covering the plants with blankets and then with old truck tarps has kept the plants green. I think it helped a lot that the cages and stakes held the coverings up above the foliage. I peeked at them Saturday, but didn't uncover them. They've been quietly continuing to ripen undercover for over a week. I might find I need to can right away.

There will be boxes of green and semi-ripe tomatoes in a back otherwise unused bedroom for a while. I'll line the totes I use for this with several layers of old newsprint before putting in the tomatoes. More layers of newsprint will go between each layer of tomatoes. The cherry tomatoes will go either into shoe boxes or the plastic containers I buy kiwi fruit in. I can see the ripening fruit through those, making it easier to pull the ripe ones out.

Sunday afternoon I uncovered the squash and pumpkin plants. They were as I suspected, mostly vine and leaves and precious few fruits. Other people had fabulous pumpkins this summer. I've seen the photos. My largest pumpkin was slightly larger than a softball, and it's still yellow. My squash crop consists of a couple butternuts, a few crooknecks, one small delicata, and a bunch of tiny, ping pong ball-sized turban squash. I don't think they're worth saving.

The potatoes and carrots still need to be dug. I've been waiting for the ground to dry, but they'll need to be done before the next round of cold, nasty weather hits at the end of this week. All the detritus (the inedible parts of the plants) needs to be pulled and hauled off. Most of that can't easily be tilled back into the ground. The drip system hasn't been needed for the past month, so gravity should have it emptied. Once the trash is hauled away, I can roll it up and store it away until next spring.

The plants I brought inside are starting to adjust to the change in climate. The extra warmth at night has caused a bit of a shock to their systems. The amaryllis have reacted by having their older leaves turn yellow/brown, and getting mushy before drying up completely. The repotted geraniums are also having lots of their leaves turn brown and brittle. I go around with a trash can periodically and toss the dead leaves. Even the two geraniums that were in a planter with ice plants and didn't require transplanting are looking peaked. I should have pinched off their flower stalks and buds when I brought them inside. Dealing with trying to bloom and getting used to a new climate was a bit much for them. I hope they recover soon.

On Saturday I spent some time picking up the downed tree limbs and smaller branches that came down in the snow/sleet/rain/wind event the week before. Then I mowed, utilizing the grass catcher to suck up the fallen leaves. Most of my trees still have lots of green leaves on them, so I expect to be using the mower that way several more times before the snow falls. I hope that snowfall is a long time from now.

I've finished week one of the current Whole Life Challenge session. Each session lasts six weeks, and I think it gets a little easier each time I participate (play?). It's not all new to me. I'm not as strict with myself as I was the first session (when I really felt I needed to get back into shape). I cheat on the foods a little more often, but I try really hard to get in my exercise and stretching every day. It's only 10 minutes of each that's required. I've never been much of a runner, but walking is great.

I found this recipe for peanut butter "cookies" that don't require baking and have no flour or sugar. I made them Sunday afternoon. I don't have a food processor, so had to improvise a little. They'd be easier to make with one of those. I added a bit of water to my chopped up dates and zapped then in the microwave to soften them. I used my electric food chopper to make the rolled oats "flour" with the pinch of salt. After I added the almond butter the dough was very crumbly, but I made it work. It didn't want to hold together. I'll add more water to the date paste next time. With the cacao coating, they have a very dark chocolate taste, but I prefer dark chocolate, so that's good. I got 15 cookies from this.

Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

1 C rolled oats

Pinch of sea salt, optional

3/4 C pitted medjool dates

1/2 C nut butter of choice

Blend the oats with the salt in a food processor to make a flour. Add the dates and blend until finely chopped. Mix in the peanut butter to make a dough. Use 2 tablespoons dough per cookie, in mounds on parchment paper. Press down with the tines of a fork to flatten a bit.

Optional Chocolate Glaze:

3 Tbl coconut oil, melted

3 Tbl cacao powder (or unsweetened cocoa)

1-2 tsp maple syrup

Pinch of sea salt

Measure the oil after melting. Whisk in the remaining ingredients, in a small bowl. Dip the cookies in halfway. Freeze for 10 minutes, then dip again for a thick shell. Store in the fridge, or freeze. (Leftover glaze can be used on mixed nuts or on berries.)

A friend is currently going sugarless, but not joining me in the WLC. She's requested I share more sugar-free recipes, so that will be happening more in the coming weeks. I'll only share ones I find tasty.