Making the most of a local harvest

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, October 4, 2016

This isn’t a story about soup. This is a story about taking the local harvest and making the most of it. You see, autumn is Mother Nature’s last call. A time for one more moment in the sun before winter slips through the door. A time to revel in a few more golden days and big ol’ harvest moons.

I use the season to rejuvenate a spirit that’s battered from the wild ride of summer. Never knowing how long we’ll have, it’s this sense of fleeting that makes the time so precious. Over in the Willamette Valley, tonight’s frost could be the ultimate frost. The one that finally puts a halt to my garden’s growth. And so I harvest what I can, acknowledging the evanescence of the process. Over in your neck of the woods, you’ve still got farmers’ markets bringing you the best produce from all regions of the state still bringing in the harvest.

It makes for a bitter-sweet existence. In summer, fruits and vegetables taste best fresh, out of hand. But once the nip of autumn air hits my spirit, I’m hankering for heartier fare.

Savory fruit fits the bill. Fruit that develops a depth of flavor when cozied up next to a rich vinaigrette, or a bit of blue cheese, or sauteed in a pat of butter and sprinkling of brown sugar, or simmered into a flavorful relish or chutney. And my backyard tomatoes and carrots? Well, boiling them in a rich broth along with some robust onions and plump black beans seems like just the ticket.

Perhaps you’ll agree when you’ve seen how the following recipes play out in your kitchen.

Enjoy the autumn harvest!

— Jan Roberts-Dominguez is a Corvallis food writer, artist, and author of “Oregon Hazelnut Country, the Food, the Drink, the Spirit,” and four other cookbooks. Readers can contact her by email at janrd@proaxis.com, or obtain additional recipes and food tips on her blog at www.janrd.com.