It’s that time again….
The time of hauling 5-gallon buckets here or there, full of this or that, tucking in the tender starts,  securing seeds in the soil,  and wandering the edges of the garden gesturing and muttering to myself…

 I’m not just communicating with the unseen, this is actually how I plan my garden. I have long since given up paper and pencil.  It is fun, but impractical for me, and sadly, I haven’t had the time to sketch never-to-be-implemented garden designs lately, even though it is one of my favorite projects to curl up and waste time on.

This is the moment I’ve been waiting for so eagerly,  apprehensively, the time I have longed for and dreaded at the same time. This huge, fun task that takes everything over.  

I have mulch,  i have seeds, mushroom compost (after a horrible half hour when the dump truck got stuck in the old compost pile.  Hopefully we are not on a problem customer list now). And following a dramatic month-long, only partly successful ninja-style campaign to catch the monsterous and destructive chickens….

…it’s finally here, the day when i first plant, always rusty at first,  because i forget things after a whole year. There is so much to consider. I have to pause at the edges,  and wander through the old gardens of memory for the 3 year rotation,  wondering where to tuck in the salsify and 20 kinds of lettuce, or why i ordered 5 kinds of calendula….

But somehow, when i rattle the first seeds in my palm,  the worry goes away and i start to plant, and i can’t stop.

Meanwhile, we are rapidly consuming the vegetables from last season that were carefully stored away.  These beautiful Seminole pumpkins, some left from last year,  are continuing to feed us until the heady moment when the fall greens and radishes are ready. 

The sweet, lusciously orange pumpkin with the flavors of fall – ginger, hot pepper,  and garlic chives are the perfect manifestation of this season,  the turning from the sweet Earth flavors of late summer to the rich, pungent Metal flavors of fall. 

PUMPKIN COCONUT CURRY

2 tablespoons lard, butter or coconut oil

2 garlic chives, chopped

1 inch of ginger root, grated

1 smallish Seminole pumpkin,  peeled and seeded and cut into chunks

1 small hot pepper

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 can coconut milk

Pepper and Salt

1. Melt the fat in a large frying pan with good sides. Add the chunks of pumpkin and sautee until starting to caramelized. 

2. Add the hot pepper whole (or chopped if you like it spicier), garlic chives,  turmeric,  grated ginger,  and coriander.

3. Add the coconut milk,  season with salt and pepper,  and let simmer gently until most of the liquid has simmered away into a creamy sauce and the pumpkin is soft and fully cooked.  Great served with rice or buckwheat noodles, or just plain for a grain-free option.