Fresh Winter Vegetables

I didn't order Bountiful Baskets this week because we need to eat more out of our "root cellar".  So I thought I would show you what we have down there before we finish eating everything out of it for the year.  For the most part I really do try to eat a whole foods diet and preferably when things are in season, which is great during the high growing seasons around here, but what do you eat that is fresh during the cold snowy winter?

Why, lots of things actually!  That's why our ancestors had root cellars!  Throughout much of history there wasn't the luxury to run to the store 24/7 to buy exotic, out of season produce!  They grew, and ate and stored things that would last through the winter.  And I have to tell you, when I learned more about this it made the whole seasonal eating thing very exciting for me!

If you have access to any apple trees, they can be stored somewhere cool in something like this.  Isn't it cute? 

Orchard Rack

I'm still trying to figure out where to put one of these at my house because apples and potatoes don't play well together, so the apples will need to be stored somewhere else.  Which brings me to potatoes and some of the other things I store.

In the fall as my local farmer's markets are winding down I go and load up on lots of the winter squashes and other root storage crops.  They store really well in a cool, dark place for months at a time.   I store the squashes on shelves in an unfinished space underneath my front porch.

Pretty glamorous, eh?

I also have a rolling rack with bins on it that we picked up at Sam's Club one year.  The bins are super easy to wash out and disinfect if needed.  In my bins I store onions, potatoes, garlic and tomatoes.  Yes, tomatoes!

I pay attention in the fall to the weather report and right before the first frost we pick all the green tomatoes and bring them in for storage.  They will slowly ripen over time and this way I can have my tomatoes clear into December most of the time!

There are lots of other things you can store in a root cellar over the winter like cabbages and carrots.  But there are rules and guidelines you should follow in order to keep your veggies as fresh as possible for as long as possible.  I don't follow all the rules and my stuff does fine for the most part but if storing root crops is something you are interested in doing, I would definitely get my hands on a copy of Root Cellaring.   It's the book I have and is a pretty good reference book with lists of which varieties are good keepers, and detailed information on storage conditions for each type of storage-able food.

Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits & Vegetables

But I'd really like to get my hands on this root cellaring book too.  It looks like another good one for the reference library of mine. 

The Complete Root Cellar Book: Building Plans, Uses and 100 Recipes

Storing root crops is one of the easiest and oldest methods of food storage around.  I love it because it means I don't have to spend hours in the kitchen canning and preserving.   And I can still have some fresh fruits or veggies throughout the winter.  Sounds like a win~win to me!