Harvest Fatigue

I have a few reasons for falling behind two weeks in posting. One, I've been busy. Just getting by feels busy enough, but home improvement projects have legitimately consumed my free time. Two, I've been dealing with what I've diagnosed as acid reflux or GERD, the result of stress and a predilection for everything that causes GERD: coffee, alcohol, dairy, spicy and acidic foods. Sigh. Over the last week I've been re-calibrating my diet and portions so that I don't have to spend the rest of my life on Prilosec, and thankfully, it seems to be working. That I cannot eat and drink like a 24 year old man is an acceptance I'm getting closer to, slowly.

While posting about rogue stomach acids and a diet of boiled chicken may indeed be blog-worthy, the combination of avoiding thinking about food, and the over-abundance of vegetables from my CSA crowding my fridge has recently given me too much pause to make sense of this bounty. I'm calling it Harvest Fatigue, and it is a real condition.

Let me first assure my audience (hey) that I love my CSA. It's a full share from Gathering Together Farm, meant to feed a family of four. The only produce I have bought in the last 3 months have been lemons, limes, knobs of ginger and the occasional head of garlic. And until recently, between freezing or preserving the excess, I've managed my load pretty well. I've only thrown away a total of 3 zucchini and 4 tomatoes that sadly rotted before their time.

Back in June, I was starved for phytonutrients and beta carotene, etc... Here it is October, my nutrient supply is at its peak, and I long for a dinner of noodles and butter. Or, to cook one meal based on a whim and not what needs to be cleaned out of the refrigerator. Currently, I'm harboring winter squash, potatoes, broccoli, cabbage, leeks, carrots, cilantro, peppers, tomato, zucchini, beets, celery root and lettuce. And what I'm really craving is a slice of pizza, not homemade.

Understand that I am conditioned to complain about things, even when they're not really problems. Even factoring in the cost of the CSA (around $450 for 25 or so weeks), I spend a lot less money on food. Yes, managing my larder based on a supply of produce meant for a family of four is something of a burden. But I prefer to have this burden rather than, say, feeding a family of four from the Safeway on 82nd Ave. So I'll shut up now and come March I'll be counting the days before the kickoff of the new CSA season like it was the season premiere of Lost.