First of all, I want to apologize for the dearth of newsletters since (egad!) September. It’s been a fall full of glorious color and much activity, stowing away food and memories alike, but also incredibly fraught with the decline and sudden passing of Kitty, our very nearly 16-year-old Cardigan Corgi. As anyone who’s been both privileged and, at times, burdened with being a caregiver for an elderly family member—human or animal—knows, it can be all-consuming and, at times, frustrating. Read my remembrance of our special girl.

With the victories of the election on Tuesday and its repudiation of the attempted authoritarian takeover of our democracy still ringing bells in my heart, I’m anticipating a difficult season ahead, with no end in sight of the Republican shutdown of Congress barreling into its ninth week. It’s going to affect Oregon in so many ways, from SNAP recipients not spending their benefits at grocery stores or farmers’ markets to our small producers not being able to ship their goods because of the airline shutdowns, to people pulling back on holiday spending due to economic uncertainty—changes to the ACA, Medicaid and Medicare chief among them.

I want to encourage you to spend the dollars you have available (if any) on supporting local producers and avoiding big box stores and aggregators like Amazon. Buy a turkey or squash for pies from a local farmer, or gifts of jam, jellies, nuts and wines from area producers. We need to support our neighbors more now than ever.

With local tomato season very nearly over, if you can find a few heirlooms left it’s your last chance to make this tomato tart—perfect for gatherings of friends that will help us all weather the literal or political storms ahead. And since many of us are drinking less alcohol these days, I’ve discovered a simple-to-whip-together and refreshing hibiscus cooler (aka aqua de jamaica) you can serve…and I won’t tell if you decide to add a splash of gin or tequila! And around here winter dinners are seeing more stews and soups like this jam-packed vegetable minestrone that is vegetarian at heart but can also be zhuzhed to please any meat-eater’s appetite.

I hope all of you can find joy in getting out in the crisp air or getting together with your loved ones as we weather these stormy days together. I am thankful for all of you, and am especially grateful for the subscribers on Patreon who support this source of news you can’t find anyplace else. Considering the challenges we’re all facing, a nominal subscription is even more treasured.

Thanks for reading, and happy holidays!

Best,

Kathleen Bauer