Many of us who grew up in Kentucky may have memories of going down into our grandparents' cellar to retrieve a jar of green beans, canned the previous summer. I know I do. I also remember the sinister hiss of the pressure cooker as my grandma went about the mysterious business of transforming summer's bounty into winter's sustenance. While it was a familiar sight, the activities themselves were foreign and mysterious. I never understood the alchemy that preserved food.

Don’t get me wrong. I heart Bardstown Road Farmer’s Market as much as the next person. But admit it, isn’t it more about being seen with your hand-crafted Ecuadorian re-usable hemp bag than actually buying some food for the week?

Tis the season to bring home food I would never purposely buy, and figure out what to do with it. Our farm share with Misty Meadows Farm (http://www.mistymeadowsfarm.vpweb.com/) has started up again. This means that instead of planning menus and then grocery shopping in search of ingredients every week, my husband and I plan recipes around what we receive in our share that week.

Farmer’s markets are starting to swing around Louisville now. I can’t stay away, even when it’s just eggs, over-wintered greens and green tomatoes. But I was gone for a couple of weeks and voila!

I was disappointed when I learned our latest stimulus wouldn’t come in a single payment. So much for buying airfare to some exotic destination!