Parkinson's Law of Autumn
or, the amount of produce available grows to fill the space available to process it
I have spent most of the last month standing at the counter in the new workshop kitchen with pots simmering around me. On any given day there will be deer tallow rendering in the slow cooker while mushrooms dry in the dehydrator and the last of the season’s tomatoes simmer on the stove as we move as a blur between them all.
As quickly as they can be ordered, jars get filled and line the shelves. I spend my evenings in bed researching how to use up the produce we grow or comes to us from our friends at Upper Ballaird. Old staples of green tomato salsa sit next to new-to-us delights like hawthorn ketchup and wild mushroom salt.
On the surface, it is not so different than the usual scenes that make up October - steam rising from pots and counters littered with produce. This year though, there is a difference of scale and scope. This morning alone, Theo and I worked our way through 100 jars of green tomato salsa - normally I aim for 20 for the whole year. My laptop sat beside me as I took notes of what was being added, double crossing batch numbers and logging them into production spreadsheets.
The expansion of the studio into a commercial kitchen has been the biggest change to our work and home life since moving here. Gone are the days of trying to keep the ancient Rayburn going while I can a batch of passata - taking over the entire narrow kitchen for the day while I do it. I could only work the oven for 2-3 hours before it had to rest, so long days of preserving stretched out endlessly as I tried to juggle it all.
In some alternate version of Kat’s reality, I thought that this expansion would make everything quicker, easier and that I would be done early and have time to “do other things” because of my ability to be more efficient.
And that is partially true, we get through a lot more than we ever would have been able to in the house. But in something akin to the Parkinson’s Law of “a task fills the time available for its completion” - the work of preserving has grown to fill this kitchen as well.
In the last few weeks, we have started working with other local growers to preserve excess produce that would’ve gone to waste. When Upper Ballaird had an excess of cucumbers, they had asked if we had any capacity for processing them. They wanted longer shelf life products using their excess vegetables. A range of preserves would add value to their vegetable boxes and extend their veg box season as well as reducing food waste. For us, developing products for our shop as well as events is a natural fit.
There has been a steep learning curve as we grapple with certifications and processes and ensuring meticulous record keeping. I spent two full days researching labelling laws only to learn that I did most things wrong.
And while much of this is new territory, it is mostly familiar. And so, I am pulling out all of my preserving knowledge. I have been religiously referring back to my own Canning and Preserving online course, making sure I do things by the book. I end my work day smelling a bit like vinegar with batch numbers swimming behind my eyes. As the shelves fill, so does my todo list and dinners have mostly consisted of whatever goes with the scrapings of the pan of stuff we just made.
The scale is different, the record keeping, the testing but like every year before it, there was still that same sense of relief when the frost hit and I knew the season was coming to an end.
Some things never change.
Our lifestyle and larder goods will be launching on the 25th of November at the Fodder + Farm Festive Market, here in our event barn. We will be selling our range of preserves, pickles ferments and more alongside a few other local makers. You can find out more details here. Entry is free, but please book parking.
We are also excited to announce that we will be throwing a massive Hogmanay party! We have booked the Baby Sheiks - a rockabilly band from Glasgow, there will be bonfires, great food and we are SO EXCITED.
Upcoming Long Table Feasts + Final Wild Pizza of the Year
The next couple of weeks are full on with dinners and events. Saturday is our last Wild Pizza night of the year. We also have just four of our gorgeous farm to table dinners left for the year, including our Scottish Game Feast sponsored by BASC for Great British Game Week.
LONG TABLE FEASTS: 6PM - 10PM
FRIDAY 27TH OCTOBER
FRIDAY 10TH NOVEMBER
SATURDAY 11TH NOVEMBER
SCOTTISH GAME FEAST WITH BASC
TUESDAY 7TH NOVEMBER