Still Gardening!

I did my last bit of 2010 gardening yesterday.  I have been watching for the foliage on my 2 Jerusalem Artichoke (JA) plants to die in the frost so I could harvest.  I think they have been ready under the above definition for a couple of weeks but I finally managed to get out there with a shovel.

And what a harvest.  Now the research begins on what to do with all of them.  I've eaten them before but only in small quantities with other roasted veggies.  I've been over to epicurious.com and found several recipes.  I also learned that they can be eaten raw.  There is an arugula salad with shaved JA's that could work but I need something that uses a big quantity so I'm thinking soup.  The small problem there is that my freezer is packed.

The reason for the full freezer is partly due to a trip a friend and I took to Supperworks yesterday.  I was very pleasantly surprised.  It is a meal preparation company and I've known of their existence for a few years but didn't think it would be the thing for me.  But as I understood more about it, I thought I'd give it a try.  Essentially, they have a number of recipes a month with all of the ingredients prepped on site.  We went in, threw all of the components together and took them home.  I liken it to cooking with a sous chef.  You save all of the shopping and chopping time but still get real ingredients and recipes like the ones I would generally make for myself anyway.  And it was pretty fun.  A social engagement while getting ourselves set up for weeknight cooking help.