We are just out here weeding away. We are part way through these fall beets and carrots: round 2. There are some things that take priority over weeding: irrigating/watering, harvest day, cleaning and packing garlic orders, succession seeding, child care, eating and sleeping.
Other items on the farm to-do list: Weed leeks, weed carrot succession #3, finish onion harvest, cut down hanging garlic and get it into storage, mow weeds in potato patches since the plants have pretty much died back, prepare beds and transplant next round of kale and chard, seed black spanish radish and purple top turnip, mow field perimeter, mow along irrigation ditch, fix up panels of horse corrals, fill barn with hay for winter, clear hoops and row cover out of old lettuce beds, trellis tomatoes, squish harlequin bugs on cabbage plants.
At a certain point, it doesn't make sense to weed a crop that will be harvested relatively soon. For instance, the winter squash. It would be nice to have a weed-free winter squash patch, but the squash yield will be the same whether we weed it or not, so it becomes quite low on the priority list. We have to surrender to the chaos that this inevitably creates in August and September and that is ok.
Caramelizing Onions
Caramelized onions are a super simple and delicious addition to many things. Pizza topping. Quiche, frittata or omelette filling. On toast with Swiss cheese. Piled onto your steak with a drizzle of balsamic reduction or as a burger topping. Cooled and in a lettuce salad with gorgonzola crumbles and dried cranberries. For special occasions, we like to make an appetizer of a round of brie heated in the oven then topped with a mound of caramelized onions that have a little rosemary added.
Over a medium-low burner, heat a skillet and heat some butter and/or oil. Add 2-5 sliced or diced onions- any color. Don't slice or dice too finely, they are going to cook for such a long time that they need some mass. Cook for up to an hour, but at least 30 minutes, stirring now and then. Don't stir constantly or they won't brown as well, but stir enough so that they don't burn at all. Adding a pinch or two of salt can help draw out the water. Add more butter or oil if your pan gets dry. Cook slowly until they are a rich brown color. They can be stored in a container in the refrigerator for a few days.