For those of you who made it to the Deep Roots Festival this weekend, I think we can all agree that the food was amazing. The guys at Spanky’s did a bang up job taking whatever we had in season and turning it into a something glorious. I was especially struck by how they combined our sweet corn, peppers, and tomatoes with some butter beans to make this corn succotash.

As I was sitting there eating with Mar and other festival goers, I was thinking, you know, this is how we should be eating all the time. On our good days, we certainly do. But, on the days we work too long or are simply out of juice, we eat like every other American on a weeknight – frozen pizza or some other pre-made thing – even though we have literally tons of fresh food sitting in fields surrounding our house.

So, the role of the chef? Get us inspired to do better! Fresh food in season doesn’t need to be complicated. This was Amy Thielen’s message at her demonstration at the festival and certainly one I needed to hear in this time of too many things going on. Get good ingredients, get slightly creative, and you’re good.

So I want to thank Zach at North Circle Seeds for hosting us and everyone who made this a great event. We started this as a way to celebrate the season and local foods. For myself, it just felt good to gather with a group of people as do this ritual as we transition from summer to fall. Maybe it’s just some deep tribal thing that’s in our genes.

• Sweet Corn: Yes, this is the end. But this is a recipe that seems pretty close to what Spanky’s did on Saturday: https://eatsimplefood.com/butter-bean-succotash/
• Yellow Onions: Cured in the field and will store at room temp in dry location
• Carrots
• Yellow Potatoes
• Roma Tomatoes
• A couple big Slicing Tomatoes
• Spinach: Certainly not your baby spinach we’re used to buying – this stuff got big because it loves to grow when it’s wet and cool
• Radishes
• 1-2 Italia Peppers: Don’t let the long shape fool you – this is a sweet pepper
• Buttercup Squash