being in the closet can be a good thing (but only if you're a root vegetable...)

I have dreamt of a root cellar for as long as I can remember.

Unfortunately our abode doesn't bode well for an in-home root cellar. 

(Our basement is cool in the summer and warmish in the winter. 

I guess it's all that geothermal action.) 

Since the old fashioned alternative seems to be digging into a hill,

and anyone who knows me knows I'm not about to go digging into a hill,

I've managed to figure out a system that works fairly well within the limits of our house. 

Behold, the "root closet!" 

(which is in our 'mud room' - we don't heat it above 45).

This is an Elfa storage system and it works great.

The grid-baskets provide good airflow. 

With hindsight, I should have gotten more of the mesh style.

 They still provide some airflow, and they prevent smaller veggies from falling through. 

Most of what we stash in here is local, courtesy of our winter CSA from The Full Plate Collective.   

We find that carrots store really well in our make-shift set-up.

For February, they're looking pretty good. 

A big old beet. 

Probably as big as my head!

a rainbow of potatoes, all local.

Our local squash ended ages ago, but we replenish it with organic from the store

 because squash is simply my favorite winter veg. 

All it needs is a little olive oil and salt, and a place to roast. 

Utility apples are great for getting saucy. 

You can get a gigantic box of local utilities for something like $13.50! 

For awhile Bootsy was making a big pot of applesauce about once a week. 

We eat it for dessert almost every night!

These last two are from our gardens - shallots and garlic are the only things we have had the patience to grow besides herbs and flowers...   they are wonderfully low maintenance.