[chocomouse]

Dinner was stuffed peppers. I spent most of the day prepping and freezing green bell peppers, in strips and in bite sized chunks. Then I prepped red bell peppers, onions, and garlic for the hot pepper relish I can every fall. I'll finish it tomorrow, after I grocery shop and buy jalepenos for it.

[chocomouse]

I have a huge pot of tomato soup simmering on the stove. It's the Watts Tea Room Tomato Basil Cream Soup from jej on the obc, and my favorite tomato soup recipe. I don't have enough milk on hand, and we use only 2% anyway, so I'll substitute some 2% and Half and Half. I'll freeze the leftover soup for later. I'm thinking about making cornbread to go with it for dinner tonight.

[chocomouse]

I just pulled two loaves of pumpernickel bread out of the oven - smells wonderful!

[chocomouse]

Good news! Thanks for letting us know.

[chocomouse]

Tacos at our house tonight.

[chocomouse]

So sorry you are having to deal with this Mike. Take all the time you need. I think you should also plan to take short breaks from preparing the quizzes every once in a while too (but stone-free breaks!). Maybe the rest of us could plan in advance and have some quiz items ready to post.

[chocomouse]

Today I baked a new KAF recipe for Fresh Apple Cinnamon Scones. They are delicious! I used a whole apple instead of a half, and added 3 tablespoons of boiled cider. The texture is a little more like a muffin than a dry scone - and I like that. I used up half a bag of Hershey's precious cinnamon chips, soon I will be forced to try one of the DIY chips recipes I've found online. Has anyone tried making their own chips?

[chocomouse]

Tonight we had BLTs. Tomorrow my husband will pick one last pail of tomatoes, all the peppers, cabbage, raspberries, and anything else except the brussels sprouts, as we have a predicted freeze of 30* here tomorrow night. I will be camping (brrrr) at the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival this weekend, where the temp is predicted to be as low as 25*.

[chocomouse]

Tuesday I made maple cinnamon buns. I won't be using this recipe again, although the consistency of the baked dough was excellent - very light and soft. But the dough was so soft it was very difficult to work with, and there was almost no maple flavor.

[chocomouse]

Today I baked a double batch of zucchini-raspberry-lemon muffins. I also made Chex Mix for my husband's football watching season.

[chocomouse]

I really enjoyed reading the article she linked to about the grocery stores stocking foods connected to the history of the region they are located in, and not putting ethnic foods into aisles marked "ethnic" but shelving them among foods from similar categories. As for tuna noodle casserole -- if I'm going to make that, I'm not going to bother to saute mushrooms or anything else, just throw in a can of mushroom soup and be done with it! Actually, I preferred cream of celery over cream of mushroom!

[chocomouse]

Today I processed another 5-gallon pail of tomatoes from the garden, now ready for the freezer. I used some of that to make a sauce with ground beef, and served that on penne. It's probably the best tasting sauce I've every made, and I've been making it for 34 years!

[chocomouse]

I am back in the kitchen! We cancelled our trip last week - my sister's husband had a medical emergency and spent some time n the hospital, and I had an allergic reaction to a post-op med for my cataract surgery. It's been a month that I have not been able to see much at all (I'm mostly blind in my other eye, due to a stroke) and I am so relieved to finally, yesterday, be seeing much better.

So, I got busy and made two 5-gallon pails of tomatoes into marinara and pizza sauce. I agree with Len - process the ripe tomatoes into sauce asap, but if you are too busy, just put them in zip-lock bags in the freezer until you have time or need more sauce. I've learned a new trick! I no longer dip in boiling water and peel -- just core, squeeze out a lot of the seeds and juice, cut into chunks, and whiz with a stick blender. The skins just disappear, but they add so much flavor and, I believe, nutrients. I prefer chunky sauce, so then I add onions, peppers, and celery (handy, since they are ripe at the same time in the garden), simmer a couple of hours, and package for the freezer.

[chocomouse]

Baker Aunt, I wonder about using a low-fat cream cheese frosting on these? Even if it is only a thin layer, not the thick, rich, delicious frosting that is more typical?

I made zucchini-raspberry-lemon muffins. It may be the last zucchini from the garden, but we'll keep picking raspberries for another month, as long as we cover some with a tarp if/when we get a freeze warning. They are good only for pies or sauce for ice cream when thawed from the freezer, so I try to use everything I can when they are fresh. My husband has them on his cereal every day now, too.

[chocomouse]

I haven't heard from Paddy, or anything about her, for a couple of years. I do miss her participation. I'll ask on Around Our Kitchen Table.

[Author]

Posts