The last week of October was a pretty good week aside from the brutality of Monday at work. I made it through though, so I call that a success.
The last week of October was a pretty good week aside from the brutality of Monday at work. I made it through though, so I call that a success.
What's top of my mind: Our house. It's that time of year when I go through every cabinet, closet, drawer and room to get rid of anything we no longer use. I'm noticing that a few items that I wasn't ready to part with last time are easier to get rid of now that almost a year has passed, and it still hasn't been used. Any 'stuff' that isn't used or that one of us just truly loves, has no place here. I'm a firm believer in the theory that just because you have room doesn't mean you need it.
Where I've been: I was off Friday and went to Kroger, Farmers Market, Aldi and Kohls. The joy of living in a small town is that all of this took less than two hours. I remember one trip to Publix taking over an hour in SW Florida because of traffic and crowds. I don't miss that at all! I did pick up my September treat to welcome Fall. As soon as Labor Day is over the pumpkin candy dish will be filled.
Where I'm going: No plans which always makes me happy.
What I'm watching: The days are getting shorter, and the bright green of the trees and grass have changed to a deeper dark green. Fall is coming.
What I'm reading: A Fine Romance by Susan Branch. I've had this book for a while and decided it would make a nice summer read. I'm half-way through and it's been fun hearing about their trip and the places they visited.
What I'm eating:
What's top of my mind:
This is SO true! I have been bombarded with zucchini and various peppers from so many different friends. We have been eating zucchini in various ways at least twice a week and I made a loaf of zucchini bread. The peppers have all been frozen or dehydrated. There will be a lot of spicy stews and chili's this winter. This isn't half of what we've been gifted.
Where I've been: I worked Monday-Wednesday and other than the farmers market on Friday, I have been at home. Home really is my happy place.
Where I'm going: No appointments or commitments and I'm perfectly happy about that. Next Saturday we are taking a day trip about an hour north of here. I hope the weather is perfect like it's been the last four days but it is summer, so we'll deal with it if it isn't. The 'bers' are coming though.
What I'm watching: I found a new series that started on Netflix called Blue Ribbon Baking Championship and we watched the first three episodes this weekend. We both are really enjoying it. The contestants are blue ribbon bakers from fair's all across the country and the challenges are fun to watch.
What I'm reading: This has not been a typical year for me when it comes to reading. Normally I would have read twenty or more books by now and I think I've read four.
What I'm listening to: Cicadas. The normal summer variety that do not swarm you or land down your shirt or in your hair. They sit in the trees minding their own business and play the sound of summer.
What I'm eating:
What's top of my mind: It's time for me to crawl out from the rock I've been under. I was feeling pretty emotionally drained most of July and just needed to turn everything around me off and focus on each day. Now I'm back to feeling pretty close to my normal self and I'm shocked that it is August. Not that I'm complaining because the 'bers' start next month and my favorite time of year begins.
Where I've been: Binx had his two-year checkup and got his nails trimmed and he was such a good boy. He now weighs 10.8 pounds and got a clean bill of health. He's now three times the size he was when we brought him home. I've made many trips to the farmers market and continued to dehydrate and can all month. I didn't go this past week because we're in the part of growing season that friends are begging us to take tomatoes and peppers and of course zucchini. We also decided to walk around the flea market they have at the mall every month and finally found a set of glasses that I loved. $5 for a set of 8 very heavy glasses was an awesome deal.
Where I'm going: No plans or appointments as of right now for the next week. I do have a four-day weekend so I'm looking forward to that.
What I'm watching and what I'm reading: I haven't really done either lately.
What I'm eating: We're limiting how much bacon we eat but we did finally have our first BLT of the season this week and it was AMAZING.
I am joining Sherry at sherrys pickings for her monthly series In My Kitchen where people from all across the globe share what is going on in their kitchens.
June is always the start to a busy time in my kitchen putting fruits and veggies up for the winter. I didn't grow much in the garden this year so I'm thankful for a nice local Farmer's Market to find all of our seasonal favorites. The canning, freezing and dehydrating begins.
The best thing about Summer is all of the fresh produce. I'm fortunate to live in an area where we have a pretty long growing season.
This company was at a fundraiser we attended and I chose this bag of double dipped chocolate covered peanuts. They were so fresh and delicious I wish I had bought more than one. Isn't that always the case?
I typically make all of our sauces, including BBQ sauce, but I do like to have a jar on hand this time of year when I need to save time. This is from the processing plant/store front where we buy a lot of our meat. It has a smooth flavor that isn't too sweet and is delicious on grilled chicken.
I am a huge cheese fan so I was excited to try this when I saw it. It's a cheddar and gruyere blend and it's very tasty.
June was a bit warmer here than normal so I didn't want to do much baking but needed a sweet treat. Banana pudding to the rescue. You can find my recipe here. It's such an easy and refreshing desert that is perfect for any season. Culinary Adventures with Lori: 2019 Christmas thoughts
I have a rather large collection of cookbooks and I keep promising myself that I won't buy anymore but I am weak. I love Recipe Tin Eats website and kept hearing about her cookbook Dinner so it kind of jumped in my arms when I saw it at the bookstore. I've already cooked a few things out of it and have dozens of page markers with others to try. It really is a great book.
Well, that is my look back at what went on in my kitchen in June. Sherry, thank you for hosting. It's always so much fun to see what is going on in everyone's kitchens.
One of my projects for 2024 is to try one new recipe each week for the year. These will be chosen from all of the flagged pages in cookbooks that I have or from the file of 'need to try' recipes. I will try new desserts, main dishes, side dishes and breads.
This recipe is my maternal Grandmother's. They always had a HUGE garden and grew so many things including zucchini. I'm sure she always had an abundance to use.