My Kitchen

This is one post I never thought I would write; I am really falling in love with cooking. Honestly, I even woke up through the night last night, excited to come down and cook. This is partly because my fabulous husband painted the kitchen this past weekend. The walls are so clean (and I didn't realize who gross they had become) and the white trim looks so much brighter, which inspired me to reorganize, discovering a much more user-friendly lay-out for all my cooking equipment.

We have been receiving Green Bean Delivery for the past few weeks, and not only does this enhance our diet and cause me to experiment with a plethora of new recipes, but the fruits and vegetables are gorgeous. My kitchen looks so homey and full of love; hence, the great pleasure I find in here slaving away for my family.

This past week, I cooked chicken cordon blue with mashed sweet potatoes, roasted squash smothered in butter and brown sugar, and a broccoli and corn mixture. Did I mention strawberry cake? Today, I cooked for the first time, an eggplant and tomato dish, smothered in cream of celery and herbs from my garden. This evening I cooked this, a leek and mushroom soup.

No, I am not vegetarian. In fact, we have also just butchered a cow, which should be available for pick up in the very near future. We aren't keeping up though. It seems each week I toss out food that has spoiled before we had opportunity to cook it, but if it isn't gross or unhealthy in anyway, we toss it to the chickens.

I am hoping to learn some about juicing, as not only is that incredibly healthy, it would help me utilize these mangos, plums and other fruits that we can't seem to get through before they wilt away. I am not real interested in purchasing more equipment for the kitchen though, which is sort of ironic, because I love purchasing little dishes and fun pasta. The kitchen really has become the place I think of when I want to spend a little money (as part of my retail therapy). New curtains are on the way...

Canning

We can fresh fruits and vegetables every year and as much of a mess that this creates in the kitchen, I am surprised I commit to the task repeatedly. My poor cabinets take the worst of the brunt. It is clear to me why homes at the turn of the century had "canning kitchens."

 

There just isn't much better than home made food though, fresh from the garden (and this is true too of meats). This year we have had amazing tomatoes from the garden and I've completely filled my cabinets with spaghetti sauce, salsa, ketchup (which I think I've perfected), and tomato paste. I made a large variety of spaghetti sauces, some with mushrooms, some without. We have returned to our beloved Green Bean Delivery and so have organic fruits and vegetables overflowing from our counters each week. Peppers were part of our delivery last week and I wasn't about to let them go to waste, although this is one food Mike absolutely despises and I am not a huge fan. I thought I would make another spaghetti sauce with them, in small canning jars, for any meal that Mike would not be apart of or maybe for sharing with another family. The peppers were light green, some nearly white, and I had assumed they were a mild pepper. My fingers were on fire for three days days though, after cutting them into the sauce. Noah and I added half a jar to spaghetti last night, mixed in with a large jar of our typical spaghetti sauce and certainly we noticed the kick, but it was quite fabulous.

I am a fan of crazy pasta, which I often purchase at TJ Maxx of all places. While resting from my broken arm, I decided I was going to try to make my own pasta, or at least raviolli and purchased a press. I have yet to try it, but imagine that being a winter task along with beeswax candles again, and soap.

We have also frozen five or more peach pies this summer, from peaches purchased at Stuckey's Farm, and a few bags of frozen peaches. Our green beans were a bust this year, and I only planted one cucumber plant because I typically get quite over-whelmed with these. I had a client share a dozen or more lemon cucumbers though, which were tasty and smaller, pretty too.

This picture doesn't give it justice, but Simon couldn't even walk in his flips without help, while we picked green beans at Stucky's Farm.

These are the lemon cucumbers. I toasted some sesame seeds and sprinkled them all over the sliced cucumbers. Very tasty.

This site I recently discovered for crazy low mason jar prices. We store most of our supplies in our basement, which I wonder if at one time served as a canning kitchen. There is a root cellar and perfect storage cabinets for such a thing. All of this is just one more reason, I am so grateful I found contentment here in the MidWest. What a wonderful life.