Pickling

I decided with all the canning I have been doing that pickles would be fun.  I think I was momentarily delusional spurred on by a friend.  I have canned sweet pickles(cucumber chips), dill pickles, kosher dills and hamburger dills.  Most of the recipes come from the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving which I of course bought at my local Ace Hardware (thanks, Dad).  The other recipe comes from a friend's mother.  Her pickles are said to be the best.  We will have to wait a few weeks and then I will give a verdict.  For now, I have to figure a spot for all the jars.

Creativity in the kitchen

If you have extra yellow squash and no plan to use it, just slice it up 1/8-1/4 inch thick and dehydrate it.  It is good with hummus or other dip.  It has a slightly sweet flavor.  Delish.

Best Thing

The best thing about vegan cookie baking is sampling the dough

Delish

I have been making a lot of meals from Eat, Drink and be Vegan by Dreena Burton lately. Today I made the Chocolate Mint Melties. They are so good! I highly recommend trying them out.
So far everything I have made has been well received and quite good. We have had the Cocoa-Coconut Chili, Popcorn Fries and Chickpea Sensation Patties.

Vegetarianism

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/05/meats-striking.html

Solo

D is out of town for the week. He left early this morning. We are doing quite well. We enjoyed a bike ride, some pool/sprinkler time and copious amounts of playing in the playroom. To top it off we ate Israeli Couscous with Green beans, Feta, and Pistachios for dinner. It is a recipe from this month's issue of Everyday Food magazine. It has cucumbers in it, which D despises. Sometimes having D gone means we get to partake in delicious stuff without discussing food aversions. We plan on having some Mexican food tomorrow and perhaps mushroom pizza with broccoli on the side later in the week.

Eggs

When I am pregnant I CRAVE eggs. I can eat them daily with no problem. Sometimes I may even have them at two meals. I think they are delicious. It is especially true when I have been pregnant with my sons. I would often order an egg and sausage sandwich on an English Muffin for breakfast from the grill at work when pregnant with my oldest. However once those wee babies leave my womb, the egg love evaporates. Poof! Eggs disgust me. I mean, really, you are eating an EGG. BLECH!!!! The kids and I recently read An Egg is Quiet. It really made us all think about the eggs we eat. Add to that the fact that my sister has been having double yoke eggs, and I am about ready to chuck them out the proverbial window. (Apparently double yoked eggs come from teen or menopausal chickens - basically hormonal wacky fowl). So, here I sit with three quiches sitting in my freezer just mocking my former egg loving self.

Healthy Eating

I struggle with eating local and organic. I love the idea of a CSA, but we have had some problems with it this year. The food has been plentiful and mostly in good shape. We just can't seem to get through the quantity of greens. I had previously checked out Bountiful Baskets online, but was disappointed by the lack of organic and local products. I have a good friend who signed up and is very pleased. She told me recently of the inclusion of local and organic products as well as the hope that more will come. We signed up. Hopefully this will work until I get our garden back into thriving condition.

Here is a shot of one of our "baskets."(all this for $15)

Bountiful

We have signed up for bi-weekly produce through a group called Bountiful Baskets. It is not always organic or local, but it is fresh and economical. We really like the idea of the CSA, but it was getting hard to eat through all the greens and turnips. We pay $15 for a basket of produce. It usually fills two small laundry baskets.

This week we received:

• 1 pound Organic Baby Spring Mix
• 1 bundle of Chard
• 5 Cucumbers
• Broccoli
• 3# bag of gala apples
• 3 large pears
• a dozen clementines
• 1 acorn squash
• 1 bag of baby carrots
• 3 heads of romaine
• 5 bananas
• 6 baking potatoes
• 10 red potatoes

Cranberry Relish

I am not sure when it started, but my mom has made cranberry relish for holidays for a long time. I have always disliked it. It was too sour for me. My sister, however, showed me how good it is. The recipe is simple - 1# cranberries, 1 apple and 1 orange. Mix this in the food processor and add sugar to taste (up to 1 cup). I have decided that my mom never used enough sugar. With a few tries, I have settled on 1/2 cup. The stuff is delicious. The kids like it, which is an added bonus. Now that cranberries have hit Costco, we are going to have to stock up.

MMMMMmmmmm....

Mmmmm...peaches