This Week In The Kitchen
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This week my mom and step-dad came to visit. Like every other week, the kitchen was the busiest place in our home. More food was put up, some for gifts and some for cold winter days.
A half bushel of apples were peeled (by mom) and simmered down with cinnamon and stevia into a dozen little jars of apple butter. The other half bushel waits for us in the crisper drawer.
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Raspberries were picked at a local farm. Two quarts were eaten fresh with whipped cream for dessert and yogurt for breakfast. A gallon and a quart are now in the freezer, little red treats for the dark days of winter.
I attempted (and failed) to soak and dehydrate squash seeds. I found that one squash could yield up to 1/2 cup of seeds which would make a nice snack. Maybe I need to hull them first?
Little men were underfoot and at our side. Their little bellies were filled with more food than it seems they should have capacity for.
An unplanned dinner turned out to be the best kind. A guest showed up with grass-fed steaks, which the papa grilled up. Peppers and onions from the garden were sauteed; lettuce, borage leaves, tomatoes, and onions were picked and turned into a salad topped with homemade blue cheese dressing. The above butternut squash pudding was topped with whipped cream for dessert.
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The last of the basil was turned into 1 1/2 pints of pesto and the papa made me a little hoophouse for winter greens. This little kitchen of ours has been busy and welcoming and messy. With a pot of soup simmering for dinner we close up for the week and enjoy a day of rest.
What has your kitchen seen this week?
Wow, what a day! I would love to hear and see more about the hoop house for winter greens. I find it’s so hard for me go get plenty of really good fresh greens in the winter! Please share! Thanks so much, your blog is VERY inspiring by the way!
I’ve been seeing a lot of spinach! Time to get it chopped and frozen before it goes bad!
I’m catching up with the bounty of my garden, and appreciating how much I have, and how I shouldn’t let it go to waste. Today is about taking care of that bounty. I’m also going to share it to make sure others can enjoy it.
Sounds like your week was lovely! You’re planning to share pics of your hoop house, right? 🙂
Squash seeds – I just did acorn squash ones with an overnight saltwater soak, then toasting in the oven. If you’re trying to preserve the enzymes, I’m not sure. The low temp (275 degrees) toasting made them tastier than pumpkin seeds to my mind!
Is it possible to get the butternut squash pudding recipe???? Sounds yummy. thank you
i’ve been drinking bird nest soup every night (i only get the homemade kind back at home). the only reason why i drink it is because it’s supposed to be good for complexion.
i’ve been taking the store-bought kind online (e.g. http://www.geocities.jp/hongkong_bird_nest/index_e.htm of famous branded only of course) which is directly mailed from Hong Kong. this would be at a more affordable price.
Your pictures are so lovely! My mouth is watering just looking at them!
I second the request for the butternut squash pudding! I’ve been making squash everything recently and that looks scrumptious!
I just love day like that – that revolve around food and the kitchen!
I third the butternut squash pudding recipe! I would also like your recipe for the apple butter. I’ve been making it with regular sugar and would really like to switch!
Lynda – I’m not sure that the butternut squash pudding is a pudding like you may think it is. It is basically my recipe for pumpkin pie pudding (in the recipe index page) but with squash instead of pumpkin.
On the apple butter… I just cooked the apples down until about apple butter consistency and then added stevia and cinnamon to taste with a pinch of salt. HTH.