Home Cooked Meals

I'm exhausted.

A friend asked me yesterday if we could do a bulk-cooking session today. With one thing or another, we hadn't been able to get together for a while, so this was an unexpected treat. Even better...she offered to do all of the shopping if I could get her the list in an hour.

 Note: I do not put together my bulk cooking sessions in an hour. It took me three. It wasn't my best menu plan, but it was somewhat varied and looked tasty. Another friend decided to join us who had never had that adventure before.

And at the end of the day -- all three of us are tired. We do, however, have at least a week's worth of food for our families. (I'm betting we can stretch it to two!) And of course, we saved a ton of money.

But the best part of the day was not the delicious scratch-made food or the significant savings, it was the company. We laughed and encouraged each other. We had time to talk over the adventures of our lives and share our joys and our sorrows. It was a time of togetherness like an old quilting bee, and at the end of the day we sat sipping our berry laden lemon sorbet and just basking in the glow of success.

Next time, though, I should remember to make sure the air conditioner is on.

We made: Apricot Chicken, Lemon Chicken, Chicken Cacciatore, Chicken Enchiladas, Sweet and Sour Sauce, Turkey Ham and Dill Casserole, and Teenager Meat.

A few weeks ago I went over to my neighbor's house and she served me the most amazing Asian-inspired pickles. Carrots, celery, various colored bell peppers, daikon, and ginger combined to make this delicious treat I could NOT get enough of. The problem is, you can't buy this in a store. She graciously offered to teach me how to make pickles since I confessed that canning was an art I had not mastered.

I have this thing about food poisoning. I worry about it incessantly, so I'm ultra-cautious in my kitchen. I've been afraid to try much canning because of it. While I have occasionally tried jams or jellies, I haven't been overwhelmed by the result. This amazing woman has taught me to over-come that worry.

She invited me to come to her house and make some of those pickles. What a wonderful chance to get to know a new neighbor and learn a new skill! Even better, she works with children, so she has no problems with my daughter being under-foot.

We chopped the vegetables, boiled some liquid, put it all in jars and...were done? It was so amazingly simple...I was inspired.

Today I tried making pickled ginger. Pickled ginger is one of several foods my family enjoys but never has enough of because it can be so expensive in the store. As soon as I taste these, I'll post the recipe on the site...but in the meantime, there are some great ones on the internet. Here's a link to one I liked.

I also made some home-made chocolate syrup that I love more than what I'd buy in the store and am trying out the new crock-pot by roasting a chicken. I'm feeling very productive today and enjoying that these items were easy to make!

After weeks of moving, I finally have the new kitchen functional...and wow...is it amazing. My father-in-law is so wonderful to let us live here! Part of what took so long was combining 3 kitchens into one. We feel so blessed to have inherited a lot of spices and baking supplies! 

The kitchen includes abundant counter space, so we can have multiple people working in here at the same time. This has already proven exciting for experimenting with new recipes.

My friend Wendy came in and helped organize all of the Tupperware® Modular Mates and baking supplies for me. That was another huge blessing. So, we're back in order for playing with food.

Do you see the strange blue strip underneath the cupboard? We had to raise the cupboard in order to put the mixer on the counter top. That left this strange space that didn't match the rest of the room. I had a stencil just the same width (convenient) and we were in the process of painting the bedroom in that light blue...so...I painted a blue spot with multi-colored roses, because I love looking at roses. Then we mounted a metal strip along the bottom edge of it that is magnetic. I can put all of my stray magnets on it and when I'm doing bulk cooking and making multiple recipes at once -- the magnets hold my recipe cards. How cool is that?

I've already added a couple of new finds to the site, with more to come. Enjoy!

Yesterday was one of the days when I just wandered from market to market. We started with Rosabella's Garden Bakery where I bought my annual box of apples -- a box of Jonagolds that were very red, a color variation I hadn't seen before. Of course we had to sample their fresh baked goods and I highly recommend the caramel tart. Their crust is yummy! I brought home a dozen of their apple cider donuts.

We went to the butcher for meat where my daughter was given summer sausage and candy. We went to a local produce stand for fresh zucchini and corn...and of course their cream-top chocolate milk. Eggs came from a poultry farm -- the Jumbo ones you can't get in a store.

For dinner, I made chicken and apples. The corn was a loss as I yet again managed to not get it done while anyone was still even remotely hungry. We will be eating that today along with the apple brownies required by my family during apple season.

That blew my food budget in one day, but it was a grand adventure. Today I'll make some apple butter as well to enjoy over the days to come when we're eating beans to balance that budget.

The weather was a typical Indian Summer day here in Western Washington -- warm, cool breezes, sea air redolent of dahlias and rain drenched forests. The sense that this day was precious was overwhelming, topped off by a sunset of luscious colors as varied as the apple skins. I am so blessed to live here.