Kitchen doings...

About this time every year, I get an overwhelming urge/need to stock my freezer. I'm like a squirrel hoarding nuts to see it through the cold winter months ahead. I start going through recipe files and cookbooks, not only looking for something new and different, but pulling out those tried and true recipes that we enjoy.

I'm always on the lookout for new dishes to try so this year I got real brave and decided to try my hand at freezing fruit. In this case, peaches. We started with a 1/2 peck from our local orchard and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was. Messy, but easy. So, Lew picked up another whole peck and we now have 17 pints of syrup-packed peaches in the freezer. Yum!

Next on my list will be twice-baked potatoes and probably some baked-potato soup. Nothing tastes quite so good on a cold winter evening than a steaming bowl of potato soup with crumbled bacon, chives or scallions, and a generous sprinkling of shredded cheddar melting on top with a hunk of pumpernickle bread on the side... pure comfort food!

Lew just made a batch of his yummy biscuits the other day, so we've got a start on the baking. Haven't decided what else I'll be making, probably some apple bread since we have them, and definitely some pumpkin something.

I know I've mentioned it before, but I will again because every time we use it - and we use it allllll the time - I fall in love with this thing all over again. Truly one of our very best investments. If you do any degree of food pre-prep, get yourself a Tilia Food Saver. It can't be beat for storing your frozen goodies.

I never considered myself any kind of domestic goddess, and certainly no culinary whiz in the kitchen, so I'm not sure where all this domesticity is coming from. Maybe it's that female nurturing thing run amuck, I dunno, but it sure is nice being able to grab something out of the freezer and just get it hot for dinner!