Playing with pears

Well, I'm at it again in the kitchen. After my hair appointment was cancelled on Tuesday (my stylist was in the hospital!) we drove on up to Catoctin Orchard to pick up some more apple cider and see about some pears. I'd come across a few recipes that I wanted to try and I wanted to try them with fresh pears.

I don't know too much about these lovely fruits because if I did, I'd have known that pear season is pretty much over in our area. The pickins were a little slim, quantity- and variety-wise, but we did bring home enough for a crockpot full for pear sauce (like apple except with pears) and a recipe or two. We also bought a small bottle of pear cider -- yum, really good!

The pear streusel loaf I made yesterday with Bosc pears is not one I'll be bragging about -- surprisingly very dry in spite of two, count 'em, 2 sticks of butter! I might try it again with apples or juicier pears, but I dunno. It was disappointing. The pear sauce I made today with Magness pears, though -- wow! Good stuff! I think I've found a new favorite pear. Very sweet, very juicy, very good (I'm eating the three we have left!) ;-)

Think I'll wait a couple of days to see if our 4 leftover Bosc pears will ripen more. If not, I guess we'll just sauté them, call it a side dish, and try again next season.

Apple-y Recipe

Get yourself some apples. Preferably sweet, cooking type apples. Or, like me, get a variety of sweet, cooking type apples...Gala, Golden Delicious, and Empire.

Get yourself one of these handy little gadgets:

or spend a little more and get one of these

cuz the cheapy one will break from overuse, right in the middle of what you're doing, and you'll have to get another one anyway! You also won't knock your knuckles or fingers as much (ask me how I know all this.)

Then, fill up a crockpot of your choice -- in the 3-1/2 - 4 qt range -- with lots (about 10 -14, depending on size) of chunked apples.

Add a couple, three tablespoons lemon juice, a bit of apple cider (about a 1/4 cup,) and a teaspoon each of cinnamon and vanilla; stir. Put the lid on, turn it to high, and let 'er rip! Three hours or so later, give it all a whiz with a handy-dandy stick/immersion blender or a regular ol' potato masher (careful, it's hotter than that place down yonder) and you'll have yourself the most delicious, sugar-free applesauce ever!

Let it cool and have with dinner, or if you're squirrely like me, repeat 4 times and put your 16 pint jars in the freezer... right beside your 14 bags of sliced apples, 4 bags of sauteed apples, 5 jars of apple jam, and two loaves of pumpkin-apple bread. Then you'll be set for winter. Oh, and don't forget to finish that apple crisp you baked. Then decide what you're going to make with the 20 or so apples you still have (note to self: next year a bushel will be more than enough!)

I do believe I'm appled out.

This, that, and the other

It being apple season and all, we've been peeling, coring, and slicing a bunch. We're eating and drinking (got some fresh pressed cider too) more than an apple a day and so far, have four bags of sliced apples and six pints of applesauce in the freezer. Since we have an abundance (like the song goes -- a bushel and a peck!) this weekend will find us fixing more of the same, along with several loaves of another favorite, pumpkin-apple bread.

Dogwood Update:

Our ailing tree has received its three treatments but being that it's losing leaves naturally because of the season, it not obvious to me that there's been any improvement. The tree doc seems to think it will recover, but it's pretty much a wait-and-see thing until it starts budding and leafing in the spring. That's also when the dead wood (hopefully not the whole tree!) will be removed. *sigh*

Baby B is 4 months old already! How can that be? I hate that I'm in MD and he's in SC and I'm missing soooo much of his growing. He's in good hands though - his SC grandparents dote on and spoil him rotten -- just as it should be! ;-)

sweet, sweet baby boy!

Got my mammogram done (it was normal,) had our six month check-ups, and got stuck for our flu shots. I have one more doctor's appointment next month and then we're good to go for another six months. Yay! Well, not counting one unpleasant appointment we haven't made yet... we're both due for colonoscopies this year. Ughh!!

Okay, I lied. I just remembered... I also have to make an appointment to get my eyes checked. I'm a bit overdue and my glasses are starting to deteriorate. ♫A chipped lens here, a scratched lens there, here a lens, there a lens, everywhere a lens, lens!♫ lol Anyway, that's another one I'm not looking forward too -- I hate picking out new frames.

Oh yum! Lew came home with a half dozen beets this afternoon, so I'll be roasting and freezing them this weekend too. Loooove roasted beets! We have a devil of a time finding them with any regularity at the grocer's around here, though and the orchards we frequent carry mostly fruits, not veggies. Definitely have to find a better source cuz I know we can't be the only beet-lovers in the area! We may just have to start growing our own (wink, wink, Claudia!)

So, that's what I've been up to. If I don't answer the phone, come looking for me under the apple/beet peels!

Getting squirrely...

Well, it seems to happen every year now. The cooler weather hits, my hoarding gene kicks in, and I get an overwhelming need to refill my cupboards and freezer with vittles to hold us through the winter months. I swear, I must be part squirrel or something!

You might remember my po'd post several months back about our nasty ground beef woes; well, a friend introduced us to an Amish meat store and we've been having pretty good luck with their ground beef. It's a bit inconvenient - up the road apiece, just over the PA line - but their prices are reasonable, the meat tastes good, and it's a pretty drive. All in all, a better deal than our local grocers.

So, having a fresh supply of beef, I've spent the past few days doing kitchen duty. Made and froze a couple of favorites... taco soup and bbq meatballs... along with chicken spaghetti and lima bean casserole. I like experimenting every once and awhile, so I've also made up some homemade seasoning mixes for future use.

Now I really need to get my pantry organized... I'm running out of shelf space!

Fruits of the season...

Well, it's just about over now, but oh my goodness, have I come to really enjoy peach season! Around our parts it runs from about July thru August, and maybe a week or so into September... and that can mean a lot of peaches.

Used to be the only way I'd eat them was out of the can because I just couldn't tolerate that icky, fuzzy skin. Now, I think I might be becoming a bit of a peach snob because I can't remember the last time I ate a canned peach! I still don't eat the skin, but we enjoy fresh peaches pretty much year 'round. We get them from local growers, then peel, slice, and prepare them for freezing. It's ever so nice to be able to grab a bag of peaches for dessert in the middle of January!

I was a bit disappointed in this season's crop - they just weren't as sweet and juicy as in previous seasons - but still managed to put away a good supply in the freezer, bake a couple of yummy peach cobblers...

good stuff!

...and even try a new freezer jam recipe. Oh, yes, we have a winner! Delicious on my toasted biscuits and English muffins!

Next up... apple season!!

Kudos...

The squeaky wheel gets the oil... I love when retailers do the right thing!

We were getting a little low on a few things in the freezer, so we picked up about 6 pounds of ground beef to remedy the situation.

Yesterday I made a batch of sloppy joes and a pot of taco soup, and was going to cook up the rest today. Most of what I made went into the freezer after cooling but I kept out enough sloppy joe mix for dinner last night.

Well, ugh!! Have you ever bit into a tough sloppy joe?? I mean, how bad can ground beef be to end up with a tough sloppy joe?? It was like chewing on a mouthful of chopped rubber bands... truly nasty!!

Oh wonderful, thought I. Now I have several meals worth of food that I know is going to be icky. Lovely. Plus, I still had almost 4 more pounds of the slop!

Well, we decided that we've put up with sub-standard quality long enough - good, un-gristly ground beef is becoming a real rarity in these parts - so Lew took it back to the store this morning and voiced our unhappiness with the deteriorating quality of the meat.

We got an apology, an explanation (they grind the meat in-house but have no control over what they receive from their supplier) and a refund for not only what we returned, but for the entire amount! Now, that's how you keep a customer happy... and returning to your store!!

Lots of cookies...

Back in the day, when there was a little kid needing to fix Santa Claus his midnight snack, shaped and decorated sugar cookies were an annual tradition around our house at Christmas time. I'd gather up all the paraphernalia we needed -- cookie cutters, candy sprinkles, colored sugars, Karo syrup, cheap little paint brushes, etc. -- and we'd make a night of it.

Nowadays, my little kid is far from little and is off making his own, so sugar cookies don't get baked here anymore. Neither Lew nor I need the extra calories and quite frankly, I just can't be bothered. I was never too good at it anyway and only made them because my little guy liked them. I've never really mastered the art of rolling out cookie dough and usually overwork it, which ultimately ends up with cookies tasting like, in my humble opinion, sugared sawdust.

However, since that same kid and his family will be here to celebrate Christmas this year, I've been a cookie-baking fool the past couple of days... none of which needed rolling out!

Chocolate chip and snickerdoodles...

butter cookies rolled in colored sugar,
my one concession to decorated sugar cookies!

'Course I had to sample them to make sure they'd be fit for human consumption and I declare them all right tasty, even if I do say so myself! ;)

Chicken feed...

Whenever chickens are on sale, we pick up a couple-three, rub 'em good with the called for spices, and pop 'em in the freezer. When we want sticky chicken,* we thaw one in the fridge overnight then let it cook in the crockpot for a bunch of hours. Deeeelicious chicken!

Last night we had sticky chicken for dinner. Today I picked the remaining bones and carcass clean and ended up with 7 cups of chicken meat for use in casseroles, etc. later on (like the chicken enchiladas we'll be having tonight.) Then I took the leftovers... bones, skin, etc., along with some frozen necks, bones and leavings from previous chickens ... and threw it all in the soup pot with some water and the spicy broth from last night's chicken. Added some celery, carrots, and onion and I now have a big ol' pot of chicken stock simmering away for later use in soups and more.

So, having wrung this chicken dry of any possible further use, I do believe it has fed us well, don't you? ;)
*And now, because someone wil probably ask, here's the recipe for sticky chicken in the crockpot.

Sticky Chicken

4 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 roasting chicken
1 onion, quartered

Directions:

Start this the night before serving.

In a small bowl, thoroughly combine all the spices.
Remove giblets from chicken, clean the cavity well
and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the spice mixture
into the chicken, both inside and out, making sure
it is evenly distributed and down deep into the skin.
Place in a resealable plastic bag, seal and refrigerate
overnight.

When ready to roast chicken, stuff cavity with onion,
and place in crockpot. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. The
chicken will fall right off the bone when it's done.

Ears and ears...

Last week a friend gave us some corn that she got from a farmer near where she lives. We had some for dinner that night and the next, and oh. my. goodness!!! It was truly the best corn I've ever had!! Sooo tender and sooo sweet... I was almost gnawing on the cob!

Wanting more of this deliciousness to add to our freezer stock, we were going to drive up her way to pick up a couple of dozen more ears, but she surprised us by showing up yesterday with 5 dozen ... count 'em, f-i-v-e dozen!!... ears!! Needless to say, we've got corn coming out of ours, so we've been busy in the kitchen.

Started with sweet, succulent ears

Slices of yum

Scraping the creamy goodness

The fruits of our labor

Compost bound

This batch gave us 13 bags, 2 servings each. Today we did another 9 bags, with another dozen and a half ears yet to go. I think we'll have plenty of fresh creamy corn this winter!

Just peachy...

Fresh peaches... one of the small pleasures of life.

Having said that, I've never really been a fresh peach fan. Love 'em out of the can, but bite into a fresh peach? Oh gag, not on your life. That furry, fuzzy skin just grosses me out. Blecch!

Howsomever, last season I discovered how ridiculously easy it was to prepare (aka peel) and freeze the juicy little buggers so it's been a real treat to be able to enjoy fresh peaches all winter and spring.

We just finished our last pint a couple of weeks ago so the timing is just right. Peaches come into season right about now in our parts. This season's fruit has suffered a bit due to hail and other weather, but a little bruising here and there hasn't affected their deliciousness...

# in freezer = 14 pints
# in tummy = uhmmm, lots! ;)

Oh, for pity's sake!!

First of all, my extreme apologies for being gone so long with no word. I didn't intend to be away all this time, but one day just led to another and then another, and before I knew it three weeks had gone by. Not that I've been overwhelmingly busy, just doing other stuff and trying a few new things in the kitchen. Which leads me to the title of this post...



In our neck of the woods, it's that time of year again, namely strawberry time!! Mmmm, mmm, I do love me some fresh strawberries -- piled high on strawberry shortcake, dipped whole in fruit dip, or just cut up with a little sugar in a bowl -- good stuff!

So, anyway, for several years I've been enchanted with the idea of freezer jam and decided that this was going to be the year I tried it. Soooo, we laid in a supply of berries (4 pounds) from our local orchard, a couple of packs of this and went to work.

As I said above... oh, for pity's sake!! I cannot believe how easy that was!! Just prepare and crush up the strawberries, add to the pectin and sugar, give it all a stir for a few minutes, and bada-bing, bada-boom, you got jam!! I now have five 8 oz containers in the freeezer and a little left over in the fridge. (That's with just one pack of pectin.) Easy-peasy!

Okay, so now I'm on a roll. We had already gotten a couple of bags of lemons because I wanted to zest, squeeze, and freeze so I could have it on hand instead of having to buy a lemon or two every time I needed some juice or zest. (I'm not terribly enamored of the stuff in the bottle -- a bit bitter for my liking.) In the meantime, I came across some recipes for lemon curd, which was also something I've been wanting to try. Surprisingly, one of them was a microwave recipe, so I figured "how hard can that be?"

Soooo, we zested,

squeezed with our handy-dandy new squeezer,

mixed the eggs, sugar, butter, lemon juice and zest and cooked it in the microwave. Wonder of wonders, it worked beautifully! It coated the back of a spoon like it was supposed to, it's creamy and satiny smooth with no little egg bits floating around, and is now residing comfortably in my freezer and fridge! Yes, you can freeze lemon curd!

And, even if I do say so myself (and I do,) these are both scrumdiddilyumptious!! I didn't feel like waiting awfully long for them both to set up completely, so had an english muffin with strawberry jam on one side and lemon curd on the other. Delicious! The jam is not too sweet, nice and strawberry-ish, and the lemon curd is to die for! Wonderfully tart yet light and fresh. Even if they don't set up, they'll make wonderful sauces for cakes, gingerbread, ice cream, etc.

Oh yeah, I'll be doing this again!

Tap, tap... is anyone there??

Well, I certainly didn't intend to take a blogger spring break, but that's the way it's turned out. Heck, spring's almost been here and gone since my last post!

Sorry to have been MIA for so long, just haven't had a whole lot to write about and couldn't quite bring myself to bore y'all to tears with my rather uneventful daily goings on of annual doctor visits and experimenting in the kitchen. Nothing super noteworthy about all that, but we have been eating some interesting stuff.

One of which was fresh roasted beets. I'd never even tried cooking them but read a blurb on how good they were so figured, what the hey, I'll give 'em a try. Well! Who knew? Who knew that roasted beets were absolutely delicious!! 'Course you'd have to like beets to begin with, I guess, but we do, so these were quite the treat. Greens and all (sauteed in a little olive oil and minced garlic.) How have I lived this long without ever tasting these things? We'll be having them again, because naturally, there's some in the freezer too. :)


Tried several different chicken dishes as well, some of which bear repeating, some of which were, eh, nothing to write home about. I did discover a nice marinade that was highly recommended by my message board buddies; right tasty for grilled chicken. It's an All Recipes offering:


Bessy's Zesty Grilled Garlic-Herb Chicken

1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon saffron
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
1 pinch dried sage

I omitted the saffron... it's just not one of the items I keep on my lowly spice shelf, ya know? You might want to reduce the amount of oil a bit -- 1 cup is a lot, even for 4 pieces of chicken. I also reduced the amount of sugar and just plopped a couple of birdy bosoms in a Ziploc for about an hour in the fridge, then grilled. Recipe with complete directions is at the above link.

Oooo, ooo, here's another good one. Last night we had a ridiculously simple but scrumptious dessert of roasted pineapple slices with a scoop of ice cream! Decadent! Just cut a couple of slices from a fresh pineapple (I'm sure canned would work just as well,) place in a foil-lined pan, sprinkle with brown sugar, drizzle melted butter over that, and roast at 400° for about ten minutes. Then, turn the slices over, sprinkle and drizzle again and bake for another 5-10 minutes until light golden. Serve with a scoop of ice cream on top of the slice. You can drizzle the leftover sauce on top, if you like. Sooooo good!

So, that's it. Jes' sitting here cooking, eating, and trying not to get overly plump in the process, gooey pineapple slices notwithstanding.

Veggie soup

Here's the easy peasy veggie soup recipe Sue asked for, compliments of my sister. (one of these days, when I take a photo, it'll make it over to my kitchen blog.) :)



Country Vegetable Noodle Soup

1 cup sliced celery
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 cups (2 quarts) chicken broth
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (16 oz) pkg frozen mixed vegetables
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 (16 oz) pkg fine egg noodles, uncooked

In a 6-quart saucepan or dutch oven, over medium heat, cook celery, onion and garlic in oil until tender; add remaining ingredients except noodles. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer about 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add noodles. Cover and simmer 5 minutes or until noodles are tender. Enjoy!

Note: while the recipe doesn't call for salt, I added a bit for the noodles.

To bean or not to bean...

You know what? I don't like frozen green beans. Actually, I can't stand frozen green beans! They're tough, taste like dirty grass, and are just plain nasty. I like fresh green beans. I like canned green beans. I like most veggies, frozen or otherwise. But, I don't like frozen green beans... and I'm not ever going to eat them again!

What prompted this little outburst? Well, I have several recipes that call for mixed veggies, most recently one I got from my sister for vegetable noodle soup (very tasty, big "E.") Now, most bags of frozen mixed veggies usually contain, at the minimum, green beans, peas, carrots, and corn. Sometimes, if you're lucky, you'll find some that include lima beans. I'm one of those people who like limas. I prefer them canned, but tolerate them frozen. A lot better than I tolerate those other frozen green things. Anyway, whenever I do use frozen mixed veggies, I always eat the stupid green beans first just to get them out of my way so I can enjoy the rest of whatever I'm eating. Silly, huh?

So, I have decided. Frozen veggies are on special this week and I'm getting me a bunch of bags of peas, carrots, corn AND limas and I'm going to mix and freeze my own veggies... without any nasty green beans!

And that's the truth!

Procrastination pays

Sometimes it's not such a bad thing to wait. In last week's sale insert, Safeway had asparagus for $1.99/lb. Whoa, great price! So, we got a pound, which were delicious, and I told Lew we really should get more to freeze since they were such a good deal.

Well, as things usually happen around here, one thing led to another and that idea got pushed back until yesterday. Which, was the last day for the sale. I figured they probably wouldn't have any left, but what the hey, Lew made a quick trip to the store anyway and boy, did that work out! Not only did they still have some but they were also marked down to $1.68/lb! Don'tcha just love when that happens?

So, slicing, blanching, and chilling were the first thing on the agenda this AM and we've now got five bags of asparagus freezing.

Either my domesticity is working overtime lately or I'm more concerned about the economy than I thought!!

Pickles & pineapple

Ewww, what a combination, huh? Not to worry, not some strange concoction I've dreamed up, just finishing up a couple of food prep jobs to clear the kitchen counter -- but thought it'd make an interesting post title! ;)

Got my first Dole gold of the season peeled, cored, chunked, and chilling in the fridge. Soooo sweet and juicy. Also got a plain, ol' jar of dills in there chilling and after a little doctoring, transforming themselves into sweet dill slices. Hmmm... is there a sweet theme here??

That's it, I'm done in the kitchen for the weekend.

One spoiled feline!

Last month Giant had precooked, frozen crab legs on sale. Thinking that might be another way to get my crab leg fix, we bought some and put them in the freezer. Whereupon I promptly forgot about them. In this week's flyer, I noticed they had crab legs on sale and mentioned it to Lew, who was quick to remind me that we already had some that needed eating. Duh! These senior moments are disconcerting!

So, anyway, we decided to have the legs for dinner tonight (so we can get more tomorrow) and made preparations for our mini, wintery crab feast. Newspaper on the kitchen table - check. Paper towels - check. Shell bowl and shell crackers - check. Butter warmers - check. Cat begging at the table - check. Legs being heated in the oven (per a reheating method I read about) - check. Wait, wait -- back up. Cat at the table? Oh yes, there she sat, on a vacant chair, all ready for (and expecting!) her share.

Now, generally speaking, and except for hubby and grandkids if I'm feeling extremely generous, I don't share my crablegs with anyone. As in pick it and give it away! Oh no, I go about the serious business of picking my own crab, and eating every single morsel all by myself. I'm greedy that way. This night, however, I had this pair of big, luminous slate-blue eyes silently boring a hole through me and a furry little paw occasionally batting at my fingers whenever I wiped them. Sucker that I am for blue eyes, I finally caved. Not only did she get some crab meat, but she got some of the very best part from that part of the claw closest to the body. The beast has nooooo idea how spoiled she is!!

The house smells like a fishing boat but it sure was worth it -- cat paws and all.

Simple pleasures

A little tennis, a little football, a little snack food, and a chubby purring lap kitty on a lazy, chilly Sunday. It doesn't get much better than that.

Since today's ESPN showing of the men's final of the Australian Open had the potential to conflict with the Super Bowl this evening, I recorded the 3:30 am tennis showing before I went to bed last night so I could watch it before the foootball game tonight. Have to get my weekend sports fix, ya know.

Then, I got all efficient and did some pre-preparations for tonight's snacking menu which included spinach dip, pigs in a blanket w/honey mustard dipping sauce, and a carmelized onion and roasted red pepper cheese puff recipe I created.

All that was left to do was curl up in my comfy chair, snuggle under my flannel throw, and entice my beastie boy Buster to come up and get cozy on my lap. We then watched the tennis match together. Well, I watched -- he purred, slept and kept me warm.

When football time came, Lew joined me and we settled in for more TV. We've munched heartily, enjoyed Bruce rocking on at halftime, and the Steelers are winning as I type. All in all, a good day of simple pleasures.

Sweet stuff

For Christmas, Susan, Lawrence, and Winston gave us a gift from a dessert club where we'll receive yummy desserts several times throughout the year. Our first goodie arrived earlier today and of course we each had to try one -- just to make sure they survived shipment, ya know? ;)

photo by Lew

This month's featured dessert is called an Inside Out Chocolate Lover's Dream and this is the descriptive blurb that came with... "Inside and out, this confection is of unparalleled taste. A flaky, butter and cream cheese dough, coup throughout, and topped with a chocolate drizzle for just the right touch..."

A different, interesting flavor, these sweet buttery pastries grow on you after the first bite or so. We liked 'em. I think we're in trouble though -- there are two boxes of about 16 each. Oh, the calories!! Anyone up for a Dessert Party?

The jury is in...

... and the verdict is DELICIOUS!! I just had me a cheese, bacon and caramelized onion quesadilla for lunch and yeah, buddy! If you like the savory sweetness of plain, ol' dusty sauteed onions, you'll love this caramelized version. With nothing other than the butter they cooked in and a scant teaspoon of salt, the flavor is not that much different than the stovetop version. Perhaps not quite as rich, but a convincing alternate and well worth the lingering aroma.

I declare this crock pot caramelized onion experiment a success and a definite keeper in my recipe file. I'll do this again.

Now off to package for freezing.