Let's Talk Feast Foods...

Do you have must make recipes for holidays?  Foods that if they weren't part of your gathering it just would not be the same?  Foods you just have to make, whether anyone else eats them or not?  Do you potluck your holiday feasts or does one person do the majority of the food prep?  I adore hearing all about other folks holiday traditions when it comes to food.  Just yesterday I learned of two different families traditions that include Friday Pie-Day and a communal scavenger hunt.  I love these ideas and am gleefully working on figuring out how to work these in to our traditions in the future.  I mean Friday Pie-Day???  Seriously, this needs to become a phenomenon!  The woman I heard about this from told me she makes six pies of all sorts for Thanksgiving with the explicit intention of enough leftovers for many days of pie-for-breakfast for her and her kiddos to enjoy as well as a few extra pies for Friday Pie-Day.  They use the turkey leftovers to make turkey pot pie and have friends over for game night with loads of pie, sign me up.

For me I love to make fresh cranberry sauce, this year I found a game changing recipe that I do believe will become the keeper from here on out, it is like a cranberry sauce meets marmalade meets cocktail.  The red wine gives such a depth of flavor and cuts the tart of the berry just right.  We held some back from what we took over to my in-laws house just to be sure we had enough for home leftovers.  I also am often put on veg side dish duty for our family gatherings as I love coming up with tasty ways of sharing vegetables with others.  This year there were specific requests for waldorf salad and layered pea salad.  Leading up to Thanksgiving my youngest and I made candied yams to take to a friends-giving event at her school.  I discovered that when one reheats candied yams the marshmallows pretty much melt away, so we turned the leftover sweet yams into a new favorite meal by adding them to some big delicious sautéed brussel sprouts and chopped bacon for an amazing day-before-thankgsiving-eat-lots-of-veggies dinner here at home. My husband and I even enjoyed this for breakfast the day after with some leftover wild rice and a friend egg on top while our girls where off taking in all the Black Friday fun.  I am still thinking of that delish combo and hoping to recreate it soon and often.  This year I also experimented on a whim with a wild rice and sun choke dish that I really loved.  This started with sautéed leeks and sun chokes then added wild rice, pine nuts and dried cherries.  No recipe to share, but I do hope you will try combining these ingredients on your own,  the nutty flavor of the chokes and the rice made me very happy next to the turkey.  We even used leftover rice in soup the following day, repurposing leftovers makes me ridiculously happy.

I would love to hear about your favorite holiday foods to make and share as well as your family traditions, so please share them in the comments below, let's have a virtual feast together.

Goat Love...

So, after milking goats at a neighbor's house for 7 years now, I finally warmed my family up to the idea that we could raise our own goats too.  We have officially taken the leap from casual gardeners and chicken raisers to dipping our toes into the world of urban homesteading.  We now have two beautiful Lamancha doelings, Maizy-Ann and Tula who totally have us smitten.  I am finding all sorts of reasons to stay close to home these days, as I could sit and visit with them all day long.  Looking out the kitchen windows to the chickens and goats grazing about the awesome pen my husband spent the better part of the summer building, brings a ridiculous amount of joy to my heart.  A side benefit that I wasn't fully prepared for has been the way they have brought so many friends, neighbors and even strangers into our yard, everyone loves a good visit with these girls and they are beyond happy for the raisins and treats being shared.  We are loving all the visits as well, it is so much fun when a neighbor stops by with a bouquet of bay leaf branches for our kitchen and a pocket full of saltine crackers for these sweet girls, or when we get a last minute call from a friend in the south end asking if now is an ok time for a meet and greet, and all those that I have heard love to stop in when we are off at work and share smiles and raisins with these two.  Thank you all for sharing in this new journey with us!  I am dreaming of yogurt, ice cream, cheese making, and learning the ins and outs of making our own soaps once these girls are old enough to breed and become milk producers, but until then I am happy to settle for sharing the last of our garden's kale and chard in exchange for the affections of these little ladies.

Where have I been???

Oh my, how many post ideas have I started and abandon over the last many months?  Truth be told, more than I care to admit, but here we are deep in the days of mid fall in the Pacific Northwest.  I do love so much about this time of year, the cool and crisp air, the deep appreciation for every ounce of blue sky and sunshine that shows up, all things orange like squash and satsumas, vibrant and crisp leaves piling up along the walkways of my morning walks, and particularly the feeling of wanting to settle in for the impending winter.  Now that I am rooted in working life as well, my days off are something I am learning to really treasure and put to good use.  So today, after a quick trip to the dog park I am home and in the kitchen prepping several things that have been piling up for a bit now.  I had some extra milking shifts recently so there was a bit of a milk stockpile which I am turning into ricotta for an upcoming lasagna dinner, a bag of tomatoes from my in-laws garden which are being oven dried for soups and sauces in coming weeks, sprouts in various stages waiting for some love and the not so glamorous but oh so needed cleaning out of the fridge.  There were just a few too many last little bits of leftovers that have sat ignored and needed to go to the chickens before they become science experiments.  I do so love sending my compost out to the ladies knowing they will be transformed into lovely eggs for us very soon.  I could spend an entire day finding ways of keeping myself busy in the kitchen; maybe baking something for friends or family, prepping for the week's lunches and dinners, making some staple item like ricotta/yogurt/granola/kombucha etc, or just chilling on the window bench with a cookbook doing a bit of meal planning.  Here is a peek into my prepping today...

To make ricotta I follow the directions from Smitten Kitchen, heating the milk slowly and adding salt and lemon juice, letting it sit, then straining.  This is my first go around making sprouts, I started with alfalfa and broccoli and just today am starting a salad mix for the next batch, the strainer lids make it so easy.  And last, I am simply leaving the cut tomatoes in a low temp oven for many hours to dry them out, I have done this in the past and it seems to work really well, once they are dry to my liking I just put them in a jar and store in the fridge.  None of this is monumental or earth shattering stuff but there is a odd joy and satisfaction I feel when putting things to use and minimizing the waste going to the landfill.  Happy Monday all, I hope your week brings you some joy and satisfaction as well!

Lessons From The Bee Hive...

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to addend a local beekeepers association meeting and it totally got me re-energized on beekeeping.  I have dabbled in backyard beekeeping for a few years now with mixed success, but a couple years ago at the urging of my most awesome badass beekeeper mentor friend I cleanup up a long abandoned hive and added a captured swarm to it.  I have tentatively and inconsistently tended the hive since then.  I was a bit lazy, very unsure of myself, and confident the bees knew what they were doing and didn't really need much from me.  Fast forward to this meeting last month, and my confidence, energy and enthusiasm is bubbling over.  My badass mentor came over the other day to go over hive inspection with me and we found a thriving, happy and very full hive and I was encouraged to grab just a couple frames out to taste MY VERY OWN HONEY!






Can I just tell you, that it was sweet, flowery, fruity and absolutely delicious... my first honey harvest.  I have found myself more than once this past week, wandering out to the back yard to just watch these incredible creatures hard at work.  Watching them fly in, legs loaded fat and heavy with pollen in preparation for a long and dark winter.  Watching them band together to protect each other and keep the hive free of predators.   Watching the dances they do to share vital information with one another.





Feeling the hum in my chest of their hard working wings.  Smelling that lovely bees wax once you get within just a few feet of their domicile.  I can also tell you that my mind floated to all sorts of metaphors, how we really do need to look out and take care of each other, that we cannot go it alone in this world no mater how skilled or prepared we think we are there is always going to be a day we need our hive to feed us, to protect us, to nurture our littles, to share ideas and information with, and really to love us.  My children have a teacher that teaches all the children in her 8th grade class the following call and response... "What's my job?  To love us.  What's Mr _______ job?  To love us.  What's Mrs. ______ job?  To love us.  What's your parents job?  To love us.  What's your job?  To love each other."  I deeply admire folks who work with children who can impart in their unique way this notion of loving and looking out for one another.  So now, I'm going to keep a closer eye on my hive (human and bee), look out for and love on others at every opportunity, start going to beekeeper meetings, because in so many ways (literally and figuratively) the bees are our future and I want to learn and prepare as much as I can so that a sweet future it will be.

I Can't Stop Canning...

So let me start my saying this is totally unpaid and unsolicited praises for the book that got me hooked on food preservation.  Upon discovering this website and book I have become a total food preservation addict, I'm always looking for new and interesting ways to pickle, can and preserve what's in season at any given time.  Here are a few of the things I have been busy making of late...

All this lovely winter citrus has me loving things like honey and lemon curd as well as marmalade made with Cara Cara oranges and ginger.  Though I have made enough curd over that last few years to feel pretty confident on that front, marmalade is a new one for me so there has been a bit of a learning curve.  My first batch was so very tasty but I fear I cooked it too long and it was rather stiff, I almost recalled the few jars I had given away out of sheer mortification but was quickly assured that the taste was much more memorable than the difficult spreading.  So I tried again, decreasing my cooking time and it is just on the side of too soft.  So, here's to hoping the third time is the charm!  I used a recipe from the Food In Jars (my most loved and used cookbook), it pretty much mirrors this online version with the addition of 1 cup of ginger juice and substitution of Cara Cara oranges for the citrus.  Though it took a bit of work to make the ginger juice, the addition of it in this preserve is totally worth every bit of effort!  Make the time to peal, chop and strain all that ginger for this recipe.
I have also been dabbling in pickling, ANYTHING I CAN GET MY HANDS ON...  My most recent experiment has been pickling red onions, and oh gosh I am hooked.  So far I have loved them straight from the jar, topping hearty green salads, and over eggs, but I imagine slathering these over a fancy grilled cheese sammie for a little punch of something extra would be quite fabulous.

On a side note, my thoughts and prayers are with all those impacted by the explosion in North Seattle early this morning.  That this happened in the middle of the night is something many are thankful for, this is a very busy area and I don't even want to think about what the scene would have been just a few hours earlier or later in the day.  These businesses are neighborhood staples and will be dearly missed, I am sure I am not alone in the hope that rebuilding is swift and we will be popping back in for coffee and gyros very very soon!

Breakfast For Dinner Taken To A Whole New Level

It all started when I spotted this post on the Smitten Kitchen Blog for a dreamy looking yam dish with chickpeas and a limey yogurt drizzle.  We love yams in this family but i've never really fancied them up, its always straight baked yams either on their own or added to another dish like black bean and yam tacos.  Last night I was feeling so uninspired for dinner, throughout the day the thought would flash "what am I going to make for dinner tonight?", and I came up blank every time.  Then I remembered a Smitten Kitchen post recently for what promised to be a tasty twist to our standard baked yam.  And, to boot I had all ingredients on hand, it was meant to be!  Though I think we would all have been happy to just totally gorge on the yams alone, the mom in me knew I needed to round it out a bit so I scrambled up some fresh eggs with the ricotta I had just made with the weekend's goat milk and tossed together a big green salad.  This was declared by all "A KEEPER".  In fact my oldest shared that this is the meal she wants to come home to from college.  So if you are looking for inspiration, give this one a go, it is fairly quick to throw together, requires pretty basic fridge and pantry ingredients, and well worth every bit of effort.  This is a breakfast-for-dinner game changer in my mind.  Enjoy!

I Really Am Still Here...

Oh my goodness, I cannot believe it has been since June that I have written a proper post!  I could get into all the "life" reasons for this but the god's honest truth of it is, like so much else, out of sight out of mind.  So, this is me, setting my sights back on this space.  I have missed it, I have often had the thought "I need to write about this..." but one thing or another got in the way and it just didn't happen.

The quick round up of what's been going on in the kitchen of late...

* I am loving these two sweet new cookbooks I scored recently by volunteering at The Book Larder

*  This cranberry chutney is finding its way into many a snack in these parts.  Cheese and crackers, well add some cranberry chutney and your mouth with be oh-so happy

*  I got my first ever "help desk" request last weekend when the following text came through...
Dear kitchen dweller, chutney ready to put into jars but not sure in the sterile procedure! Love Nick... One of 2 microbiologists in the family. Please help.This made my day and was made even better by receiving a jar of said chutney a few days later

*  I successfully packed snacks for a road trip to and from Utah which had my friend and myself eating out exactly ONCE the entire time while on the road. But that one meal out at the Buffalo Chip Cafe for breakfast was so worth it.  I do love a road trip and good snacks along the way

*  Pickled pears... sure and thank you!  When your friend offers you the bounty from her asian pear tree, resistance is futile folks

*  There was one marathon prep session for our annual church bake sale, in which our wee little community raised nearly $1,000

*  The last of my summer tomatillos have been enjoyed as salsa verde

*  Fermentation abounds, kraut and this delish asian-ish fermented salad

* I am totally drooling over vintage cooling racks like this and these

I have truly missed this space and look forward to sharing some more kitchen adventures with you all very soon!