Berries and Pears... Oh, My!

After picking blackberries for a couple of hours yesterday, I grabbed a 5 gal bucket and went around picking up windfall pears. Jim said there was a bear in the neighborhood, so I didn't want to leave an open invitation to wildlife to drop by and help themselves to goodies! I have four of these buckets now, and all I've managed to do with them is dry some, and make some pear butter. They are super-sweet and juicy... I'm not sharing with bears!

Since Henry has really sensitive teeth, he can't eat Blackberry Jam... I decided to surprise him! I removed the seeds from the Blackberries (with a sieve, almost like making jelly, but I used a large enough mesh to allow most of the pulp through) He was pretty pleased.

Pickles, Anyone?

Hey, look at that!

I made pickles... maybe. They have to sit for three weeks to mellow, then we can see how they really taste. When I tasted the "product" before I put the jars in the canner for processing, they were pretty good. We'll see what they are like when I get back from Palm Desert on the 15th or so. I hope they are good, I love sweet pickles!

Back on the Range...

I've been gone - obviously - for almost a month. Mostly in California, visiting my Dad and letting my brother have a much-needed vacation. It was fun being Dad's "Private Chef" for a while... his tastes are not as eclectic as mine, but he enjoyed having a different hand in the kitchen. Didn't complain too much about having to eat so many desserts, either! Larry doesn't bake much, (though he's an excellent chef) so ice cream and puddings are Dad's favorites. I did some cookies for his ice cream, a gallette, lemon tea cake, and rice pudding with blueberries.

When I got back to the farm, my new "Gelato Pro" was here!!! YYAAY!

I did a White Peach Fro-Yo just now... doesn't it look yummy? I'll do Cherry Ice Cream tomorrow for Henry - that's his favorite, I think - but I don't think he'll have too much trouble putting away the Peach tonight!

Pasta Variation: Sunday Supper

We have Grilled 'Burgers more often than not on Sunday nights. Perhaps the tradition stems from the times I worked most of the day on Sunday, preparing for classes and reading student papers all day. I wasn't in the mood to create something spectacular for my family's meal. They stood for a lot of abuse back then... sometimes they didn't feel I iwas giving them my attention, that I spent more time worrying about the students than I did about their welfare. Possibly true, but not an intended slight. I knew they cold take care of things that happened in their lives, and felt that many of the children in my classes needed more looking after. That may have been wrong. Most parents do what they can with the resources available to them.

I didn't feel like doing a Grill last night, so opted for a nice Prawn and Veggie melange over pasta. I put the peppers and tomato in just long enough to warm them; I had already sauted the shallots with garlic and mushrooms, deglazed the pan with Vermouth, and added the Prawns - letting them get just pink before I added about a cup of Marinara sauce (I didn't want the dish to be runny at all). I tossed in the Veg and let them warm as I drained the pasta. Then it was "Plate and Eat", with green salad on the side and Nova's Lemon Cake for dessert... Yummm!

Comfort Food

It started raining this afternoon as I was driving back from town. I felt like I needed to make something "Cozy" for dinner to chase the weather, and decided to make a variation of "Tuna Noodle" using a can of Turkey (didn't have any tuna) with some peas for color and a little variation in texture. Pretty yummy! Since 'd already put tonight's dinner in the oven before I left, I'll have it for dinner tomorrow when I come back from the studio.

I like the way the octagonal bowl looks with the mound of curly pasta in it! The bowl just came out of the kiln yesterday, so I'm not wasting any time putting it to use, am I? Good size, too... just right for two people.

YAAY, Veggies!

The picture is a bit blurry because I was anxious to eat the "Artichoke That Ate Manhattan"! It was aboout the size of a softball - sitting on one of my 10" dinner plates, you can see how big it is! (No, silly, not YOU sitting on the dinner plate!) It was quite wonderful to have all the artichoke I could eat at one sitting. There was more for dinner, but I opted out on the chicken and fries. Just the big "Choke" was fine.

Going-Away Dinner

I made a Pork Loin for our dinner the night before I went to California for Erin's Easter Break... I'm to help her pack things to take overseas. Not much help so far, but she's doing fine - I'm really just here for support, I think.

Anyway, I made a nice roast... sauted Shallots, Garlic and Tarragon in OO. Added some water and Semi-Braised the meat in the oven until it almost reached temperature, then made a gravy by reducing the liquid (and a bit of added Vermouth). I had cooked some red potatos while the meat was cooking, and crisped them up in a pan for coor and texture. Steamed Asparagus and Salad finished out the meal. Unfortunately, H didn't like the gravy or the red potatos, but that's OK... I did.