More from the kitchen

I felt so crappy when I woke up that I am surprised I am feeling so much better now.  The kids are both better than they were yesterday, though they are still resting, for the most part.

I have been trying to cook down about a dozen bananas.  I spaced and bought more when we already had some.  A couple went into the banana bread, a few have gone into the freezer, and this morning I used a couple to make vegan, gluten-free banana pancakes from Blissful Bites.

It was not a triumphant return to making pancakes.  The above was the best looking one I could muster and the pat of Kerrygold is hiding a hole.  I really liked how crispy the pancake was all around the edges and on the outside.  This pancake had a decidedly rice-y feel and taste to it and leans savory unless doused with maple syrup.

Pancakes are one of the few things that have come along in my life that I have not been able to intuit.  And, for some reason, I become nearly enraged when I make pancakes and they fall apart, get stuck in the pan, have a wet, raw spot in the center, etc.  The language of pancakes remains, after all these years, utterly foreign to me.  And, apparently, this is a sore spot.

Gem did not care for these, Sag liked them well enough.  I was inspired enough by making these that I will pursue a grain-free pancake recipe.  Cap and I have long desired to get off the teat of Arrowhead Mills' gluten-free pancake mix.  The quest continues...

After breakfast, I moved on to peach jam and shakshouka.  They both required much stirring while bubbling.  I thinked a lot of thinks while standing at the stove.  For the first time in a long time I thought about the fact that I am not doing something for a community beyond my family.  Nothing that feels significant, anyway.

Here is the shakshouka in its reduced beauty.  (All the veg from our CSA: garlic, onion, bell peppers, tomatoes!)  I will have some for dinner, poaching a couple of eggs right into a pan of sauce.  Yum.

Finally, here are the Japanese-style pickled salad turnips.  These are salty and fresh.  Love the bits of green young leaves.

Peace.

Lots of kitchen time

Both kids now have colds.  I can feel my body fighting the cold off big time, especially at the beginning and end of the day.  In the meantime, I am cooking, cooking, cooking.  (And wondering how I would hold everything together if I had to work outside the home, too.  As it is, I can barely do more than superficial cleaning.  The apartment is feeling a bit feral these days.)

Yesterday, I tried a new-to-me banana bread recipe.  It is much softer than the usual recipe.  Sag prefers it, Gem does not.

I came across a recipe for blueberry buckle at the same site (I follow her blog, she posts a ton of recipes that are kid-friendly, simple and comforting) and felt a thrill.  I'd only recently learned about buckles and find them appealing.  Cap and Sag and I like this.  Gem has not tried it yet.  I used partially thawed frozen blueberries (local and organic acquired through our CSA at the start of the summer) and there was the expected leaking of purple liquid, but it was not as bad as I thought it might be.  The cake-y parts are, for the most part, a pleasant tan, likely due to the use of coconut sugar which is very brown.

It brings me joy to be reminded of how close these two are.

I didn't remember the CSA email mentioning okra so I was surprised to see these beauties come out of the bags.  They were so pretty, in fact, that I wasn't absolutely sure they were okra.  I posted the pic to Facebook and had it confirmed.  Lana mentioned they were yummy dredged in cornmeal and fried.

After getting the CSA share organized (this was yesterday), I set about prepping for Taco Tuesday (which Sag is really hoping will stick).  I made a two-avocado simple guacamole: avocado mashed with garlic powder, salt, pepper and a splash of lemon juice.

It's a labor intensive set up, but is seriously worth it.  We are fans of the soft taco.  In addition to the guac, I served a new-to-me rice and beans dish (used pinto instead of black beans, added two cubes of vegetable bouillon, added half a small can of green chiles, used a few cloves of garlic instead of the shallot, and used olive oil instead of the butter), ribeye steak, lettuce from the farm, cilantro from the farm, salsa and whole fat Greek yogurt.  I melted cheddar onto Sag and my corn tortillas.  Gem opted not to have any tortillas last night.  He stuck to steak and lettuce.

Sag enjoying a big bon appétit bite!

Today I focused on some of the CSA share.  I googled around for a fried okra recipe and decided to use this one.  (I used palm shortening.)  It was straightforward and simple and the results were delicious.  Salty, so many satisfying textures, the goodness of local in-season produce.  A win, win, win.

There was kale so I whipped up one of my favorite recipes.  I didn't have orange or lemon to zest so I added a splash of orange juice to the dressing.

One of the best things to emerge from this CSA season has been getting to know green beans.  I finally figured out that it is essential to cook up green beans as soon as possible.  Snapping off the ends is tedious...so tedious, but once that's done, I just steam the beans for about seven minutes and they are good to go.  Maybe it has been a particularly good year for green beans, but, wow, they have been wonderful.  So pleasing to the eye, teeth and tongue.

I made Japanese-style pickles with the salad turnips and used David Lebovitz's recipe to pickle some radishes (photographed).  As I washed, spun dry and put away the lettuce, I felt a pang of summer's coming to an end.  Each season has its pleasures, certainly, but there is something special about having access to fresh, in-season produce that I love and will miss as the crops finish up and the fields goes to bed for winter.

Peace and love.

Bread and jam for manatee

Wanted to report that I did sleep about seven hours last night. It's hard to know how I sound since I sometimes put up a front without realizing. Being blessed with sensitive souls who care about me, I thought it best to assuage any concerns, today. Because it is possible I sounded down yesterday.

My left knee tightened up two nights ago, during the night, and my left elbow has followed suit. Age and inflammation. My body speaks.

Qigong, sleep, time outside, modifying my food. I know what will help. Stay tuned.

My breakfast this morning was quiet...approached sacred...certainly ritualistic. It harkened back to childhood...hot dang forty years ago now.

I really love this gluten-free bread. Whole Foods brand white sandwich bread. Gluten-free and dairy-free. I want to enjoy it just a little bit longer, with Kerrygold and homemade strawberry jam, before going grain-free again.

Peace and love.