This week, in my kitchen...
Soup season has begun in earnest! Butternut Squash Soup last night (with apples too), with toasted walnuts and chives as toppings. Squash Soup isn't a favorite of some of my babes, but with enough fun toppings and of course a big slice of dipping bread, they fill their bellies. Another soup that's made it's way to the table recently is a variation on this African Chicken Peanut Stew. Peanut butter in soup! The kids were pumped about that. My boys have requested Chicken and Dumplings for tonight, and I'm more than happy to oblige. It'll be just the first time of many in the coming months that we make that simple soup that pleases everyone.
Have I told you about my favorite new crackers to make? Oh! These are amazing. I've been such a fan of the Lesley Stowe crackers for a while now, but given the rate at which my family can eat their way through a box (faster than you can say ready, set, go), it felt so silly to buy those. Of course, the recipe to make them ourselves was to be found online, right here. They're the real deal, and they are so, so good.
I am done (done, I tell you!) with fermenting and canning and freezing the beans. But many other things still coming in from the garden are making their way to the dinner table. Lots and lots of brussels sprouts, kale, spinach, chard, beets, carrots, and of course the stored potatoes and squash. Kraut is in progress - in crocks and jars all over my kitchen counters. And being that we are currently out of "finished" kraut (it's all still fermenting!), I am very eager for the next grilled cheese with sauerkraut sandwich I can make. Yum.
And lastly, I leave you with a new family favorite. Of course everything is a hit when you add bacon, but we are really loving this combination. I start with a pound of bacon, chopped and sauteed in the wok. When it's cooked, I remove the bacon and all but a few tablespoons of the bacon grease. Into that, I fry garlic, brussels sprouts (chopped in half), lots and lots of kale, and some chives all with just a bit of tamari. When those are all tender, I add cooked brown rice udon noodles to the wok for mixing, and put the bacon back in. I've made it twice this week for lunch, and was met with many happy faces at the table.
Oh this time of year really is such a grand one in the kitchen, isn't it? With all the harvest from the garden giving us such a feeling of abundance, and our bellies calling for warmth and comfort that the kitchen provides. I am enjoying it so.
And you? What's happening in your kitchen this week?
