Food Again

Allow me to apologize.  I know many of you enjoy coming here to drool over my descriptions and pictures of the wonderful produce, meats and other local products we buy at the farmers' markets, and the delicious dishes Miss Chef whips up at home.

I have neglected you.

Not only did this blog turn into "I ♥ Cute Kitteh" for awhile, but I let Thanksgiving pass on by without a single photo of our food.  However, there is good reason for that--Miss Chef went to visit her family and took the camera with her.  Which meant not only no camera, but no Miss Chef in the kitchen! 

I must say I acquitted myself ably with the bit of turkey I prepared, but mostly because Miss Chef set me up--she broke down the 19-pound bird and left me with the brine for the breast and leg quarter we were roasting.  Mom made the pies (as I notice Rosie already told you), and we collaborated on the gravy.

Then we schlepped it all over to our friends' home and had a wonderful time eating, drinking and talking.

However, I will not leave you completely adrift, for we have spent a bit of time in the kitchen here and there.  For example, instead of busting down the doors at Best Buy, Mom and I dedicated our post-turkey weekend to taking care of the half bushel of apples remaining from Miss Chef's and my anniversary trip a month earlier!  Thanks to lots of help from both my parents, a day and a half of labor resulted in a ready platoon of fall goodness in glass. 

From left to right, you're looking at apple pie filling, some weird stuff I made from leftovers of apple pie filling, and the infantry of applesauce.  Nine quarts of applesauce, to be exact.  That's a lot of applesauce.  So much that today, a week later, it's still sitting on the counter as we ponder where exactly to store it all!

Thankfully, Miss Chef came safely back to me at the end of the weekend, and we all tried to settle back into our "normal" routines.  Back in my cubicle one afternoon, I got a call from Miss Chef at home.  "You know you're pushing it, calling at 4:30 at month-end," I grumbled into the phone.  But I quickly forgave her, because she was calling to ask me to pick up an ingredient for the potato soup she was making.

Here's the last bowlful, which I enjoyed tonight, after freezing my extremities walking Rosie in an icy-cold rain.

I enjoyed it with a glass of sweet, local and unpasteurized apple cider.  After we'd bought two quarts at the farmers' market, Miss Chef remembered she could freeze it, so back we went to buy two more!

Speaking of farmers' markets, I somewhat guiltily showed up today at our super-local Matthews Farmers' Market for the volunteer thank-you "lunch."  I put lunch in quotes because it was served at 10:30.  And I say guiltily because I've hardly been to the market since August.

Chef Adam came through for the market once again, serving up a hot potato-chili bar with all the fixin's.  Most unfortunately, Miss Chef was volunteering at the school, so was unable to join me.  Sadly, she wasn't the only one with prior commitments, and the turnout was small.

Can you tell how cold it was?  Apparently there were a few snowflakes spotted earlier during the market!  So we ate our chili quickly!  Even though the crowd was sparse and our fingers frozen, the sincere thanks from both the market coordinator and the farmers kept us warm enough...at least for a little bit.

Oh, and how's this for the most awesome Christmas present?  Jenifer Mullis of Laughing Owl Farms brought each volunteer a dozen fresh eggs in thanks. I've already cracked one open; the yolk was a beautiful bright orange.

I say "was" because I quickly mixed it into cookie dough!

Yeeeah, snickerdoodles!!  Miss Chef's are the best, but I thought I'd give her a hand this year, and get a jump on the holiday baking.  I was in the mood.

Anticipation...

Ah, but here's where Miss Chef's brilliance shows itself.  I only baked about 10 cookies tonight.  The rest?  Formed, rolled in cinnamon sugar, and...

Into the freezer.  Anytime we want fresh, warm cookies, it only takes about 12 minutes.  Pop a half-dozen in the hot oven after you pull dinner out, and you couldn't ask for a better dessert.

Or, um, we could, y'know, bake them off in a couple of weeks as Christmas gifts.  If we wanted. ;-)