Peach abundance!

Our peach tree exploded with fruit this year.  I made as much as I could with the fruit, including canning and freezing it.  Here are some of what I made:

Peach cobblerhttps://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/peach-cobbler/#recipe

Canned peaches https://www.sustainablecooks.com/canning-peaches/#recipe

Peach cake https://www.elephantasticvegan.com/vegan-peach-crumb-cake/

I used some vegan butter that was a little rancid, so this probably could have been better ,but the vegans liked it. 

The Week in Review

Monday we had Lasagna!

Tuesday we had leftover Pizza and some lasagna.

Wednesday I made Chiliquiles - post coming soon!

Thursday we had Chinese take-out. I tried something new (steamed veggies and tofu) and liked it. It didn't taste like everything else on the menu. At first when I dished out the veggies and tofu, I was a little worried. As much as I want to be healthy, it just seemed too bland, but then I found the sauce that was supposed to go on top. It was from the "Lighter Side" menu, so I'm guessing they don't put the sauce on because people want to control how much salt/sugar/oil they are adding with the sauce - and control I did.

What to cook tonight...? I feel something soupy coming on.

Busy post-work

The last couple of days have been kinda busy after work, so we've ordered in. Thai on Tuesday and pizza (can you tell Ebon likes pizza!) last night.
On Tuesday morning, I walked to the polling place to find the line out the door and down the block, so I opted to not be late to work and vote afterwards. As I was walking to polling place after work, I spotted another polling place with a line down the block and around the corner for quite a ways and I was worried that I would meet the same fate. Fortunately, the line I had to stand in didn't go around the corner. I did have to wait in line for about an hour before attending to my democratic duty. Because of that and I had to meet up with the end of rugby practice to attend to my rugby treasurer duties, Ebon ordered Thai food. I tried to go with something a little different and asked if one of their chicken dishes could be made vegetarian by using tofu instead - they agreed and I had Cashew Tofu. I'd say it was decent, it probably would have been better if it was hot, but rugby practice delayed my return to home. Ebon got Sweet and Sour Tofu and the staple Crispy Tofu Basil which is always yummy.
Last night I went to my first book signing (at least that I can remember) for my favorite blog, Young House Love and go buy their book: Young House Love, the Book! . I went with a friend from work and as we drove the Nor'easter that was predicted started dumping and blowing snow everywhere, so that made for an interesting drive into Boston from Chelmsford. The signing was at West Elm near Fenway Park. After waiting in line for about three hours we spent a very short amount of time chatting with John and Sherry, they signed my friend's book and my bookplate, and then we took the obligatory picture.

The employees snaked the line around the whole store, which I thought was ingenious for them because it forced people to look at all the stuff they had in stock. Forced window-shopping was definitely way better than the alternative of standing outside in the blowing snow. It was fun- as fun as waiting in line for the second day in a row can be- they gave us cookies and hot chocolate, we made line friends with some of the people standing close to us, and I got a couple ideas for "re-doing" our bedroom. We need a new duvet cover and I have been thinking about getting or making new drapes/curtains for a while since the ones I have are probably 9 years old and getting a little drab.  This morning while I was getting ready for work, I looked at our room I thought that it might work better if I re-arrange the room a bit. My design wheels are turning!
Soooo, after getting home at about 9:30pm, Ebon had ordered some pizza which I think he got for free from Papa John's. After that I was beat, so I went to bed after a little TV and internet browsing (I heart the Daily Show!).

Have you ever been to a book signing? What was it like? Do you ever get sick of pizza? Ebon doesn't!

Potato Gratin et al

We love cheese around here! So in our discussions for dinner on Wednesday night, Ebon suggested a Potato Gratin. When I said that wasn't really a complete meal, and could I add some chard or other veggie? He wasn't too enthusiastic about that, so I nixed that idea. The last gratin I made had kale and potatoes and cheese in it - I thought it was very tasty, but I think Ebon just wanted to pick around the kale. I poked around in the fridge and freezer a little more and figured out how to make the gratin- sans veggies- part  of a complete meal

Potato and Cheese Gratin:
3 medium/large potatoes sliced thinly, cross-wise
~2-3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese - I'm not sure of the amount, because I just took chunks and started grating it right into the dish.
1 cup milk
thyme (dried from the CSA share)
~1/2 teaspoon salt
ground pepper
~2 tablespoons flour

I sprayed a deep casserole dish with my trusty Misto Gourmet Olive Oil Sprayer, Brushed Aluminum  layered the potatoes and cheese - it's about 3 layers of potatoes. Then I whisked the milk flour and spices together and poured it over the cheese and potatoes. I covered the dish and baked it in a 400degF oven for about 45 minutes. At which point, I removed the cover to bake an additional 15 min or so.

From the freezer, I ended up boiling up the last of the green and yellow beans that were picked for us by our CSA partners when they went to Red Fire Farm for some fall Pick Your Own. From the fridge, I found some leftover Trader Joe's Italian soysage that I fried up for our complete meal.
All in all, a good meal to end the day and Ebon gets the credit for coming up with most of the dinner idea.

Last night we had Chinese take-out from the Dragon Garden. Ebon got his usual Kung Pao Broccoli with Tofu as well as General Gau's Tofu, but I tried something new - Sesame Tofu - I wasn't too impressed and won't be ordering that again. It was just too sweet and tasted a lot like the General Gau's Tofu.
Do you have a favorite Chinese takeout place near you? How about Thai?

Lazy days

We intended to order up some Thai food on Thursday, but our internet and cable was out so we couldn't look up the menu online.After going to see "Looper"  (complete with popcorn, soda and beer), we re-heated the leftover pizza and ate that up after we got back home. The movie was quite good, I'd recommend going to see it.

Poster from this site.

When Friday night comes, I don't really feel like cooking too much. Our internet was back, so we finally ordered the Thai food we were craving from Tom Yum Koong in Medford. They were pretty busy so it took a while before our food was delivered to us, and it was not super warm once we got it.
Another exiting Friday night in our house!  Also it was supposed to freeze/frost overnight (which it did) and I was too lazy to go to my garden plot to cover the last remaining plants.  I walked by this morning and the basil is done for :(