Dang, this was fun. I am working on trompe
l'oeil, a French form of painting meaning to 'fool the eye'. This kind
of painting focuses on creating artificial still-lifes and scenes that
could be plausible on a wall or other surface. This one will go into my
kitchen and near my kitchen sink, where I have always wanted knick-knack
shelves.
(Image: "SweetPeas and Yellow Birds" Acrylic on Canvas, Cory Jaeger-Kenat, 2015)
Itsy bitsy basil sprouts...
The birth of flowers and vegetables...tomato sprouts, marigolds and phlox. I really get a sense of the power of God, when a tiny seed comes to life. After all, I could put a seed into the best soil, do everything right when it comes to watering, light, temperature...but when it comes down to it, something divine and beyond my power happens when a bright green sprout pops its head into the world. I can't wait until these boxes are showing far less dirt and far more color, keeping my fingers crossed.
This was last week's freezer cooking session. I try to use everything I possibly can when I cook. It was high time to use the turkey bones from last Thanksgiving, which had kind of been forgotten about at the bottom of the freezer...oops!
Here is the delicious stock I made from nothing but those bones and some water. (It almost looks like soup already!) I filled the stock pot up until the bones were nearly submerged, and then just let it simmer for a couple of hours. The amount of water really depends on how rich you want your stock and how much you want to make.No hard and fast rules here...just let the poultry carcass boil for awhile, until you start to see some colorful, flavorful liquid. The longer, the better. It's amazing how much can be gotten from just a few bones! The only drawback is that your house will smell so delicious, you might be like me and crave mashed potatoes and chicken gravy for the rest of the afternoon.
And voila, my stocks are ready for the freezer once more. I will use this stock to make gravies, and also as the base for homemade 'condensed' soups (such as cream of mushroom, cream of chicken (of course!) and even cream of celery. It will also make a great chicken soup base either with noodles or rice. Stock adds a real restaurant-level quality of flavor to seasoned rice side dishes.
Two things I've learned in just the last few years of my radical frugality: 1.) it's amazing how much just one bird will yield for food...and 2.) how rich and 'gourmet-like' poultry dishes taste when you use genuine stock. Having stock in my kitchen makes me feel like a genuine chef!
Oh, and one more thing, I don't worry about the fat in the liquid...it rises to the top of the containers, hardens and is easily removed when the stock is used.
Today is freezer baking day. On the far left is cornbread to go with our soup tonight, made with applesauce that I canned earlier in the month. (I substitute applesauce for oil or butter in many of my recipes and cannot believe the moistness and flavor difference...yum!) The middle container holds pumpkin muffins for Hubby's lunches. The loaf behind is also pumpkin bread. Farthest away is a pan of toffee bars...and as you can see, it is the cook's prerogative to sneak the first piece! Since it's just the two of us, this should hold us for a couple of weeks. I do a great deal of baking, since, except for a weekly burger-dive splurge, we primarily eat all our meals at home and from scratch.
There are also two containers of unfrosted yellow cupcakes, which later will be frosted and set out for a family reunion this summer. It might sound like I'm a bit hasty to make cupcakes for a summer function this early, but at our house, and I bet at yours too, time always seems to be in short supply. Hubby is currently in chaplaincy ministry and ordaining to become an Anglican priest, and already our calendar for summer is rapidly filling up.
In the back bay window, you might be able to make out my the long gray pot, which I filled with marigold seeds yesterday. I've also got some tomatoes started, as well as some zucchinis.
These delightful dishtowels were embroidered and sent to me by a dear friend. They are far too pretty to use but are perfect accents in my quaint little kitchen.
Today it's pears...still have half a crate to do. Funny how many pears actually go into one quart jar.
Today, I'm making applesauce, and later jelly, distilled from the cores and peel scraps. An odd time of year for doing such things, I know, as the snow flies outside my window, but we buy fruit to support a local 4H fundraiser and I figure it's a win-win. Canning is downright fun when you aren't doing it in the oppressive August heat. I use applesauce in the majority of my baked goods, in place of butter or oil, so these will probably not be featured by themselves as dessert. I have a box of pears to do tomorrow, and they are gorgeous!
