Hazy Shade of Winter: Update

The snow hasn't stopped all day and it is now getting heavier. The wind began to pick up late this afternoon and there have been gusts between 25 and 35 mph, making it difficult to see the street outside of my front window. I took some photos just before it got dark tonight to show my gentle readers how much snow we have gotten today. Enjoy!

I never get snow this far back on my porch:

Taken through the door--I refuse to go outside in this. Kenna has no choice.

By 8:00 tonight, we had so much snow that it was creeping up over the screen of my door.

Just kidding ;-)

The snow made me extremely hungry, so I made bolognese sauce this afternoon along with French bread and then tonight I made a loaf of challah. I think I have run the dishwasher three times today.

The official advice is for everyone to stay inside and off of the roads until at least tomorrow morning because it's only going to get worse overnight. I am grateful for my warm dog and my warm bed.

Up next: a new Obsession and some Reminiscing...

Hungry Heart

As the leaves on the trees in my yard start to turn and the air gets a little more crisp, I begin to feel the need to hoard food like a squirrel. So, last weekend, I began the process of restocking my freezer with the things that I must have when the weather gets cooler.

First, I made red sauce:

In the middle of making red sauce, I was stung by a yellow jacket, so I ended up taking Benadryl. That knocked me out for most of the rest of the day, so the following day, I continued my work. I started with chicken stock, which took most of the day:

While the chicken stock was cooking, I started some French bread:

Next, I made lasagna. Here is a helpful hint for those of you with gassy dogs: if you drop a piece of lasagna meat, do not, under any circumstances, allow your dog to eat even the smallest piece of it. You will regret it for days.


Several hours later, I had two loaves of French bread:



Another day later, I had chicken stock ready to freeze:



Then, I used the chicken that I had roasted previously (the bones, skin, etc. went into the stock) to make individual chicken pot pies in these super cute pie pans that I bought at the grocery store this week:

For the filling, I just used about two cups of shredded chicken along with potatoes, carrots, onions, peas, chives, and parsley. I made one recipe of pie crust and divided it into eight pieces because I like a double crust on my pot pies.

Lids on, vented, brushed with egg wash, and sprinkled with salt and pepper:

I baked one for dinner and then froze the other three (I dropped this one on the way to the baking sheet, so it isn't very pretty):

Finally, I have everything I need. Frozen strawberries and blueberries from this summer, extra pot pie filling, lasagna, chicken stock, red sauce, pot pies, and plenty of bread.

I thought that I would start making baked goods to freeze for October, when I am expecting a lot of visitors who all want to come "before it snows," but I don't know where I would put any of that right now. I guess I'll have to eat some of this first.

The Mackinaw Peach

Let's take a break from the disgusting food of yesteryear and talk about something that tastes good. In honor of the arrival of The Chosen One (my new food processor) and in honor of Leah's birthday, I baked a peach pie to take with me to Maryland.

Here are the ingredients for the crust, so nicely put together by The Chosen One. One and a quarter cups of flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, a stick of frozen butter, and three tablespoons of ice water.

While the crust was chilling in the refrigerator, I put the peaches into boiling water for about 2 minutes:

Then, I plunged them into ice water to stop the cooking:


This made peeling the skin off very easy:



I used a recipe from my go-to cookbook for all basic recipes, The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, for "Fresh Peach Pie:"



1 c. sugar
4 tbsp. flour
4 c. peeled and sliced fresh peaches
1 tbsp. lemon juice (I also used the zest)




Here is the filling in the shell, waiting for the top crust:




Note: I used a slotted spoon to put the peaches into the shell to reduce the amount of liquid in the final pie. My peaches were very juicy, so if you make this, be careful not to put everything into the shell if you have a lot of liquid.



Here's the pie with a lattice top:

I baked this at 425 degrees for ten minutes, then at 350 degrees for another 40-45 minutes, watching to make sure that the crust didn't brown too much.

You'll have to wait to find out if it was good or not until I get down to Maryland and let the birthday girl cut it.

I also made French bread to take with me because I wanted to try my new French bread pan that I got for my birthday (I may have snuck a few cloves of crushed garlic into the dough). Again, I used the recipe for "Crusty French Bread" in the Fannie Farmer cookbook. The ingredients and the process are fairly lengthy, so if you want the whole recipe, just leave a comment. Otherwise, here are some photos:

Finally, I baked a roll of icebox cookies that I had in the freezer and I also made some granola for Father of Ken. Since some people have expressed their interest in the recipe, here it is (roughly):

2 c. oats (I use old fashioned)

3/4 c. sliced almonds

3/4 c. sweetened shredded coconut

1/4-1/3 c. canola oil

1/4 c. honey

Mix everything together in a bowl, taste to make sure that it is sweet enough, sprinkle with a little bit of kosher salt (1/4 tsp. or so), and then spread into a single layer on a baking sheet:

Bake at 350 degrees at 5 minute intervals. Every five minutes, stir the granola and spread into an even layer again. Mine took 15 minutes total today, but some days, it takes 10. Keep an eye on it and take it out when it is golden brown:

Once it is cool, store in an airtight container.

Kenna, all of the food, and I are headed to Maryland this afternoon. This reminds me of when Brother of Ken and I used to go to Kansas City with our Grambi and Papaw in their old Ford Fairmont with a car full of food. We usually got to share the backseat with a ham or a turkey that we took to our relatives in the big city. Those were the days... Maybe I'll pick up a side of beef to take with me on my way out of town.