Autumn Harvest

The arrival of autumn always makes me a little nostalgic for summer, but there are things I love about it, too. The crisp morning air, the fall colour—which we get a taste of, even here in the Pacific Northwest—but most of all I love fall produce. Apples are ripening on the trees, pumpkin patches are bright orange, and the farmers’ markets are brimming with cabbages and corn.

This year my daughter and I decided to try our hand at canning tomatoes. Those are the only things I buy in cans—everything else we eat is fresh and made from scratch—but as a two-time cancer survivor I’m becoming increasingly concerned about the carcinogenic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) found in the lining of almost all food cans.

So last weekend I purchased 35 pounds of tomatoes from a local organic farmer, borrowed my neighbor’s canning pot, bought two dozen jars with lids and rings, and looked up “how to can tomatoes” on the Internet. The printable PDF file on this site is easy to follow and includes great illustrations.

On Sunday afternoon my daughter and I rolled up our sleeves and got to work. The job turned out to be a lot less work and a lot more fun than we expected. Three hours later we were admiring the fruits of our labor—sixteen quarts of tomatoes, chemical free and no salt added.

The only thing we couldn’t figure out was why on earth we weren’t doing this years ago.

Do you have a fall favorite? What about canning tips? Please share!

Until next time,
Lee
The Christmas Secret
November 1, 2011
www.leemckenzie.com

IT'S SUMMER!!!

IT’S SUMMER

And wow is it summer! We had 100 degrees here yesterday and today it’s supposed to be higher. That’s just too much heat for June or anytime of the year. Crazy weather all over the country. My heart and prayers go out to the people of Joplin, Missouri and the Mississippi flood victims.

But on a lighter note, vegetable gardens are coming in with fresh veggies due to being watered religiously because we’ve had very little rain. We went to my brothers on Sunday and raided his large garden. No, really, we were invited. We brought home tomatoes, potatoes, onions, peppers, cucumbers and squash. There’s nothing like eating a home-grown tomato fresh from the vine (washed, of course). Can’t wait for the green beans, peas and corn to be ready.

When I was growing up, my mother always had a garden and I really miss the fresh veggies. She was part Polish and made dishes that I haven’t seen since. With tomatoes, she’d slice them and sprinkle sugar on top. It was like a dessert. Delicious. And cucumbers she’d also slice, add salt and let them sit for a minute and then add mayonnaise, a little vinegar and pepper. Then mix. You have to really like cucumbers to like this dish. She’d also slice squash, lengthwise, salt and let sit. When they were wet and limber, she’d dip them in cornmeal and fry. Absolutely delicious. Not very healthy, though. But it’s fresh squash and summertime so I’ll indulge—a little.

Do you like fresh vegetables? If you have any recipes, please share.

Chillin’ at 102 degrees here in Texas.
Linda
The Texan’s Secret – Aug ‘11

Recipe of the Month

This month's recipe is from a former Butler High School (Go Bears!) classmate, Deborah McNulty Hughes. We were talking about cold weather food on Facebook and she highly recommended this recipe for winter soup. Please note that there are a few variations in case you want meat in this hearty soup. Enjoy!

Deborah McNulty Hughes' Quick & Easy Winter Vegetable Soup

2 pkgs. Knorr Vegetable soup mix or 8 C. vegetable broth
1 or 2 cans, mild or spicy to taste, Rotel tomatoes with green chilis
4 or 5 small parsnips
1 C. shredded carrots
1 med. zuchinni
1 med. yellow squash
1 C. chopped onion (use frozen to reduce prep time)
2 Uncle Ben's wild & long grain rice 90 sec. microwave packs

Optional: Laura's lean top sirloin, broiled and chopped into small pieces. You can also add fresh or dried mushrooms.

Make the Knorr soup according to package directions. Use food processor to thin slice parsnips, zuchinni, & squash. Cook rice according to package directions.
Once soup mix is boiling add all ingredients. Simmer for about 30 minutes to let flavors marry.
Add other winter vegetables such as rutabaga, turnip, spiniach etc. as desired.
If adding the meat, add at the same time as the other ingredients.

Very low fat, low cal if made as directed. Chicken can be substituted for sirloin. Recipe freezes very well.