Nancy on the Home Front

Change Is In The Air

Can you believe it’s September already? Not sure where the time is going but it sure is flying by quickly. As I look around the colors are already changing in the hillsides. The leaves no longer have that vibrant green color, instead they have a more olive hue.

Much as I love summer I actually look forward to autumn when the days are still warm but the nights are chilly. The garden is winding down, I have cleared some of the beds, getting ready to plant a cover crop and get my garlic planted for next season.

Looks like I’ll have a good crop of Brussel sprouts this year.

There are a few little New England Pie Pumpkins in the garden.

Remember that large pile of wood? My husband has managed to get it all cut up!

Now to do a little splitting. Then to finish the stacking, the end is in sight!

Always a good feeling to have a good supply of wood! Looking forward to Labor Day weekend. We always have a group of friends come for the weekend. It’s a good time to reconnect and just enjoy a relaxing weekend!

Linked to some of my favorite blog hops, see link in right side bar. Also linked to:

Salad Dressing: Blueberry Vinaigrette

I’ve mentioned that we have blueberries in abundance this year! The freezer is full of frozen blueberries; the pantry is well stocked with Blueberry Lime Jam, Blueberry Lemon Bread, Blueberry Vinegar and Blueberry Muffins! Still we have an abundance of blueberries. So I decided to make some homemade salad dressing using the blueberries, the result was a wonderful Blueberry Vinaigrette. It’s very easy to make and only has a few ingredients.

The color of this wonderful dressing is beautiful and looks so nice in a glass bottle. Mix up a batch and try it on your next summer salad.

Homemade Salad Dressing: Blueberry Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

½ cup of fresh blueberries
¼ cup white wine vinegar
¼ cup honey

Directions:

Combine the blueberries, the vinegar and the honey in your blender or food processor. Blend the ingredients until smooth. Strain the mixture if you’d like to get rid of the little bits of blueberry skin. This step is optional. Refrigerate the dressing until ready to use. don’t you just love the color? It’s that easy. So quick to make and just delicious on a salad. It went over very well with our company!

This homemade dressing takes wonderful on a chicken salad with blueberries as well.

Corn Zucchini Salsa

I love zucchini and I always plant so much more than I need in my garden. As a result I am always looking for new ways to use it up! This is a new recipe for me this year! Serve this delicious corn zucchini salsa with tortilla chips or try it on top of grilled chicken breasts or fish. It’s got just the right amount of zip!

Corn Zucchini Salsa

Ingredients:

3 medium zucchini, cleaned, trimmed and diced
1 ½ tsp salt
2 ears of yellow corn, husked and silk removed
4 Tbsp olive oil
2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 cup fresh lime juice (about 8 limes)
½ cup apple cider vinegar
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced (wear rubber gloves)
¼ cup finely chopped scallions
3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Toss the zucchini with the salt and sweat them for three minutes in a colander. Rinse and dry on paper towels.

Coat the corn with 2 tsp olive oil and roast on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for 30-40 minutes. Remove the corn from the oven and cool. Cut off the kernels and scrape the cobs.

Combine the zucchini, corn, remaining oil, tomatoes, lime juice, vinegar, jalapenos, scallions, garlic and pepper in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Ladle into hot, sterile jars, cap and seal. Process in a boiling water bath canner for 15 minutes.

Peach Raspberry Crisp

As I mentioned yesterday it is peach season. I was lucky enough to have some peaches delivered to me from Bishop’s Orchards in Connecticut. They have the best peaches! In the past I have canned peaches but this time I made a Peach Raspberry Crisp, which was delicious!

Peach Raspberry Crisp

Ingredients:

4 cups sliced, peaches (skin and pit removed)
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
2 Tbsp cherry cordial (op)
½ cup flour
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup butter
½ tsp cinnamon (op)

Directions:

Combine the peaches and the raspberries with the cordial and place in a shallow baking dish.

Combine the flour, the brown sugar, the butter and cinnamon and work together until the mixture is crumbly. Spread over the peach raspberry mixture. Bake the crisp for about 30 minutes. Delicious served with a little vanilla ice cream!

Now the first time I made this last week I cooked the peach raspberry crisp and we ate it all up before I remembered I never took any pictures! What’s a blogger to do? Why make another one! Which I did.The second crisp was equally delicious and perfect with a little vanilla ice cream! My husband was so happy! It’s not often that he has a favorite dessert twice in one week!

Preserving Herbs – Freezing

There are many ways of preserving herbs. Last week I talked about drying herbs. Another way to preserve herbs is to freeze them. Herbs that have been frozen actually taste fresher than dried herbs, but only for the first four months or so after freezing. After that the flavor declines rapidly. Freezing herbs should be done in addition to drying herbs not as a substitute for it.

There are two methods of freezing herbs. For lemon verbena, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, sage or tarragon use whole leaves, discarding the stems. To freeze dill, fennel or thyme, use tender sprigs. Basil discolors when it is frozen; to keep it green, dip the branches in boiling water, just for a second or two. Then discard the stems and gently dry the leaves.

Anything you’re freezing should be completely dry. Spread the herbs out on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer.

As soon as the herbs are frozen pack them into heavy plastic freezer bags. Place the bags in freezer safe containers for storage in your freezer.

For herbs that tend to fade rapidly when frozen, such as cilantro or chervil; combine 1 cup of chopped herbs with 1/3 to 1.2 cup water in a blender. Freeze in ice cube trays. As soon as the cubes are frozen place in plastic freezer bags. Use the cubes where you would the herb. Each cube equals about 2 Tbsp of freshly chopped herbs.

It’s always sad to see the end of the gardening season. Whether you dry your herbs or freeze them do take time to preserve your harvest so you can enjoy your fresh herbs all winter!

6 Things to Do With A Can of Tuna

We all have made a tuna casserole before but did you know there are plenty of delicious and fresh tasting dishes to be made with this thrifty standby. And canned tuna is a low-cost source of lean protein as well.

Combine tuna with white beans, fresh herbs, onion, olive oil and lemon juice for a hearty salad.
Layer with onion, sliced hardboiled egg, raw veggies, and olive oil and vinegar on fresh crusty bread for a plain pan-bagnat. Wrap tightly and allow flavors to meld before serving. Cooking Light has a wonderful detailed recipe here.
Sauté with oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, capers or olives and fresh parsley for a quick pasta sauce. Found a great recipe on Martha Stewart here.
Serve with radishes, olives, tomatoes, and boiled potatoes and green beans for a Nicosia Salad. Drizzle with a mixture of lemon juice, olive oil and Dijon mustard. found a detailed recipe from the kitchn here.
Toss with pasta, cheddar and milk for a fortified mac ’n’ cheese! Hungry Girl has a tasty healthy recipe here.
My favorite growing up with Creamed Tuna fish and Peas on toast. Make a simple white sauce; add 1 – 2 cans of tuna and some frozen peas. Serve hot on toast, this is my all time favorite comfort meal!Don’t forget to enter the KettlePizza giveaway HERE. The KettlePizza Deluxe Kit is perfect for cooking pizza on your Weber grill!

Preserving Herbs – Drying.

If you are like me you have an abundance of fresh herbs in your garden, perhaps more than you can use. What do you do with the surplus? I do what gardeners and cooks have been doing for years – dry the surplus!

By drying my herbs now I can store them and use them later on. The process of drying herbs is very simple; you can just toss the cuttings on a paper towel and leave them there to dry out. Just remember to check on them.

Herbs just need the slightest rinsing, unless they are covered with dirt or have been sprayed with something.

Find a spot indoors, that is warm and dry and has good air circulation to dry your herbs. I use a closet in our laundry room.

For larger quantities of herbs, bundle the sprigs together and tie with twine. Then hang them upside down to dry.

Leave everything undisturbed until the herbs are dry, which may only take a few days or may take longer. Once the herbs are dry strip the leaves from the stems. You can leave them whole or crush them. Left whole they retain their flavor better but crushed they take up less space. Your choice.

Store in a glass container with a tight fitting lid and keep away from heat and direct sunlight. Be sure to label your jars. Now you have a fresh supply of dried herbs to get you through the winter!

Freezing Blueberries

Place the frozen berries into a freezer container.

Are you tired of hearing about all of our blueberries yet?

It’s been an abundant year for our blueberries. I have made Blueberry Lime Jam.

preserves, blueberries — Blueberry Lime Jam

The freezer is full of Blueberry Muffins.

I also have numerous loaves of Blueberry Lemon Bread packed away in the freezer.

I’ve also canned Blueberry Pie Filling.

berries, prudent pantry, prudent living — Blueberry Pie Filling

We’ve enjoyed Blueberry Crisp.

and I still plan to make a Blueberry Crunch.

But what do we do when we still have blueberries? We freeze them!

Blueberries are so easy to freeze, much like freezing strawberries. You just fill a rimmed cookie sheet with blueberries and carefully place them in the freezer. Allow the blueberries to freeze solid. When they are completely frozen place the blueberries in a freezer bag or container and place back in the freezer. That’s it. You will be able to enjoy them this winter. It’s always nice to enjoy a yummy Blueberry Cobbler in the middle of winter!

Vinegar and Vodka Disinfectant

I’ve used vodka to make certain things like vanilla extract but did you know you can use it to make a disinfectant as well? This mixture can be used on bathroom surfaces, countertops, tables, appliances, light switches and doorknobs.

The white vinegar and vodka inhibit the growth of germs. The lavender and lemon essential oils are antibacterial and antiseptic.

Vinegar and Vodka Disinfectant

½ cup white vinegar
½ cup vodka
10 drops of lavender essential oil
10 drops lemon essential oil
1 ½ cups water

Pour all the ingredients in to a 24oz spray bottle and shake well. Spray your surfaces and let sit for 10 minutes. Wipe clean.

That’s it, so simple and the smell of the lavender helps relive stress and boost moods so you might actually enjoy cleaning!

It works pretty well as a cleaner although I may have to add a little more essential oil, and the hint of vodka is strong so I feel like I’m cleaning my counters with a vodka tonic!

Farro Salad with Tomatoes and Corn

My mom was always ahead of her time. She was cooking with grains before it was even popular. You may remember my post on Warm Farro Cereal. did you know you can also use faro to make a faro salad with tomatoes and corn?

Farro is a type of hulled wheat that is typically used in salads, soups and side dishes. It has sort of a nutty flavor. Farro looks very much like a wheat berry.This is a great summer salad when you can take advantage of the garden fresh tomatoes and herbs. It’s the fresh herbs that really make this dish! You can serve it as a side dish or as a meatless dinner.

Farro Salad with Tomatoes and Corn

Ingredients:

up Farro
2 ears of cooked corn
16 cherry tomatoes, quartered
4 tsp chopped fresh oregano
4 tsp chopped fresh thyme
2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
¼ cup toasted slivered almonds
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 tsp white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Place farro in a small bowl, cover with water and let sit over night. When ready to cook, drain the faro and place in a small pan with water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook for ten minutes, until tender.

Scrape the kernels from the corn. Place the corn and remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix well. When the faro is cooked, drain well and toss in bowl. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Serves 4-6 depending as whether you are using is as a side dish or the main dish.