Kitchen Madness

We finally got some rain.  It's back to humid and hot.  

I've been busy in the kitchen - freezing green peppers, jalapenos, more green beans, some tomatoes, and cauliflower.  Our popcorn is on, and looks pretty promising (although small), but my watermelon is questionable.

What else have I been up to?

I canned 10 - 1/2 pints of homemade ketchup. That used up 20 pounds of tomatoes.  I'll have a "how to" post on this ketchup soon.

(onions cooking in butter)

(Onion soup cooling)

I cooked up and froze 6 quarts of homemade onion soup (Ball Blue Book recipe), using organic beef broth, and homegrown onions.  I love the smell of onions cooking in real butter.  Mmmm!  That used us 4 pounds of onions.

Update on this soup 3/4/2015:  It is very versatile in meal planning.  I have used it as a base for a potato/corn chowder (or soup), and also for a homemade crock pot Pasta e Pagioli.  With the onions in the broth, it's a wonderful to have on hand during winter months.  It saves money and time as well.

I pulled out the dehydrator and dried more onions, and ground it down for onion powder.

Cut more rosemary to stock up for winter and spring.

The kids are back to school.  Sigh....baked them homemade chewy granola bars to pack in their lunches.

I roasted a few smaller spaghetti squashes, and made our favorite dinner with it.  This has fresh tomato, basil, onion, garlic, olives and feta cheese.  Mmmmm!   I roast them in a bit of water (cut side down), covered in foil, vs. oil as the recipe suggests.  My youngest goes back for seconds with this dish.
 

I got a few more of these granny dishcloths finished.  They are pretty quick to make.  I found the tutorial online (Miss Abigail's Hope Chest).

.......and I'm back in the kitchen today.  I think I'm going to need another pot of hot coffee.  First, I must go get my laundry on the line and care for the chickens.