Cooking

66 and 91% humidity this morning, partly cloudy. Rain expected tonight.

I have been back in the kitchen at last, and it does feel good! I enjoy cooking when I can just be home and not having to go out. It has been a week since my surgery,  and I haven't left home. It feels good. And fortunately with our well-stocked larder, food has been no problem. Larry did pick up milk the other day but that was all we needed. 

Today I made turkey salad from the turkey left over from the jar I opened to make turkey noodle soup over the weekend. For this all I needed was a jar of pickle relish and some bread and butter pickles from the cellar, and some mayo. Chop it all up in the food processor, and done.

Add lettuce and tomato, a bunch, and yum.

Last night we had trout with potato salad and a bagged tossed salad Larry bought last week. I don't usually buy those, but he thought it would be something I could eat. I never got to it, so it had to be used before it spoiled.  The potato salad was made with potatoes I cooked in the morning to make fried potatoes to go with our eggs. Since I was peeling anyway, a few more made no difference. 

I boiled them and set aside in the fridge, making the salad later. The trout was a gift from a friend, carefully stored away in the freezer. We still have several left, happily. I will use what was left over from last night's dinner to make fish cakes for tonight. Add the leftover salads and the leftover squash casserole I made Monday and we will have a fine meal, I think. I will make tartar sauce with my pickle relish for the fish cakes. 

And canning! I made salsa on Sunday, I think it was, 

and yesterday and today I am canning whole tomatoes from some pick-your-own tomatoes brought to me by a friend. Our tomatoes are still not plentiful for canning so these give me a head start on our yearly supply. I traded her some widemouth canning jar lids, since I had bought far too many for my own needs. 

Tomorrow will be more dill pickles, even though we hardly need them. But the vines are still producing, and I am sure the family will help out with using up the pickles. I stripped the dried dill this morning and put that into a jar, tossing the stalks into the compost. I will use the dried dill in recipes this winter. Cheddar-dill cornbread, potato dill soup, etc, all mighty tasty in any weather.

Larry is still trying to dig the potatoes but his back is so bad I have had to call my closest son to come help. We hate to ask for help, but sometimes there is just no alternative. Larry will head to the VA tomorrow to see if they can help him out with his back. He is so fretted over the weedeating that needs to be done, but it will just have to wait. Our son will help with that too, when he has time, so my man is trying to not worry about it. 

As you can see, I am just about up to snuff now, which is a good thing since Larry clearly is not. I am still not lifting anything heavier than a few pounds as I do not want to risk a hernia, but otherwise I feel great. It is so good to enjoy coffee again! Not going crazy there, but a cup every now and then is a treat.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.