Why isn't it fall yet?

Normally, I love this time of the year. It starts to cool off and I start really getting back into cooking and baking. It was 90 degrees at the faire yesterday - that is NOT baking weather!

However, I have a stash of pumpkins, acorn squash, butternut squash and spaghetti squash all begging to be made into something. Little by little I've been cooking the pumpkin down and preparing it for bread and pies, though I think the one pumpkin will be saved to serve stew in.

Having picked up corned beef the other day, I decided what the heck, let's try this... corned beef, 2 bottles of Harps Lager, some water, green onions, carrots and two sliced up acorn squash, in the crockpot since just before 7 am this morning. It SMELLS good so far. We'll see how it tastes!

Now, if only autumn would hurry up and get here!

edited to add: Well, it sounded like a good idea and everything sure smelled good, but the lager, combined with the acorn squash, made everything far too bitter. It was too strong for the rest of the meal. What a bummer. It sure looked pretty!

Spaghetti and meatballs

Spaghetti and meatballs - a mainstay in most homes and certainly in the home I grew up in. Everyone in my family had a slightly different sauce that they used and the meat that sauce contained ranged from cuts of pork and beef to sausages to meatballs.

Tonight, Roo made spaghetti and meatballs. On her own. For the first time.

The meatballs she did make reminded me somewhat of Nonna Angela's, with the soft white bread and the fennel in the sauce.

All in all, I would say she's a success. Dinner was certainly well received and I'm looking forward to her taking a turn now and then and getting a meal on the table without my guidance.

Cottage Pie Cravings

My husband came home from his trip with a craving for a shepherd's pie. Well, I didn't have any lamb defrosted, but what I did have was leftover roast from last night's dinner, so cottage pie it is.

I diced the meat, browned some diced onions and a red bell pepper and added the meat. To that, I added the beef broth from last night and some flour to make a nice thick gravy. I topped that with some cut up cooked carrots and broccoli and some shredded cheddar cheese. I made some mashed potatoes with the last of the potatoes, leaving them in their jackets, from last week's trip to the farm and spread that over the top. I mashed them by hand for a more rustic texture, instead of whipping them. So far, so good, see?



I'll cook it for about 20 minutes or so at 400* and see how it turns out.

Blog For Relief

Yes, I've been eating well, but in the wake of what happened along the Gulf Coast, that seems so very trivial. I'll get back to posting tomorrow about goodies from the farm and meals shared with friends and family.

But for now, I would like to ask anyone reading to consider donating to charity. The charity I'm supporting is Second Harvest, but please, send your support to someone who can use it down in the affected area. You can donate by clicking here:


A listing of charities can also be found on Instapundit, as well as a list of which blogs are supporting which charities.

Another option, one I saw with Howard Tayler, who writes Schlock Mercenary is to donate books for the evacuees, to help stave off the crushing boredom that they will be facing in the months ahead. The address for that is:

HURRICANE EVACUEES
RELIANT ASTRODOME
c/o RED CROSS
2700 Southwest Freeway
Houston, TX 77098

Keep in mind the number of children who have been displaced by this, who really do not understand what is going on.

So, please - open your hearts and donate. Record your donation at Truth Laid Bear, who is keeping track of Blog for Relief donations. A current list can be found here.







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