The Week (and a half) in Photos

I'm not necessarily planning to completely turn over my blog to just photos, though I must say I thoroughly enjoy and appreciate getting a quick glimpse of one's week in photos on some of the other food and craft blogs I follow.  There are lots of busy mamas, cooks, crafters, and gardeners out there who don't always have time to narrate their stories from the week, but are dedicated to serving their loyal followers somehow.  That's how I feel this week.  Lots has happened over the last week and a half since I last posted so instead of stressing myself out by playing catch up I'm taking this spare moment I have (Friday nap time is still in tact) to "show you" (channeling my speech teacher mother again..."show, don't tell") a little bit of what we've been doing.

Huitlacoche is a delicacy in Mexico.  I was lucky to find some on an ear
of corn from the farmers' market.

Huitlacoche all chopped up.

My neighbor from Monterey, MX suggested I use the huitlacoche to
make traditional empanadas.  I made a not-so-traditional filling
adding some of the ingredients my husband enjoyed in empanadas while
living in Chile.

  These empanadas were gluten-free so a bit brittle.
I had to leave them in rounds b/c they were not foldable.

Gluten-Free Vegan Banana Cupcakes with Lemon Glaze were a hit at
the annual block party.

Egg Shell meal inspired by these ideas.  I'm just getting started, but have
so far thrown a spoonful into smoothies.

A green string bean has  invaded my tomato bed.

Applesauce time! Our apples from the orchard are all loaded up in the kettle.

Nice to have plenty of space for canning.  Preserving apples and
tomatoes have been the true test of ease of cleaning for my new stovetop.
It passed the test with flying colors.  What a relief!

Hopefully this will be enough applesauce for the year.

Remnants of a simple roasted root vegetable dish.

Roasted radishes, turnips, red and golden beets

Chicago in a flash!  Went to a White Sox game with friends.

Back to the grind.   My amazing husband is taking
on the daunting task of painting the basement floor.
Yes!

A sink full of freshly picked turnips, radishes, and beets

Chopped Beet Greens to dry and grind into a raw smoothie powder

And the bottoms left over for pickling

Baked Potato Bar night.  Why didn't I think of this sooner!

Carefully handling the "Very Hungry Caterpillar" that
came in on some turnip greens.

I also had a chance to have coffee with a fellow food blogger this week.  It was a true pleasure to chat with this extremely talented baker face-to-face and get to know her a little better.  I'm grateful to have the time and opportunity to do that in this new phase I've entered.  

A week ago today I got to meet one of my culinary heroes, Tamar Adler at an exclusive sustainable cooking event and am hoping to post some photos and an interview with her very soon.  Stay tuned.