Feel better granola

Fantastic Quince

Pantry porn

I can't wait to see what kind of spam the site gets hit with after that title but in the meantime I wanted to tell you about a little kitchen organization project I undertook this weekend.  I recently have become addicted to listening to podcasts from HomeFries Media while I commute and one of their contributors is Tracy from Shutterbean.  I've linked to her recipes before - she gave me the ratio for my homemade granola bars and I think every recipe I've ever tried from her site has been delicious.  Then they issued a pantry challenge and I physically recoiled from my computer screen and glanced nervously at my own pantry.  Behind the door was a dirty secret.  Does anyone remember the Friends episode where Chandler discovers neat freak Monica's secret closet?  That was kind of like our pantry.

Talking turkey (parts)

I love turkey.  I also love a bargain.  So when I saw our local grocery store had chopped up all their expensive free-range turkeys into less expensive pieces to try and get rid of them after the holidays I had to snap up a whole pile.  Wings will be perfect slow roasted in a sticky sauce and scarfed in front of the TV.  Drumsticks will make great stock or I'm kind of tempted to try making big roasted "Caveman Pops" like Pioneer Woman.  Usually the drumsticks can be tough (even more so on the free-range birds who are actually allowed to use their legs!) but I think brining them will solve that problem. But with the thighs I made this amazing and comforting soup with dumplings that cooked so fast it is even great for a weeknight meal. 

Oops!... I Did it Again

You might think the title of this post refers to overdoing it on cocktails on New Years Eve (and you'd be partly right) but no I am referring to my almost pathological tendency to over do it when it comes to food for my guests.  I think my single greatest fear on earth is not having enough food.  I've been known at the last minute to throw an extra chicken in the oven or whip up some extra side dishes.  In fact the night before my family arrived for Hillman Christmas I was reviewing our menu and decided to whip up a butternut squash soup just in case.  

A great and easy start to 2012

Pimping my Preserves!

Back in the summer/early fall while I was unemployed and looking for work I made a ton of preserves.  In anticipation of things being tight this Christmas I made an extra 24 jars of fig jam, 12 jars of crab apple jelly and 12 big jars of spicy dill pickles that I could give for gifts come the holiday season.  Luckily I am now gainfully employed but really aren't handmade gifts better anyway?  Plus preserves also make wonderful hostess gifts.  

Is it December already?!

Don't worry faithful readers - we're alive!  Life has just seemed to get in the way of posting of late.  Between work and other commitments I've been developing a deep and meaningful relationship with our pizza delivery man.  Seriously.  He's become such a regular fixture round here that our dogs don't even bark at his knock on the door anymore and have started to wag their tails and greet him like a friend!  This weekend I decided this had to change.  We cleaned, shopped, cooked healthy meals for the week and then even went a bit further and bought a Christmas tree and decorated up the house!  I know right?  Will wonders never cease?

Girls and Guns

Or this post could alternatively be titled "Shana's 15 Minutes".  Several months ago I was approached by a friend of a friend who was putting together a little internet chat show about food.  Ever the fame whore I jumped on the opportunity.  I'm not going to lie - fantasies of being the next internet sensation did cross my mind.  Maybe I'd follow in Rachel, Nate or Dr. Oz's footsteps and be discovered by Oprah...

Fall garden adventures

It's getting colder.  There has even been some nips of frost in the mornings when I'm out on my beagle walks.  So these days I'm busy putting the gardens to bed, cleaning up the yard and preparing for winter.  This weekend I need to empty our rain barrel (so it doesn't freeze and crack this winter), reattach our downspout, rip out the rest of the annuals and collect a bunch of seeds from my purple pole beans.