Fall Produce

We've been in fresh produce heaven since we arrived in Holley.  I can walk across the street to the above produce stand and that's just one of many in this area.  I'm taking advantage of the bounty and trying to do some batch cooking to make some home cooked goodness that we can eat now and freeze some for later.

Normally I take time each morning to have some quiet time.  I do many different things during this time.  It doesn't matter so much what I do, just that I have some quiet time that is good for me and gets me to be a bit more centered before I face the day.  The part that is consistent is that I take this time to stop and be mindful of things I am grateful for so I call it my Gratitude Walk, even if I'm not walking while doing it. 

With all the prepping I've been doing for the cooking, I've used this as my quiet time.  Interestingly enough, it has also been easy for me to do some pondering of things I'm grateful for too while handling all the fresh fruits and veggies.  While cooking is not one of my favorite things to do, I do find that I like it so much more when I am using whole foods.  It is something that I am in awe of each time I do handle them.  I can't help but be aware of the fact that the earth gives us these precious gifts and that whole process is just spectacular in its own way.  I think of all of the parts that go into the process in order for food to grow from seed to maturity.  Food that nourishes us with its life giving properties and tastes so wonderful to boot.  Yesterday I was chopping tomatoes and realized it just feels as if each time I do come in contact with this kind of food in this way, I am literally pulling up a chair to God's table to eat.

 So what goodies have I managed to cook up this week?  Two batches of bolognese sauce, (Mira gave me her recipe for the Bolognese Sauce which is similar to Pastor Ryan's), two batches of marinara sauce, two batches of chunky vegetable spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, a huge batch of chili, fried apples like Cracker Barrel makes, apple dumplings, apple crisp, apple butter, applesauce and coleslaw.  Nathan has made his oh so good salsa and still wants to make another huge batch.  I still have butternut squash and pumpkins to use.  I'm guessing we'll get some extras to take with us before we leave.  I'm going to miss it when we do leave, but we'll soon be back in Florida where we can get year round fresh produce again. 

Now if I could just find a way to get someone else to clean up the mess after I cook, I might not mind this cooking stuff at all!

Living the life in New York!