We interrupt this program…

We’re taking a couple of weeks off from our regular Saturday night gatherings. A break is nice from time to time, especially when there are interesting things to do of a Saturday night.

Of course that limits my creation of new content. I often end up feeling bad when I can’t maintain my own self-imposed schedule. I’ll be posting something new tomorrow and then probably won’t have another post until June 1st.

Happy cooking!

Today in Cookery

With Christmas falling mid-week I’m prepping some stuff that we can use for Christmas Eve dinner. Today in cookery…

Successes – cranberry-mango chutney, gingersnap cookies
Fail – spiced pecans; more like burnt-to-a-cinder pecans
To Be Determined – chopped liver

Recipes for the successes to follow.

Happy Turkey Day!

Cinnamon Ice Cream has been churned and pumpkin cheesecake is chilling in the fridge.  Ted will start making rolls shortly from a handful of ingredients that somehow become more than the sum of their parts.  We’ll be heading to my brother’s house later today to enjoy the company of family and friends.  We’ll eat some turkey, and too many sides.  The children will somehow not run out of steam.  It’s Thanksgiving Day.

I started putting menus and recipes online simply as a reference for myself. Along the way folks have found this blog (or its predecessor) and decided to follow along. Thank you for the interest. Enjoy your day, however you spend it.

Mass Local Food

For the past year or so we have bought some of our groceries from an area co-op called Mass Local Food. Mass Local Food provides an virtual farmers’ market once a month where farmers list what they have available on a website. I can place an order and then pick it up at a location near me on the way home from work. I love the variety of products that are offered and find the stuff I purchase to be of a high quality.

Here’s a list of what I bought most recently – beets, cabbage, garlic, celery root, Hungarian wax pepper, ham, ground pork, country-style pork ribs, sweet Italian sausage links, beef bones, butternut squash, potatoes, smoked cheddar, black-eyed Susan plants and a fresh flower bouquet.

Other things we’ve bought in the past include whole wheat flour, eggs, vegetable plants, pesto, ground lamb, whole chicken, corn meal, kale, assorted cheeses, tomatoes, honey, onions, baked goods, a fig tree, radishes, rhubarb and brisket.

Things available through Mass Local Foods that we haven’t tried – yarn, coffee, jams and jellies, maple syrup, a ton of health and beauty products, pet food and vegan baked goods.

The prices are a bit higher than I’d pay at the supermarket for some things. The trade off is I know what farms the products come from. I know my purchases support farmers in my home state. Those things are important to me and I can afford to pay a bit extra for them.

If you live in central Massachusetts I encourage you to check out the Mass Local Food website and learn more. They have pick up locations in Berlin, Framingham, Hardwich, Holden, Sterling, Westminster and 2 locations in Worcester. Give it a try and I bet you’ll be longing to place your monthly order.

Brightly Colored Cakes

One of our regular Saturday night attendees turned 4 while we were off at a wedding reception last weekend.  We decided to have a cake for him this week and Ted experimented with paste food coloring for the first time.  The results were bright and Muppetesque.

Here’s a shot of the cake just after they came out of the oven.

The lighting wasn’t great where I took this shot of the assembled cake.

A Slice of Colorful Cake!

The filling between the layers is butter frosting mixed with blackberry jam. There is also a layer of blackberry jam spread over the layers to add a bit of extra blackberry yumminess. Multi-colored sprinkles finished off the top of the cake.