Can ya believe it? I didn’t take any photos. But 
I did take a “before” one. My weekly farm delivery. And my first venture into the tasty world of collards. With some kale thrown in to add a bit more to the pot. I remember adding some tomato leather, onion, and a lot of spices, but really couldn’t tell you what they were. Oh, yeah, a ham shank. Stuck all of that in the crock pot.
Then I got my three pounds of ground beef out of the fridge and started on what turned out to be eight mini meat loaves. Didn’t put enough seasoning in that, but I’ll have meatloaf sandwiches that I can doctor up for some time now. Most of them will go in the freezer, but a couple will stay in the fridge for the sandwiches. The collards had enough seasoning in them to make up for the lack of seasoning in the meatloaf, so it all turned out okay in the end.
After this first encounter with collards I think I can say with certainty that I’ll be cooking them again. In case there’s a slight blight (that rhymes) in this post, I just developed a case of hiccups. I think I’d rather sneeze.
I only have one tomato left. They are the “real” tomatoes. Oh, I remember, I put one of the jalepenos in with the collards. Should have put one in the meatloaf. I put in the membrane and seeds also, because I’m one hot mama when it comes to taste buds. The green beans are still in the fridge, and I’ve been eating the sugar snap peas as a snack, just popping ’em in my mouth each time I pass the fridge. Well, I take them out of the fridge first, of course. Just grab a handful out of the bag and sit down and eat while I listen to the TV while I read a book.
Had some visitors Thursday. Gina and the three youngest kids were here for a visit, which included them bringing lunch from my favorite Chinese restaurant. They were in the small car, so they brought carry out instead of my trying to squeeze in with my walker. Anika drove all the way, and did a great job of it. I can’t believe that cute little girl is now a beautiful teenager, and her twin brother, Laurie is now taller than I am. Andrew is still the cute little clown, but he’s growing up too. Ethan is a freshman at UK, so he didn’t make the trip, which is why Anika got to drive. All of Laurie’s pretty blond curls are gone now. His hair is as dark as Anika’s has always been, and he said Anika cut his hair so the curls don’t show. He’s a heartbreaker, and has been since the first time I saw him after their trip home from Romania.
Just thought I would insert a bit of Halloween humor here. I do hate Halloween though. I really hate this entire season, except for the beautiful colors on the trees. It’s just that when I go into a store I have no way of knowing what holiday we are getting ready for. Christmas decorations have been out since the beginning of September, no one thinks much about Thanksgiving beyond the turkey, and the Halloween stuff drives me out of my mind. When did it start being a grown up holiday instead of just something for the kids? The only thing I like about it is the corn candy. And that’s available all year now, so what’s the big deal? I do want a pumpkin, but only so I can can or freeze some for later, and make pumpkin bread, pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie and about a hundred other pumpkin recipes I have accumulated lately out of it. It might take more than one pumpkin for all of that, but one would get me started.
I think tonight I’ll make some ketchup. Still have half a bottle of bought stuff, but it just doesn’t taste as good as my mom’s homemade. I put it, like most things, in the crock pot so I won’t have to stir it a lot. Then tomorrow I will can it, and have my own ketchup for the winter. And when it runs out I will make more. That’s the beauty of knowing how to DIY. I’m also going to make some fruit leathers, now that I can. Just the happy homemaker back at work after a few weeks off to recoup. Not to mention that the weather is more energizing now.
Angie's Place 