Lollygagging in Lisa's Larder- August

August was a month for "putting up".  Did a few new things but mostly repeats and standard fare.....bread, lasagna, stir-fry, grilled chicken and other same ole, same ole.   But here is a smattering of this 'n that which occurred in my kitchen this past month.

Chicken kabobs on the grill........  I made some skewers with chicken and others with peppers and tomatoes.  I served it with green beans almondine and roasted potato sticks. This was the last of the green beans fresh from the garden.  All future will be from our pantry stash.

 Fresh corn......A friend of Patrick's gave him 18 ears of corn so we ate some and we froze some for winter use. We feel fortunate that we have corn since the mid-west has none due to the drought. Fortunately, drought has not been a problem this year for us.

 Fresh salsa.........A co-worker gave us a bag of tomatillos so we made a couple batches of fresh salsa.This is not the same recipe I use to can in the middle of summer. This one has to be eaten fresh so eat we did.  Some weekend lunches were just chips and salsa.

Carrots.......these are the first from the garden.  I pulled 2 to see what size they might be. We now just pull them as we need them. Sweet!

 Pears..........$2 worth of pears from the farmer's market yields 5 pints of preserved pears for the winter.  I love pears and cottage cheese so these are all mine.

Butternut Squash.......These will be used to make the filling for ravioli. YUM. We also have some cubes frozen to use in a variety of dishes. Many are still whole and hardened and are sitting on the pantry shelves. Bayleigh should like the cubes when she arrives next month.

Muffins..........with butternut squash, banana and carrots.  I made mini ones and standard size ones. I already tested one and they are good; not too sweet so the grand babies should enjoy them also.They are all in the freezer waiting on their arrival.  We could put some cream cheese frosting on them to dress them up and make them adult dessert if we are so inclined.

Veggie broth.........by-product of all the produce we go thru.  I save it all up in the freezer and then do a canner-ful at one time.  It flavors things so nicely.

Jardiniere...........otherwise known as pickled veggies. Pat loves these in the winter. They add a bit of crunch to anything.

Salmon and rice pilaf............The salmon is almond and Panko breadcrumb encrusted and then baked.  The rice pilaf has sautéed onions and peppers and then a handful of basil, dried tomatoes and toasted almonds. Served it with salad since we found some lettuce at the farmers market and snatched it up. Green beans are from the pantry since there are no more in the garden.

Eggs...........yes, eggs. Did you know that you can freeze eggs if you have excess? Right now we have an abundance of eggs so I am freezing some for winter use when our production will be less.

Pizza..........Always a staple. I make the pizza dough and freeze it in rounds so we always have them ready for a quick meal.  This quick meal consisted of sautéed peppers, leftover chicken and cheddar cheese. I forgot to put on the dried tomatoes. Shame, shame since I have several jars of dehydrated tomatoes in the pantry.

Crowder peas..........are jut starting to come in.  We got them planted late but they are doing well and there are tons on the plants. I blanch them as we get enough and then freeze them. They are intriguing  plants with beautiful blossoms and strange pea formations. The bees love them and are always at the juncture where the peas cluster together.  There must be some sort of nectar there that I can't see.  The 2nd picture is what they look like all shelled out. 

Meatballs.......I made a batch of meatballs for spaghetti one night and I froze the rest.  It makes for another easy meal on a work night.

Love to all. Come see us when you can. We would enjoy the company.