Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Homemaking in the Fall

Turns out sometimes you're too busy being productive at home to actually blog about being productive at home.  Like a squirrel gathering nuts, I have been nesting -- saying goodbye to the season past and preparing for the one to come.

There were the leaves collected and flattened and traced and turned into the cutest autumn towels ever.

There were the home-grown tomatoes, transformed into oniony/Parmesan-y tarts, soup for the freezer, dehydrated disks, and juice, glorious juice.

There were the apples made into chips, dehyrated snacks, and a nice little side dish doused with a citrus-y dressing of orange juice, lemon juice, and diced red onion.
There was the eggplant --  itty bitty ones, to be sure, but enough for a quiche and lovely cracker spread and a couple other dishes I forgot to photograph ;)


And finally, the peppers.  Are they not gorgeous?

This year, rather than making pickled peppers, I opted for lots of slivering for the freezer, and a wee bit o' roasting.


To roast, just cut them in half and remove core and seeds, put them in the oven on a foil-lined baking sheet and broil for 10 minutes or so, until quite blackened, then sweat them out in a sealed zippered plastic bag for 20 minutes before peeling.
A bit of work, I'm not gonna lie.  But in the end, the roasted peppers, pureed with a clove of garlic and a bit of olive oil, circled around a platter of lettuce, hard-boiled eggs, salami, and tomatoes -- probably the best meal of the season.
Happy fall.
Y'all.

NOTE:  Instructions for roasting peppers came from an old issue of Cooking Light magazine.  Salad idea with the roasted pepper puree came from another old magazine clipping -- maybe McCall's?  Not sure.

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11 Comments:

Blogger Joanne said...

Looks like fall to me!

October 4, 2011 at 6:11 PM  
Blogger Meg said...

Love all you've been doing and the pictures! You've been really busy! :)

October 4, 2011 at 7:37 PM  
Blogger Empty Nester said...

You really have been busy! I, on the other hand, have done NOTHING for fall. Dang it.

October 6, 2011 at 3:14 PM  
Blogger Kim said...

Those little Fall towels are so cute. What a great idea. The rest of your post made me hungry, it all looked so good.
Thanks for you comment and visit to my site.
Kim

October 6, 2011 at 4:46 PM  
Blogger Travel With Lulu said...

Wow, you have been busy! It all looks delicious :) Love the towel too, ya'll :) XOL

October 6, 2011 at 9:14 PM  
Blogger ~~louise~~ said...

Well haven't you just been the busiest beaver, EVER! We have had so much rain here when I do finally make it outside for more than just a quick check, I can only imagine what I will discover. I did harvest a huge Celosia Cockscomb just this morning. It's hanging in the garage as we speak.

Your towels are darling, Lynn. Such talent:) Not only do I not bake bread (which I will conquer this winter:) I don't sew a stitch either. My late husband did all the sewing, and now that I think of it, bread baking at our house.

As for those peppers, well, let me tell you, I've got a draw full that I picked up yesterday and I may just be up until the wee hours of the morning visiting you while I prepare them for a cozy winter:)

Thanks for sharing...

October 7, 2011 at 1:52 PM  
Blogger teresa said...

you've been busy, but with such fun things! everything looks just wonderful!

October 10, 2011 at 1:06 PM  
Blogger Ginnie said...

Hi, Lynn, it all looks delicious!

Another way to sweat the roasted peppers is to fold the foil they were roasted on around them. I've only done it a couple of times, but it worked well.

Thanks for visiting!

October 14, 2011 at 9:17 PM  
Blogger Diana Amy said...

You are a domestic DIVA! I am inspired. Roasted pepper anything is pretty much a party in my mouth so tackling that recipe is going on my priority list! xx

October 20, 2011 at 3:58 PM  
Blogger Karen Andreola said...

Your autumn leaf tea towel idea is one I'd like to do "ahead" for next fall. Seeing your blackened pepper skins reminds me of our land lords who lived on the first floor of the old house my husband and I rented. They were from Italy and always grilled their garden peppers outside to blackened the skins before eating or freezing. The aroma would waft through my second floor window as did the scent of sweet basil lining the walk which always told me someone was below in the garden.
Karen A.

December 13, 2011 at 10:34 AM  
Blogger Monica said...

You have some great ideas! I like the roasted bell pepper one for sure.

January 8, 2012 at 9:17 AM  

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