So when I woke up today I thought it might be a relaxing Sunday; it was beautiful out; I had done a few things on my list yesterday.  A quick trip to my garden and the day changed dramatically. I do love my garden but it seems everything comes at once and today’s harvest told me what I was going to be doing for the day. I pickled all my cucumbers, the plants are still producing but they will be eaten as is. We picked a large head of cabbage, a few carrots and my husband harvested his potatoes. I also had a couple of HUGE zucchini’s so those I turned into bread for the freezer.  

Kind of quick story about the zucchini bread recipe I posted a couple of weeks ago.  A good friend of mine was making it; he texted me with a question.  I tried calling him back since I was driving and ended up face timing, new phone and I hit the wrong button.  No I did not face time and drive my husband dealt with it. Though his question was if he had to add the milk to the recipe for the pudding mix; the answer is no.  He did show us his mixture and it looked OK or so I thought. I do know from my experience hand mixing vs my Kitchen Aid does make a difference in the batter; the Kitchen Aid does a much better job. That wasn’t the issue either. Nor was the fact that he used chocolate pudding vs. vanilla. It was totally my fault I forgot to write 2 cups of sugar! I tried to make it up to him; I made him a loaf with chocolate pudding – it works if you want to vary it a bit. 

Tonight’s dinner was inspired by our garden.  I made corned beef and cabbage using veggies from my garden.  It also cooked on top of the stove which helped since my oven was baking bread all afternoon.  It was delicious! I am pretty sure most everyone knows how to make it but I will share anyways.

Corned beef

Potatoes

Carrots

Cabbage

Onions (optional)

Turnip (optional)

Place the beef in a stockpot big enough to submerge it in water.  Cover it with cold water, I added some pepper, onion, a couple of bay leafs and garlic to the water.  Bring to a boil then cover and simmer for about 3-4 hours.  I let it sit a bit and once my veggies are peeled and chopped, I remove the beef to a bowl.  Add all the veggies minus the cabbage and boil till done, around 30 minutes; during the last 10 minutes I add the cabbage and the last 5 I add the beef back.  Transfer to a platter or wide bowl and serve warm. 

Fall is in the air so another one pot dish that I LOVE is roasted veggie and roaster chicken.  

Roaster Chicken 5-6 lbs

Potatoes

Carrots

Turnip or butternut squash work well

Onions

Peel and cut up the veggies; add them all to either a roasting pan or a large skillet which is what I use. Salt and pepper and add a little olive oil – OK to add some of your favorite herbs as well. Sage, thyme rosemary is great together or alone here. Mix them so the salt, pepper and oil and herbs get on all the veggies. Take your roaster salt and pepper the inside and out. Place on top of the veggies. Bake uncovered at 425 for 1 ½ hours; remove to a platter and cover loosely with foil for about 20 minutes YUM!