Actually, Saturday afternoon as well … all those fresh vegetables from the market!

This is the first weekend in a month that I haven’t worked, studied work issues or watched videos related to learning about the new tools for work. I happen to enjoy my work very much, but I also enjoy some time away from it to refresh and regroup.

This weekend mostly happened in the kitchen.

Pickled Peppers! … pickled jalapeno peppers. I enjoy them as a garnish on many things. The vinegar-sugar brine brings out their sweet-hot flavor.

A new venture: sauerkraut. I made it once before in just a water and salt solution but was not enamored of the flavor. I always have a jar of sauerkraut in the refrigerator and like the jalapenos, add a little of it to many things.

This new homemade batch is a recipe from Donna Schwenk’s Cultured Food Life . The recipe calls for some apple and jicama and also the addition of a culture starter to add to the good bacteria during the fermenting process.

Bread of course! And I processed a very small batch (13 ounces) of plums into a tiny jar of plum jam. I have become a huge fan of small batch preserves. I know that many people do large batches because they have a lot of fresh fruit that must be preserved, but I like making a jar or two as needed with whatever is in season.

And speaking of a lot to be preserved – I have all of those vegetables from the market! So another bit of the weekend was spent doing a bit of planning – what needed to be used first and what to do about any extra.

I typically plan meals very loosely around what I have and the freezer is my friend!

A recent acquisition to help with the freezing kind of preserving is a vacuum sealer. I had been dithering about which one and which features when Mel, of Mel’s Kitchen Cafe featured this one which is a very basic model. Since it works for her and her family of 7, I decided it would no doubt work for just me. It is very easy to use – it seals as well as vacuum-seals. Any of the vegetables that look like they MUST be used that I am unable to use will get pureed, vacuum-sealed and frozen for later use.

Two varieties of beans, two whole chickens … neither very photogenic – were cooked and divided up for meals and the freezer. A pumpkin and a batch of rice are also ready for this week’s eating.

It is to be a cool and rainy week and there is plenty on hand for a variety of soups and stews.

And I am ending the weekend as relaxed as Bear and Auggie look.