Nicely filled with pie, we headed out to my cousin's farm. They were having a 'thank you' day for everyone who supported their chemical-free veggie basket endeavor this year. V had a wonderful time getting introduced to Whisper the horse, although once she got right up beside all 1400lbs of him she was a little freaked out. She loved watching the turkeys and ducks and chickens (my cousin just received 181 laying hens, sounds good, except they were expecting 80! Eggs anyone?) We didn't get a chance to check out their cows or pigs and lambs but did get to watch the baby goats from across the paddock. The big hit with the kids though was the cider press. Have a couple of bored kids? Get one of these puppies and a few hundred apples. And really, there's nothing better than fresh-pressed cider.
Saturday night wasn't so much about the food, but I had a great evening at a performance of The Magic Flute. I think this is the first time I've seen an opera that included dialogue and I know it's the first time I have heard English at the opera. There were a few opening night glitches that had us giggling, the best being when the rigging that was carrying the 3 boys suspended across the stage got stuck, necessitating an impromptu 'blackout' for which the orchestra was not prepared, causing all of us to sit in the rustling dark silence for about a minute.
Today started with a bunch of running around in the morning in preparation for the cooking extravaganza this afternoon. One thing my cousin has had no shortage of this summer is summer squash, and she's more than willing to share *g*. While I do appreciate some grilled zucchini every once in a while, I'm sort of drowning here. Luckily I found a great recipe for basil squash soup so today I made my second batch. The leftover basil became pesto, always handy to have around. The soup went immediately to the freezer in one cup portions, handy for lunches. I would like to eventually find myself a pressure canner so that I don't need to freeze all these low acid foods. I have visions of pantry shelves stocked with my mason jars of yummy goodness.
I took a break to eat the roast beef and root veggies I'd prepared for dinner (how very Sunday dinnerish!) then tackled the abundance of tomatoes on my counter. Stewed? No. Sauced? No. Chili? Yes. I'm trying my MIL's recipe, I can't wait to see how it turns out. I ended up with about 14 cups of it, so I'm hoping it's good *g*.
And with that, I leave my lids to pop, the dishwasher full of Mason jars I don't have a spot to store yet, and a mess I'm hoping will get magically cleaned up.