Costa Rica

This is a ridiculous amount of photos, but there is just so much to love about Costa Rica, we had an absolutely marvelous time.  The flowers were gorgeous, not sure what this flower is, but we saw a lot of them.  Some of the trees were blooming with bright orange flowers and there were azaleas blooming everywhere.

Jicama-Ginger Slaw

Sense of Home Kitchen

A desire for fresh vegetables as the thermometer dipped below zero coupled by a desire to look presentable in a bathing suit mid-winter prompted a barrage of salads.  Thus the jicama-ginger slaw was adapted to include a few more fresh ingredients than the original recipe called for, but I believe it is better for the change.  Of course the real reason for all these salads is a trip to Costa Rica, a little summer in the middle of our winter.  We are in for a HUGH climate adjustment as we fly south; the current temperature of Samara, Costa Rica is 87° F. and our current temperature is 24° F., that, along with the change from our currently very dry air to high humidity, ought to set our thermoreceptors reeling.

Chicken and Vegetable Turnovers

Sense of Home Kitchen

When we are at the onset of canning season, we are full of energy and have a list of items we want to see on our pantry shelves by autumn.  Then when we are in the midst of canning season, with tomato juice running down our arms, and on our fourth batch of pressure canned tomatoes and second batch of tomato soup, with more tomatoes hanging heavy on the vine, we start to wonder if we will ever use all these jars of home canned produce.  When I put up thirty quarts of chicken stock this past autumn I thought there was no way I would need more before next autumn. Last night after washing and putting away three more quart jars and two pint jars I stopped to count the number of empty jars we had on our canning shelves.  Having used every last one of our jars this past canning season I knew that all those jars on the shelves had food in them just a couple of months ago.  We have used 41 quarts and 28 pints of produce or stock in the past three and a half months (just think of the money we have saved).  When we start to wonder if we will really eat all the food we have worked so hard to put up, the answer is yes we will.  This morning we finished a jar of peaches for breakfast and a jar of tomato soup for lunch, nearly every day we wash and put away another canning jar.

Mexican Meatball Soup

Sense of Home Kitchen

It happened again.  Just as happened last winter, a week and a half ago I went to the store and came home with a hoard of fresh fruits and vegetables.  In the middle of winter, when the kitchen garden is just a pleasant memory, I start craving fresh vegetables and fruits and the need must be filled.  One of the fresh vegetables I selected was mustard greens, which turned out to be just the thing to combine the winter comfort of soup with the satisfaction of some greens.