Walter, Markel and Peggy came over last night for our Devotional, and while the guys discussed religion out in the living room, Peggy stood by my sink and stove while I chopped Romano beans and canned them. I told her I was drowning in beans.
The last two quart jars I simmered until just barely cooked, then I sealed them and didn't process them, as I want to use them within a few weeks for a marinated salad. They sealed with a loud pop while she and I visited in the den.
I'd spent the day cooking - made some cream cheese to spread on toast, roasted a large tray of vegetables to put on top; made cornbread, served with honey; then made a big pot of squash soup.
I don't know why I call it that, as it had turnips, chard, eggplant, beans, potatoes, garbanzos, carrots and celery, onions and garlic. However, I'd initially intended just squash soup, using a large butternut I had on hand.
I chopped these chard stems and threw them into the pot, too. I'm going to use the chard leaves for the innards of a Sardinian ravioli called 'Ravioli con Verdura' which is stuffed with ricotta and greens. I'll use my home-made cheese and the chard.
This was one of the paintings that Walter brought for the Devotional. I had to scrunch down to look at the detail. He'd laced some of the lines with gold paint, and the effect (with all of the outrageous light in the room that George needs to make a photograph) was nice. I recall adding gel sparkle to a few of my food photos in my cookbook, to enhance the sparkle on the edge of a crepe. Artists try to bring things alive, and that sure worked.
