Hurricane Sandy

Yes, as many of you are already aware, my home state NJ was hit by Super Storm Sandy on Oct. 29th, and due to the storm I was without power until just this evening. Me and my family were very lucky, we lost power but we still had water and gas. I was still able to cook stovetop but unfortunately lost use of my oven. I did make a lovely soup I will post soon, and will get right to work on making some tasty baked goodies! :) 

Also, I want to thank all of the workers, both from NJ and from out of state, who are working tirelessly to return power and water, and to clean up the wreckage, here in Jersey. I might have power, but there are still many others who are powerless, and there are many without gas, without water, or without homes.

- Lots and lots of love!

Kat

Harvest Soup and Stock

Alright, so I finally got a day off to work on this lovely soup! Not only that, but before making the soup it's self, I made a lovely vegetable stock to use in future soups and stews. The soup turned out fantastic with all the flavors of autumn, and talk about healthy! Sweet potato, carrot, pumpkin, apple....This is a great soup to have for lunch with some bread, or as the first course to a large dinner.

Then there's the stock. The stock used the peels from the apples, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and other veggies I used in the soup, plus some extra veggies for favor. I'm keeping huge containers of it in the freezers to pull out whenever I need some stock, plus a little in the fridge to use for the week.

So here it is, my Autumn Harvest Soup

Stuffed Acorn Squash with Chevre

I came home today ravenous, no dinner waiting for me, and then remembered I had an acorn squash I bought just to roast into a suitable meal! However, since I had no sausages on hand, I had to figure out what else I could fill it with. There's no shortage of recipes, so I just mixed a little of different recipes and added chevre (creamy goat cheese) to make this!

Food of the Month; Pumpkin

OK, this is another obvious one, but you can't really argue. Now, I'm a pumpkin lover. It's one of my favorite foods, and something I consume in copious amounts around Autumn, much like apples. Not only are they very much seasonal and festive, but they are delicious and versatile, just like any other cold weather squash. Not only the flesh, but the seeds, leaves, and flowers too!

Just a short update

Well, the upcoming week might be a little too busy for me to take on any large projects, but I'll try to do some after work and classes when I can. Just so you know what I have planned to do over the upcoming week, when I can find the time.

1) Autumn Harvest Soup
2) Autumn Scones
3) Hard Cider Poached Pears

So when I can get the chance to make these, I'll post right away. Again, sorry for the lack of new posts from me.

-Lots and lots of love
Kat

Chicken Bangers with Sweet Potato and Carrot Mash

Bangers and Mash are one of my favorite meals, but it's a fairly high calorie dish, and I saw these lovely chicken sausages at a local deli. Now, I'm not going to lie to you and say chicken sausages are just as good as your average, super fatty pork sausages. After all, the fat is what makes sausage nice and juicy. I also wanted to make a nice sweet potato mash since, well, sweet potato is wonderful, then, to add some extra nutrition, some carrots. Since my parents were out of town for the Celtic Classic, I had to make dinner for just myself. Obviously, just double or triple or quadruple the recipe if need be (Though I made a fairly generous amount of mash, so use your own judgement)

Apple Butter

You remember my food of the month post, where I mentioned that I needed a lot of apples for something? Well this is it!

Yes, apple butter! Now, the recipe I used came from Ball's Blue Book, and it was supposed to make 3 pints worth, but it actually only wound up filling 2 pint jars, plus enough for this small one, just to keep in the fridge, having only sealed the pints. I suspect I ended up loosing too much apple when I cored it. The recipe I followed went:

Spiked Cider

I've been mulling over (No pun intended) making a spiked cider for a while now. After all, nothing quite warms the soul like a hot toddy or mulled wine, so obviously a spiked apple cider should be the most emotionally nuriting drink for the autumn months.

This spiked cider is really just a hot mulled cider with some rum added to it. Here's how I made it:

Food of the Month; Apples

This month, I'm doing that beloved classic, apples!

Think of all the teachers I could give these to!

Yes, I know it's a cliche, but it fits! Apples are in season anywhere from as early as mid-July to as late as late October, depending on variety. Typically, they are seen as an autumn fruit, and here in the states are commonly associated with school as many varieties are in season when school starts for us....Ok, it might also have something to do with being commonly accepted as the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge, but some believe that it was actually a fig or pomegranate anyway. Apples are loaded with fiber, vitamin C, and anti-oxidants, and are an O.K source of potassium, vitamin K, and vitamin B6. Your average, medium apple only contains about 80 calories, making it a good low calorie snack, not to mention their taste!

The apples I bought are New York State apples. I know, I know, I should buy them from NJ, but these weren't a bad price for a huge bag, and I needed a large bag for what I have planned later this week! (No spoilers!) While I was at it, I also got myself a nice large carton of apple cider, one of my favorite drinks!

Ok, I think I'm all set on apples.

While apples are common and most people know how to work with them, here's a quick overview to help you take full advantage of apple season!

Pumpkin Oatmeal with Craisins and Pecans

Two posts in one day? What a shocker!

Well, ok, this I made several days ago, but it really fits in to autumn, so here it is! I would think this could work with acorn squash, which would make for an interesting twist. As it is, I was debating on whether I wanted to post this today or not, but I figured, why not?

This is what I made myself for breakfast on the Equinox, to celebrate the shortening of days and lengthening of nights. Personally, I like the colder months better, so this is a great time of year for me. However, I feel that it's important for me to really take time to observe the change of seasons, as they did in the olden days where everyone relied on farming to survive, instead of today where food might as well come from factories.

Lovely!

Pear, Apple, and Pomegranate Salad

Well, since this is my first REAL post, I should probably mention that I adore autumn. It's my favorite season by far, between Halloween, Thanksgiving, all the foods that are in season, the weather, the changing leaves, that you can get pumpkin flavored anything, it's just a magical time of year. It helps that I don't like hot weather, so the cooler weather is a nice change.

So, here's a salad I made using some delicious autumn fruits. I actually made this salad twice, however the first time I used fresh figs (One of my favorite foods, even if it's expensive and hard to find), and didn't use fennel. I don't think figs really added much in terms of texture, but if you choose to add it, you can.

Today I had it paired with a Ham, Pear, and Brie sandwich.

Picture perfect!

It's a very simple, and very quick, autumn lunch.

Kat Saisons; An Introduction

Hello and welcome to my brand new, shiny blog! For those of you who may not have seen my food on An American in Bento, my name is Katerina Campbell (Kat for short), and I love to cook! I'm also an artist, so I'm big on lots of colors and a lovely presentation. When I don't have school or work, I like to spend my time cooking, preferably from scratch.

This blog is dedicated to recording my kitchen projects, all centered around being seasonal, fresh, and, if I can help it, frugal. All of these recipes will use seasonal foods, thus offering a range of fruits and vegetables that tend to get overlooked for easier, more perennial fare. The hope is that by cooking everything at the peek of season (while preserving, canning, and freezing the rest), you can save money, eat healthier, and of course, make tastier meals!

I will also be using food from local farms as much as possible, so don't be surprised if some foods common in your region don't seem to come up as much here as you may hope. Also, don't be afraid to recommend fruits and vegetables to use! I love trying new foods, and I'm not very picky. I will try to post once a week, with one week dedicated to a certain ingredient in season that month and a quick list of different recipe ideas using that particular ingredient.

I look forward to seeing you here again, and I hope you are looking forward to seeing all of my recipes and posts!

- With lots and lots of love!
Kat