Strawberries Anyone?

It is strawberry season around here, and I love it. We can get strawberries all year round now, but it isn't the same. Most of the berries we get are large, have white centers, and often yellow areas on them, because they were picked too soon and are not ripe. They have a mild strawberry flavor.It is a pleasant taste, but not too interesting.
For about 3 weeks early each summer, my local produce store gets Amish-grown strawberries. They are more expensive, but so worth it. They are small, generally 3/4 to 1 1/4 inches in diameter, so they are also more work to prepare. This is where I have some issues. These strawberries are so, so good, red all the way through, with a real intense strawberry flavor. (I'm getting hungry, anyone else?)
I was told this is the last week they would be available this year, so I wanted to hoard the strawberries, to get extra so they would last. So instead of buying one quart, I bought two, telling myself I would make strawberry jam. Three days later, I haven't made any jam, and I have a feeling I won't. The idea of hulling that many strawberries overwhelms me. I can easily do 10-12 berries at a time for breakfast or a salad, but 150, or whatever number it would be? My body aches just thinking about it.
On the other hand, I will need to hull them to do anything with them, even to freeze them for later. Oh, what to do, what to do. As my mom used to say, "May that be the worst of your worries." to quote a Yiddish saying, "From her mouth to God's ears." Amen

Prepare Ahead and Simplify

I like to look for shortcuts that make my life easier. One area I have been working on lately is ways to prepare ahead, or to set things up for future use.
One example is tonight’s dinner, which I have already prepared, and put in the refrigerator. All I have to do is heat it up later. I like to make large amounts of food, like soups and casseroles, then for several days, I just dish out what I need, heat and serve. It is the same amount of work to make a small batch as a large one, so might as well do the work one time, and have several day’s meals prepared at once.
Another food related example is one I used when preparing Thanksgiving dinner. I needed cut up vegetables for soup and for the stuffing. I cut everything in one session the day before, and put them in separate bags, ready for when I prepared each dish. I also use this shortcut when I cut up vegies to eat raw with lunch, and to be cooked with dinner. I only have to gather supplies and clean up one time, but have vegies ready for two meals.
I enjoy doing jigsaw puzzles, especially during the winter. The first step is sorting through all the pieces (I like 500 –750 piece puzzles the best), finding the edge pieces, and making the frame. Then it is easier to put the rest of the puzzle together. I find this sorting step to be tedious and boring. I just finished a puzzle last week. When I took it apart, I put the edge pieces in one bag, the rest of the pieces in another. This way, next time I do this puzzle, I have the first step already done, and I can right away start putting the puzzle together.
These are just a few examples of ways to simplify, combine tasks, or prepare ahead to make future tasks easier. Look at the tasks and activities in your life. Are there ways that you can combine or simplify what you need to do?

Simplify Your Holidays

This is the season for everyone to write about how to survive the holidays. I have some input on that topic as someone trying to survive the holidays while coping with pain, fatigue, etc. My main strategy is to spread things out. This involves two aspects: one is to delegate, ie, spread things out among several people. The way my family does holidays, the hostess decides on the menu, then gives out assignments. The other aspect of spreading things out is to start way ahead of time, and not do too much in any single day/spree.
For Thanksgiving last week, we had our gathering at our apartment on Saturday, because our son couldn't get home until Friday. My husband did the turkey, that is his area of expertise, cooking-wise. My sister brought the sweet potatoes and pies, my brother brought the salad. I made the cranberry relish and dressing (using gluten free bread). We had a simple appetizer of chips and salsa.
I was off work last week, so I did house cleaning tasks each day early in the week. Wednesday I toasted and broke up the bread for the dressing. Thursday I made the cranberry relish, so my husband and I could have some for our 'mini Thanksgiving feast'. Friday I made the dressing, then cooked it Saturday morning in a slow cooker.Most of my tasks were done before the day the family gathered, so I was able to relax and enjoy the company and the feast without too much fatigue or having to rush around.
I simplified the holiday in several ways. I served a no-fuss appetizer. The menu was elaborate enough to feel like a feast, without excess: we don't need three kinds of vegetables and two kinds of potatoes. I organized my time so that I had enough energy to enjoy the holiday.
My son and his girlfriend set the table, brought in chairs, carried in the food, etc. My brother and his girlfriend did alot of the table clearing and cleanup. I made sure that before everyone left, the table was shrunk back to its everyday size, the extra table leaves, pads and chairs were put away, and the table cloth was in the laundry room ready to be washed.
Thanksgiving is over here in the US, but many of us have holidays to celebrate in December as well.  I have given some examples above of ways to simplify and spread out the work, here are some other ideas. You don't have to cook from scratch. There are some good cake mixes, prepared cookie dough, and ready to heat and serve frozen foods, etc. Even better, many grocery stores now have fresh cooked food, and many restaurants have menu items you can pick up and serve at home. Some grocery stores have delivery service, as do some restaurants.  If you can afford it, hire someone to do the cooking, serving and cleaning up (before and after), or just part of those tasks. Buy presents online, many places will even wrap them, add a card, and deliver them to your recipients. Or, give money or store gift cards, along with a nice card.
Take care of yourself, and structure your holidays so that you enjoy them. What can you do to spread out your tasks and simplify?
    

Soup: Its What's for Dinner

As winter slowly rolls in, I have started to alter what I cook.  I really like to cook, but I don't like to do it every day.  I make big pots of vegetable soup, using whatever vegetables I have.   Luckily, my husband is very agreeable when it comes to food, and doesn't mind eating the same thing for several days.
Here is my basic recipe:  I chop and saute a large onion in a little bit of olive oil.  While that is cooking, I cut up whatever other vegetables I want to use into bite sized pieces, starting with the ones that need to cook the longest, like root vegetables.  When the onion is nicely golden, I pour in 2 or 3 cans of chicken broth or veggie broth, and throw in the vegetables I have cut up.  I continue to cut up the softer veggies, and add them to the pot after the other veggies have cooked for a few minutes.  By the time I add the last veggies, they are well above the level of the broth.  My soups would probably be more correctly referred to as stews.   At the end, I add a can of tomatoes,or a small carton of a soup such as roasted red pepper or butternut squash. I sometimes add seasonings, but usually let the veggies speak for themselves.
This soup is very easy to do, other than cutting up all the veggies, which I find kind of meditative.  I know the instructions are pretty vague, that is because I don't use recipes, I just throw things together that most people wouldn't think of.  A recent soup I made included onion, butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, fennel, eggplant, apple and tomatoes, added to the pot in that order.  Instead of a can of tomatoes or a carton of soup added at the end, I added a jar of curry sauce.  As for the amounts of each veggie, I usually add all that there is.  A whole butternut squash, whatever size it is, a whole eggplant, the whole bag of Brussels sprouts, etc. (Cut into bite sized cubes, not tossed into the pot whole).
For protein, I often add Haloumi (Greek) or Paneer (Indian) cheese, neither of which melt when heated, cut in little cubes. a can or two of beans or occasionally turkey sausage.  I serve my soup with a nice bakery bread, whatever looked good that day, which we tear off the loaf in chunks.  The soup I described above lasted most of a week, and neither my husband nor I minded the repetition because it was so tasty.
Most of the effort of cooking is in getting out all the things you need, and cleaning up afterward.  By cooking large quantities, you can save yourself alot of effort.  One late afternoon spent cooking, then several days of just heating up the leftovers in the microwave oven. If you don't want to have it night after night, put it into labeled serving sized containers in the freezer, and take them out as needed.  This kind of cooking also works well for a group, so invite family members or friends in to help.  Many veggies can be bought already cut into bite sized chunks these days, and most grocery stores even have packages of chopped onions. Just buy the packages you want for your soup, and you don't even need to do much, if any, chopping!