I spent most of last weekend batch cooking for my family while I’m gone in Texas to the Wise Traditions 2011 conference. Because my kids are pretty competent in the kitchen, my strategy was not to cook entire meals but rather to prepare meal components ahead of time (the idea behind my skillet dishes). Then they can mix and match and put together very simple meals according to a simple menu. This week’s video shares my strategy, or you can read more about it in this post.

I’m headed to Dallas, Texas in a few days to attend the Weston A. Price Foundation’s annual conference, Wise Traditions. This year’s theme? Myth Busters. The speaker line-up is absolutely astounding! I honestly don’t know how I’ll take it all in. Will you be there? I’d love to meet you.

What’s been happening in my kitchen lately… I got my book back from the editors last week and spent all my free time (plus) making final edits. That’s why it’s been so quiet on the blog, but life doesn’t stop in the kitchen. Chanterelles, Mikah’s birthday, sourdough bread, fermenting olives, sprouting lentils and a sprouted lentil salad.

When the green beans stopped tasting quite so good, we let them hang on the vines and mature. By mid-October, some had dried out entirely and while most were still green. We picked. And picked. And picked. We split the bounty with our gardening friends Beth and Kerry. After about two hours of shelling, our half yielded 6 cups of fresh beans from inside the pods. They made great soup!

Hard to believe we’ve been gardening with our friends for 6 months. The time has flown! We’ve gone out there once or twice a week to work, bringing home more food than we can eat sometimes. We are still harvesting some foods, like tomatoes under the cold frame. We’ll have those maybe even in December, though the crop wasn’t as abundant as we’d hoped. We’re out the door in 15 minutes to go mushrooming, so I just have time to put up these pictures for you.

This evening, I’m going to be a special guest on the 21st Century HomeKeeper radio show, hosted by Sylvia Britton. We’re going to talk about my family, our homestead, food preservation, food fermenting and anything else we can fit in. Sylvia and I have been online friends for more than 10 years, working and fellowshipping together at her ministry, the Christian HomeKeeper Network. I’m looking forward to our visit and hope you’ll join us!