it's freezing in there

A respite. The sun was warm on my skin as I stood outside with my face tipped to the sun, or maybe it wasn't really warm at all but was a contrast from the biting cold from a few days ago. -30C with the wind chill to a balmy -1C. There was a bit of a breeze, enough to make me wish I had a hat on, but light enough to ignore unless I was standing still.

The snow was perfect for making a snowman, but my lack of mittens held me back. That and the fact that I can't remember where the dogs have been pooping these days.  One snowy evening during our first year of retirement we made a snowman, rolling big balls of snow and piling them up into our version of Frosty. I think we were more in the moment then, and still delighted with the freshness and excitement of retirement. I think we have to get out of our rut and make a few snowpeople!

Carm left some groceries out it the car overnight... in freezing temperatures... it was produce. Garlic, 2 giant red peppers and 2 good sized sweet potatoes were frozen solid. Luckily it wasn't lettuce or other vegetable that would become slime. It would be a shame to throw out such a bounty, so I got busy. Red pepper and sweet potatoes were minced in the food processor and thrown into the crockpot for a soup (along with onion, diced tomatoes and thyme). Half of one of the red peppers married with some celery, onion and carrot for the mirepoix that is the base for butternut squash risotto. We cooked the squash in the microwave to make it slightly easier to peel. It is a brilliant orange, a remarkable colour. Finally there was the garlic. It got roasted and packaged up in foil, one bulb in each shiny bundle. They are getting frozen for real now, ready to make dips and spreads. I saw a recipe for a vegan dip with white kidney beans that is a must try!

It took me a few hours to get all the chopping and food processing, peeling and baking done but now I have 3 meals worth of the risotto and probably 3 of the soup (it is still cooking in the crockpot). Yeah!

"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.”   ~Edith Sitwell