The Kitchen as Therapy Center

This evening is the monthly Board meeting of my embroidery guild, and we're really up against our demographics.  What with our aging membership, though we have received joyfully a couple of younger members, most people are either not able to drive at night, or are not very well themselves, or are caregiving a spouse.

All this really cuts into their ability to take part, even with the best will in the world, and they definitely have that.  Currently our doughty Nominating Committee, founder members of the group, in fact, are trying to assemble a slate of incoming officers to replace the terms ending in December.  My term as president is one of them.  And other people are struggling with their tasks, for the reasons I said above, and might not be able to succeed themselves for another term. Sooooo, what will be will be.  

We are still wonderfully productive -- trip to Winterthur on Sunday in place of the usual general meeting, Holiday Party in December, special exhibit open in a private home for us in January, your humble blogwriter teaching paper jewelry in February and on and on, exhibit of all our work in August, all set up.  And we've done great outreach, teaching classes to kids, public stitch ins, all that.

But fewer people available to fill the needs, so everyone's stretched thinner, so we'll see what happens.  

Meanwhile I've been staving off sad thoughts by a massive burst of activity in the kitchen.  I made yogurt last evening, and owing to a lack of planning on my part, had to stay up till midnight before I could put it in the fridge, didn't add seven hours to the equation, doh, then this morning made about half of it into yogurt cheese, currently draining in the fridge, and the rest in individual containers just to eat.  The texture is really lovely, using one per cent milk.  

And I use yogurt in many places where heavy cream might be used, and the cheese where cream cheese might come in.  It's tangy and very good.  And the whey that comes off the cheese making goes into squash and other golden colored soups, sparks them up lovely.

Tomorrow night Handsome Son is coming over to do various good things for me in the house, and I'll feed him a very nice menu.  He doesn't read much in here, so I won't spoil the surprise if I say he's getting a bowl of squash/cabbage/tomato soup which had yogurt whey added and is great, beautiful reddish gold color,  then corn fritters, adding in some finely chopped sweet pepper, using my lovely farm corn and peppers from the freezer, no pic yet, I'll make them tomorrow night, and then a helping of the oat apple crumble, which I talk about below.  I think he'll go home happy.

And this morning I made toasted almond flour, from a box of slivered almonds I toasted five minutes at 350F, then once all cool, reduced to flour, or to ground almonds, in my coffee mill.  Useful for anywhere a nice almond flour is required.  Pancakes.  Cake. Desserts.

Also made Martha's really good oat apple crumble, which took all my this week's supply of apples, and some of my homeground oat flour, now here's one I don't mind referring you to the recipe for, since it's really good.  It looks like this:

and if you fancy making it, go here 

So food is good in many ways, for your spirit as well as your general health!  I like very much making basic things such as yogurt and flour and soup, all that sort of thing.  Too bad I don't have a setup for making wine..