Tom is hunting, and I am left to look after the farm. So I am making a Staycation of it. I have been bathing each day with my homemade bath bombs. I have been reading (Tibetan Peach Zooey’s by Tom Robbins). I have been enjoying fiber arts: knitting, weaving and spinning. I have been watching football as well as binging on British Antiques Roadshow. Plus I have been cooking.

Tom is not a fan of vegetables. But this time of year our freezer is almost empty of meat, and there are vegetables in the garden. So I am taking advantage of his absence and trying out vegetable recipes.

The first one was an Avocado Caesar dressing.

It is less garlicky but more anchovyy than my usual dressing but a nice change. Here is one of the salads I made with it.

For the next meal, I made a crust less quiche. This used some of our abundant eggs plus was yummy with our green beans on the side.

The next day I made a Pumpkin Soup with Coconut and Meatballs. I found this recipe when I was tivoing Sweden before my trip. It does not seem very Scandinavian but was incredibly delicious and unique. Plus I got to use our pumpkin and apples.

Since I am scheduled to work on Halloween this year, I decided I will celebrate early this year. So I got some decorations and candy ready during the Staycation.

On Saturday I picked up my Salmon share from Drifters Fish.

I decided for dinner to make one of my favorite recipes: Salmon Pesto. Our basil production this year was not great. So I decided to make mint pesto for this. I considered nettle pesto but decided the mint leaves were in better shape this time of year. Here is my salmon pesto all cooked up.

On Sunday, I decided to use some of our beets to make a Beet and Goat Cheese Salad recipe that had been in my local newspaper. I had been eating the beets raw in salad like carrots but now realize that I should have been cooking them first.

Here is the really yummy salad.

For dinner I wanted to make Crispy Smashed Root Vegetables. This used our carrots, turnips and thyme.

I baked one of our last pork steaks to go with it. So yummy!

On Tuesday I made Roman Egg Drop Soup for dinner. This was easy to make and taste like onions and Parmesan. What is there not to love?

Wednesday night I made Grilled Peppers with Eggs. It took me a while to get the grill going as Tom always manages the grill. So it was a late but tasty dinner.

Nice to hang out by the grill on a cold evening. This gave me ideas of making mini grilled pizza in peppers too.

I also made more bath bombs. I tried using my soap molds. I had tried this before and it was a fail. But this time it mostly worked. The only issues were the breaking of the necks on the ducks and the dragons

Thursday I went to Anacortes. The reason was to see the Downton Abbey movie. But it was a gorgeous day. I went to Washington Park to a spot that was special to a wonderful nurse.

I enjoyed the movie and the views on the way home.

Then I made Italian-Style Fish Stew for dinner. I skipped the clams as I am not a fan.

This is mildly spicy and quite yummy.

Tonight I am making 15 bean soup with a ham hock. Tom is coming home. I had a nice staycation but it will be nicer to have my normal life back. But I have lots of frozen leftovers to tide me over this winter.