We’ve been away for the last several weekends, mostly because we are lucky enough to have friends who invite us to join them at their vacation homes.  So we welcomed the chance to spend last weekend at home catching up with errands and getting some food into the house.

Our refrigerator was nearly empty and our basement freezer was out of everything but ice cream and frozen butter.  It’s not energy-efficient to run a freezer that isn’t full.  So, first a shop-a-thon, then a cook-a-thon.

On Friday night, I made a pot of Aunt Bea’s Stuffed Cabbage Soup that simmered away while we watched a movie.   I don’t know who Aunt Bea is/was, but it’s a great meal in a dish—and I made enough for three meals.  On Saturday afternoon, I made vegetarian chili, enough for about five meals.  Any vegetarian chili is good, but the secret to mine is portobello mushrooms.  I’ve served it to just about every friend I have, so I may need some new friends to dazzle.

But what’s vegetarian chili without homemade corn bread? So I baked that too.

By Sunday, my cooking ambition flagged so Peter made swordfish for dinner.  It was delicious.