Its been far to long......

Sorry for the long delay....so much has happened.  First off we moved!  To California where I hope to have better produce and for longer.  We just got ourselves over four acres of land that I can't wait to start farming on.  We plan to have an extensive garden and some livestock which will include chickens.  My daughter is super excited to have a basket to collect eggs in.  I am happy to have something to get guidence on from my oldest sister....sometimes you just need that older sister reassurance(something I already miss).  I can't wait to start cooking in our new kitchen with a gas range, which I have never cooked on, and to look out into the backyard and see just empty space and a beautiful sunset.  So stay tuned for some awesome food and some silly mess ups because things will be heating up!

Many good dinners....

These pizzas were the best we have made yet.  My husband made some delicious sauce that we smothered atop some store bought naan (Indian flat bread).  We blanched the asparagus then sauteed them with onion, mushrooms and garlic.  The cheese is a blend of Colby and white cheddar with garlic.  We layered them on and added some olives then to top it of we drizzled the butter goodness from the sauteed veggies on top.  After cooking they were like heaven!  We will definitely have these again.

These are some mini corn dogs that the kids loved!  After a little trial and error I found out that you need to use fine ground cornmeal and the batter does need to be chilled.  We used turkey dogs cut in half on skewers cut in half.  We should have cooked them a little longer at maybe a lower heat to get the crisp a little farther in but still very good and the extras we froze reheated really well.  These are super easy to make if you like corn dogs you should try them.

This was our first curry.  It was not my favorite.  We added too much cinnamon so it was a little awkward. I haven't had enough curry to base it anything but not bad.  My husband has limited veggies to work with as I still don't care for peas, lima beans or cooked carrots really.  Hopefully we will give it another try.

Great Sandwhich

Well my husband made a sandwich for dinner the other night that I thought might not be as good as his vision of it but to my surprise it was awesome!  A veggie panini that I can't wait to have again. Here's the break down: sauteed mushrooms, white onion, red bell pepper and garlic coins, blanched green beans, with a warm blanket of provolone and Cheddar, on a french bread roll with mayo on one side and fresh pesto on the other and than toasted.  Then with the help of a heavy cast iron pan and griddle....Panini!  To top it off some fresh parmesan on top.  We both were wishing for a third sandwich.  I want one as I am writing this.  I am finding out that I have a real love for sandwiches.  It is one of the few foods that I crave the most and nothing is better than the smell of fresh bread to me.  I tell my husband that I should work in a bakery but we both decided I would be a million pounds from all the bread I would eat. 

We are planning an exciting weekend we got some new kitchen items and can't wait to use them.  We want to make fresh pasta and I would love to make some fresh bread.  Wish us luck!

Big Plans and Big Flops!

Well, I tried to make clarified butter this week and do not  know what went wrong but it did not stay in liquid form.  I don't know if the type of butter matters or if maybe I had the temperature too high but something didn't work.  I also tried to make a quick pickled asparagus which also didn't come out very well.  The flavor was very unbalanced.  But I did learn that it is not good to smell vinegar when it is about to boil unless you want to burn your nasal passages.  Those were my big flops for the week and now for the big plans!  This weekend we plan to do some much needed additions to our kitchen community.  We would like to get a pasta roller, sieve, food processor, and a food mill.  It is an expensive list but hopefully this will take us a step in the right direction.  My husband and I hope to sit down after the kids go to bed and plan our next weeks menu with new and fun recipes.  We would also like to broaden our cook book collection so if there are any recommendations let me have them!  Happy cooking!

I accept your challenge!!!

I accepted my sisters challenge and tonight we made what I would call winter soup.  It consisted of potatoes, celery, leek, chard, bacon, cannelini beans, onion, and garlic.  It had chicken stock for the broth and a lot of whole seed dried herbs such as fennel, thyme, celery seed, red pepper flakes and rosemary.  Towards the end we added a dollop of stone ground mustard which balanced it out perfectly.  I was very skeptical since I do not usually like broth soups but I would have eaten it all night.  The only thing we would have changed is adding a thick cut slice of toasted sour dough bread.  We will finish the night with some delish apple turnovers that I made last night, a scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce.  Yum Yum!  Will hopefully post some pictures soon....

Failed dinner

I tried to make lemony rice with spiced cod over the top last night and despite following Martha's recipe did not come out very well.  The rice was pretty good but had a little to much lemon(I added to much).  The cod on the other hand was not as successful.  I did not dry the fish before putting the rub on..duh..but the spice mix was not my favorite.  It seemed kinda flat.  I am finding out that Martha's recipes need some adjustments.  Hopefully tonight will be better.  We are having BLTAs and then heading next door for a T-shirt themed birthday party.  I made some earrings, leg warmers, wine bottle cover and plan to make arm gauntlets and bun(hair) covers today.  Super excited!!

The beginning...

This is hopefully a new beginning for the love of food.  My husband and I used to eat nothing but over processed, super preserved, can, boxed or bagged food.  Since moving back to the Portland, OR area we had been constantly reminded how bad our eating habits were.  And with the gentle yet constant persuasion of my oldest sister(who is a fountain of knowledge) we have succumbed to the culture of fresh is better and less is more.  We still have a lot to learn but we are on our way to eating better tasting food. This spring we hope to plant more veggies and herbs in our garden.  Also, I have a 30th birthday this year and would love to lose some weight.  We have a big year ahead of us but we will make it a good one with good food.