Food for Thought

Warning: this post may make you hungry.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love food?

Only a few times?

Oh, no? More than that?

Well, it's a fact. Everyone eats in one way or another. (I'm not excluding those who have to use feeding tubes, it's the ALS awareness as well as those who have surgery and such… too dark?) Well everyone has to eat whether it's solid or pureed. And I love food.

I made a dish tonight that's for lunch tomorrow. Jenny is coming to visit. She showed me this awesome kitchen gadget

If you like cherry or grape tomatoes, you need this.

She took me back to the little shop in St. Joe where she bought it and I found one hiding on a shelf. It's also good for regular grapes, large olives, and anything else that size that you want sliced.

I don't know if I have written about the dish I made, so I'll just mention it again. It's Quinoa with Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella.

It's yummy.

I had a blt and corn on the cob for dinner. It'll probably be one of the last for the season. It was also yummy. But the good news is apple season is upon us. Apples won't fit in the kitchen gadget, but that wasn't the point of this post.

I also made my blueberry chocolate cake.

The blueberries were the last of the season too. I don't remember getting fresh blueberries this late in the season, but I enjoyed every last little one.

It's still technically summer, so there should be a few more grilled dinners.

Food, it's what's for dinner.

I'm thankful for our farmers and our food.

silly dates

Today is Cinco de Mayo which the media is reminding us is not Mexico's Independence day, but a silly made-up American holiday. But it does have to do with a battle and keeping the French from taking over (you can read about it here). I'm not even part Mexican, but I do celebrate gastronomically.

Tonight, I made the Mexican Skillet. Onion, chorizo, sausage, pinto beans, tomato, and corn make for the basis of the dish. Top it with cheese and serve it with lime, avocado and sour cream. Yum! It made plenty of leftovers too. I may have to make some burritos out of it.

More importantly, yesterday was the 4th. And, when you think about it, can be best summed up by saying, "May the 4th… be with you."

Every year I forget May the 4th. While I don't consider myself a Star Wars fanatic, I do know the movies pretty well. Maybe next year I'll remember May the 4th.

On another silly holiday note, Sandwich week is coming. I should start planning which sandwiches I'll be making.

I'm thankful for food, and my love of fixing it.

One small program making a huge difference

Kids Food Basket is an amazing organization here in West Michigan. They serve students in elementary schools where 80% or more of the population is on free or reduced lunch program. Those students receive a sack dinner to take home. They have served over 300,000 sacks meals since July 1, 2013. (I think the number was around 380,000 but since I don't remember exactly, I don't want to give you false information. It's still a lot.)

My Jr. High youth served there one day this last summer during our mission Week of Giving. 

 In the background on the right hand side, you can see a marker board. That is a list of the locations and  counts of how many sack dinners need to be delivered.

During the school year, eighty volunteers come through KFB doors daily.

Tonight, I was fortunate enough to serve there again. This time with our Young Adult Group. There were eleven of us.

The main difference was how many other volunteers there were. During the summer, while there is absolutely still a need for food to be delivered to students, the day we were there was much slower. You can see in the first photo that we are packing sacks. 

Tonight we were part of the assembly that happens to get to the stage pictured above.

That's confusing.

Someone has to make the sandwiches, bag them, and count them before they can be sacked. The Jr. High sacked them. Tonight we made the sandwiches and bagged them. There were three stations of long tables making sandwiches.

Hundreds of sandwiches.

I did not mention the list of schools waiting to join the program offered through KFB.

It's unbelievable the number of kids who need this program. It's even more amazing that volunteers and donations are what move this program forward. 

I'm thankful for the generosity and ingenuity of the creators of this program. I am hopeful for those who volunteer and help make a difference. 

another food post

I made some Creamy Carrot Soup tonight.

I actually made a lot of Creamy Carrot Soup.

I had a 3 pound bag of carrots that tasted different than the other bags of carrots I've bought. My reasoning is that these weren't organic. I really could taste a difference.

So what better way to use them then in a soup? 

It's a pretty easy soup and you can eat it warm or cold.

I had to freeze half of it because I used all the carrots (the recipe only calls for 1 1/2 pounds). I doctored it up a bit too. I added mascarpone cheese and a secret ingredient. I'm not going to tell you until Bill tries it. It's nothing scary and I found another recipe that used it, so I thought, why not? I also used thyme and a dash of celery salt. It's pretty tasty. It needs croutons. 

I'll make more croutons tomorrow.

The other night I made pancakes in order to use up the Bisquick that I had in the cupboard. I stuck the pancakes in the freezer.

Yes, I made pancakes just to stick in the freezer.

I'm weird that way.

But tonight I thought those pancakes would be good with the homemade chocolate hazelnut spread I have. So I am going to try that for breakfast tomorrow. I'll let you know how it tastes.

the other risotto blog for today

I have made risotto and blogged about it before (here). I like it so much that I went in search of more risotto recipes. I found a couple and have been meaning to try them for months. Finally, I decided I would make them this week while Bill is in Detroit (not because he doesn't love risotto; but because it's a good leftover dish, it's a good side dish and I'm also eating these pulled pork sandwiches so I just needed a little bit of something to go with them and even I have my limit on how many times I can eat potatoes).

So I tried this recipe today for lunch, Butternut Squash, Spinach and Goat Cheese Risotto. I know. You're thinking, how in the world did you ever find this recipe? I searched for risotto and this is one of the recipes that popped up.

Now I am nice enough to have retyped it for you. Because, even though there is a U.S./metric conversion button, the U.S. measurements are screwy. Things like "1/2 pounds, 2 -5/8 ounces, weight Peeled... Butternut Squash"...

What???

Who weighs their Butternut Squash?

So here's my version below.

Just so you know, if you like any of the ingredients, you will like this dish. The goat cheese gives it a creaminess that pulls out the flavor of the roasted butternut squash and makes each bite taste sinful. Dreadfully sinful. And delicious.

I actually felt guilty eating it alone. It was that good.

Then, I was so sad when not all of the leftovers fit into the dish and I had to have another plateful.

If you've never made risotto before, here's the best recipe for that. Try it first. Then come back and try the

Butternut Squash, Spinach and Goat Cheese

Ingredients

• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 TBSP unsalted butter, room temperature
• ½ onion, chopped
• ¾ cup Arborio rice
• ¼ dry white wine
• ¼ finely shredded Parmesan cheese
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 small Butternut Squash, peeled, deseeded and cubed (about 1 ½ cups)
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 3-4 oz. baby Spinach (or a handful)
• Juice and Zest of half a lemon
• 2+ oz. goat cheese
• Optional: Pine nuts and fresh herbs

Directions

Place the cubed Butternut Squash in a roasting tin, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until squash is golden (this takes about as long as it takes to prep and cook the rest of the risotto. Do this first, or roast a large butternut squash ahead of time, reserving half of it for this risotto).

In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and keep the broth hot.

In a large, heavy saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat with the butter. Add the wine and simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup hot broth and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking the rice, adding the broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition of broth to absorb before adding the next. Cook the rice until tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 15-20 minutes (when liquid is almost all absorbed).

Remove from heat and stir in roasted squash, spinach, lemon zest and juice, Parmesan and 1 TBSP of butter. Cover it and allow it to cook in the residual heat for a couple of minutes.

Crumble goat cheese over the top and serve!

Serves 4

This is a good way to make the basic risotto go further

the midwest and mexican food

Believe it or not, you can find good Mexican food in the midwest. Maybe that's not so surprising. The other thing that is not surprising is that I ate too much. Yes. It happened again. I guess the good news is that the last time I blogged about it was May. So once every five months is not too bad. We did get a walk in today and I got to do my yoga, sit-ups and push-ups.

Then we drove to my parent's house. There's a new Mexican restaurant in town, so we tried it out. It was good. Too good. I was very hungry when we got here, and I ate way too many chips and salsa. Curse the chips and salsa.

No. Don't curse them. They're too good. Curse my inability to say no.

Eventually I said no. It was just way too late.

Not to mention we tried the corn dip my mom was in the process of making when we arrived, and my sister brought "Halloween" cookies that we tried too. It is my own fault I feel this miserable. I stuffed myself like a Thanksgiving turducken.

It could have been the margarita that did me in. But I don't think so. I blame the food. And the water. I'm like a water buffalo.

Maybe it was the margarita...

This is what I had planned to blog about: I love the midwest. Some people think it's too flat. I don't. I understand the need the first settlers had to stay here. I love Michigan.

And I appreciate the flat plains that exist in Indiana.

I repeat: I love Michigan.

But I have always enjoyed seeing so many miles at one time just on the road. From 236th street (this takes you from the highway to the small town that is Cicero, Indiana) you can see the two water towers in Arcadia and the two water towers in Cicero as you drive in. I just think that's so cool.

When I was in Jr. and Sr. High, we would go to all the football and basketball games. As we would drive home, I would look out the car window and pick out the different towns based on our location and the light "pollution". It used to be easy back then. Each small town was easily distinguishable. Now, Indianapolis has enough lights to block out the small towns surrounding it.

It's just a sign of the times. Perhaps we'll regress as we learn to appreciate the night sky.

The midwest is in my heart and I belong to the midwest. It's just who I am.

a review of our week in food

I'm not going to go through every single day, because not every day was noteworthy. I'll hit the highlights.

Thursday night; we had grilled cheese sandwiches that weren't yo' mamma's grilled cheese sandwiches. I used Italian bread, Fontina cheese, olives, tomato and pesto. Yum! It actually would have been a little better had I used the grill as a panini press instead of just the frying pan. But you live and learn and they were still tasty!

Bill made ribs last night.

Oh. My. Goodness.

Goodness gracious

Yum.

He made a dry rub, then he used the rest of the dry rub in the sauce. Amazing. I know my ribs. You're reading a blog by the girl who went to Junior Prom with elbow length white gossamer gloves, and when dinner came she ordered the ribs (a full rack). And then she ate those ribs without getting a drop of sauce on her dress or her gloves. Yes. I think I know my ribs. I've had them in St. Louis, Kansas City, Tennessee, Alabama, and every place in between.

The salad I made to go with the ribs was pretty good too. Homemade croutons, romaine, olives, tomato, and goat cheese. The tomato disappointed me, but the rest of it was good. And I made homemade garlic bread too.

This morning I had yogurt with (what will probably be the last) strawberries, blueberries and my homemade granola. It was pretty spectacular too.

I'm ready for the sweet corn. My favorite summer time meal: blt's and corn on the cob. My mouth is watering. I can't wait to see corn at the farmer's market.

I ate too much

Bill and I have been very good in that we haven't eaten out too much. Last night we made an exception because Tuesday is grocery/Meijer shopping day. We have food (in the freezer) and one of us probably could have whipped something up, but the kitchen was a slight disaster from Saturday. Bill set out to tear out the strip of plastic along the counter top and "back splash" and replace it with caulk (since he's now mastered the caulk). That was fine by me. He did that on Saturday, and got the new caulk down on Sunday. Everything from the counter was still spread throughout the kitchen and dining room. Needless to say, neither of us felt like cleaning it up, only to have to cook and then clean up after dinner. We deserved a break.

While we were walking we discussed where we should go for dinner. Bill said Arnie's and I had been thinking it, so we agreed. Then I remembered the Turkish restaurant where I had met Pat (a Quotarian) for dinner one night. It's out in Ada, but it was delicious. That is where we went (it's called Zeytin, which is apparently the Turkish word for Olive; they want to extend the olive branch to you, and invite you in).

I remembered what I had last time, the lamb shish-kabobs. I wanted to try something different, I had liked it a lot, but knew everything on the menu would be delicious. I ordered the Lamb Hummus (I don't eat lamb very much, so why not?) and Bill had the Special (a little bit of everything). My plate came out and it was covered in shredded lamb in a tomato sauce on hummus. Oh my.

They bring you a basket of pita bread, so of course I took the pita and filled it with my lamb and hummus dish. It was divine. Very similar to Greek food, and the Mediterranean that we love.

I ate the whole plate. I should have stopped and gotten a box. I mean really, the entire plate was covered with lamb. But I didn't. I ate it all. It was too good.

Flashback to the walk when I stated that I didn't want to eat too much...

Later, in the middle of the night when I woke up sweating, and still very full with my stomach making all kinds of weird noises, did I regret my decision. I learned my lesson and from now on I will stop and bring some home. There is nothing wrong with leftovers.

Friday: Walking, Blogging and a tip

We've been really good at walking three times a week since the beginning of January. I have noticed a difference for sure. I miss walking outside, every day, but that will be happening soon enough. It's been fun mall-walking with Bill. I'm sure the other passers-by are catching interesting pieces of our conversations. Sometimes we walk without talking and I've learned (being the extrovert) that this is okay. Bill added on two extra laps today. I am feeling it.

I always share Bill's blog on here, because of course I find it amusing and know you will too. Here is a look back at one of my all-time favorite posts.

My tip for the day: do not tweeze a nose hair after applying mascara. You should let the mascara dry first. You'll thank me for that.

And speaking of the nose, I have my sense of smell back. I can taste food again! Yay! We'll be having country fried steaks and potatoes tonight and tomorrow we'll have that Valentine's dinner I didn't make... check back tomorrow to see how that turns out. My mouth is watering for the four cheese pasta dish.

Sunday for the soul

Yesterday I was checking out a couple of new blogs my friend Shannon told me about. There are three of them and they are all for cooking. It's amazing how many people are out there sharing recipes, tips, etc. I am excited to print out a couple of new recipes I found, I love trying new things. Since there has been a small interest in sharing on my blog; here are the links to the new blogs (don't forget about me though!!)

mels kitchencafe
simply recipes
the pioneer woman

Enjoy! Explore! Learn new dishes.

Today is also the day in which we choose sides. I am wearing yellow. I am Switzerland. Truthfully I will be happy if either team wins (did I already say that?). We're in Michigan, so the Packers are just a hop and a skip across the pond. But the Colts and Steelers are both in the A.F.C. so I should be rooting for the Steelers. You can read about our friend Greg, who has been preparing for this game since the season started. I'm not putting any money on the game, so the outcome will make me happy. Hence the yellow. Either way I will support both teams. This will be good, because I can cheer for whoever (whomever?) has the ball. Yes, I'm a girl. *sigh* oh well. I do enjoy football and eating. Today is the day for both.

the day for follow-ups

Some days I start contemplating what I'll blog about early in the day and other days it's toward the end of the day when I finally have something to blog about. Being that I left you yesterday wondering if I would actually walk 10,000 steps I thought I might do a little follow-up. Then I read Bill's blog. He also did a follow-up. Great minds think alike. So Bill, I'm not copying you (or maybe I am), but here's my follow-up post.

I ended the day having walked 10,060 steps. I had to pace around the house a few dozen times to get there, but I made it. I feel great about accomplishing that. I am going to wear my pedometer when we go to the car show on Saturday, I can't wait to see how many steps I take there!

I'm still reading a November issue of one of my magazines. I posted about the combined month issues here. We got a new issue in the mail on Tuesday and I'm still behind. Yikes. I was way behind.

I'm almost two full months into blogging every day. I don't know if you're bored. No one comments. I will gladly take suggestions on what to blog about (please don't ask about politics, I almost don't even care). I enjoy food, in case you hadn't noticed, I could talk about that all the time. In fact, last night I used more of my pizza dough and made pizza pockets. For some reason the parchment paper burned. The pizza pockets turned out fine, a little dark on the bottoms, but very delicious. The recipe made double the filling amount I needed for the amount of dough I had, so I will use that and either make more pizza pockets or calzones. Or I could make some pasta dough and make ravioli's. I'll let you know!

dinner last night

Last night for dinner I made a salad of sorts. Let me explain.

I found this recipe and decided to try it. It called for rotisserie chicken, romaine lettuce, olives and day old focaccia bread. We had some romaine and ciabatta bread; so I bought chicken breasts and olives. It called for a Mediterranean seasoning packet to use to make the dressing but I knew, between Bill and I, one of us could create something.

I grilled the chicken by simply drizzling it with olive oil and seasoning it with fresh ground salt and pepper. I put it on the Foreman grill for about seven minutes a side (I do flip it once to get good grill marks on both sides) then I check the temp (which is always over 160) and remove the chicken, letting it rest until it's cool to touch. While it cooled, I cut up the ciabatta bread and put it in a frying pan with olive oil until it was lightly toasted. I removed the bread and added the olives. By this point the chicken was cool enough to slice, so once I did that I added all of it back to the pan and tossed it all together. Bill made the dressing using olive oil, vinegar and some basic seasonings. I divided the romaine between two plates and piled up the chicken mixture on top of it. Then I topped both plates with grated parmesan.

It was delicious! While I didn't expect it to be a hearty winter dish, the warmth of heating everything up in the pan made it so. We had protein and carbs, a vegetable and a fruit. We had it all and it was filling. A salad but so much more.

I hope we can put it on the Mellon Collie menu, I'm trying to think of a good name... suggestions? I'm thinking, "The Healthy Dose", "If you must eat your veggies... salad", or "Hearts of estranged salad" (get it? Because nothing else is healthy). Maybe Bill will have a better name. He's got all the cleverness between us.

what's for dinner?

I know, it's too early to be thinking about dinner, but I am a planner. I plan ahead for the grocery list, I plan ahead for meals, I like my routine. Don't get me wrong, I can be spur-of-the-moment, but I have to know that it's going to happen. Just kidding. Sort of, I can be flexible when I know I need to be (for instance while traveling). But if I have something set in my mind, I like things to be that way. I don't get upset if they're not, I just don't always handle it well.

Hence the post, what's for dinner. I had planned on homemade pizza pockets, which are yummy and delicious. And then I weighed myself this morning. Needless to say, Bill and I took a 2-mile walk and I will be doing yoga later. That changed dinner plans too. That and the fact that we have greens in the fridge that need to be used, otherwise they'll go bad and will just get thrown away. Like the basil I bought. Imagine my disgust when I pulled it out and not only were the leaves turning brown, but there was actual fuzzy mold growing on them! Ew!! I had to toss it all out. What a waste of money. Apparently December is not the month to buy healthy basil. I also purchased spinach leaves and romaine. Both of those are still hanging in there. And that's where tonight's dinner comes into play. I'm going to make spinach pesto in my new food processor. With our pesto pasta we will also have salads made from romaine. It sounds nice and healthy and light.

We have finally run out of leftovers. But there is still cheeseball. Mmm cheeseball. I've not given up on eating healthy, but I have done a poor job of paying close attention to what I eat. My eating habits will resume after this weekend. And we will be walking at least three times a week January and February.

And in case you're wondering from my post the other day; our walk this morning already has me at 5800 steps. I hope I can get 6000 in by the end of the day (that will probably happen before the afternoon).

other plans

Last night we were supposed to go to the Detroit Symphony with our friends, Dave and Greg. This is a tradition that they share with their friends Kevin and Mekel. We were invited to join the four of them this year. However, the Symphony is currently on strike. As things have a tendency to work out, Bill ended up presenting one of his employees with "Employee of the Year" at a business meeting last night.

But first Dave, Greg, Bill and I went to dinner. It came recommended by Mekel, who ended up getting violently ill and was unable to join us. The Forest Grill is the name of the restaurant we went to. Check out their website. It was sleek and modern. They specialize in local, organic food with a french twist. The chef studied in France for several years and that is evidenced by the menu.

We shared a prosciutto platter that literally melted in your mouth it was sliced so thin. Bill, Greg and I all had the Caesar salad which was divine. Greg had the French Onion soup and Dave had the Tomato Bisque both looked exquisite. I ordered the risotto as my main dish, which I asked for in the appetizer portion and it was perfect. Bill and Dave both had the Cote du Boeuf while Greg tried the Duck Confit, also an appetizer which he had as his main dish in a larger entree size portion.

After we finished our entrees, Bill had to excuse himself to get to his meeting. Dave, Greg and I all indulged in dessert, because by this point why wouldn't we? I had the Mont Blanc which was chocolate gelato (hello? I haven't met a chocolate gelato I haven't liked) with Chestnut mousse and nutella. It was amazing. Greg had the bread pudding (I think) and Dave tried the Butter Pecan Meringue Creme Brulee.

I want to go back there. It was so divine. As was the bill, but it was worth every penny (and dollar...).

another homemade dinner

While I think of a clever title for this post, I will go ahead and start writing...

Bill has posted a funny commentary on microwaves and salt (or No-Salt, which exists for a longer period of time in his post that it did in actual life). I had secretly hoped he would end his rant with something positive about my cooking which has come a long way in the ten years we've been married. A very long way. I owe most of that to two people: Giada and Emeril. I "heart" Food Network and because of these two cooks, I am more confident in the kitchen. I should probably read "Julie and Julia" or at least see the movie. I have a feeling I would be able to relate.

Back to my post, it's not really a secret anymore, I just told you. Instead I'll just toot my own horn, or something and share yet another delicious cooked meal that I made. From scratch.

Gnudi and Crostini Alla Roma.

Gnudi means naked in Italian, and in this case it refers to ravioli. That just means no pasta shell, just the filling. How does that work you may be thinking. The filling consists of ricotta, spinach, parmesan cheese, two egg yolks (which are the binder) and two eggs. After mixing it all together, you shape it into flattened balls and roll it in flour. Put them in boiling water and four minutes later you have ravioli without the pasta. I love it. This was only the second time I made it, the first was something like a catastrophe in the kitchen, but I learned and I was prepared for the sticky mess that it makes. I had also made homemade marinara sauce, which I thought tasted great.

The second part of this meal (because let's face it, gnudi isn't very filling since you don't have the pasta to make you feel full) was crostini. Ciabatta bread, cut and toasted. Then take a slice of proscuitto and top it with a slice of fresh mozzerella. Back into the oven. While it's baking the second time and melting the cheese, I take butter and melt it. I add minced garlic, then drizzle that over the crostini when it comes out of the oven. Heaven. I am almost sure of it.

If your mouth is watering, give us a call. We enjoy guests and have tons of room in the dining room now that we've gotten rid of the piano!!

still cookin'

As I've mentioned a couple of times I have really gotten into cooking; more so since we moved back to Grand Rapids and I started working from home. Finding the time to cook, experiment and learn has opened a new door into my culinary world. I enjoy it immensely. I enjoy looking through recipes, watching Food Network and creating my own inventions.

Somewhere along the way, I had heard of baking a pizza in a cast iron skillet. We finally bought one! Bill uses it to make breakfast potatoes (a weekend staple in our house). I also recently acquired a piece of granite stone that I can use to roll out dough, something I cannot do no matter how much flour I use on my regular counter tops. This "scrap" piece sits on a butcher block island and has proved to be very useful. I have also found a recipe for homemade pizza dough. The store bought dough always falls apart and it never bakes in the middle even when I par bake it. All things combined in my mind (it's complicated, but that's how my brain works, trust me it all came together in there) and I decided to make a pizza in our new cast iron skillet.

I found a great blog, "Last Night's Dinner" where a cast iron skillet pizza was discussed in great length. I used the baking portion from that blog, and combined it with two other pizza recipes. First I made the dough on my granite stone. Then, I caramelized a Vidalia onion in the skillet, I added Italian sausage and cooked it until it was cooked through (not browned). I put the onions and sausage on a paper towel lined plate while I rolled out the dough. The dough was thin enough that it wasn't deep dish thick, but I pressed it up against the sides. I spread out tomato sauce, and drizzled the edge of the crust with olive oil. Then I added the sausage and onion. I topped it with several types of cheese. Of course I used mozzarella (shredded, not fresh, next time I'm going to try fresh), I used some feta, Parmigiano Reggiano, and when it came out of the oven, I topped it with plain fresh grated Parmesan.

This was the result. It was delicious. I was quite proud. The dough cooked all the way through and it was nuclear hot when we bit into it. I tried telling Bill I was holding back and now that I know he's not going to leave me after ten years, I can finally show off my cooking talents. He isn't buying it, but he is enjoying my cooking.

We plan on trying country fried steaks again (the first try almost burned down our first apartment, we've learned a lot since then and are more confident that we'll be 100% successful in our 2nd attempt, especially with the skillet) and Bill will be frying up chicken. But those will have to wait until cooler weather returns. We need to get back out to the grill.

Don't forget, I love to share my cooking, so if you ever want to come visit just give us a call!!

Food For Thought

I'll be the first to admit, I'm no Julia Childs. However, I have found a passion for cooking. I think it mostly has to do with the fact that I'm home and I have time to cook. I love watching Food Network, my favorite chef is Giada De Laurentiis. Bill has met her, he even got a kiss on the check from her. It is my dream to meet her, to tell her because of her I love cooking. Of course as a result, I feel like I'm part Italian. There's nothing wrong with that. I also admit we probably eat more pasta than we should.

I have also found that desire to make things from scratch. To do things the way they used to be done instead of relying on prepared foods. My grandmother gave me a "no fail" pie crust recipe that is really easy! And no matter what you do to it, it always turns out flaky and delicious.

Another thing I have discovered is my love of so many different foods. I grew up being a very picky eater (if my mom would like to weigh in, I'm sure that's an understatement). As I've gotten older I've been more daring. I'll try new things. Not everything, I do still have my limits. (Calamari is on that list of things that still makes me gag looking at it. It is still squid with little slimy tentacles, yuck!) And I've even been eating a lot healthier, more veggies and fruits in my daily diet!

This last weekend I tried yet another new recipe. It was Penne with Pesto and Eggplant. It was quick, easy and delicious. I wanted to capture it, to share with you, to make your mouth water. Alas, real food does not photograph too well. I tried. Here's the result.

Look, you can see the garlic. Mmm. This dish made a lot, so I still have leftovers. Tonight I plan on reinventing the dish by combining it with another recipe I have. I'll let you know how my creation turns out.

I once said on my facebook page that if you have a dishwasher and would like a cook, I'm available! I'll be cooking for our friends Dave and Greg this weekend. Check back soon for more pictures!