On the Menu

I am not a fan of cooking....at all.  I never have been.  My sister, Emily, is a master chef.  She was the one willing to help with the entire meal when we were growing up.  I would peel potatos and book it out of the kitchen.  I don't like timing things, making a mess, cleaning it up, shopping for the ingredients, going to cook something and missing a single ingredient, etc.  It is just a hassle I don't enjoy.  Since moving up here, I have been cooking a lot more.  I have enjoyed finding new recipes and only one was absolutely terrible (I blame false imagery on the part of CrockPot because I rechecked and I followed everything exactly correct) but that hasn't taken away from the whole process that I loathe.  One thing I have done to help that has worked well for the first 2 months at least is preplanning my shopping list for an entire month making me grocery store free for 29 days of the month which I love.  One the menu this month: frito pie, swedish pork roast, parmesean chicken, southwestern chicken chili, tacos, chicken curry, and honey spiced glazed chicken to name a few.

Piglet

When I was growing up my mom would always call us piglets when we had made a mess.  This was not necessarily a term of endearment, but rather one of exasperation.  This expression would come from projects being left out, socks left in the living room, dishes left in the sink after a cooking experiment etc.  This week I have been a 100 billion percent piglet.  The key part of being a piglet is that you don't really notice what you have done, you make your messes and over time they build up into what could be referred to as a pig sty. My projects that have culminated into such a mess include:

• Assembling my new bike
• Creating an amazing card for Erin's graduation
• Experimental enchiladas
• Primary lesson
• Remnants from our trip
• Redoing my Summer blocks
• To do pile

I am not proud of this mess, but the first step in piglet recovery is to observe the individual projects on a whole and come to the conclusion that it is indeed a mess.  Now I am trying to wrap everything up as quick as I can to get this mess out of sight so that full remission can be obtained. In the mean time: I am a piglet.

Millions of Peaches

I love peaches! My amazing father-in-law happens to be an expert in the art of growing food: tomatoes, raspberries, corn, squash, and my favorite: PEACHES! I have loved eating peaches for just about every meal the past week. Later this week will bring making peach jam and maybe even a cobbler into the celebration of peach harvest time. Peaches: just another reason that fall rocks!

Cooking with Mushrooms

I am not ashamed to say that I absolutely hate cooking. I hate timing things, waiting, making a mess, and then having to clean it all up. This opinion has left me completely clueless on how to make anything 'advanced'=different. I got brave this week and bought some fresh mushrooms at Costco planning on using them in some different dishes until I went to use them and encountered a problem: I have no clue how to prepare or cook fresh mushrooms. I just have to say that I love youtube when such problems arise. I had JD look it up and in a matter of seconds we had a lovely 2 minute tutorial on mushroom preparation such as did you know you shouldn't rinse them under water? I know that now. Youtube has also come in handy in cleaning shower drains and looking up intrathoracic procedures for closing PFO's. So here is to youtube....and fresh mushrooms.

Fried Eggs and Fires

So we have some eggs that will go bad soon. The solution? Cook them. That was a good idea until JD was frying some eggs for sandwiches last night when the 'smoke' triggered our smoke alarm, not once, but twice. It was a good check on the fire alarm system throughout the entire house. JD was opening the door and yelling up the stairs that it is our fault and there wasn't a fire. I am fanning away some of the 'smoke' from the alarm area and holding the pan in the air, egg and all, hoping that the 'smoke' would stop. After getting it to stop, we made the mistake of trying to finish the egg and the whole thing started all over again.....I am glad the Roberts' like us. Today.....hard boiled eggs.