Yep, I felt blah. Energy-less. Not motivated. Blue, but not dark blue. So, I made lentils. I have written about lentils before. They are, absolutely, my all time favorite economical and tasty meal. Extremely nutritious, lentils contain high levels of protein and are a good source of iron. Along with, fiber, folate, B1 and minerals. Lentils are… Continue reading Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah
Whenever I see my bottle of Angostura bitters in my kitchen, I see home. I feel my grandmothers presence in my kitchen. To open the bottle and smell the aromatics, lifts me. There are many things in my home that make me feel home as I knew it growing up with her, but there is something… Continue reading A Bitters Moment
I have different size coolers: a small one, a medium sized one and small insulated ones I use for lunch. When I was a figure skater it was common to see skaters that skated the early morning sessions carrying their coolers and their skates on a wooden rack into the ice rink at 5:15 in the… Continue reading Buy A Cooler
Mise en place. Everything in place. Thinking ahead to the next meal or the next day. Cleaning vegetables; washing lettuce and spinning it; washing herbs. Cubing the butter for the biscuits. Measuring flour and other dry ingredients for a loaf bread or a cake. I find this kind of thinking ahead takes a bit of the… Continue reading Preparation
Yesterday my son was in a construction accident; he was cutting tubing with a grinder and it caught, flew up and hit him in the face. He called me and very calmly said he didn’t have that good of a day, proceeding to tell me that he spent the day in the ER and had 42… Continue reading Safety First
I consider myself to be a tireless advocate of the kitchen. The more I go, the more I learn and believe in what I’m talking about. I truly believe we can elevate our quality of life by taking the time to prepare home cooked meals with whole ingredients from scratch. By doing this we encourage diginity and ground… Continue reading Character and Integrity
The combination of chopped onion, carrots and celery that is the base for sauces, soups, stews and stocks; sometimes referred to as aromatics. The heavenly smell that gets the senses flowing as it sautees in butter or olive oil. In Cajun cooking onion, bell pepper and celery are known as the Holy Trinity. A lot of… Continue reading Mirepoix
I was just asked to name 10 aphrodisiac cooking ingredients, I thought I would share them with you: 1. Dark Chocolate, the darker the better 2. Oysters, something about seafood3. Garlic, the aroma and the taste gets your senses flowing4. Caviar, the saltiness and the texture5. Figs, fresh and seductive, drizzled with dark chocolate6. Asparagus,… Continue reading Foods of Love
Like the legend on a map, our palate has a taste map, Sweet, Salty, Bitter and Sour. The proper combination of the different tastes, done well, is what makes our mouths water. In addition to tasting the flavors, there is smell and texture. All of our senses must be fulfilled as part of the ritual. The gastric juices in our stomach… Continue reading Taste Style
23 Years, yesterday!! I am proud of my Son, the captain. I know he loves my cooking which is the greatest compliment a mother could get. Many Happy Returns!!!!
This basic loaf cake is the best recipe I have for making variations: Dry Ingredients:1 cup flour1/2 cup wheat bran (unprocessed)1/2 cup raw wheat germ1 tsp. baking powder1 tsp. baking soda1/4 tsp. kosher salt Wet Ingredients:1 stick butter, melted and cooled1/2 cup sugar2 eggs1 cup milk or buttermilk1 tbsp. vanilla extract2 ripe bananas, mashed Preheat… Continue reading Basic Loaf Cake
I love hot water bottles and mason jars and if that means I’m old school, then I take that as a complement. Foods that don’t come in bags or boxes are, obviously, real foods to me. I realize the foods I have chosen to eliminate for reasons of human value and a philosophical point of view are mostly… Continue reading So What If I’m Old School?
The house smelled fantastic. After 45 minutes, I opened the oven door and Voila! it was a hot mess of a flop.I love Nigella and used her recipe for Chocolate Orange Loaf Cake. The loaf sunk quite perfectly in the middle, like it just gave up. It’s not dry, in fact, it tastes pretty good.… Continue reading It’s Edible
Life should be rewarding, on a daily basis, or preferably several times a day. It is our rightful heritage to enjoy our meals, enjoy our daily rituals and feel the feeling of being rewarded and feel special. If something or someone does not make you feel special, it needs to be removed and replaced by… Continue reading The Pleasure Is Not A Sin
Inspired Home Cooking 