Tuesday, June 22, 2010

random food thoughts

i was just realizing that i blog a lot about the kids, and a lot about the goings on of our family, but i don't mention enough of one of my most favorite things that God gave us: food. so here are some random things i've been thinking about lately, all about food:
  • i think my kitchen would be most boring if it weren't for sugar and my trusty lawry's garlic salt. i use them both almost daily.
  • coffee is the best.
  • kate's been calling me "honey", which is a name i use when talking to her. she's just reciprocating. :o)
  • our new favorite dish, that we've been eating every other day, caprese. which is fresh mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, basil, salt n pepa, and e.v.o.o. YUM! makes a delicious lunch, or a dinner side dish.
  • for father's day, jesse didn't want breakfast in bed, didn't want to go out for lunch or dinner, and had absolutely no requests for a special dinner menu. for me, it's not a celebration without great food. i guess opposites attract.
  • my favorite recipe right now is my variation of giada's meatball recipe. i make a big batch and freeze them for easy meals like meatball subs and pasta & meatballs. here's the recipe: 1 lb ground turkey, 1/4 cup bread crumbs, 2 eggs (lightly beaten), 2 tbsp milk, 1/2 cup, grated romano or parmesan (i use parm), 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley (i use 1 tbsp dried parsley), 3/4 tsp salt (i use garlic salt, because meatballs need garlic, right?), 3/4 tsp pepper. combine ingredients, mix well. scoop mixture into 1 inch balls, and drop into preheated pan with 1/4 cup e.v. olive oil. cook 4-5 minutes on each side (i roll them around every 3 minutes or so, for about 10 minutes). cook through. i drain them on a paper towel when i take them out of the pan.
  • kate's new favorite thing to do at mealtime is to throw her food on the floor. we never had to deal with this with jacob. and i am not sure how to handle it, other than to say 'no'.
  • last week i got to teach my good friend how to make sweet tea, another staple in my kitchen. this hot weather is definitely sweet tea weather.
  • my strawberries are pretty much done for the summer. i see a straggler in the garden every now and then. i ended up with about a dozen 1 qt ziploc bags in the freezer. maybe next year will be a little better?
  • i love coffee.
  • about 2 years ago, jesse and i toyed around with the idea of me canning and selling my homemade pasta sauce. maybe some day.
  • jacob likes tuna. he's a slightly picky eater, so this strikes me as odd. yesterday he didn't even want it on a sandwich. just a big scoop of tuna salad, in a bowl, with a spoon. and he ate it like it was ice cream. weird!
  • jesse got a lot of compliments and a boost of confidence from the tractor birthday cakes he decorated for jacob's recent birthday. he will be filling his first decorated cake order this weekend, for a co-worker of mine. i love being married to an artist. his talent spills into so many different arenas.
  • jacob shared his John Deere fruit snacks with farmer gary, the farmer who was cutting the hay fields here at our house last week. he also asked me to bake cookies for him, and i did. he "loves farmer gary", and his tractors. :o)
  • coffee is so wonderful.
  • i took my trusty chocolate chip cookie recipe and experimented with it today. added some peanut butter and oatmeal, and adjusted some of the other ingredients. it made the perfect cookie. i ate 5 of them as i was transferring them to the cooling rack, and even considered hiding them from jesse and the kids. but don't worry, i shared.
ok, now i am hungry. but what i really need to do is go to bed.

8 comments:

Amy said...

homemade pasta sauce! is it a recipe you share? I have 12 tomato plants with high hopes of finding a good sauce recipe this year. No luck last year!

Amy said...

oh, and do you do a lot of canning? I am thinking about getting a pressure cooker for that reason, but i really don't know too much about it. I have a waterbath that I did jams/jellies in last year. that's my extent of knowledge though!

geepitts said...

Hi Cyd-Loved you blog about food because that is one of my favorite things that God blesses us with! :) That is one thing we list as a "must" in all our travels! I was wondering where you get your backgrounds for your blog! And you guys are always welcome to come visit us in Germany! :)

Ashley said...

We have issues with Alina throwing food too. I don't have any advice b/c we just say no and she continues and then we take it away. the dog loves it though. You have me intrigued with your pasta sauce recipe as well.

Lee and Candace said...

And boy am I enjoying the sweet tea:) Thanks again! I don't think I've ever had your meatballs, although I've heard you talk about them lots. Hmmm...:) I feel like I'm out of the loop with all this homemade from scratch cooking that all my friends seemed talented at doing. Oh well...we are all blessed with different gifts I guess! Btw, you just let me know when you want to go into business for whatever!:)

Mandy said...

I am loving this post! As one who's had your meatballs, they're wonderfully yummy...I should add them to Ken's spaghetti sauce! :-) I should get back into making jelly; Mom and I used to every year and it was SO good! We used to make Queen Anne's Lace jelly, out of the flower..so much fun!

wabisabigirl said...

Ah, coffee...it makes the world go round:) Have you tried many of Giada's recipes? I'll have to try the meatballs. Most of hers that I've tried I've really liked.

The Talberts said...

How did I miss this post? Sometimes I feel like an idiot for having like .. seven posts in a row having to do with food. But this made me feel much better. As wives and moms, it seems like life just sort of happens in the kitchen, doesn't it?