Cook, Laugh, Love, Live

I grew up in the house that I live in now. Not exactly the floor plan I would choose but I do love the sentimental value of the house and have made it my own. I thought it would be weird and always feel like my mother’s house but it doesn’t. At all. When I visit her in her adorable farm house in the mountains, that’s her house.

When I was young though, my sister and I spent many days alone when she was a teenager and I was middle school age in my mom’s kitchen (which is now mine). The product of working parents, we had great imagination. We turned our kitchen and dining room into a restaurant called Old Timer’s every day for lunch. We served up meals to each other with flair from the humblest grilled cheese and soup to a can of chef boy r Dee garnished with parmesan from a can.

It was a production from beginning to end, greeting each other at the front door and seating them at the choicest table, playing chef, plating the food, playing waitress, busboy and dishwasher (which often included acting a dishwashing soap commercial but that was more of a ploy for her to pretend to film while I got stuck doing all the dishes…I was very much a drama queen even then.)

We used to talk about actually opening Old Timer’s when we grew up. I can only think that the famed Cracker Barrel was our inspiration for Restaurant Design. I’ve held onto that dream though. The dream has changed over the years and morphed from being a bakery/café, to sometimes a bed and breakfast, and sometimes even a full out restaurant.

Tonight, my sister is coming over to help me in the kitchen. We are whipping up giant pots of chili and chicken stew, veggie and cheese platters, and a cake for my Halloween Party tomorrow. It’s going to be like Old Timer’s is open again twenty years later.

Sometimes it’s the simple things in life that you look back on with fond memories but I have noticed that the majority of the family’s greatest memories center around the kitchen. The kitchen is truly the heart of the home and I’m looking forward to making memories for my own children: giggles and smiles over cupcake frosting, smells of cookies baking on Christmas Eve, mini aprons enveloping wiggly bodies with chocolate smears on the nose, beaters to be licked, family dinners, etc.

Despite all the work I have to do, I’m looking forward to taking this sweet trip down memory lane tonight. Laughing, arguing, getting in each other’s way, making a mess and above all spending quality time with my sister is a great way to spend a Holiday whether its Halloween or Christmas. Sisters, who for many years were each other’s arch nemesis and saving grace. We are siblings, friends, families who cook, laugh, love and live.

I think they need to adjust those popular phrases for the wall art: COOK, Laugh, Love, Live. I like it.

My Gourmet Life

I have tried to maintain this blog as I would a business. Strictly to the point of food with snippits of commentary about my life to “spice” it up. My readers come for the food, not for me but my personality and life flavor my food. If you have been a follower for long, you can detect a pattern but may not know what is triggering the recipes. I’ve been very honest about my recent trial with food allergies and the less flavorful and more natural recipes reflect that as I tried to reset my body and figure out what the allergy triggers were.

(Now here is where I come clean.) What you may not have known, is that last fall when I was posting so much and really focused on my blog, what was going on. I love this blog but I don’t try new recipes ALL the time or cook hearty comfort foods EVERY DAY. I’m a busy person (as evidenced by the lack of posts every summer when my garden, pool and yard are in full swing on top of a full time job). I don’t have time to cook, photograph and experiment EVERY night. Last fall however, was full of colorful posts, new recipes, and rich comfort foods. Last fall, after 2 ½ years of Infertility and drugs, we lost our first child via a very emotionally traumatic and physically painful miscarriage. I threw myself into this blog with a passion to escape myself.

I’m not sorry I did so. It was therapy for me. Cooking is therapy. Depending on what kind of emotional state I am in depends on what I make. If I’m focusing on being a better me, the recipes go healthy, natural. If I need comforting they go hearty and rich. If I’m crunching a budget, they reflect that too. If I’m happy, I bake. I’m a southern gal and our kitchens are the heart of the home. We spend our lives there out of responsibility but also out of love.

I used to think that I had to be a perfect hostess and wife. I was raised with the values of home coming first and a happy family revolved around great food. Holidays revolved around family coming together over great food. I had to maintain a spotless house, cook everything, bake like a professional, decorate to the 9’s. I have pushed myself over the years to achieve perfection in my home. For what? A family I don’t have. It becomes not so important when you are only cooking for the two of you. Especially when you’re married to one of the most Non-foodie people you will ever meet. A can of cold Chef Boy R Dee is fine with my husband, but I want my family to have more than that.

I have reprioritized. I will always be a cook. It is who I am. I love it, but I’ve realized that I don’t have to be perfect or do it all. I can throw a party and delegate dishes (or the whole darn thing, hello catering), I can release myself of the responsibility of doing it all. And if by chance, a partier finds that one illusive dust bunny that escaped me, so be it. Dust happens.

I’m trying to find my balance. I love to blog. I have a million ideas in my head for posts, projects, etc for this blog. I love to share my recipes as much as I love making them. I just need to find my voice and relate more to my blog with my life than being a food reporter. This isn’t a business, this is my love of food and all things to do with it, not just recipes.

So my dear readers, my original intention of this blog was food. It worked for me for years as that is where I was in my life. I new wife, a new home owner, a new everything in my own kitchen for the first time armed with only the skills I learned at the elbows of my mother and grandmother (and they were great skills-I was well armed). I have a passion for cooking and gardening and I showcased that here, but I also have a passion for family, those suffering from infertility, and other aspects of my life. I’ve kept them separate (on separate blogs and never the two shall meet) but I’m not sure that I should anymore.

I don’t know what’s going to happen from here to be honest. I don’t know if I will maintain the two or if I will combine them here or there or somewhere completely new. I’m not sure how open I’m ready to be to readers who came for the food or how receptive my readers of my most intimate yearnings will be of food recipes. I don’t want to keep up a farce of maintaining a food blog when my focus isn’t necessarily here but I also see myself returning to food again and again so its not really a farce. Holidays are coming up, I’m going to be in the kitchen a lot. In the future, I will want to share my experiments with homemade baby food when the time comes (because it will.) I still want to try out a food related project to share with you. I just have to figure out the timeline, the how, and do it. I’m not saying good bye. I’m just saying, “hello” from the real gardener, the real gourmet, the person behind the words that puts the love into the food.

Life Gets in the Way Sometimes

After my miscarriage I threw myself back into this blog and cooking and planning the garden (which I WAY overdid, I will be honest about that-Big Garden-my nemisis). It was the only thing that helped me deal with my grief and sanity.

As the months have gone by, I have thrown myself in so many different directions, joining blog challenges, blog rolls, writing for the examiner, going larger on the garden etc. that I see very little focus and very little accomplishment. I have all these grand ideas and not enough time to execute them.

And I’m growing more exhausted by the day which leaves me less time and energy to work on anything. As you can see from my blog post history this is pretty typical for me at this time of year. Once I take on the outside work of summer (garden, yard, pool) that is where my focus stays and I blog little. I always have the best intentions of blogging garden updates but that never happens. I’m already on phase II of the one garden (ripping out lettuce etc and planting summer crops) and I’ve posted nothing.

Part of this is the fact that my laptop is broke so I’m sharing a computer with DH. It’s a bulky desktop, rather slow with picture downloads and its in the office. The office is DH’s domain now. (used to be mine when I worked from home but now its his since he’s in school and I am back in corporate America). I do not clean it since its his mess and his hateful bird resides in there. Needless to say, its disgusting, dusty and noisy which sends this OCD neat freak into spasms. Plus now the computer is not reading my camera and he hasn’t fixed it. I have little desire to post considering all of that. This situation will be corrected sometime this summer when I budget in the money for computer repairs. (my laptop). Right now pool supplies, garden/yard expenses are top of the list). Until then please be aware that my blog may be rather quiet with the occasional blast of recipes and updates as time permits.
I still have a ton of posts to make (stories in my head, pictures hanging out on my camera, recipes I’ve made). I’m just not sure how it will go over actually posting them. My lunch hour is short so posting daily during that time is not necessarily feasible though I’m definitely going to give it the old college try and definitely keep up with the Menu Monday as that keeps me experimenting and my budget on track.

I will be diligent in my efforts but I didn’t want to disappear for days/weeks at a time and you not have a heads up, so Stay TUNED!

Definitely in the To Blog File:
Hummingbird Cupcakes
Leftover Pot Pie
Boston Ho Cupcakes
Corny Cole Slaw
Spinach Shells-2 ways
And a whole slew of recipes from this weeks menu.

My Walk on the Crunchy Path: Part II

After a really bad 2009, I was really hoping for a good 2010. My hopes were high. I should have known better. 2010 started out with an explosion of unhealthy proportions...literally. Something happened to change my relationship with food and start me down the crunchy path.

January 5th, I made Sausage and Pepper Risotto. Approx. 45 minuts later I was in full blown panic as my throat was scratchy and tight, it was increasingly difficult to breathe, lips were numb, tongue felt swollen even after taking four benedryl and throwing up multiple times. With a red face and chest that felt like it was on fire, we headed to the emergency room.

I was given epinephrin, rehydrated, given steroids and monitored. Finally, in a dazed stupor I was released. For weeks I experienced scary episodes and lung/chest pain. I endured allergy tests, CT scans, meds, pokes, prods and treatments. I racked up quite a lovely medical debt despite insurance.

I became afraid to eat. I was tormented and panicked at the thought of putting food in my mouth. I lost 15 lbs in less than two weeks.

As I redeveloped my relationship with food, things changed. I started relying on fresh, local products, steering away from packaged items with things I couldn't pronounce. I introduced things into my system in their simplest forms without multiple ingredients in case I reacted so I could more clearly pinpoint what I could and could not eaten. My body was in turmoil and my stress and anxiety did not help.

I used smaller portions in case I racted so there wouldn't be as much of the "poison" in my system. Weeks were spent living in fear that I would die because of something I put in my mouth and no one could pin point exactly what the triggers were but they are more frequent with varying degrees of severeness. Some days I wouldn't eat at all. My husband would often remind me to eat and I would still refuse. Weight started falling off and I became fairly obsessed with it.

To be Continued...

Tornado Update

For those of you who heard about the recent tornado touch downs in High Point, NC (it made national news), I would like to give a personal update. The path of the tornado was about 1/2 mile from my house. If you had stood on my front porch you could have watched it the whole time. How scary is that?

A lovely Category (F) 3 that left a path of destruction over 200 yards wide for a couple miles. Trees, homes, powerlines, day car, vehicles etc. destroyed. So far I have not heard of anyone missing or dead and that is a wonderful thing. Homes that i drive by are leveled or split in half. It's very sad and when I drive by and see the utter devastation, it makes my heart drop to my feet to realize how close it came.

I am blessed with caring friends and family and as I sat huddled in my closet with my three dogs and cat curled around me (because like their mother they are big fat wusses too), my friend Beth and sister T were texting me where the storms were and how bad.

We lost our power at approx. 7pm Sunday evening when the first cell came through. Last night as I was trying to get the decrepid old generator going to try and save my freezer foods and scoop water out of my pool to flush my toilets (I'm on a well=no power, no water), our power came back on. I actually did a dance in my driveway and shouted "I have powerrrrrrrrr" (think He-man cartoon). I'm a dork, I know.

Our roof is missing more shingles, my privacy fence around the pool bit the dust, and my garden flooded. We'll turn the first two in on HO insurance and pray they come through for us as the roof has taken a lot of hits. We'll see how the garden does in the next two weeks. Hopefully my small seedlings will come back out and my seeds won't rot.

All in all, I'm very fortunate and I think its always a good reminder to take a moment and count your blessings and not just when Mr. Tornado passes you by. So today, take a moment to appreciate the good things in your life and tell those around you how much they mean to you.

Shopping Cart Judge

I'm not talking about some new fangled adult version of a Grocery sponsored Soap Box Derby. I'm talking about standing in line and judging people by what's in their carts. I do it. I know people have judged me too. You can see it in their faces.

I've been embarrassed by my purchases before. Ramen noodles, cookies, Lance Crackers, and three cases of Mountain Dew and a carton of Marlboro. You can not get much worse than that (or more redneck). I felt like I needed a big sign that said "This is for my husband who has the metabolism of a Roadrunner on ACME espresso and the taste buds of a 10 year old boy."

My poor husband suffers without a lot of his processed goodies because I'm too embarrassed to buy them. People don't see "woman married to an iron stomach." They see "fat woman who eats and feeds her family like shit." And I don't. So I refuse to buy that kind of stuff. Oh I'll sprinkle one or two items in a cart full of healthy foods, but lets get real, I never have a CART FULL. I shop for my fresh produce, herbs, specialty cheeses and some of my meats at the Farmer's market. I get basic items like spaghetti noodles, canned tomatoes, and condiments at Aldi's. I shop in a regular grocery store for very few things: Hubbies sodas, hot chocolate, frozen veggies, Pet Brand Milk products (fewer hormones but cheaper than organic) and cleaning supplies, so its hard to hide the bad for you things in there.

Here's why I'm concious of being judged on my shopping cart: BECAUSE I DO IT! I stand in line and look at what people are purchasing and I judge them for it. A mom with three screaming kids and cart full of processed box crap, luncheables and Little Debbies and soda. I judge you and side-eye you. I don't think "AW, she's on a budget and buying cheap stuff." No. I think "if you didn't feed your kids that shit, they would be misbehaved and spazzing out all the time." (Horrible I know, and I'll probably have the screaming kid in the grocery store and it won't be because of food. Karma's a bitch).

Single dude with Ramen and Hungryman. I feel sorry for you and want to feed you.

Lady with the well behaved child and a cart full of fruits, veggies and raw meat and bottled water: I commend you and smile.

I just can't stop myself from looking at the shopping cart and what's in it and then judging the imperfections of the adult and/or their children because of it. I think I have watched way too much BBC America with that show "You are what you Eat." Once you become concious of what you put into your body and what that food does to you, you look at the world differently...and everyone's shopping carts.

If you think I'm joking, next time you are standing in line, watch what people are buying and see if you can keep yourself from judging them. I bet you can't, but will you admit it? Never judge a book by its cover and all that crap. My name is Krista, and I'm a shopping cart judge.

Embarrassing Food Explorations

Have you ever had one of those extremely embarrassing moments that in hindsight really wasn't that bad?

I had one of those yesterday. I was tired, I didn't want to go to the grocery store but I did it anyway. I hopped over to Aldi's directly after work with the plan to grab what I could and pop into the ever-hated and dreaded Walmart afterwards. ( I despise Walmart but sometimes its a necessary evil to stay within budget for a few items if they aren't on sale elsewhere).

Aldi's was PACKED. I finally got everything I needed. Stood in line for 15 minutes, unloaded my cart, get to the cash register only to realize, I can't find my debit card. I'm tearing everything out of my purse, which at this point looks like a medicine bag with my emergency inhaler, EPI pen, allergy meds, liquid benedryl, IBProfen etc. I seriously hate meds and only carry these out of necessity but only take the allergy pills on a daily basis. Swearsies.

I look at the cashier desperately with pleading in my eyes and whisper, "do you take checks?" She glares at me and says "Cash or debit ONLY." very loudly. I glance behind me at the long line of crossed arms and scowling stares. Shove everything back into my purse, and squeak out "I'm so sorry, I must have left my debit card in my jeans."

I flee with my head down as people are shaking their heads. I wanted to scream: " I can afford my frozen peas, olive oil and mozzerella people. Haven't you EVER forgotten your debit card before?!" But I didn't. I slunk home. Almost in tears, I called my husband and asked him to search his car for the debit card since I took his vehicle to get gas for the tiller which is the last place I remember having the card.

It wasn't there. So disheartened and embarrassed I changed into pajamas and started cleaning my house. I could NOT remember what pair of pants I had worn to church (which is what I had on when I went to get the gas). I finally remembered and checked the pocket. SUCCESS! It was like a ray of sunlight shining into my closet and a choir of angels broke into song! My dignity was saved. I could buy groceries!

Despite knowing it was more embarrassing then it should have been in reality, I still couldn't muster the energy to change clothes and go back to the stores. So I threw together dinner from the freezer and continued cleaning.

Am I overly dramatic and silly? Probably. You can't tell me that it hasn't happened to you though. What was your most embarrassing food shopping experience? Do people judge what's in your cart and comment? Did you break a jar of pickled peaches in the aisle? Do share.

My Walk on The Crunchy Path Part 1

As much as I love food, I think its time to share an intimate part of me. My relationship with food, which has often times been an outright war. I have strugggled with weight my whole life. Everything we do is related to food. I have never been able to get a handle on it, even when I ate exactly right, ate no fat, low fat, etc. I struggled. I think that is what has made me such a diverse and well rounded cook. In different periods, I strove to eat certain types of dishes and I would make them myself and make them beautiful, but nothing ever quite worked for me and my life.

When I quit smoking (gasp, I really was a smoker for more years than I would like to admit *coughfifteencoughcough*), I kicked it. I made the decision one day and didn't look back. No pills, no patches, no tricks. I just quit (granted I had bronchitis and didn't want one for a few days, but then I said, psssh I don't want this anymore PERIOD). I made up my mind and I succeeded. Shortly after my husband bit the bullet and with the aid of the patches he quit too (and the next month, prices DOUBLED). We have been a smoke free house for about a year now, with very few cravings and no regrets. What that did was free up a tight budget for better eating. 100.00 every two weeks for two cartons of smokes is crazy damaging on the budget yo, not to mention the lungs. It makes me wonder how people do it in this economy when prices are DOUBLE what they were when I quit, and unemployment is double as well. I just can't imagine. No wonder we were eating off-brand hamburger helper 1/2 the time.

I've never been able to conquer food like that though. You can't just put down food and never look back. You have to eat to survive and as easy as it would be, you can't subsist off SlimFast drinks. Even those wake up your taste buds and you start craving like CarrotTop for his next round of plastic surgery and steroid cocktail. Unlike cigerettes, its not just one flavor, or one thing. At different times of the day, month, year, you crave different foods. Each person's tastes and cravings are different. Sometimes I'm a sweets person, most of the time I'm a carboloading spaz. Seriously, don't get between me and my pasta. Other times, I'm craving red meat and cheese. You have to work with your body, to control your food intake and feel satisfied.

Recently though, I've learned some hard truths about food and my body and even my life. Truths that I think can help everyone whether you struggle with weight or not. Truths about healthy and the things we put in our mouths. How does this relate to all my recipes and a garden blog? I promise it does. Because everything is related. I grow what we eat and my recipes are a direct reflection of that.

I've entitled this short series about my "life change": My Walk on The Crunchy Path only in part to the Granola style of living. Truth be told, I'm not a hippie in any way, shape or form. I appreciate a long peasant skirt like the next girl, but that doesn't mean I'm going to don one, light some candles and dance in the moonlight throwing herbs in the air. (Okay, okay, I may have done this ONCE OR TWICE in my life but I was always wearing jeans mkay?) In all seriousness, I'm just a simple farm girl, raised with the land and animals and an appreciation for what God has given us. I don't follow the all natural beaten path and I sure as heck shave, wax and pluck with the best of them. I appreciate spa's, technology and a fast car but I also understand balance and I think we could all use a dose of balance. So I hope you enjoy this peak into my head and not just into my food. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask along the way.

A Busy Weekend

I am behind in posting recipes. I have several, I promise. Being a wife, a corporate woman, keeping the house up, the garden, the pets, budding author, the cooking and the blogging, get to be an overloaded experience sometimes. There are not enough hours in the day and I'm always on catch up mode! How on earth am I going to fit being a MOTHER in there one day?

This morning, the pups woke me up at 6am (on a SATURDAY-they are SOOO grounded). We walked out to a fresh coating of powdery snow. The winter olympics have none and little ole southern NC has it EVERY.FREAKING.WEEKEND? Gaia has her axis twisted in a bunch huh?

Hopefully, this snow won't stop my plans today. Between the SUV and the high of 37, I'm pretty sure the roads will be okay soon and I HAVE to go to the Farmer's Market today.

I'm planning on remaking a few of the newest recipes, maybe doing a photoshoot of the kitchen, grocery shopping, doing our Valentines venture tonight and sometime this weekend visiting my family if I can. The high winds Wednesday took some shingles off our house so my husband has to patch the roof this weekend and I won't leave him up there on his own while I galavant off to the folk's house.

So needless to say, in all that indecisive rambling above, its going to be a packed weekend but HOPEFULLY I will find some time to post some recipes, an article and get caught up again! Hold tight to your fry pans guys and gals, this garden gourmet has a lot in store.

Snow!

Here in NC, we have had quite a hard winter. We don't get those very often but we have been getting repeatedly traumatized with snow, freezing rain, and cold temperatures week after week. I KNOW many of you get WAY more than what we've been dealing with but darn it people, I live in the south for a reason! Besides the fact, that my family was among the first settlers (and natives!) and my butt is rooted here in tradition I LOVE living here where our climate is mild but we still experience ALL the seasons for a decent length of time.

Winter, we've experienced you for several weeks now. You are welcome to depart ANY TIME NOW!

My quaint little brick ranch:


My sweet Scarlett trying to climb my legs to get out of the snow:


Our Barn (now empty of horses) buried in a sea of snow:


Our driveway: (It took us a few days to dig my little mustang out!)


The steps going 'UP' to our inground pool: (I thought with the sun shining down this looked very heavenly and ethereal...just me?)

A Valentines Dinner Spread

My sister and I have been doing girl's night once a week while DH is off doing his School thing. It's been a blast and gives me a chance to experiment with food and have a captive audience other than my husband. Since she is the Make-up queen it usually grants me a free facial and experiments with new masks, exfoliaters etc. She blogs about life as a fashionable country girl here.

Because I know my sister well, I know what her favorite meal is. Whenever we go out to eat and the entire way through her pregnancy, this girl can put away some Fried Chicken Tender Salad with Honey Mustard and a bowl of French Onion Soup. So to celebrate Valentines (a little early) I endeavored to make her favorite meal, topped off by Red Velvet Cupcakes.

All recipes will be posted on my blog today! I hope you enjoy and let me know how they turn out for you!

The Southern Momma to the Rescue!

I'm feeling better. Thoughts of food no longer makes me want to hurl. Smells no longer waft pass my nose passing me by like the much needed oxygen. I no longer fear to leave a room without an inhaler in my pocket and the sight of pork does not send me cowering in a closet with an EPI pen clutched to my breast.

To top it off my Momma came out of yonder Mountains and made me her Southern Ghoulash! SQUEEEEE. Elbow macaroni dripping with cheesy tomato goodness. I hovered over a bowl like a dog over a bone, shoveling spoonfulls into my mouth like I hadn't eaten in a week. (oh wait, that's right, I haven't!-9 lbs lost in less than 5 days, I think I'll be fine even if I left my dignity at the front door.) I think I may have even licked the bowl when Mom and Dad weren't looking! (I did manage to stop at one bowl though because I knew my poor stomach would make me pay later after introducing food back into it).

She even left me fresh carrot salad for breakfast and a dozen farm fresh eggs ( I see baking in my weekend future).

So dear brave souls who have patiently waited for my medical comeback, the blog is on the mend and this weekend I will even post a recipe to Momma's Southern Ghoulash (as I paid close attention while she made it-but don't be surpised as I'm still guessing since she doesn't measure a darn thing in true southern momma fashion!).

Mild Turkey Spaghetti

So we all know my current nightmare of recovering from a food allergy that took a turn for the worst right? Right. Well just to catch you up, two days after the ER visit I was still suffering from the spreading rash, coughing, feeling tight in the chest and numb lips, so I left work and hotfooted it to the Dr. where I was treated to breathing treatments and a diagnosis of 70% lung capacity due to swelling in the airways. So now I'm on a steroid inhaler in addition to the regular steroids, xanax (to keep me calm and my lung tissue relaxed), an emergency inhaler, benedryl, and if all else fails an EPI pen just in case. Back to being a science experiment and this time its not for infertility.

So, I'm afraid to eat ANYTHING until I go to the allergist or atleast get the allergy blood panel back from my regular doctor. Even chicken noodle soup is a scary thought because of the high sodium and MSG content. So what does that mean for my precious foodie blog and demanding southern palate? Experimentation in a mild lighter fair. Turkey Spaghetti hit the spot and after a few helpings over the past two days, no severe threats to my current situation so its all good!

For those who have allergies or just trying to lighten up your fair to drop some of the holiday weight, I hope this recipe will help you out.

Mild Turkey Spaghetti
Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey Browned and crumbled
1 lb turkey sausage (mild) browned and crumbled
3 cans of diced tomatoes
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 chopped onion
1 tbs crushed garlic
1 tsp salt (more or less to taste)
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 lb spaghetti noodles
Shredded cheddar/mozzerella blend cheese to top (optional)

Directions:
After browning turkey and turkey sausage in pan move to large stock pot, melt 2-3 tbs butter in drippings (if any) of skillet and saute onion and garlic till onion is translucent. Pour onion/garlic mixture into stock pot with turkey. Add remaining ingredients (except noodles) and simmer for about an hour. Meanwhile cook noodles. When noodles are al dente drain them and add desired amount (depending whether you like a dryer spaghetti or a soupier spaghetti) to sauce pot and let them continue to cook in sauce until they are tender. Serve hot topped with finely shredded cheese. YUM.

Recipe Extravaganza in 2010

I have some pretty amazing people in my life who support me, my "schemes", my endeavors and my dreams. I completely racked up on Kitchen stuff for Christmas! I can't wait to review some of this stuff as well as try new recipes.

I got THREE new cookbooks for Christmas and a year's subscription to Martha Stewart Living. I have read them all (including the one magazine that came with the subscription) from cover to cover.

I have dog earred the pages of the recipes I want to try. I have made a list and I'm itching to get started.

Dishes such as: Parmigiano Crusted Asparagus, Greek Olive and Feta Bread, Pecan Honey Bread, Red Wine Risotto, Herbed Ravioli (yes, I'm going to try homemade pasta again despite my recent failure), Sour Cream Tomato Pizza, Pimento Cheese (Pate of the South), Sweet Potato Brownies and Fried Peach Pies.

Can you imagine the yumminess that is going to come out of my kitchen? 2010 is definately going to be a flavorful year! So stick with me and plow your way through my cookbooks with me and we can all have a tasty new year!

Tis the Season for Julie and Julia

Merry Christmas everyone, a little late. I did not forget you but cooking, baking, and all the insanity that comes with Christmas does not leave much time for blogging. Have no fear, I have TONS to share with you including: Chef Santa, Buckeyes, Figgy Cranberry Pudding, and product reviews!

Santa, my husband, family and friends were so good to me this year. This is one of the best christmases I've ever had. We even still had snow on the ground so it was truly my first white christmas! There was a magic in the air and it all happened so fast! I tried extending it last night through midnight.

We came home from my parents (the most darling little farm house in the foothills of NC with snow everywhere that is what people Imagine is like when you hear "off to grandma's house we go") and made (decaf) coffee with the new Keurig coffee pot, put in the movie that showed up in my stocking and dove headfirst into a new cookbook. a>

I am inspired. The critics on this movie varied greatly but most people claimed the Julia Child part was fabulous and the Julie part was a snooze fest. I beg to differ. I've often thought of working my way through a cookbook and even follow blogroll projects that do the same (such as the Daring Bakers club that bake with Dorian Greenspan). Blogging is like a job sometimes. You WANT readers. You want comments. You also want to keep it fresh and entertaining and see how much you have accomplished. I love my blog, even if I'm the only one who ever reads it, I feel satisfied and accomplished. In this, I can totally relate to Julie. She may be a bit neurotic and overly obsessive, but I admire her commitment and choice of connecting to food and her idol. I would probably act like a 12yo school girl too if Paula Deen/Martha Stewart didn't like me or I had the chance to meet her!

The movie was a tad slow in parts but it had some comedy, a rich history, and raw emotion mixed with kitchen triumph's and failures. You can't go wrong. The true test: I wanted to go in the kitchen and start trying my new recipe cookbooks out...at midnight. I rushed off to find the original blog that started it all. It is still there but not in full. I shed a little tear at the last post ever written: The day Julia Child passed away. While I can see that particular blog had to end, it saddens me to think that this one will. So my dear readers, I hope in the coming years, this blog grows and morphs and it may take on some new faces and directions, for now, I'm enjoying simply being The Garden Gourmet: experimenting with traditional cooking, canning and gardening to keep the Southern Farming roots alive.

After I get back from shopping with my sister (after Christmas sales ya'll, you HAVE to go.)you will find me in my kitchen, playing with my new gagdets and trying new recipes. I promise in the downtime to post. Have no fear, I have the whole week off work, this blog will be hopping! Merry Christmas and if you haven't yet, go watch Julie and Julia. Be inspired and Bon Appetit!