site sharing and a small obsession

I'll be honest.

(Have it. Love it.)

Sometimes all I want to do is throw on my apron and cook my heart out.

When I'm not in my kitchen, I'm thinking about my kitchen. Not at the store? Thinking about what I want from the store.

As much as I hate to do the physical shopping sometimes, planning the meals and putting yummy food on the table is my favorite hobby.
I wrestled with this for a while. Why, I do not know. But I can finally admit it. Occasionally the chore, but predominately the party. For a while I thought I needed a 'hobby'. Then I just realized it was ok if all I wanted to do was make a Meyer Lemon Danish. Or Honey Lime Marinated Shrimp Skewers. Or Chocolate Double Decker Brownies.  Or my favorite, the Pantry Challenge. Always a fun (please note I did not say successful) one! My family jokes how sometimes the best recipes come out of the Challenge, but then can never be recreated because we really have no idea what all we threw in the pot.

Food to me binds so many aspects of life together, and well, it just makes me happy.
It's celebrations, memories, nurturing, exciting, every day routine, love served on a platter, limitless creativity....
just writing about it gives me the happy tingles. Seriously. This might be a problem I guess. According to my internet browser history it definitely is a problem.

I very rarely meet a food I don't like. And traveling a lot, having the parents I did, that believed exposure is the best form of learning, and living overseas, I met a fair share of stuff on the food wheel. (My sister ate the fermented soy beans, and my dad ate the live minnows swimming in the soup, but that's where I drew the line.)

I think (I hope) Kaelyn has inherited the food-appreciation gene.

(Leftover spaghetti and fourth slice of watermelon. Also known as messiest dinner possible.)

I also think, however, she's taking it a little far. Since I made all of her babyfood, milk included, apparently her tastebuds are, umm, shall we say opinionated? Please, try to feed her a can of ravioli. (Spaghetti-O's? What kid doesn't like O's?!) We have. It's a nightmare.
But put a plate of ricotta and portabello stuffed ravioli in a sun-dried tomato cream sauce and you've got a winner!!

Dear Kaelyn's Future Husband,

I'm sorry. Please start saving for your future restaurant tabs and grocery bills now.

Love,
Mom



Moving on...
Since sometimes I can't throw on the apron, I just stalk other people who can.
Like her : http://www.cheekykitchen.com/
Or her : http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/
Just two of my current faves.

In other news.... I got this for Mother's Day.
I'm almost 30, refer to teenagers as kids, and I own a juicer. Holla!

But seriously. Have you ever had fresh squeezed orange-strawberry juice? No? Come over. I will rock your world.

xoxo dae