To Err is Human

I was baffled this year as half of what I made for the holidays did not turn out as I had expected.
My gingerbread houses - just didn't feel it.
Madeline's - some burned.
Divinity - not as fluffy as should be, but good.
Peanut Butter Fudge - It didn't want to set. I was making it when I realized my candy thermometer was missing.
Macaroons - Spread on the pan as I watched through the oven window. I used a recipe on the coconut package, it did not say to beat the egg whites. I should have known better, seriously.
Cream Puffs - turned out good, but should have been drier on the inside.
I have some legitimate excuses: My oven is not that great, the door doesn't close properly. And I live in high altitude now. And maybe my heart just wasn't into it. But I ended having one my favorite Christmases ever. When something didn't turn out I got exasperated, fixed what I could and kept the rest at home as I don't mind a dark Madeline or a spoonful of peanut butter fudge. It felt a bit weird, though. Never before have I felt so inconsistent and had so many sweets not come out.
It is almost that time, now, to put the Christmas decorations away. Another Christmas come and gone. Another year over. Mistakes happen to all of us. Eat them.

Home Cooking Is A Priority

Yes, in our lifetime, it seems it was something our grandmothers did more of than our mothers or fathers. Cooking is not some old-fashioned past-time. It's not something to watch on television. Cooking is an activity, created by you in which you must participate. Cooking greatly contributes to your quality of life. It's not some kind of novelty task you do once in a while and make something pretty.
Messes happen. Mistakes happen. Ingredients get forgotten. Real food goes bad.
This is real cooking at home in your kitchen. It happens in my kitchen on a daily basis. I burn stuff. Stuff sticks and I have to get out what I can that's edible. And then there are days when everything I cook is bliss. I just want you to know it's not always like that. It's not the end of the world; recover and move on. What's more is if there are mistakes, it doesn't stop me from cooking.
And celebrity chefs don't intimidate me from going into my own kitchen to create beautiful meals or laughable mistakes. It's just food. And at the very same time, it's not just food. Food is a huge part of your life - you must participate by shopping and really looking at what you're buying and cooking it at home.
Home cooking is not old-fashioned; it's not back to basics. It's real life.
Don't make it complicated; just make it a priority and cook.

Food Insecurity

Although, I'm not a fan of canned foods, other than home canned, I do buy just a few canned items like tomatoes, tomato paste, olives and sauerkraut. Not much else, anymore. And it would be my hope that most everyone could buy whole foods, as fresh as possible and go home and cook on a stove.
On the news over the past few days, I saw a local food bank that was taking in donations from people who were lined up in their vehicles. They'd drive up and hand over a bag of food; almost all of that food was canned. The thought of keeping tons of donated, perishable food fresh would be daunting and nearly impossible. This was the way to go. And for the millions of people in this country who are faced with food insecurity at the moment, it was a gift from God - yes, I am a believer.

I believe that people like to work and make a living and a life for themselves, but there are few opportunities, if any, for many people right now. And in order to feed their families, they will appreciate help and be grateful. It is only a means to an end, as opportunities arise again, and people are able to get out and help themselves, they will live their own lives again. Every bit helps and once in a while it happens. Doing our best to get through rough situations is trying on our souls, though it strengthens our character. It lets us know what we are capable of; it puts into perspective the the life that we choose to live. The opportunities and options will come back, for every problem there is an answer.

The Buzzword is...Detox

The seven pound carry-over from Thanksgiving to New Years. I, myself have had just about enough food over the passt several weeks, especially this last week. And I wouldn't have traded those wonderful bites for anything in the world. But now's the time to cut back.

Eating whole foods is the way to go, and when it comes to cutting back for a bit to get those tiresome seven pounds off - the average weight gain during the holiday season - it has every bit to do with eating whole foods.

- Water, the most obvious of all, drink plenty to flush out your system.
- Eat whole foods, plainly, as opposed to something like a stir-fry or a casserole. Have some steamed veggies with baked chicken - not in a tortilla or mixed with anything - along with some brown rice. Not too bland, but blander than you would normally eat. Get the idea, eat well - plain and bland, but palatable.
- Cut out most dairy and sugar.
- Avoid the salt shaker.
- Don't snack, ever.
- Watch your portions, think of a deck of cards, for each serving.

Life is a contradiction and its up to us to get back on track. I ate about a handful of funyuns, which I used to actually buy once in a while. They were in front of me in a big bowl, so I munched on them. Of course, they're processed and full of salt and left an after taste in my mouth that was in no way like a real onion. I was interested, while I was eating them and thought of how much I used to like them. Eating stuff like that is an addiction; it's salt and fat and empty calories. It is fake food. I thought a lot about my 'bender'. It is easy to stray at a family gathering where food is on just about every inch of flat space. At the time it was not about calories, it was about 'Is this really food?' It gets sold as food and it's eaten. With each crunch I was trying to figure it out. And I didn't figure it out. Now, I don't even care to figure it out. It was ironic that I took those bites, a contradiction staring me in the eye. It was inconsistent and in total opposition to my way of life. In the end, it was a few bites that I knew weren't good for me. And life is a contradiction. Isn't that what holidays are for?

Cooking Is Not A Spectator Sport

We can and do inspire ourselves through what we do. The more we do anything that contributes to our well-being, the more we are inspired to do and try other things associated with it that may contribute, also. But we must be doing whatever that is. Whether it's work, or exercise or reading or cooking. Cooking is not a spectator sport.
Challenge yourself. Make it your New Year's Revolution: Eat only whole unprocessed foods for one month. Buy only whole food ingredients for one whole month. See how you feel. See how you will make a connection to the foods you eat. Look at the ingredients in their natural, whole, beautiful form. Once you start to do this and become involved with your food you will take on a whole new perspective.
You will see what you eat - your eating style - and where you can branch off from there and be creative. From that starting point is where you will get ideas and want to try different things. You cannot be a human being and just watch. You have to be doing and being to be fulfilled. Nothing is more fulfilling than a beautiful, simple meal, made by you.

Healthy Fast Food

Oxymoron.
New ad campaigns are coming in January. They will be showing us the farmer that cares about the potato. The beautiful golden fields of the American dream.
Fast food is industrial farming, it's what has taken over this country. The ad campaigns are still doing whatever it takes to get people to buy their products. Don't get me wrong, there are lots of things I do believe in - but it's after I have made the decision that it's a worthwhile product. And not a product that has not been forced upon me and drilled into my head that I am a certain way, therefore I need a certain product to make life better. In other words, their product will make me feel better. Who are they to generalize me? We are all individuals capable of thinking for ourselves and making decisions based upon what we know. What irritates me, also, is that they are basing this on a trend. Farming and cooking a trend? It's what's goin on. I know, I'm on the soapbox...so I'll get off and tell you what I've been telling you:
There has been plenty of fast food from the beginning of time, it's called fresh produce. There's another thing, it's called forethought. You are always going to need to eat. To eat well, you need to plan ahead. Cook ahead of time. Prep ahead of time. It's an amazing feeling to take care of yourself this way. To know that you have thought of yourself ahead of time; before you need what you need. And to do it well. Well, that is living a very good quality of life. Think of yourself, for yourself.

Little Rituals...Priceless

I've written about this before, but the soothing effect of a personal ritual is...priceless.
I'm working a temp job at the moment, then I had an interview afterwards. The interview was much more than I expected; I had to answer a lot of questions. Hopefully it went well. At the end of the day, I was drained. All I wanted was to come home and get myself together with a hot cup of tea and eat some dinner - homemade chili, mmmm.

My ritual, no matter what I have done, either work or errands or shopping, when I come home, I put the kettle on and make myself a big cup of tea. English tea with sugar and milk. I have a seat for a bit, read, catch up on news, or do nothing. I literally need this for about a half an hour, whenever I walk in the door. Afterwards, I am much more productive and get my things done. Having that break lets me breathe. If I just kept going, I'd be stressed to the max and wouldn't enjoy or appreciate my own life. I enjoy being busy and doing things, having a break during the day is a welcome and priceless breather. Some people I know have a beer or a glass of wine. I've heard of some that have a hot bath every night - total luxury. Whatever it is that we do, it is vital to our souls that we do it on a regular basis. Let me hear you say, ahhhh.

Good Eating Habits

Once, back in the day, my girl-friend, Jeanine, and I were at work, talking about cheap lunches. For me it was PBJ or pasta leftovers. If worse came to worse, I had a cup-o-noodles in my desk drawer.
No, no, no, she told me. "I have the best cheap lunch and its healthy and you're full". Stressing the word full, I was there.
Take a cup of brown rice, sautee it in some olive oil until its lightly toasted.
Add some chopped onion and garlic, then add 2 cups chicken stock.
Cook as you would plain brown rice.
Get a can of black beans or pinto beans.
Put some rice in a container that you take to work. Put some beans on top and a little cheese, if you want. Pop this into the microwave at work and you've got a cheap, healthy and filling lunch. We were always looking for filling, because by the time 5 or 6 o'clock came around - after picking up your kids and finally getting  home, you'd be starving. Everyone would be starving at that point. Well, what happened to me, was that my PBJ became breakfast and the rice and beans were lunch. Along with my standard every-workday banana. In those days, I often had breakfast and lunch at work.
The point here is that with healthy, you get filling. If you eat whole grains and some beans and fruit, you get full. When you're working and away from home for 8, 9 or 10 hours a day and you have a child or children and a family to take care of, you need your strength.
I've learned a whole lot since then. I know for a fact that stress can ruin your eating habits, if you're not careful. That job we worked at was so stressful, I'd stop every night on my way home and get a pint of Ben & Jerry's and sit on the couch with my feet on the coffee table and stare at the tv while Jeanine and I would talk about the events of the day over the phone. Stress Foods we called them. She liked salty and crunchy - chips and salsa and a glass of wine. I liked sweets - ice cream and chocolate.
I let stress take over my whole life. And when we realized this, we, both of us, worked hard to get past the stress of work in our personal life. We started exercising, going on walks, eating healthy.
Don't let stress ruin you by eating your way through it. Take a long walk, refresh yourself. Get out and get some fresh air, then go home and have a healthy meal.
I started marinating meats overnight to broil and put over a salad...I Love this. Old Glory - my crockpot - was out on the counter and meats that were slow cooked and delicious were ready when we got home. Forethought helps to alleviate stress. And pretty soon...when you don't bring the office home with you, you start to taste the wonderful food again.

My Little Book

If you look over to the right of this post, you will see my book. My little book, that I love so much.
No, its not a cookbook, and this is not a recipe site. It is more of a kitchen coaching book. It is meant to inspire you into action. Not only for the nutritious food, but for the soul nourishing qualities you gain from home cooking. I love this little book, I think a lot of people need its encouraging words and there is a certain urgency in reconnecting with our home kitchens. With so many people on the processed and fast food treadmills, this book hopes to help gain perspective and help people get out of the rut.
It's a self-help book for people who want to turn their kitchens into warm nourishing places.
My hope is that it will be on bookshelves, with cookbooks, in peoples' kitchens, and with its humble, motivating quality inspire people to not just cook a meal but connect themselves with it.
Happy Holidays!!!

Food is our Identity

Recipes have been handed down for generations. Measurements have changed, we've become more accurate and our culinary society has streamlined the recipe we know today. Pictures are something the next generation will receive with their recipe books, possibly on discs. If you are lucky enough, you may have acquired a beautiful old hand-written, food stained recipe collection from someone in your family. This is a priceless thing to own. The above is a page from my great-grandmothers book. She painstakingly numbered the pages, included a table of contents along with measurements, just like a real book. She knew her knowledge was valuable. In fact, it was. My own grandmother made Mango Chutney many times, though, I am not sure if she used this recipe exactly, it was something that when it was on the table, it was family tradition.

This is something quite shocking that I just found out. Did you know that the women in Auschwitz in their bunks at night talked about food? They talked about their recipes and how they made them. There was actually a cookbook written on cloth, bound together with needle and thread, made from that concentration camp. The book, Memory's Kitchen, is about these women and their cookbook. Can you just picture this? It absolutely shocked me and my heart went out to those women. It was something that bonded them, something so simple as the food in their lives. Food is a powerful identity marker. It comes from our childhood, and it creates our identity. It is one of the most powerful things that shape our life. It means life. Home. Family. Community. Cooking makes a house a home. At this time of year, when we celebrate with some old recipes and the way someone special made something, think of other foods you can make that can connect you with previous generations in your family - yes you can revise them to healthier versions. Hold onto your identity through food.

Budgeting

From SNAP there is SNAP Ed. Anyone who has gone from a good salary job to being on SNAP, has had not only their wallet and ego deflated, but their gourmet foodie lifestyle has withered.
This link has some very useful information for buying healthy food, wisely and economically.
http://snap.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=15&tax_level=4&tax_subject=261&topic_id=1243&level3_id=6213&level4_id=10046

There is an abundance of information: Guides, lists, budgeting help, recipes.
Just know that there are resources and people that are interested in helping.
Click on this link and you just might find something.

We Learn From Experience

My brother actually told me this story. He had a teacher that started the class by saying that they got into their cars, and didn't put on seat belts. Drove down the street, throwing trash out of the car, and no one stopped them. And when their trash was full at home, they put the bag in the back of the car drove down a country road and threw it into a ditch. This was the norm. They didn't know any better.

Now of course, we live in a different world. We have learned about car safety, from experience. We have learned about a clean environment, through experience.

One day, we will have this story: Back in the day, a family walked into a huge supermarket. They bought food in boxes and cans and from the freezer. When they got home, they put it into the microwave to heat it up, having no closeness or relationship to what they were about to eat, at all. It didn't look like food, but they ate it. This little story will be history. Someday soon. Because we have learned from experience.

Your Kitchen Coach...

Think of me as your coach.
I am here to coach you in your kitchen. To teach , inspire and help you gain the atmosphere of success in your kitchen. I want you to cook, and I want you to feel successful at it.

Let's talk about Boiling Water. It's the simplest thing to do in the kitchen.
You put some water in a pan and turn on the heat. Full blast. In a very short time that water is boiling and it will come to a full rolling boil. Then, you no longer need a rolling boil, so you turn the heat down and allow it to simmer. This is the basis for all cooking: The Degree of Heat. Heat is the basis of everything. Heat is energy. If you want to reduce a stock, you allow it to simmer, so that the liquid can become evaporated and the sauce you have is thicker and denser - which becomes a more concentrated flavor.

If you want to learn to cook, and you start with the very basics, such as boiling water, and realize that that alone - Heat, is the basis for all cooking, you will begin to see just how easy cooking with real whole foods is. You have to create the atmosphere of success there; you have to know that you can succeed at preparing good wholesome food in that room or that area.
If you think that success is something given and not achieved, then you need to sit down with yourself and think about that, because you'll need to rethink how you think. A successful, home cooked meal is not a processed package, heat in the microwave, throw away the plate kind of meal. It is something that is achieved, that in its own way can heal and restore us, as well as nourish our body. Whereas just waiting for our food to heat is not a blessing, it is not a sin either, if you look at it that way. It is simply a very low quality of life. And you have complete control over it. Why would you want to live like that?

SNAP to Health

www.snaptohealth.org is a new interactive website made to improve the nutrition and health of Americans enrolled in SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

This program is something that is long overdue and very  much welcomed! The site offers resources to people receiving SNAP; it is not just about getting and how much, it offers ways to get involved. Getting involved with our food is something many have not been into these days, as statistics show. Buying and cooking our food are activities to become involved with for self-esteem and quality of life.

This is a big deal. Why? Because home cooking is a sign of self-respect.
Being enrolled in SNAP can be a way of learning about your food and reconnecting with your kitchen and cooking. There are many positive aspects to consider in these circumstances. If you happen to be one of the many in this program, look at it as a learning opportunity and take advantage of the resources at your disposal.

Fear of the Inconvenient

This will be a sci-fi horror movie, with a Twilight Zone twist.
Imagine a world where there are no fast food chains. Driving home at the end of the day, there are small markets, advertising fresh fruit, vegetables, meats, grains are in big barrels to scoop yourself. Imagine this would be where your meals came from. No McDonald's. No Chili's. No drive-thru's. No conveniences at all. It's all up to you.
To the person that doesn't know how to cook, this is a horror story.
Turn on the stove. Boil a kettle of water and make some tea. Preheat the oven. Wash some potatoes. Set the meat out on the counter. Pull some plates down and set the table. It's dinner. So they say. So you've heard.
At first the streets look desolate without the familiar signs of food, ready-to-eat, there for you food, food, food. As you look closer, there are people that are happily shopping and looking at what they're buying; they're interested in what they're buying. And they seem alien to you because they look happy. Actually, happy to go home and cook what they've bought. Actually cook what they've bought.
Something so simple. Seemingly so outdated. But isn't that just entertainment? Cooking is just something to watch, without the use of our senses. Food is something you get fast, when you're hungry.
I can see the horror of the person's face in the old black and white t.v. show. Horror and questioning. But life is beautiful with fast food. Why would anyone want it any other way? Just drive up and there's food. You're hungry? Well, eat in your car, that's what its there for!
Why are these people so happy, when they have to go home and cook?
Cooking is such an inconvenient chore.
As they enter their home and into their kitchen, something beautiful happens. All of a sudden the viewer experiences what happens when you cook: you smell, you feel, you experience, you anticipate. And its beautiful. All the senses experiencing food, and then eating it. You see their faces - smiling, nostrils flaring and eyes closing at their first bites. Smiles. Suddenly, the viewers want some - they want to take part; They want to experience real food. Because they get why. Convenience is costing them true pleasures of being human beings. And the twist: they are the aliens as the viewer finds out.
Have no fear...It was just a trip.

My Christmas Theme

When Ralphie's teacher asked her class to a write a theme: What I Want For Christmas, Ralphie was beside himself to write about his Red Rider BB Gun. Oh, the hero he could be once he had it.
If only to be that age again, when something means so much to your being to have; to your identity as a kid.
My own childhood identity was star-crossed between Holly Hobbie and Nancy Drew. Holly Hobbie was the style of the 70's, patchwork calico dresses with quaint expressions of love attached. Nancy Drew, I discovered in 2nd grade, the first long book that I ever read. I discovered at age eight that I could read a book in two days - over the weekend! I thought it was the greatest thing ever and zipped through them as fast as I could, loving a good mystery ever since.
If I were to write a theme now, What I Want For Christmas, I'm not sure what I'd really want. Having come a long way since Santa's arrival could mysteriously bring me what I wanted. I'm not sure it would be something, anymore.

What I Want For Christmas

For Christmas I would want a meal, just like this.

My Grandmother's Corn Custard

Jenny's Broccoli Salad

Christopher's Catch of the Day

April's Veggie Pattie's

Jeanine's Pomegranate Martini

Some Mashed Potatoes for Posterity

Danelle's Crunch & Crack

(I will post these recipes at some point...)

This is not the Ultimate Meal, to end all. It's just good. It would be fun and I would love all the people involved (not to say that there aren't many others, because there are). And it would just be nice.

For Dessert I would have some very strong Coffee and Cheesecake, simple and homemade by me.

I'm not sure how I'd be graded for my Theme. Ralphie got a C+ and he got what he really wanted. I may not get exactly what I want on Christmas and I'll most definitely get plenty of wonderful meals throughout the year. If one of them could be this one, I'd be more than grateful.

Food brings memories and creates memories. For that magical moment when you've got exactly what you wanted - The True Gift for the giver and receiver - Cheers. All is right with the world.





Artisan Gingerbread House - Part 3

I have been the world's worst Procrastinator these days. Sorry, the Artisan Gingerbread House was supposed to be a 3-part series, and I have been putting it off lately. It is something I really do enjoy doing, and just haven't been into it. The gist of it is to now get it put together and decorate the house or houses as I have two, to get completed. Oh, by the way, the small pieces make great dog biscuits, Duke has been loving them. As I see nothing in them that could harm him, he's been getting a piece or two here and there.

The gingerbread pieces are put together with Royal Icing. If you are not familiar with it, it is simply a very thick icing made of this:
2 egg whites
2 cups powdered sugar, not sifted
water , put in a drop or two at a time
2 pinches cream of tartar

You will need probably a few batches...or more.

I put these ingredients into a plastic bowl that has a matching lid, so it will keep and not dry out. Mix together with a fork until you get a very thick paste. You will need to place your sides to your house on this, use a thick amount along the base and sides. Be generous. At this point, I let mine stand overnight to dry before I put the roof on. Remember what I said: Icing will cover a multitude of sins. If there are any cracks or breakage, it can be fixed with royal icing. I have heard of chef's fixing cracks in walls with this stuff.

Once you have your roof attached, Go Town! Use all the small pieces of gingerbread you made for fences and detail. You will find detail the best part, because with every little piece of meringue and drip of royal icing come a beautiful little catchy detail of your gingerbread house.

I have not nearly finished mine yet. I can go days adding little facets to add more depth and character to my houses. But as you can see, I have a good start. At this point you can add color or edible luster or powdered sugar or sifted cocoa. I like to add a little sparkle. I really should start these things in November... I love Christmas with all the pretty things but, let me tell you, quite honestly, when its all over, I breathe a sigh of relief when everything goes back into the boxes for next year. My gingerbread houses take up most of the space on my counters. Christmas is all around me right now! So after Christmas this year, I will do the Christmas Cleanse and go back to having everything very simple and Zen-like, not sparse but meaningful and useful.
Enjoy your Holidays with the trappings of Christmas all around!! And I will, too.

School Lunch from the Lunch Ladies

I just posted this to the Huffington Post:
When I was growing up, I spent a very short period of time in a small town in southern Missouri. 5th and 6th grades shared a room, there were about 11 of us total. Every morning when we walked into school, we could smell what was cooking for lunch in the basement kitchen. Always good and homemade by our 'Lunch Ladies'. Shortly after school started, one of the Lunch Ladies would come to the classroom and get a count and take our punch cards. We were given a weekly menu I think on Friday for the following week. It was a great system. Some days there would be 'leftovers­' from the day before and we could ask for them when we got up to the front of the line. On special occasions we were given a choice - rare - and we had to put in our order in the morning. The last day of school there was a choice of tacos and ? - can't remember, but I did choose tacos. And get this, we were allowed to ask for seconds! This was in the '70's.
I agree fast food has taken over the food industry, deliberate­ly getting at our kids to get at our money. If we can get processed food out of schools that would be one huge step for mankind. Keeping it out of our homes, too. Home cooking...  

The Lost Art of Cooking?

Have you ever noticed the taste difference between an artificial flavor and a natural flavor?
By natural, I mean the actual whole food. The taste of the artificial is far more pronounced and lingering than the original natural food. It's no wonder getting kids to eat right is a tough chore on parents. Real fruit is not as sweet as candy. And that's a problem.
And real food at home does not offer a toy to play with while they're eating. When I was growing up, toys didn't come to the table. However, its okay for fast food to sell to our kids toys to play with while they eat. To distract them.

It's up to us to change our habits. No one is going to do it for us. We are what we habitually do. We are human beings. And at the hands of the fast food/processed food industry we are gullible, time-starved, self-entitled-because its cheap dollar signs for every ad campaign that comes out.
Real Home Cooked Food is not lost and we do have time: We have all been distracted into thinking we were something we're not. Let me point out here that all people, women, men and children have worked hard since the beginning of time. There have been farms to run and game to be hunted - food took work, also. Life was going on while food was being produced and cooked - home cooked, by the way.
Good Food is not fast. In one way or another it takes time. Time to grow. Time to cook.
Real food is satisfying because it gives more than taste; it delivers the nutrients to our bodies as well. A meal has that soul-nourishing quality so much needed today. We tend to forget certain things when we've been told repeatedly what we should buy and how something should taste. Our souls have been deprived of good home cooked meals. Souls need nourishment as well as bodies. For this we need to cook, and sit down at the table and eat. Cooking is not necessarily an art to a good many people. While it should not be considered a chore, either - Cooking is a sure sign of self-respect.

Artisan Gingerbread House - Part 2

I've had my gingerbread pieces sitting around for a couple of days now. It does help to have them hard as a rock, they should not be fragile one bit. Last night I made meringue and piped small circles and snow drifts. I think meringue gives a pretty, elegant touch to the gingerbread house. You'll see! This recipe made a lot, but I plan on making more than one, and I have eaten some...hard not to.

5 large egg whites, at room temp
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

When making meringue, be sure that all of your utensils and bowl are clean, that is because egg whites are fragile and the slightest speck of dried food may ruin the meringue.
Heat oven to 200 degrees.
Separate your eggs first in small bowls or containers. Be careful not to have any yolk in the egg whites. Pour the whites into a mixing bowl and beat on high until they get frothy. Add sugar and cream of tartar. Beat to stiff peaks.

Use a pastry bag with a star tip or plain round tip, and pipe onto a prepared baking sheet. You should prepare your baking sheet with a quick spray of Pam or parchment paper. Pipe out shapes to your hearts content. I ended up using two half sheet pans and a cookie sheet for all of my pieces.

 Warning: Some of my larger pieces stuck to the parchment paper, so a quick once over with spray would be good. I ate my mistakes, like I always do. Part 3 is my favorite - Assembly!! Stay tuned!!

Artisan Gingerbread House - Part 1

It's that time of year again, non-stop Christmas music and commercials. Don't get me wrong, I love the holidays and celebrations as much as anyone. What I prefer to do is make things. Since I'm not good at making very many things, I come to my favorite thing: Cooking. I used to think gingerbread houses were just too much, all the work. Once I realized just how much I enjoyed making them, it was all over. I've got it down to a science so maybe you will, too.

To pique your interest, I am going to show you how I work. For me, the creative part does not seem like work, and I get very focused and enjoy putting all the pieces together. So, I separate it out. Right now, at this very moment, I am starting the baking part. I have mixed dough, cut out the house and various other little things that will be used to put the house together, and add what I love so very much: detail.

I need to let you know at this point why I call my gingerbread houses artisan. This is because, everything on them is made by me. I do not use candies or - ugh just the thought - premade store-bought crap to decorate my gingerbread houses. I make all the details myself out of small pieces of gingerbread, royal icing and meringue, and food coloring or petal dust to get the effect I want. They are made from all edible ingredients, however, I do not recommend eating them. After the holidays, simply take it to a shooting range and take a shot. Or something else on the creative, destructive - yet safe - side.

To get your creative heart pumping, I recommend making your pieces on one day and taking a break. Get all your shit together first so it will be fun in the end. I do all pieces and details and put them in a safe place and then put the thing together, then the fun stuff happens.

Gingerbread Recipe
Butter 8 oz. (use margarine to save $)
Brown Sugar 7 1/2 oz.
Molasses 8 oz.
All-Purpose Flour 2 1b. 3 oz.
Baking Soda 2 tsp.
Cinnamon 2 tsp.
Ginger 2 tsp.
Clove 1/2 tsp.
Salt 1 tsp.
Water 8 oz.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Mix all ingredients together, except water. Add water, a little at a time, at the end to get a stiff yet pliable dough. You may or may not need the whole cup. The dough will come together when rolling. Use plenty of flour for rolling. Dough may also be refrigerated to get it pliable or to keep some for later. Depending on the size of your house, you may want to double this recipe. If you do double the recipe, do it in 2 separate batches as it will not all fit into one mixing bowl - my Kitchen-Aid will only hold one batch and its 5qt.

With this amount of dough, I am making a mini-house. With plenty left, I will make lots of details or possibly another house.
The templates are:
Roof: 4" x 5.25"
Side: 4" x 2.5"
Ends: bottom 3.5", side 3", steeple 3.25"

You will need a template, you can easily make this one or surf around and find one on the internet, there are many of them. Take these hints, though:
-Make the sides and the ends slightly thicker than the roof for sturdiness.
-Leave space in between on the baking sheet, they puff up slightly.
-Use the leftover pieces to make bricks and logs, etc for details.

Baking time is until, they are pretty stiff and hard, I have had mine in for over an hour now and still waiting, as they should not feel too cakey in the middle. Don't get them too dark, either, as that will make them brittle. The pieces for the house have to be sturdy. The smaller pieces will have to be watched more carefully for darkness around the edges.

Do not be too concerned if the sides are slightly uneven or something is rough around the edges. Later, when putting together and decorating you will be using royal icing and if needed a little sandpaper. Icing, as my grandmother used to say, covers a multitude of sins. The flamboyant act of covering these sins is also fun and artistic.

Also, when buying the ingredients buy the cheapest stuff you can find. My original recipe called for butter. Now, I cannot imagine using butter, literally wasting it on a gingerbread house. I used Imperial margarine, stuff I despise but for this, perfectly fine. And for the spices, go the ethnic aisle and buy the ones in the bags, this is much, much cheaper.

You will, also, need a board or a very thick cardboard piece large enough to hold the house and the details around the yard. This can be covered tightly in foil or brown paper or whatever you like. Most of it may not be seen, due to the icing and details around. Just make sure its sturdy.

I'll provide recipes for meringue and royal icing later, just getting this part done is half the battle. Fun Stuff is coming!!!

The Art of Being Thankful

When I find a person gracious and thankful they seem to make up for all the ones that seemed blase and self-entitled, or just going though the motions. Most people do say thank-you but whether or not they truly mean it and whether or not I allow myself to accept their kind words after being completely judgemental for something about them, it's up to me. Appearances, gestures, conversations all require a judgement.

What I have learned about being thankful is that I need to be appreciative first. Not wait for them to thank me first for coming into their store or paying for something. The relationship nicely comes together, not tripping over thank-you's, it just feels nice. And instead of wallowing around in thank-you land it moves out and around, becoming thoughtful and interesting.

I always remember my grandmother, when she said thank-you to someone, she made a point of being charming and talking to the person. Instinctively, she could tell that a person put time and energy into something handcrafted; she could see quality a mile away. And this is what she wanted to give, you can give whatever you want materially, but always include a part of you - set yourself apart by giving of yourself with whatever you give. This is truly giving and the art of being thankful. What we are thankful for is what we give, also. And what we give of ourselves is what we allow ourselves to receive. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Duncan Hines, The Man

Did you know that Duncan Hines is not just a brand name? There actually was a man behind the name. He was a traveling salesman, and loved to eat good food that came from a clean kitchen.  Being on the road so much he wrote a book of restaurant reviews for his friends and family that ultimately became very popular and requests poured in.
The man behind the cake mix was quite the celebrity in his day, people trusted his name and looked for it in terms of quality food. His name became synonymous with good taste. The timing was impeccable - the late 40's and early 50's in America - when families were buying cars and taking road trips. He was a pioneer restaurant critic and was known as the roadside gourmet, a place with his name on it guaranteed good quality food from a clean and friendly establishment.

I'm reading Duncan Hines' Food Odyssey. I have an autographed copy that belonged to my grandfather when he was in the radio business. This book has been on my shelf for years and a few days ago I took it out and read the first chapter. It was intriguing enough to keep up my interest and am now half-way through it. Mr. Hines was interesting man, in this day and age he would have some new research to do for his fans, as he preferred corn-fed beef and turtle soup was considered something a true gourmet would have at the start of a menu. Times were different then. A different world. The picture he paints of Market Street in New York - he was so intrigued with those in the business of feeding people - that I could feel the pressure from the produce buyers office and practically hear the phones ringing all at once. Mr. Hines was curious and he liked to visit and see for himself and ask questions. As in the case of his Market Street visit, his observation was all that he came away with and it was enough for him.

Considered not only a trusted traveling gourmet by his fans, he was a true epicure and was invited to be a member of the Lucullus Circle. Mr. Hines considered this invitation one of the greatest honors of his life. Members of the Lucullus Circle, by invitation only (no women), were distinguished epicures that met five times a year to enjoy gourmet food and the conversation of food. Dining rooms decorated with fine art and at times eating with solid gold knives and forks. If there were such a thing as a Time Machine I would have chosen to go right there at that time to be there and see just that: An experience of a different world, with really good food, right!

He was meticulous and knew his readers counted on his opinion. After he ate his meal and was satisfied he would ask to see the kitchen and there his final decision would be made for his rating. His story is a classic case of Turn Your Hobby Into A Career, for he started thinking only of himself, his family and friends. He was all about the food as so many of us are today. Of all the so-called original foodies, Mr. Hines' first book published in 1935, Adventures in Good Eating - he was at the forefront of it all. Let us be reminded that there was a man behind the cake mix.

Less is More

There is something to be said about simplicity. I love simple. I love basic. I love good taste and I love style. With all of these things, it is what you don't do that makes it stand out; it makes it what it is.
What you don't do is as important as what you do. In cooking this would be to be able to taste the ingredient for what it is in its most perfect form, as it is. Not adding too many ingredients, letting it be.

Try just cooking a dish with a few ingredients so the flavor of each ingredient will stand out and simply be complemented by the others. We like to complicate things, but more is not better.

When my son was young and he was first learning to cook, he'd bring home a great fillet of fish and season the heck out of it. He soon learned how to season after a few overly spicy fish fillets went to waste. The taste of the food should be enhanced by the flavors you add, it should all go together nicely.
Taste as you cook, for seasoning and add...or not.

Home Cooking Time Savers

Is time such a hot commodity at your house that finding time to cook a real meal is an ordeal? I have suggested before to cook once or twice a week to make home cooking easier. I do have some tips for making meals faster and easier. Precooking is always your best bet. Have some of these items prepared in your fridge and putting a meal together will be much quicker.

Cooked Rice; great for adding to eggs or a quick stir-fry.
Baked or Boiled Potatoes; diced with onions and peppers a great side.
Hard Boiled Eggs; great for snacking or chopping for egg salad.
Roasted Chicken; ready to go, cold for making lunches. Shredded or chopped, great for soups or wraps, burritos, enchiladas.
Ground Beef, loosely cooked; Add to pasta sauce. Add to cooked rice. Fill tortillas.
Grated Cheese; Always keep on hand for anything and everything.
Chopped Onions; Flavor for anything, cold or quickly sauteed.
Peeled Garlic Cloves; Ready the minute your pan is hot.
Sauteed Red Onions; Roughly chopped and slowly sauteed, these are great for adding flavor to almost anything.

There are times when I love to cook slow and then there are times I just need to eat. I don't have all of these in my fridge at once, but have found the few I do keep up  on, help me a great deal, particularly with stress. Cooked rice, hard-boiled eggs and baked potatoes are pretty standard. Chopped Onions, also, I love to have. And, remember, I do not own a microwave. When I reheat, I uses a cast iron grill with a baster cover, or a double-boiler. Both are nearly as quick as nuking and much more nutritious.

If you pack a lunch everyday for work or school, have foods ready to go in the morning - ready to fill your bag or cooler - it's a godsend. Prepare ahead and make life easy on yourself.

Cooking is a Priority

I’m having a hard time buying food, too. And I have to have my cell phone and internet access. Bills that I cannot do without. I have cut-out t.v. completely; I rent movies from the library and once in a while go to redbox.

Being self-reliant is something I have always aspired to, and I do well. However, I did not grow a garden this year. And I did not can anything. My pantry is full of dried beans, rice, pasta and grains. I know how to cook  and I plan ahead so I am very comfortable with this. I love the bulk section of my local market and spend most of my money there.

It’s time to realize if things have changed for you to just make the adjustment; learn something. Stop bitching and complaining and do something constructive to make the experience work well for you.

Prices cannot always stay the same. Finger pointing is not going to get anyone anywhere. We have to change and adjust for what’s best for us in our own world – in our own home.  Buying whole foods and cooking at home – yea, it sounds mediocre in the whole scope of what’s going on in the world, but the effect this will have on the world and in our own life - will be phenomenal.

National Fast Food Day

So, according to CNN's Eatocracy, today is national Fast Food Day. Well...everyday is some kind of food day, from apples to zucchini and everything in between. It is sort of silly, but it is what it is. We did just have National Food Day on Oct 24, promoting home cooking and eating real food, as opposed to processed, fast junk. As opposed to today's day. I guess there has to be a day for everything.
I actually did not think that far ahead, I only found out about this just a little while ago. In the meantime, I started some soup - White Bean Soup that has been simmering for the past hour. And it's going to snow, so I am looking forward to it.

So what I propose to do is make your favorite fast food at home today.
Cooking fast food at home is a horse of a different color. When I'm hungry and need something fast, I now have fast food that comes from my kitchen that's whole and real, that I can make in just a few minutes. My favorite being a fried egg sandwich or grilled cheese. But with some leftovers in the fridge, I can have a quick meal ready in about 5 minutes or less. Even a burger is quick, maybe about 10 min. Hey, that's fast food. It's good. It's real and I know what's in it.
So, it is National Fast Food Day, go make something fast and good and real in your kitchen and celebrate.

Potato Bomb

No, it's not a new drink I made up containing vodka. It was a horrible experience that had me laughing uncontrollably. And it was a dangerous experience: I stabbed a hot potato with a fork and it exploded in my oven, my kitchen and all over me. I got a bad burn on one of my fingers. It was dangerous and very, very funny.

I had not pierced the potatoes, as I have always known I should, before I put them in the oven. I let them cook and when they were ready, grabbed a fork. Bad idea. The second that fork pierced the skin, I honestly did not know what the hell hit me. Potato was everywhere: the oven, the walls, the frig, me.

The potato debris, shown here, does not even give the slightest idea of the severity of the damage a hot baked potato can do to your kitchen - or you. OMG I am still laughing!

Thank-ful for Duke as he cleaned up the floor - there was  hot baked potato crusting onto the oven and the walls, as Mollie, my cat, stared in her secure seat in the dining room. And me cleaning up and laughing my ass off. I have never heard of this happening to anyone, although, I know the rule: Always poke holes in potatoes before you bake them.

Too Busy to Cook?

Or...too lazy.
It's mind boggling to me that a person cannot seem to plan their meals for themselves or their family. It's not rocket science. It's food. Meals.What you eat. What you put in your mouth; into your body.
It takes a few simple ingredients to make a dish. Voila! Cook it! You have a meal - a delicious meal!

Cook. Take the time it takes food to cook. Good food takes time. Allow that; Allow the food to become what you want it to be and it will taste amazing.
Food can cook in the oven while you do other things. Cooking is not a chore to be scorned upon, it's a beautiful caring thing to do. So, if you are so overwhelmed with your life that you do not have the time and are too busy to cook - keep in mind that there should be time to cook in your life - then you need to simplify your life. Make cooking a priority and you will find the time.

Eating Real & Being Natural

I am not a back-to-basics, old-fashioned kind of gal. Just because I am an advocate for home cooking, and even cooking from scratch, does not mean I don't wear make-up and don't shave my legs. I am just your average everyday sort of woman that has found out the hard way that cooking with whole food ingredients from my home kitchen is good for me - bottom line. I am not going to stop buying white sugar, but I will, also, buy brown rice syrup and agave. I don't buy whole wheat pasta, simply because I don't like it, and I do not feel the need to make my own; but I will buy the best I can get at my local market.
I am trying hard to educate myself, so if I know a certain company is using GMO's I will not buy it. However, not all produce I buy is organic; but, it is probably locally grown.
I have developed a relationship with the food I buy; a closeness to the ingredients as a whole natural product and this is what I appreciate about what I'm doing. And I cook; this is what changed me.
When I first started eating only whole foods, I still had a few items in my cupboards that I would not buy again. I did not throw out this stuff, rather, used it - as I was on a very tight budget - and never bought it again. It was stuff like pasta sauce and packaged stuffing, some frozen vegetables, a cake mix, all of which I never bought again. Don't waste. There is somebody that can use it, if you choose not to use what you have. Just make it a point to buy the ingredients, as a whole and not a mix or a sauce. Cooking is so much easier than people think. Pasta sauce is so easy to make. If it's the middle of winter, buy a can of tomatoes - only tomatoes - and you make the sauce. Bake a cake from scratch, it is seriously not that hard, you will love what you are capable of. And just be yourself, this is not a whole person make-over, although, you will see results because you will get nourishment where it was missing - body and soul. Don't let yourself go just because your kitchen has gone all natural...

$30 A Week & Eat Well

OK, I'm over it. The new trend is for politicians and/or journalists to 'experiment'; to feel what it's like to live on $30 on food for a week.
Are they creating hysteria?
Many people are living on $30 a week in food. It is not impossible to eat on less, as I've pointed out before on my blog, I have eaten on about $15 a week - for a month at a time -  along with what I already had and been perfectly healthy - and fed my son.
It seems to be the trend now to see how it 'feels', and be preoccupied with what one is going to eat next. Visions of chocolate ice cream and good coffee dancing in their heads.
It is nice that food insecurity is being sought out and Food Stamp Challenges are popping up. However, the real issue is what people are buying and taking home to cook. The operative word being COOK. Using forethought and taking time to cook with ingredients. Not buying prepackaged, processed microwavable so-called meals - that are more expensive in the long run and unhealthy. People need to cook, it's as simple as that. When was the last time you went into someone's home and there was soup simmering on the stove or bread baking in the oven? Long time ago? Holidays, maybe?
Let's make a new challenge - not an 'Oh my God, how will I survive on $30 a week', but How Well Can I Eat on $30 A Week. The catch: Using only whole foods and cooking everything oneself.
Reality show? I bet it'd be great...tune in.

What's going on in your kitchen?

Remember the phrase, "Take a look in the mirror"? Well, go in your kitchen and take a real hard look at what's going on in there? Is it working for you? Let me rephrase that, Are you making your kitchen work for you? Because, really, it's up to you. It's like delegating smaller tasks to get to the big picture. 
So we've been told we need to save time and it's has been ingrained in our heads by the fast and processed food industry. Excuse me, Saving time for what? Possibly to flip a remote as the unburnable calories sit idle on my stomach (yes, been there). I no longer want anyone to try and make my life easier that doesn't know me. There is no reason for excuses anymore. We've got resources and God knows we've got kitchens; resources to teach us and inspire us and the kitchens to bring them to life.

Remodeling kitchens and bathrooms is a way to increase the value of a home. Just by refacing the kitchen cabinets a person can add several thousands of dollars to their home's value. Many people have done this and resold homes by 'flipping'. Going into one of these homes, it looks lovely, untouched, perhaps what one might call 'a model home'. Stark, bare of personal effects. This is what they were supposed to look like, so you could imagine your life there; your belongings there.
But have these model homes become the poster child for how our homes are supposed to look? Unused, stark and bland?

Open it up. Life begins in the kitchen, that's why it's called "The heart of the home". It's where peace begins and childhood obesity stops. We wouldn't have to think about those things if we didn't just pass it by. Of all the rooms in our homes it should be made a working room; a welcoming place to be. Things we use should be seen and easily accessible - not tucked away, barely able to find, let alone use.
So, what's going on in there, these days? If I sound like I'm growing impatient, right on. Cooking well is not rocket science. The one thing we need to be reminded of when cooking is to give it time, allowing the food to become what it's suppose to be. Try blending a mixture of real, whole ingredients that look like the foods they really are and add time - allow it to come to life - in your own kitchen, in your own home. Just allow the food to cook, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Food Day is Almost Here

Food Day is about encouraging healthy eating habits by transforming our diets and the way food is grown and produced. It's about cooking healthy meals with whole ingredients...WHOOOHOOO!!!
Food Day is about eating real, starting with a day and making it a lifetime. Exactly what Inspired Home Cooking is about. Celebrate by cooking a meal from scratch with whole food ingredients...and please share...your pictures.

Home Cooking Survey

Is Home Cooking a daunting chore that you dread? Or are do you find cooking for the week comforting, something you look forward to?

We'd like to know how often you cook at home!
Click on the link to take a quick survey, Thanks!

http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e504yfumgtelxib6/start

Support Food Day October 24, 2011

Fix America's Broken Food System.
Eat Real. Sounds really simple, but unfortunately it's not. Tastes great; but it takes some effort.
Effort? Yes, effort. Effort to walk away from an easy to heat up and quickly-ready-to-eat processed meal. Effort to buy whole food ingredients, take them home and cook them. This is what being real means. Buying food that looks like food. Cooking. I've said it many times: Cooking is not a spectator sport.

By not buying fast food or processed food we are not promoting industrial farming, which is producing GMO's, which are being used as ingredients. By not buying into the advertising campaigns we are not promoting 'factory farms' that pollute our water, soil and air.

We need to appreciate whole foods and love the ingredients for exactly what they are and what they can create when their individual tastes are combined. Again, Cooking Is Not A Spectator Sport.
Support Food Day which is coming up on October 24, 2011.
Support it but not just for that day, incorporate it into your life.
www.foodday.org

How do you save money on healthy food?

Stock up on fresh produce whenever it is available. Local markets usually state on the sign in the produce section where it's from. Farmers markets are filled to the brim at this time of year with locally grown, organic produce. Utilize your freezer and freeze as much fresh produce as possible. Be sure to get a good variety. If you know how to can, make jams and pasta sauce and pickles.

Support your local CSA, Community Supported Agriculture. You will get a bounty of fresh produce weekly from local, organic farmers that need the support and the quality is fantastic. There is so much care going into CSA's that it's amazing to watch. They even have newsletters with recipes for produce that you might not be unfamiliar with.

Find out about local farms and orchards in your area and support them. Contact them to find out if you can buy produce in bulk from them and stock up.

If you can, grow your own. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to grow a garden. It's late in the year now, so plan for next year. Measure for a raised bed garden. Plan to grow herbs in pots. Decide where you're going to get your seeds from. Look at all the different fruit and vegetables you might want to grow.

If you're meat eaters, contact a local butcher that has access to farmers who care about their livestock. Buy a certain amount of meat that will fill your freezer.

Buy from the bulk section of your market. Organic whole grains, flours, nuts, beans, legumes - it's all there without the packaging. Prices are much lower and quality is the same, if not better.

When you take steps to buy in season and stock your pantry, it won't feel as daunting to buy fresh organic milk and cheese that is more costly to budgets.

It takes forethought to eat quality food.  Every step we can take is worth it.

Organic Foods vs. Food Budget

I've been researching a lot about organic and sustainable farming. On the flip side I have also been reading about how to make it on a minimal food budget, of which I have experience. When you're on a budget, there really is no being choosy. Unemployment is at an all time high, not including many people not counted because they are not getting an unemployment check but not employed. On the flip side again, we are having to pay for things we never had to pay for before: satellite t.v., internet access, cell phones. Our quality of life in the kitchen has been on a decline, tragically.

We are constantly being bombarded through advertising that we need things to make our lives easier; that we can save time by buying premade, processed products - telling us that these things will make us feel better about ourselves.

There is a sense of urgency in the contradiction of low budget vs. consumer awareness in our food world: It is to find the balance. Make food quality a priority in our life while making it affordable? Realistically, good quality food is affordable; we are just not used to buying it and taking it home and preparing it and cooking it - because that sounds like a lot of work. Who wants to work, right? Wanting to use our kitchen as a place to make meals from whole foods is a challenge. Realising home cooking is not a chore and homemade meals are soul nourishing as well as healthy is worth the effort. Try going into your market and buying only whole foods; Only Whole Ingredients to make a meal. Just try it. Taste each ingredient as it is in its natural form before you begin to cook it with other ingredients. This is how it should be. And its easy and affordable. We just have to get used to it.

The fast food industry has taken over our grocery stores and farming industry. But there are things we can do - and it's our awareness of these other things that will bring us away from the corporate food world of 'instant gratification'. By learning to appreciate that good food takes time - to grow and to cook - we can do it. Once we can smell it and taste it and feel it in our soul. And know it came from our own kitchen.

Starting Out

It's not rocket science cooking at home. It does take a while to adjust your taste buds to your own cooking when you have a taste for a fast quick burger or pizza on the way home from work.

In starting to cook meals at home, it's wise to start cooking with just a few ingredients to create each dish. Dishes that you know you can make. Then begin to pan out by adding an additional item or a new flavor to create an adjustment or a totally different dish. This is cooking. Cooking is an experiment and a constant development. Taste as you go along and adjust to your liking.

Menu planning helps. Cooking one dish should make leftovers for 2 lunches and 1-2 dinners. This cuts cooking time as if you have a main dish to heat up, you may only have to make a side to go with it. Leftovers are a wonderful lunch to take to the office.

Make a start somehow, someway to cook from scratch with whole food ingredients for 5 days of meals out of the week. Then go to 6 days, then where you might go out once or twice a month

Quick Survey

How many meals a week do you cook in your home kitchen? 

I'm talking about actually chopping the vegetables and cooking them using your hands and taking the time. No opening of bags or boxes. No heating in the microwave. No pre-prepped grocery store helpers. What do you prepare and cook from whole foods for you and your family in a normal week?

Small Appliances and Gadgets Gone Awry?

An overabundance of appliances and gadgets gets in the way of cooking in a lot of kitchens. There must be a whole heckuva lot of good sales people in the world that get us to buy these things that we think we need. Infomercials, anyone?

A few years ago, I moved out of my condo and found I had 2 George Foreman Grills and an extra knife set, a breadmaker that I no longer needed because I learned how to bake bread and whole lot of gadgets. All these things got new owners and out of my new kitchen space.

Learning to cook makes you realize that you don't need a lot of electronic"helpers". Once I could make bread, I didn't need a bread machine. And using knives properly, eliminates the desire to have a bunch of gadgets in the drawer.

I do love my stand mixer, waffle maker, blender, crock-pot and coffee maker. I know I use certain things. I, also, love my cast iron skillet - that has too many uses to list. On hand at all times is a steel for knife sharpening, almost daily - making preparing a breeze. There is nothing better for preparing food than a good sharp chef's knife.

Periodically, I will look at something and think if I still use it. If I don't I will put it in the trunk of my car and drop it off at the local thrift store, for someone else to try out. I'd rather have the space.

Remember the best tools in the kitchen are clean hands.

Weird and Wacky Sandwiches

There's a great post on CNN's Eatocracy on weird sandwiches. I must be weird because I seem to go for the out of the ordinary. One I haven't tried is PB & Bacon, for some reason I have a taste for it right now. However, I can do without the onions and pickles!

Here are some of my own delectable tried and trues:

Peanut Butter, Strawberry(must) Jam and Banana
Chocolate on a warm Baguette
Cinnamon Raisin Bread grilled cheese and turkey
Liverwurst on toast with mustard
Cream Cheese and Jelly, also great grilled
Grilled PB &J
Tomatoes on buttered Sourdough toast
Peanut Butter and Butter
Nutella on toast
Cinnamon raisin bread grilled with Brie
Cream cheese and bacon
Ham or turkey with chutney and mayo on white or sourdough

http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2011/08/22/weird-sandwiches/?hpt=hp_bn8

The Dinner Garden - Inspiring Story

I'm a little late in getting this out but I found this great story about Holly Hirshberg in San Antonio, Texas. She started The Dinner Garden, an organization that sends free packets of seeds to families that will actually grow to feed a family of four. It brought to my attention something called food insecurity, which is something I've written about before but never had a name for it. It's when you have to pay your bills, and you pay them but you cut back on your food budget, which means you usually do not eat well. Her organization teaches people to grow their food and it in turn gives them peace of mind by having healthy food in abundance in their own back yards. I love that she she is teaching self-reliance and resourcefulness with growing a garden!

I love this story and plan to follow her inspiration and her website.

www.dinnergarden.org

Keep Moving Forward

Have you got to the point yet where you are able to drive past a fast food place and not crave it?Do you truly believe that you and your home kitchen make your best meals and nourish your soul?

I know it takes time. I've been doing this for 15 months now and I will tirelessly tell people that eating home cooked meals made with whole ingredients and bare hands is the best thing for us. I like to see food for what it is and blend things together myself, see the ingredients for what they are; a whole fruit or vegetable, grains; meat in pieces that I can identify.

Start. It's that simple. Take a day or two a week - make a point of looking ahead. Think of the image of the meal on the table, how it will make your house smell and fill your senses and get your juices flowing. Eventually you can take steps to move ahead to make home cooked meals a way of life. And if you do go out, choose a place that has good authentic made from scratch menu items. Be choosy about it.

It takes cooking to be able to inspire oneself in the kitchen. I hope you enjoy my blog and will come to see that eating this way is a step in the right direction. Nourish your body and soul.

Truck Stops & Highway Cafes

We've all been on road trips, and if you grew up before McDonald's was at every exit on the interstate, you'd know that quarter pounders and mcnuggets have not always been around. There were always highways cafes to stop at for a good homemade burger, hot roast beef sandwich, fresh pies and one of my personal favorite - pancakes that were the size of the plate. Did I admit my age? Not going to do that.

When my son was young and we took road trips, we did stop at McDonald's or our favorite Dairy Queen. And my thing was that I always felt safe going into them with him as a young boy. I did look towards the Flying J knowing that their lemon meringue would be six inches high off the plate, and thought longingly, but most of the time I played it safe. On one of our trips we were near Clinton, Oklahoma or the northeast part of Texas and we went to a Dairy Queen and they had chicken fried steak fingers with dipping gravy on the menu. It was one of the best things I've ever had, and ingenious, I thought at the time. Better than any nugget of chicken sold off the side of a highway...It's summer, had any good road trip food?

Popcorn Junkie

I love popcorn...I am certifiably nuts about popcorn!! In the past year I have finally been able to rid myself of microwave popcorn. I have an easy, foolproof recipe that tastes fantastic. Try this and you'll never buy a box of microwavable bags again. I got the brewers yeast addition on a trip to visit my brother in Berkeley and have loved it ever since.

3 Tablespoons oil
1/3 Cup popcorn

3 Tablespoons butter
Brewers Yeast, flaked

3 quart covered saucepan

Heat the oil in the saucepan on medium heat for about a minute. Add the popcorn and cover the pan. Once I begin to hear the oil sizzle, I shake the pan - as in Jiffy-pop. Continue to shake until all the kernels have popped, this will  only take a few minutes. You will know all the kernels have popped after you they stop popping then take a peak, the pan should be full to the brim with popcorn. Turn off the heat. Immediately turn the popcorn into a bowl. Drop the butter into the hot pan until melted and pour over popcorn. Sprinkle liberally with brewers yeast...ain't no turning back.

Simple Beauty Products

Simplicity is one of the most wonderful things in life. I am always looking for ways to simplify...simplify...simplify. In ways that are not only economical but make me feel really good, too. Beauty products are outrageously expensive. And while I do not intend to let myself go and look like a man, I do want to use effectively pure products that will take care of me and have a good feel.
I've come up with a great nightly routine:

I have started using olive oil - kept in a small container - as my eye make-up remover and its perfectly amazing. I will even leave it on for a minute and massage it into the crows feet area. For years I've been using a glycerin soap from a health food store, at about $1.50 a bar, I feel like its a steal, and its a great soap that doesn't dry out my skin. I wash my face a couple of times, thoroughly. My new find over the last month is coconut oil, I dab this around my eyes, and use a little of my regular moisturizer to blend with it. I have found this stuff amazing, but only at night, since it's an oil. For an astringent, occasionally, I use witch hazel - you can get it with rose water added, either way I love it.

I love real bars of soap. Natural glycerin's like vitamin e or aloe, Kirks Castile pure coconut oil soap - great for the kitchen, Yardley of London Oatmeal and Almond for the shower, the scent is mild and absolutely lovely. Not only are they inexpensive, I love the scents, I love how they look in a soap dish. They are not sitting on the side of the sink in plastic decorated containers that are thrown away when empty. Simple, efficient, economical, and pretty cool looking.

A 'No Bull' Approach

My name is Julie Noble. With a last name like Noble, you might think of a pillar in the community or a good deed doer. I like those things and try to aspire to them because Noble is a nice name to have, it's my dad's name and I appreciate it. But, I like to think it has to do with a No Bull-Shit approach to life. Weed out the bull-shit and you have No Bull. Thank-you, Dad.

Everyday Vanilla Cake

When I was growing up, my grandmother always had a cake on the kitchen counter. Most of the time it was left in the pan, and never frosted, except for the occasional dusting of powdered sugar or a light glaze. Some were made from scratch but mostly they'd be from a mix. Fruit or jam might get mixed in. My grandmother was not a big chocolate fan, so the cakes were almost always vanilla, or possibly a fruit flavor. I was always watching my weight so I perceived this as a threat to my well-being and lo and behold, I always had a piece. These days, I make a cake or brownie or loaf bread once a week or so. I have no problem eating the whole thing myself, not at once, over the course of the week. This little recipe I found on the Epicurious.com website. It is the recipe for a caramel cake, but I have omitted the glaze, which I have made and love. But for an Everyday Cake, this one is just perfect.

Vanilla Cake (Adapted from Epicurious Caramel Cake)
2 cups flour
1 t. baking powder
3/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup buttermilk, well shaken

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8 inch square pan with nonstick spray, set aside.

In a mixing bowl, with a whisk or electric mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing each one until thoroughly incorporated. Add buttermilk slowly, then vanilla, mixing thoroughly.

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add this mixture to the wet mixture in thirds, combining well after each addition. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Be sure to test with a skewer to make sure it is fully baked.

This cake has a nice sturdy crumb, it could be made in a loaf pan, if you prefer. Enjoy!

Water From A Hose

The tastes of summer...brings back memories. Simple food paired with sweet sunshine late into the evening, one of my favorite experiences. Eating outside is one of the sweet pleasures of summer. Walking on the boardwalk and getting a corn dog and a fresh lemonade, still one of my favorite things to look forward to in summer. When I was a kid taking a long drink from a hose until I couldn't drink anymore was standard summer fare.
Floats was something my grandmother liked: orange soda with vanilla ice cream, root beer floats, coke floats, cactus cooler floats. My mom, when I was very young, used to make us plain old grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup and a dollop of cottage cheese on top - after we had a bath having played outside all day long. I like to have my coffee or tea in the morning sitting outside. When there's still some dew on the plants; before it gets too hot.
When my son and I lived on a boat we had a stainless barbecue on the back and cooked on it all summer long. I dearly loved living on a boat, you could tell when summer was there, it sounded just like the first scenes from the beginning of Jaws, with water splashing, motors starting and voices from all around, from early in the morning. Washing down the boat and taking a long drink from the hose. Do people still do that? I do.

Cabbage Lovin'

My new love is cabbage! I bought a Napa cabbage head at the market the other day and did something very simple with it: I sauteed it in olive oil and added salt to to taste. It was amazingly good. So amazing, I couldn't stop eating it. I have cooked other cabbage this way, the plain green one, but this was so good and hearty tasting, it didn't need much of anything else.

5 Foods You Should Never Be Without

Ruth Reichl has a column on CNN and her recent post was 5 Foods You Should Never Be Without.
There were 2 on the list that I found good ideas, cooked rice or potatoes and eggs. Great.

My list goes like this:
Lentils, or beans of any kind. I have a very close relationship with lentils, they're nutritious, taste good and have kept me alive more than several times in my life given my budget. I feel safe knowing that I have a good pound of them in a glass jar in my cupboard.

Oatmeal. Cannot and will not live without this. I eat it almost every day.

Canned tomatoes. I don't buy pasta sauce anymore, the best sauce is made using canned tomatoes, garlic, butter, carrots, celery, onions - pureed in a blender.

Peanut Butter. It makes me feel like an American. I've eaten it my whole life so far and have no desire to stop.

Olive Oil. It's a splurge but I don't buy bottled dressings anymore. A decent olive oil tastes good and is worth its weight in gold.

There you have it. Yes, my list is pretty much a good pantry list. I have other things that are must haves, like onions and garlic, potatoes. Hot sauces, spices and flavors. But if you dropped me off on an island and said 'Fend for yourself' - If I got this 5 and had to make it on my own, I probably could.

http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2011/05/20/55-ruth-reichl/

Supermarket Ripoffs

There are a helluva lot of rip-offs in the supermarkets. With the 47,000 + items they have to offer, there are tons of gimmicks from ad campaigns to try and get us to buy unnecessary items.

I don't think the philosophy of eating home cooked meals has completely gone out of style, I think advertising has shaped our lives by telling us we don't have the time for home cooked meals we've made ourselves in our kitchens. In generations before ours there still was plenty of work to be done; farm work from sun-up to sun-down; lots of walking and public transportation - both mother and father working. People still had time to cook at home and eat well. It's the advertising system embedded in our culture that tells us we don't have time and need more time for other more relaxing, stress less activities. Cooking a meal is stressful? Hmmm. In turn our quality of life has been diminished. This type of advertising has taken away our own forethought and planning by telling us we will be happy driving thru a drive thru and passing a boxed meal to the kids in the back to eat in the car while driving. Or, hey, let's buy a premade, processed - heat in the microwave meal - and there's dinner; everybody has what they want. Hmmm, again. Just think about this for a minute, the joy and quality in our food - in our meals - have been taken away by corporate advertising campaigns. This is us as and this is how we are perceived as a nation. Is this you? After a year on this road and a lot of thinking, I know it's not me. Just try it. Make a whole meal from scratch. Look at the ingredients as whole pieces and put them together to make the meal. I have to say, I have saved lots of cupboard space, too.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42883944/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/t/worst-supermarket-rip-offs/

One Year Anniversary

One quick note, Today is the Anniversary for Inspired Home Kitchen!!!

I will be marking this with more recipes and food for thoughton upcoming blogs!!

Cheers to Home Cooked Meals!! :)

Back Soon!!!

For the past week, I have been working on getting a virus off of my computer...malware...don't ever get it! To do it yourself takes time and hours on hold with tech-support.

Almost there!! Will be back blogging in a day or two!!!

Apple Bundt Cake Bliss

There is something so homey about a bundt cake sitting on nice cake plate. I think every bundt cake I've ever had, either made by me or someone else, but homemade - has been moist and tender. Chocolate, lemon, buttery vanilla - classic standbys that always look good and are pleasing to everyone, you can never go wrong. 

I have to admit it took me a long time to bake with apples. I dearly love them but have always been hesitant to bake with them. Not the case anymore, over the past year I have cooked many apples and I am always pleased when I do.

Apple Cream Cheese Filled Bundt Cake

Apple Filling
2 large apples - Granny Smith, cored and peeled and thinly sliced
4 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon Angostura bitters

Cream Cheese Filling
8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 egg
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 teaspoon Angostura bitters

Cake
3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup orange juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray bundt pan, then dust with flour - generously.
You will need 3 bowls.
Peel, core and slice apples, mix in bowl with sugar and cinnamon and bitters.

In another bowl, using a mixer, mix cream cheese, sugar, flour, egg, orange zest and bitters. Set aside.

For the cake, sift flour and baking powder. Add sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla and orange juice. Mix until thoroughly combined. Pour 1/3 of this mixture into prepared bundt pan. Evenly spread apples over the batter. Spoon all of cream cheese mixture over the apples (this does not have to be perfectly even). Pour remaining batter into pan and place in oven for 60 - 70 minutes. Make sure to test with a skewer to make sure cake is thoroughly baked. Work around the edges of pan with a small to loosen cake. Cake should come out easily if it is completely cool. Dust with powdered sugar.

Angostura &...

There are so many refreshing non-alcoholic drinks that are wonderful with Angostura!

I don't drink soda, but one of the most refreshing drinks that I like is Angostura Bitters and tonic water. Now that the tempurature has gone up, it's wonderful; and on a hot summer day nothing could be better. Just pour tonic water in a glass and as many dashes of bitters to your liking - I like a lot!

Think SUMMER!!!
Lemonade with bitters...fresh grapefruit juice...any variety of fruit punch...smoothies - absolutely! Pineapple, banana, mango, berry; adding bitters gives a depth of flavor and uniqueness...shakes and ice cream...vanilla is my favorite with bitters, and it goes very well with chocolate...orange sherbet/vanilla with bitters added...pecan praline flavor is to die for...omg rum raisin ice cream mixed with bitters...

I cannot fully explain my love for bitters, I just do. In warmer weather I tend to go through more bottles...

Savory Strawberries

I'm starting to see strawberries everywhere; fresh in the market and lovely pictures of strawberry recipes - and not just in desserts. They are sweet and very dessert looking to me so it took me a long time to accept the fact that their flavor could be infused any other way. What an idiot I was, there are so many savory ways to use their flavor. Many times, I have had Strawberry and Spinach Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette. Strawberries go really well with red onions, either fresh or sauteed. They go very well with feta and gruyere and brie. Sprinkle sliced strawberries over roasted chicken and drizzle with a good olive oil or balsamic vinegar. Try adding them to arugula or making a sauce with mint for chicken or fish.

Strawberry Grilled Cheese

2 slices sourdough
1 handful grated gruyere
sauteed red onion
4 medium strawberries, sliced

Butter sourdough slices and place on hot grill. Add the gruyere, some red onion - to your liking and then add the strawberries. Grill until cheese is fully melted and the bread is golden toasted.

Coconut Water

I woke up today to the most beautiful day I have seen in several months. When I went outside and felt the warm air, it felt like the most beautiful day, also. I made it through winter here in the mountains, again. My second winter. Last year it snowed up until the end of May, so I will not discount the fact that there may be some extreme spring weather changes ahead, I will only count my blessings today. A long morning walk by the river was exactly what Duke and I needed.

In the last few years, I discovered coconut water, via one or both of my sisters. It is high in potassium - way more than one banana and other electrolytes our body needs; sodium, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus. In warmer weather it is great for hydration because it hydrates our body faster than water and it is totally natural, not full of chemicals, sugar and artificial colors that sports drinks are made of. The benefits go on and on, it's good for men as it stimulates the reproductive organs (as in Viagra) and increases the libido in women. I know that it's good the next morning after having a few beers the night before to bring me back to life, soon followed by my pasta carbonara.

If you haven't tried it, I fully recommend it. It's light and refreshing, it is not a taste that is very common but it's fairly easy to get accustomed to. Cheers!!

My Favorite Food and Recipe Sites

The internet is abundant with recipes; any ingredient you want to try using or variations on recipes - all you have to do is google what you want and you can find it, quite easily. I love to read about food and eating, there are blogs and online magazines that are absolutely wonderful. I am always "In Search Of", and will post when I find good ones. Feel free to let me know of any that you don't see here!

I have my go-to's:
http://www.epicurious.com/
http://www.allrecipes.com/
http://www.cooks.com/
http://www.southernfood.com/
http://www.sunset.com/
http://www.doriegreenspan.com/
http://www.saveur.com/
http://www.delish.com/
http://www.scharffenberger.com/


Some great cooking blogs:
http://www.orangette.blogspot.com/
http://www.seriouseats.com/
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/
http://www.joyofbaking.com/
http://www.thejoykitchen.com/
http://www.italianfoodforever.com/
http://www.theenglishkitchen.blogspot.com/

Very interesting:
http://www.foodtimeline.org/
http://www.culinate.com/


Good reading:
http://www.bonappetit.com/
http://www.foodandwine.com/
http://www.gourmet.com/
http://www.cookinglight.com/
http://www.eatingwell.com/
http://www.cookingisfun.ie/

Eating Style

We define our life with food. Food and the way we eat defines our life. Food preserves our identity and connects us with one another. There are distinctive customs surrounding food and the connection to the community in which we live.

Eating well takes time, it has to be important in our life. It's like our relationships with anything: to do it well and make it work we have to put time into it; planning time, preparing time, and of course meal time. If it is void of these three substances in any way the quality will go down hill. If something is not given priority, then it becomes less important in our lives. Care and respect are a good indicator of our quality of life.

It's up to us to demand good wholesome food. Cooking good wholesome food in our kitchens can make a huge difference in our quality of life by not compromising our integrity.

An Ode to Erma

"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.'" Erma Bombeck
Erma, yes we are on a first name basis, is one of my heroes. She was wit and wisdom of the best recipe ever created. I got through my divorce reading her books, one after another, relishing each one and sometimes reading it over again. Her humor has got me through many a time of adversity. She was the mother of all mothers.

"Mothers are not the nameless, faceless stereotypes who appear once a year on a greeting card with their virtues set to prose, but women who have been dealt a hand for life and play each card one at a time the best way they know how. No mother is all good or all bad, all laughing or all serious, all loving or all angry. Ambivalence rushes through their veins." EB

I've let go of what I was,

I accept myself for who I am today-
I continue to become who I am meant to be!

Happy Mother's Day to all...

Mint Tea Latte

I work in a coffee shop, at the moment, making espresso drinks, cooking and baking. One of my recent concoctions is a Mint Tea Latte. I absolutely lovvve it.

1 mint tea bag
1 shot of vanilla syrup
hot water
hot milk

Fill the cup to about 2/3 hot water, pouring over tea bag. Add vanilla syrup and fill with hot milk. This is wonderful, no caffeine and great for kids.

Since this was such a hit, I have been experimenting with other teas. So far, another really good one is Orange Spice, made the same way. This is definitely my new thing.

Chocolate Malt-O-Meal

One of my all time favorite things is to have Chocolate Malt-O-Meal, made decadently, like a pudding. I use evaporated milk and sugar, a good dollop of marshmallow fluff right down the center, pour it into a bowl and let it cool to just right. This is one of my most favorite, favorite things to eat. I was very disappointed as the markets I shopped in L.A. stopped carrying it. Wal-Mart had been the only store where I could find it, and then it disappeared from there, also. I was almost to the point where I would have to buy it online, http://www.mybrandsinc.com/, is offered on the M-O-M site, or Amazon.com, but my local market, Atkinson's in Hailey, carries it. When I saw it, as I was buying oatmeal, I was overcome with joy...I know weird and a bit obsessed. Hey, I love the stuff, I never have it for breakfast as it is one of those - after a long ass-day, I'm tired and I need something comforting, in my pj's watching tv or a movie - type of good feeling special things. It's comfort food - my own special thing. It's so strange but when I have this, I feel so special, it's like nothing else...I know I can see eyebrows lifting, totally weird girl here. It's just a very special moment...

If you want to try it, make it using the directions on the box, except use evaporated milk or whole milk. Sweeten with sugar while still stirring in the pan, add more milk to get your own desired thickness. Pour into a bowl and add marshmallows or marshmallow fluff while it's hot. Cool to lukewarm and enjoy, it's heavenly; no it's damn good...