bumper crop

September has arrived, though it doesn’t feel like it as we are in another heat wave. If the humidity wasn’t so high I would go yeehaa, but alas, it is like a jungle outside. I am hoping for our long weekend, which shows clear skies in the forecast… and warm temps…. ,  that the humidity will be lower. 

Our gardens did well for the most part this summer, we planted a huge variety of tomato plants, that yielded lots and lots of different tomatoes from tiny red ones to pear shaped yellow tiny ones  to larger pineapple tomatoes that were yummy. The plants are still filled with tomatoes that are ripe and ripening, so I will go yeeehaaa now. I think I like the yellow tomatoes best, we have four different kinds of them. They are lower acid and sweeter. 

Oh Oh Oh, look at this, isn’t it wonderful?

Spring.. not the season.. but rolls

Finally a day with no hectic activities. After the holidays and opening our home to a stack of people that had no power.. for a few days.. it is nice to just do nothing. 

We have to eat though, so bread is rising, soon to be popped into the oven. 

Around lunch time… Jill wondered about sending out for some Chinese food. see? a lazy day. lol. She was craving spring rolls. They are very yummy.

Aimee and I were restless though, we had enough rest… hmm funny how those two words sound the same, sort of.

Lets make some, Aimee said.

Jill said spring rolls? Don’t you buy them and then just heat them up?

oh oh, a challenge.

We had bean sprouts and quite a few other items found in spring rolls, though you can put just about anything in them.

We didn’t have any wrappers though. Jill said we would need those. She is pretty quick… 

Aimee just got up and went into the kitchen. Some pots began to clunk. 

I followed and peeked into the fridge, out came the bean sprouts, snow peas, cabbage, avocado, salmon, green onions, mushrooms, carrots, turnips, red peppers and some plum sauce.

Aimee had taken a bit of flour, water and salt and made a paint. It was just a thin paste. She had a small no stick frying pan on the stove warming at a very very low heat… pssst, we have done this before.

Spending quality time with your children… and sneaking in lessons

Christmas meals are special. They are often remembered because of the  people sharing the meal.

It can be more special if more share in the preparation of the meal, though the kitchen can become.. crowded and confusing, but this makes it more fun also.

Allowing more to contribute to the meal, makes them feel a part of things.

Children can be so excited if they know they have  apart to play with the meal that everyone is looking forward to.

I always encourage parents to have their children play more of a part in the kitchen, no not the clean up.. sheish.

It really isn’t too soon to learn to cook.

If you can hold a spoon, you can start.

The smiles are fun to watch, don’t be grumpy and just clean up the mess. 😉

I have taught courses on how to get children more involved in making meals. I am tricky too as I sneak in more lessons than either parent or child know.

Even if they make chicken cordon bleu… red

The perfect Hamburger

ooooooh, that is an ambitious title. 

 

We are having an “at home” weekend to catch up on things. So we had one of our fun Friday dinners, where we all add things.

Ok, so from the title I gather you have deduced what we cooked… 

They were very yummy too.  eeeeeps that wasn’t what we made though… omg that is big. lol… phone 911

Brie stuffed chicken breast.

In case you have not poked around, I have three roommates, they are more than just roommates, we are a family, I was going to say great friends, but we are a family.

Aimee and I do most of the cooking, we love to cook and to be not modest… we are not too bad at it. Jill and Megan do cook on occasion, their abilities are becoming improved. Jill is trying hard to learn how to cook with out a recipe, this annoys her that we do this.

I tell her I picture the cooked item in my head and can taste it, so I know what I want to make with out needing a recipe. I know what works even if some things have not been combined together before. We, Jill and I like most the same foods, so teaching her is easier as I don’t run into a YUCK, lol.

She will challenge me with strange ingredient mixes to see what we can do with them. I think she has watched too much of that show Chopped…

Last night I showed her a very easy to do Chicken breast dinner. So as we did it, I pointed out how it could be changed in many ways  and still work.

New Cream cheese.. does it pass the test?

What happens when

         meet?

Umami

oh hello

Umami, this means hello?

lol, well sort of. Have you heard of it?

Hello taste buds here comes Umami.

Taste, eating, most of us do this now and again. Some even enjoy what we eat.  See we have taste buds, noses too.

Have you thought about this much? Why you like some things, or how taste works?

The sense of taste.

Well then read on, and perhaps I can spread some knowledge.

Creative Dinner Night

Creative Dinner Night, that is what we call it.

When we all contribute, but without any pre-planning. It usually works out, sometimes it is just… blech. lol

So, four roommates working in the kitchen, in case you haven’t been following along, of course I am one of the four. Yes there is a lot of hi-jinx and giggling. Often quite a clean up afterwards too. That is what makes it fun!

So what did we cook tonight? oh gawds.. we have to name it? *checks the rules* nope, no names are required.. hmmm, perhaps we should change that rule.

ok on with the hmmm dinner, that is it.

have a cold.. chicken soup.. so does it help?

ok, i am admitting defeat.. i have a cold.. i am even too tired to look for the cap key.

it is time for chicken soup. i dont know if it really helps, but for some reason we are craving it now. aimee said she would help. jill said she would eat it. megan just nodded.

i love soups, we make a lot of them. they are so easy, but i am going all out on this one, we will eat it all weekend.

are you ready?

Feeding the mind

Diet

eeeps, come back, I don’t mean to lose weight.

Our diet is important, we all know this.

Food keeps us alive. We have to eat.

Do you eat to live…. or live to eat? or do you do neither?

This blog is a bit complex. I may be encompassing too much.

Eating healthy can be hard. We know the foods that are good for us, but often don’t eat them, or eat enough of them.

Some just don’t really eat.

Take out food. It is so easy.

Or just a salad… or a sandwich.

Cooking for some can be difficult, so take out becomes a crutch, take out, dial and eat.

Then a habit.

Then a way of life.

***************

I need to categorize this a bit……