A Dash of Creativity

To ring in the New Year, we are having a couple of friends over and enjoying a time of food and fellowship...traditional Italian style (with a little eccentricity thrown in for good measure). We are all contributing to the dinner tonight. Isn't that the most interesting way to do a meal? I used to turn my nose up at the word "potluck." (It may be the images of green bean casseroles and rainbow marshmallows mixed into fruit salads that it conjured up in my mind's eye.) Tonight is a time for everyone to bring a gift to the table. I'm becoming more convinced every day that everyone has something creative to offer. Everyone. They may not know it yet. I didn't know it about myself until recently. Cooking has been such an inspiration to me this year. Looking back, I don't remember what sparked it. Was it the day I opened up Marcella Hazan's "Marcella Says" for a recipe and found that the first half of the book was like taking a cooking class from her? Or did I get a burst of inspiration from the recent novel "The School of Essential Ingredients?" Or did my husband's creativity and boldness in the kitchen rub off on me? Whatever it was, whoever it was...thank you. Thank you, Matthew. Thank you, Marcella. Thank you, Jamie Oliver. Thank you obsessive food bloggers who actually keep up-to-date on your blogs. Thank you, big-fat-yellow-Gourmet-cookbook-with-everything-in-it. And thank you, Father God...for showing me that You are beautiful and creative; for showing me that I am made in that image; and for giving us all of this wonderful food on our planet that we are able to be creative with...the possibilities are endless!

Garden Blessings Needed!

(I know, I know...I've been terrible about keeping up on this blog. I'm still cooking, though. In fact, I should be in the kitchen right now...)

I ordered my seed catalog this week and I will be running down the street to the mail box every afternoon until it shows up. Tomatoes are on the top of my list of things I'm going to attempt to grow this summer. Last year I tried growing them from seeds. When that didn't work, I tried seedlings from the nursery. When those died, my sweet husband brought home a full grown plant in a pot. It grew one piece of fruit. One. So, this year I'm doing my research first. I found some varieties that are specifically for the northwest climate (that is, a short growing season). (See: http://www.territorialseed.com) It can't be that difficult to grow a little vegetable garden in my back yard, can it? It sounds like such a wonderful idea. I think I'm ready for this. Or am I?I know that if the whole thing dies and doesn't produce anything edible, it will be difficult for me to try again the following year. But that's life...or death. Sure, I want to save money by growing some of our own food. But I also want to experience the joy of it: of being creative, of watching my daughters be involved in something creative, of tasting the difference of the flavor of store bought vs. homegrown goodness! The tomatoes in the grocery store usually make me think, "No wonder I never liked tomatoes growing up! And no wonder my 3 year old makes that face..." Even Marcella Hazan (of whom I've become a disciple, to put it lightly) tells us to use canned tomatoes for homemade pasta sauce if the fresh ones in the store are unbearable. So, bring on 2010 and all of the sunshine the Pacific Northwest have to offer (which isn't always much). This spring, I will be the crazy neighbor lady praying over my seedlings after I put my kids to bed at night. I can hear myself now, "God bless the moon, and God bless me, God bless my garden and my tomato seedlings!"

Splurging

When most young moms think of splurging, they probably think of massages, new clothes and luxury vacations. But I love to splurge on food at the grocery store. Especially produce. Pomegranates are in the stores right now. They aren't very cheap, compared to other fruits, but where else can I buy a sack of rubies for two dollars and fifty cents? Edible rubies, at that! It takes forever to separate out all of those arils, but it's well worth it to me when I see my two little girls poking them down. Fresh produce has a way of taking me away to the place it's been grown. It's an out-of-body experience that can not be attained from canned or packaged food. Sort of a mini vacation in my mouth. The other day a friend asked, "Do you think a pomegranate was the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden?" Hmm...good question.

Trophies and Two-Fold Blessings

Last night I had a friend over who just wanted to cook together. Her enthusiasm for food and for being in the kitchen reminded me of...myself! I got so excited I could barely choose what to make! It's pretty exciting when someone comes over to cook, and not just to eat...and I didn't feel that I had to worry about picky eaters, either. Creating the meal is the fun part for me. I have never been very 'creative' in the way young women 'should' be (quilting, scrapbooking, home decor, etc.) but I think I have found my creative outlet in the kitchen. The funny thing is, the finished product ends up being consumed, so I don't have a 'trophy' to hang on the wall to show off my creativity...which is the way I like it. Simple. Come to think of it, my husband isn't even packing on pounds around the middle. Come on, babe...at least give me that! And to be able to create with another person is like dancing: it's fun to dance on your own sometimes, but not all the time. Oh, and the high point of the evening? We traded cookbooks! Marcella Hazan for Jamie Oliver. (temporarily, of course). I have a feeling my life will never be the same.

The menu was eclectic: my husband made Hazan's "Red, Yellow & Green Pepper Risotto" (which always turns out fantastic! which probably has a lot to do with my husband being a fantastic cook), I tried my hand at a Sweet Potato Soup, which was...sweet. Not sweet, as in awesome, but sweet as in liquid pumpkin pie. I think I could've served it as dessert with a dollop of cream on top. And -- drum roll please -- with a group effort, we made a Ricotta Gnocchi...tiny pillows for the curly heads of fairies. Delicious. I will definitely make those again. They are supposed to take about 15 minutes (I think that means after you have made them several times and become a gnocchi expert). However, the process alone makes this one worth trying...and it doubles as Play Dough for the kids. The blessing is two-fold.

Taking the Leap

I would hope I'm obsessed enough with food by now that it justifies writing about it. But maybe I will end up spending less time in the kitchen and more time on my Mac in doing this. In any case, here I am. Taking the leap into the world of food bloggers...which, apparently, has become quite trendy and I don't think anyone will read mine. Ha!