Tag: Cooking

my favorite food to make

lizlovelaughLeave a comment

I started trying to cook all the saved recipes I had on my phone last year, and it’s been a lot of fun and a huge success so far. I have a mason jar of all these recipes I’ve done so far, and some nights I’ll draw one at random and make it I love it. In my opinion, these are the two tastiest and easiest

shallot bread: this is a garlic bread I make on an Italian round loaf with cooked shallots and garlic, mixed with miso (the best part) to make this paste I put over the bread. Then you put some parmesan on top or whatever and cook it and have that all melt then add some fresh parsley on top. This bread is dangerously good, once I start eating it I won’t stop.

pasta: for this pasta, I just mince onions and garlic, cut some tomatoes-wait for them to caramelize, then mix it all with olive oil and tomato paste to make the sauce pretty much. Then add a little butter and heavy cream, sprinkle some mozzarella and parmesan, I like to use penne noodles, and boom! The best pasta in the world. It does make you a little gassy though

pc: me

What House Arrest does to you

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So my dad is basically on house arrest because of his recent heart attack. Because of this house arrest that he has been sentenced to by his doctors and my mother, he has decided to take up and master the art of cooking.

His goal: to cook a new dish, EVERY SINGLE day.

Now this is coming from a man who usually NEVER cooks and when he does, we usually end up calling for a pizza late at night.

My dad has many great talents, unfortunately cooking is not one of them.

So far he has made the following dishes:

  • Cauliflower soup with WAY too much pepper, ( I think he missed the “taste as you go” memo).
  • Spaghetti squash pasta with a spinach sauce; lets just say he loves his food processor and we ended up having spaghetti squash with baby formula.
  • Fisherman’s Pie; coincidentally while he was cooking the power in our house went out and it was only half cooked, he still decided to serve it.

On top of all his glorious attempts of these new recipes, he’s sent my mom to the store every single day to get ingredients, not quite realizing that the ingredients we already have at the house could be used for cooking as well.

While throwing in his own changes to the recipes, he also likes to add some humor. He makes constant reference to the cooking TV show  Chopped. Every time one of his new “creations” doesn’t go as planned he says, ” Well I think the judges would have chopped me for that one!” or if it is a success( I’ve yet to taste one) he says, ” That one would have gotten me to the next round!”

While he is still going strong on his cooking binge, and I applaud his efforts, I wouldn’t mind having a pizza for dinner anytime soon.

 

Nasty Habits.

Yourcupatea1 Comment

Eating

We all have nasty habits that are tough to change. Either we are unwilling to give them up or it’s impossible to stop. When people comment, you commit to changing and begin to take steps to prevent future incident, but this mind set lasts maybe a day and then the common cycle kicks in and you revert back to your old ways.

Sometimes the words of others don’t mean anything and you don’t want to change. Sometimes you need something more like maybe an ultimatum. For me it was someone who owned the same bad habit that has made me stop. Well at least attempt to for good.

Tonight I hand prepared a meal of Spaghetti Bolognese for my family and I. I slaved over it and put all of my heart and soul into it, just for it to gobbled up in 2 minutes by my auntie. Finding this extremely disrespectful I realized I am very similar in my speedy habits, just not to the extreme.

Luckily for me I had this realization when she first arrived, a month ago making me slow down significantly. Tonight just emphasized the terrible habit I own, keeping me on track to successfully changing.

Looking at a mirror of your disgusting behaviors is extremely helpful but not everyone is as lucky as me to have this opportunity. So next times you commit the crime just think of someone doing the same habit in front of you. How do you feel?

Keeping Up Traditions.

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Love

It is always important to keep up certain traditions, family memoirs that mean something personal and connect you with those who have passed or those that are far away.

Today I cooked my Grandmas recipe for an Easter nest. In no way is the recipe extravagant or different but to me it really means something.

I was taught this recipe at the age of 3. With my pull up stool giving me a little height, but not enough for my eyes to meet the counter, I would help her as much as I could in the kitchen. When I would arrive at their house I would run into the secret cupboard retrieve the stool and run into the kitchen readily awaiting my grandma’s presence to bake our Easter nests together.

As I grew taller and could reach the counter on my own the stool grew dusty but never did the recipe in my mind of the famous Easter nest. Yearly we would bake this same recipe together; it was our tradition, until I moved away.

Last year I made the nest all the way in California but it was not the same without her there. This year I will do the same. Although in many ways it makes me sad, this ritual is a joyous motion that honors my grandmother in England and connects us through a single recipe, despite the distance. This is a recipe I will pass on to my children and one day make with my grandchildren to connect to my Grandmother wherever she may be, passing on the love that I feel for her to them through our Easter nests.

Family’s Fallen Soldier

sennymcfly1 Comment

Dear Aunt Lela,

We didn’t know each other for very long. It was only recently that I got to experience the joy of being in your company. Every time we met you greeted me with a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek. You were always so loving. It didn’t matter who I was or who anybody was for that matter, you loved them and welcomed them into your home. Your humor made everyone smile. Your children loved you dearly. Spending time with you and Uncle Nick showed me what having a big family was like and I loved it.

And who can forget your cooking? Soul food! Talk about your typical black family, getting together after months and sometimes years of not seeing each other and enjoying yummy food and family time. Delicious collard greens, mouthwatering macaroni, Dominoes and cigars in the back yard, Al Green playing on the stereo. Even after such a long period of being apart it was like we had never left. You brought the family together. You raised the family. It’s true I wasn’t there for most the family’s relationship, but since the few times that we have met, I’ve come to the conclusion that you are most definitely very important to me. I didn’t realize how much losing you would make me cry. We didn’t see it coming, or at least I didn’t. So, I guess my point is, if you are in Heaven or Paradise or wherever else we go when we die, know that I am sending you my love and prayers every day. If only we could have just one more day to spend together. The last family gathering. But, you are supposed to be there aren’t you? Love you Aunt Lela.

Your Great Niece,

Madisen

❤

Aunt Lela

R.I.P. Lela Norris