Mothers Wisdoms

Brrrrr..... it's cold outside. I never understood growing up how my mother would sit there and say she didn't like winter and that I would understand as I got older. I would just laugh at her and say she was crazy. I loved winter and always would. Well here I am in my mid 40's and can honestly say I'm not a fan of the winter months anymore. If I'm sitting in the house watching the snow fall and not having to go out in it then I am rather content. But other than that I'm so miserible having to walk along late at night to my car in the freezing chilled air. The thrill and excitement of being out in the wintery conditions just isn't the same. I remember going out snowmobiling and sledding and not even thinking about going inside for hours. Now just reaching out to my mailbox is longer than I need to be out. I guess mothers do know what they are talking about. Sure wish she was still around to give me more of her wisdom. But since she is not the best I can do is remember all the wise things she did say. And especially remember to always make pie crust from scratch and not unroll from a box. Don't worry mom I got the message loud and clear.

Mastering Ones Own Cooking Challenges

What was it I said? I have enough cookbooks.  Well golly gee, to my wonderful suprise as I arrived home from work Saturday evening I found sitting on the couch hap hazzardly placed where my darling husband tossed the brown cardboard box.  But yet another cookbook that I had ordered.  This one I so anticipated it's arrival.  Mastering  the Art of French Cooking.  

As I opened the box it felt like Christmas.  Here it was a brand new copy of Julia Childs masterpiece.  For many years I never realized how much she had truly changed how the world viewed chooking and cooking shows.  She truly was a pioneer.  I look forward to the adventure that awaits me between this lovely hardcovered book.   Who wouldn't, were talking Julia the queen of the kitchen.  As I flip through the pages I realize I can take myself to France.  I may night be able to truly travel there but close enough.  If I can recreate the experince I sure will do so to the best of my ability.  So off I go to flip the pages and find my newest cooking adventure journey to travel.

For the Love of Food

I tell myself over and over again, No More Cookbooks! But it never fails I find one that I just have got to have in my possession.  These days I'm well over 100 cookbooks but each one is special and when it comes to relaxation there are days instead of grabbing a novel to curl up on the couch with.  I grab a cookbook and a glass of wine and escape inside the world of food.  I'm not one of those people who need a cookbook that must have pictures.  I love reading a recipe and invisioning what the results will be.  If there is a picture then that is a treat but not a necessity.

Yesterday as I was out shopping for a dutch oven to make Julia Childs Beouf Bourguignon.  Which by the way turned out fabulous.  Near the various supplies of pots and pans there was the Whirly Bird popcorn maker pot and some other popcorn supplies.  Nearby was a cookbook of all things titled Popcorn by Patrick Evans-Hylton.  In our household Popcorn and Pretzels are the big snack of choice.  But buttered and carmel popcorn can only go so far.

So I was drawn to this Popcorn book.  Yes there is more to the life of popcorn other than just butter.  I skimmed the pages of the book, put it back on the shelf, picked it up again, put it back and then finally picked it back up and put it into my shopping cart.  The two recipes that truly caught my eye were the Parm and Pepper Corn & the Spicy Buffalo Popcorn.  If someone has discoverd a way to make the flavors of chicken wings on popcorn..... I'm in.  So an adventure is soon brewing on the adventures of popcorn. 

Today I enjoyed my day off with some new recipes for dinner.  My husband and I are huge fans of chicken salad.  We've been trying some various recipes and buying some.  But of course I have still been on the search for the perfect chicken salad recipe.  Over the past few months I have become addicted to Chic-Fil-A's chicken salad sandwiches.  So I did a lil' searching on the internet and found a recipe that was very similar to what they have to offer.  It was by far the best chicken salad I have ever made.  Chicken Salad with a hard boiled egg is something rather new to me but also extremely tasty.  

I guess as I sit here and write I realize how important food is to me.  I'm not a rich person who can travel the world to places I dream of everyday.  But food can take me on adventures to those faraway places and bring them into my reaches.  

So for those of you who walk past a cookbook section and wonder should I really pick up that book.  Honestly I would go for the adventure of what lies between those two covers.  And always remember cooking is like a science project.  A little of this and a little of that.   With the mystery of that end result such an exciting moment to embrace.  

Bon Appetite

Jackie

I guess a year in review

Do you ever wonder where time goes?  I sure do.  Here I sit looking at a calendar realizing we are entering the last day of August 2009.  Where has this past year gone and has work truly consumed my time yet again?  Compared to the many years of my past I have gotten more vacations in than I have ever before.  Wow ~ me time.  That is truly an amazing feet for those who do not know me. 

 I was able to enjoy a wonderful trip to Orlando with my father in January.  Yes so long overdue Father / Daughter time.  We had a wonderful time and of course the week we go to Florida it wasn't the warmest week but it sure was fun.  And we got to eat at Emeril's .  What an amazing dinner that was.  And no matter how fantastic the meal was, dessert was by far the standout of the evening.  I had the most incredible banana cream pie of my life.  And thank goodness Emeril has the recipe published so I am able to recreate that slice of heaven and do I ever mean a slice of heaven.  If you love bananas you must have this decatant recipe.  There's noting else like it.  

Then I traveled home to upstate New York for the first time in almost 3 years.  It was an emotional trip for me.  The first time home since my mothers passing and my fathers big move after selling my child hood home.  So going home was very different.  I wasn't going home and sleeping in my old room this time.  But I did stay at my dearest friends home with her family and couldn't of asked for a more relaxing and enjoyable week.  

The excitement of the week was truly filled with seeing many high school friends that I have not seen in 25 years.  Yes a few of us decided to have an un-official 25 year class reunion and it even ended up falling on the actual "25" year anniversary from our actual graduation.  Thanks to Facebook actually our planning came together and we had a wonderful evening with great food, laughter and some cocktails.  And well the realitization that when you've lived away from home over twenty years that you and your girlfriend who also moved away many years ago to another part of the country end up getting lost in your hometown have a wonderful adventure of trying to figure out where the heck you are.  You realize how much you can be homesick.  Wendy thanks for the laughter on that adventure.  Leave it to us to get lost.  But the two of us will agree the moment was priceless.  Sure glad we planned our evening out.  It is a moment I will cherish forever.  My week home went by way to fast and sure wished I had time to see more people and would of had more time with my grandfather.

Then my adventure to Myrtle Beach with some of the greatest and craziest friends I know.  Great weather, awesome food, much laughter each and every moment of the day.  For those who travel to MB - a must stop is at Barefoot Landing.  The amazing restaurant of Umbertos.  Do not miss the amazing food and great service.  Our day of jet skiing and a few of us beaching our jet ski's.  Do you realize how heavy those darn machines are?  It was an amazing trip that I got much needed R&R.  I enjoyed a good book and some long awaited sunshine.  And cannot wait to go back and shop at the Southern Pearls Store.  Fabulous jewlery that was just gorgeous to say the least.  

So yes 2009 has been a good year.  We are now talking about returning to Canada again for another lil' vacation.  I sure hope we are able to go.  I really enjoy Canada and I am hoping that if this trip does come together that I will be meeting a pen pal of mine.  I truly love Montreal and hope we can venture off to Quebec this year.  Someday I hope to get over to Europe but for now this is our closest shot.