Putting love into your food.

Cooking makes me calm. It makes me happy to make food for those I love. Nourishment may be necessary to our survival, but it is also a symbol of the combination of love, history, and care. It is why I do what I do. And why I am trying to improve myself in this area, as well as in many others.

"Finished Product" Recipe Organizer

So I am finally done with my recipe organizer. And by "done" I mean that I now have tons of recipes in a binder (that looks pretty snazzy, actually) that I will add to until it bursts. Here's how it turned out:

and the spine:

The inside front and separators:

...and the cute fill-in recipe pages that I printed out:

The problem is that I ran out of page prtectors (and I got 50!). They are a tad expensive, so I will wait to get more. This has been a fun project. I can't wait to add to the tome!

My love affair with snack food.

Anyone who really knows me knows that I love to graze. I would rather snack than eat a complex meal. I get hungry fairly often in the typical day and I eat small meals or snacks when I get hungry.

I should add that anyone who has been around me for more than, let's say 2 hours at a time knows that I have a food love. We've been going steady for about two years now--ever since they first came onto the scene:

Yes, Cheez-its. And no, not all Cheez-its. Just Pepper Jack Cheez-its. Essentially, they are my very own crack rock. I don't much like the other flavors (for some reason I dig the whole grain variety, but not like I love these). I think I consume a box every week. They are so great. People actually make fun of me for this. That is how much I eat them. In fact, if and when they stop making these, I might have an episode similar to the Great-Surge-Incident-of -2000:

I can't believe those A-holes took away our Surge!

Needless to say, I would be very, very sad.

So, clearly I love snack food. And I just found a new one!!

Under normal circumstances, I don't really dig on pretzels (unless they are giant soft pretzels--yum), but man, these things are basically amazing. They are Ritz pretzels; which means that they are buttery like Ritz, but they also taste like pretzels. I could sit here and eat the damn box. But I won't.

Sure, I have willpower...

70 Calorie Omelet, Recipe Binder, and sifting through 4 years of food magazines.

I have been trying to eat more healthfully lately. High fiber, high protein, low fat, and low cholesterol. The low sodium thing will come in time. So, my grocery list has been complex in the past few weeks.

I have always been a big believer in coupons, sales, and other ways to save money. I am a cheapskate--it's just who I am. So I am cooking a bit differently for my husband and myself.

For example, the grocery list for me last week looked like this:

Fresh fruit (apples, pears, and oranges)
Kashi 7-grain puffed cereal
Almond milk (unsweetened)
Egg beaters
Low-fat cheese
turkey bacon
deli ham
high-fiber cottage cheese
veggie burgers

Yes, my diet (not ON a diet, just my overall diet seems boring, I know) But it is actually very good. Take a look at this baby:

You know how I was talking about "pretty food" yesterday? This actually turned out to be very pretty. And guess what? It has 70 calories and 3 grams of fat. Here's the scoop:

Lite and Satisfying Omelet:

Non-stick cooking spray
1/4 c. eggbeaters (or similar egg substitute)
1/4 slice of reduced fat cheese, torn into small pieces
1 slice turkey bacon, crisped in microwave
dash each, herbs Provence, parsley, salt, pepper
hot sauce (optional)

and you cook it just like a regular omelet. Egg substitute does not taste much different than "real eggs". Because it's made with egg whites and beta-carotene. This is a very easy recipe and it is filled with protein, without the fat and cholesterol in shell eggs. I really like this stuff. I feel full but not weighed down like I do when I eat shell eggs.

~~~

Even though I am still sticking to this meal plan, for the most part, I don't want my husband to have to eat this stuff all of the time. And I love to cook. So this week is going to consist of several crock pot meals (chicken enchiladas, spaghetti sauce with "drunken" chicken and Twisted Cheese Sticks and chicken and dumplings) and a stuffed pizza with pepperoni and Italian cheeses. I hope that they will be good. I will provide pictures and full recipes once they are cooked and approved :)

~~~

In addition to dietary changes, I have also been making other changes. I bought a 2-inch 3-ring binder, dividers and clear sleeves for recipes. This was necessary, as I cut out recipes from some 40 food magazines (some of which I have had for nearly 4 years) and am now going to organize them into categories. I will also have parts of each section dedicated to written recipes; something that I think is a dying art form that I intend to preserve (at least in my home).

So far, it is going well. It's is also giving me an opportunity to take a short break from the last part of my thesis. Two more deadlines down, two more to go. But I find this organization relaxing. It's my own type-A zen-space.

This is something that I hope to one day pass down to my children--an amalgam of pop culture finds, family recipes, and maybe even some of my very own.

As my project progresses, I will be posing pictures.

Hope that everyone is having a wonderful day.

My Granny, some nostalgia, and some "truths of Southern food."

Sure, it's awesome when you can make food that is beautiful. And then some "food photographer" can make it look even prettier. However, I am of the belief that food doesn't necessarily have to be "pretty" to be awesome.

See, I grew up here in Georgia. Southern cooking constantly lives within my memory. Some even venture to say that this food and this culture runs in our veins.

My maternal grandparents are from Arkansas; paternal from Mississippi. They knew what good Southern food was and is. Seemingly simple "farm food" is really anything but. The regional differences matter; just as they do in every region of every country in the world.

In Arkansas, fried catfish and cornbread seem still to be the dinner of choice. In Vicksburg, Mississippi, catfish is fairly popular; but cuisine has a decidedly Cajun influence. Shrimp and grits, collard greens and pot likker, and Creole seafood still reign.

I love the fact that my parents come from backgrounds that are rich with food traditions. My Granny Fran made black-eyed peas and rice that were amazing. And my beloved Granny West made (and still makes) the best home fries, corn bread, and purple-hull peas in the world.

My Granny West (Momma's Mom) has always been so special to all of us. She always puts love into whatever she does; whether in her cooking, or her continual efforts within her own community.

I remember so clearly sitting around Granny's kitchen table, making sausage balls and oyster cracker snack mix. These were just two of many recipes that were holiday staples each year.

When we came home for holidays, we always got up early. We all wanted more time together than we had. And the smell of Granny and Granddaddy's house woke us up naturally anyway. It smelled like home; like a dream forgotten for a while, but then happily revisited each year. We woke to lovely smells: coffee (brewing since Granny woke at 5am), ham (cooking for the greens that would soon join them), and eggs (that Granny woke early to make for Granddaddy's breakfast).

Morning was forever magical in my Granny's kitchen. But so were all of the times with Granny. She remains an incredibly special woman; her love shows in so many ways.

I am so lucky to have her, still.

Hummus (everyone gets it wrong)

Ok people, hummus is made from chickpeas, tahini, and oil.

It is not really hummus if it is made with beans (cannelini, black beans, pintos). If you are making dip with these beans, it is bean dip, not hummus.

grrrrr.

Crock Pot Girls!

Great website full of crockpot recipes!! Awesome!

Crock Pot Girls Site