complex flavors

My husband and I have been torturing ourselves with nearly nightly episodes of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives with Guy Fieri.  It doesn't matter that we've just had dinner - we watch this show and find ourselves starving!

A few episodes ago inspired us to make some to-die-for pulled BBQ pork.  The dry rub had at least 12 spices and the homemade bbq sauce had 12 dry spices and 4 different liquids.  We made both on a Friday night before our brewing day.  

We liberally coated the pork roast with the dry rub and let it marinated overnight.  First thing the next morning, we fired up the grill to put grill marks on the roast, grilling it for about 45 minutes until the dry rub was seared into the meat.

Then we baked it for 1 hour at 400 degrees in the oven.  Then another 2 hours at 300 degrees.  Meanwhile I helped mill the grain for the homebrew while my husband managed the rest of the brewing.  We had friends visiting throughout the day, helping with the brew and just hanging out. 

We served a late lunch around 2 pm.  Once the roast was done baking, I shredded the pork and cooked it on the stove with the homemade bbq sauce.  The smell was fantastic, the color incredible and the flavor was amazing!  I made a side of my version of cabbage slaw (shredded with some salad greens, finely chopped dried cranberries and tossed with a raspberry vinagrette) and also a side of potatoes, sweet potatoes, red and yellow peppers and red onion. 

The meal itself took a while but it was worth the pleasure of sharing it fellow foodies!  The flavors truly were complex.  We guessed at the proportions and just need to make a small adjustment for a repeat performance.  Now I need to come up with a complex work-out to pay for all this heavenly eating!!!

truffle salt - wow!

My husband's been very inspired lately to venture into some serious gourmet cooking and it all started with truffle salt.  I am blown away at how incredibly delicious truffle salt is! It is soooo good I can't imagine how actual truffles would be even better!

His first attempt was fairly simple: grilled tri-tip, mushrooms in red wine and then the shrimp in butter. 

He lightly sauteed the side dishes in authentic extra virgin olive oil which we bought at Wineroad too.  I bought a panini grill pan which I've been using for grilling inside.  I love it!  It's been a worthwhile purchase.  Since we're not quite into spring yet, the grill pan allows us to grill inside. 

I loved the mushrooms the best - I think I could have eaten a couple of pounds of it!  I absolutely love it when my husband has a hankering to cook.  He produces masterpieces!

birthday week!

My adorable husband loves birthdays especially his own.  We celebrate his for at least week with various events going on. 

This year we went wine-tasting for four days and it was beautiful.  The weather was great for the most part and we got to visit some really amazing wineries and tasted some incredible wines.  And the food was over the top good!  Found one of those hole-in-the-wall delis that sold fancy gourmet sandwiches.  I had prosciutto & bleu cheese with a fig and olive spread.  Yeah - I thought it would be too salty but the fig spread really balanced it.  I ate the whole sandwich!!!  My husband had ham and brie and there was about a half inch wedge of brie!  Definitely worth what we paid for.

Throughout the week we also got introduced to olive oil tasting and experienced the best olive oil ever.  And then the truffle salt and truffle oil!  A whole new world of gourmet food and my husband is taking the lead in introducing us to cooking with truffles.

just deeeelish!

My husband and I both love to cook and once in a while we do a duet:-)  A few days ago was one of those times.  He wanted to do shish kabobs with some tri-tip and I made the side dish - a poor man's version of jambalaya.  I call it that because I didn't have any seafood handy.

I loved the way he did the kabobs.  Usually I do chunks of onion but he speared single slivers only which worked well because the onions then enveloped the meat and made them really flavorful.  He used red peppers in between as well. He also grilled mushrooms and zucchinis.  He liberally brushed teriyaki sauce over the meat tne veggies.

I used his leftover veggies, coarsely chopped them and sauteed them along with some Polish sausage.  I had leftover Mexican rice from earlier in the week.  It made for a pretty decent side dish for the kebabs.

spring is almost here!

Except in our part of the state we might be surprised by snow after a couple of weeks of sunny, springtime weather!  Yay!

I planted these seeds merely a few days ago and look what I've got: 

The perfect image for 1 Cor 3:6 - "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow." Amen!  God is awesome indeed.  These are all kinds of lettuce, btw.

I continue to be buried at work so it hasn't been a very creative week for cooking. I whipped up some chicken breast with red peppers and mushrooms, fire-roasted tomatoes, tomato sauce & paste, mixed with some red wine and served with linguine for a quick meal last night.  My husband and I have been de-stressing with some serious projects inside the house:  painting some accent walls and our bannister!  A great alternative from TV watching.

Tonite hubby's at a meeting so I've got some precious time for some serious Bible reading and journaling.

mkng highlights - past week

Blogging regularly is a lot harder that I had anticipated.  Hence the highlights from the past week!

Valentine' Day:  I was inspired to make these cookies after seeing them at a local cookie shop.  But theirs were $5 each!  Granted, slightly bigger and better frosted but I couldn't spend that much on a cookie:

Rather than sugar cookies, I decided to make shortbread and I dipped the bottom in chocolate - my husband looooves chocolate. Sadly that made the cookies way too rich.  The frosting, btw, is pink.  My husband took them to work and that was just hilarious sharing these sweetheart cookies with a bunch of guys:-)

Made a really good red wine and mushroom sauce over steaks for V-Day dinner.  Later that week, we had fish tempura and I also made my first calzone. I get pizza dough from Trader Joe's that is just awesome and easy to use!  For the stuffing I used diced chicken, mushrooms, artichoke tapenade, onions and cooked all of it in some fire-roasted tomatoes and leftover marinara sauce. Perfect for Friday night!

I finally started my seedlings for the vegetable garden.  Three varieties of lettuce, snow peas, green onions, peppers and rosemary.  Hodge-podge I know but I had these seeds in stock and I'm actually starting them at the right time (I hope!).  We are in full-swing with our house projects inside and out and we both love it!  My husband provides the brawn and expertise and I bring a lot of willingness and hard work.  My husband is super-knowledgeable about a lot of things and it is great to learn from him and do these things together.

beautiful Valentine's Day flowers

My dearest husband always showers me with flowers and not just on Valentine's Day!  In fact I still have a fresh bouquet from a few days ago.  But he always goes extra special on Valentine's Day.



I know - you're thinking it's only the 11th.  Here's the story behind that.  I usually have alternating Friday's off and decided to take Monday off too for V-Day, hoping my hubby could do the same.  But he couldn't.

So Thursday night, I asked him:  "Honey, this is not a hint or anything but - did you order anything for me for delivery on Monday?  Because I won't be at work."

He honestly replied:  "Honey, I'm not having anything delivered for you on Monday."

Thursday afternoon while en route to another office, I got a call from the front desk letting me know I've got a flower delivery!  Wow!  He got me again!!!  Didn't see that one coming.  I eagerly picked them up and I just love that they are long stem roses and of all colors.  Just simply beautiful, don't you think?  And the practical in me just loves that he got them delivered before V-day which meant savings:-)

So that's why I'm already posting about my Valentine's Day flowers.  Because my husband is awesome and I am blessed!

packed weekend!

I am home sick today and doing some work here and there.  Can't quite tell if I picked up a bug or it's the consequence of the great Superbowl party we went to this past weekend.

Saturday was spent in Santa Rosa where my husband and I and a good friend waited a few hours in line to enjoy the world's best beer: Russian River Brewery's once-a-year release of Pliny the Younger.  The day was beautifully sunny and the company - a lot of fun. We ended up sitting with a group of young guys from a neighboring town and enjoyed Pliny with them.  My husband's day was made perfect when RR's brewmaster came out and hung out with our group.  We enjoyed some meat-laden pizza and cheesy calzone with the beer (I actually had diet coke).

Sunday was yet another inspiring time at church.  The teacher was humble, funny and insightful and very, very real.  We came away filled and encouraged.  Awaiting us at home was the Superbowl party at our next door neighbor's house.  They're great hosts - the food is always amazing.  From chicken mcnuggets to el pastor tacos with two sauces!  My husband enjoyed the chili...I opted for the pigs in a blanket for my fat & calorie source:-)  We won two of the 5 football pools...really scored this weekend.  Go Packers!

Two days later I am nursing a very tender tummy.  I was kept awake through the night by cramps that had me doubled over.  For lunch I am making some lugaw - it's Filipino rice porridge with chicken and a little bit of ginger and onions.  Definitely a light hand with the ginger.  It's comfort food for Filipinos - our version of the chicken noodle soup.

For dinner tonite I'm making meatballs - enough for sandwiches for dinner and for spaghetti for lunch tomorrow.  I feel weak from this stomach issue but that won't stop me from making dinner:-)

cioppino love

My sweet husband texted me late Wednesday afternoon with “I will make dinner tonite.  I love you.”  Those two sentences actually mean the same to meJ

All day long I had been praying for him, concerned that he was having a tough day given his short emails.  Even though I had taken out some cod that morning to thaw out for dinner, I thought about taking him out to eat instead – somewhere special to make up for his yucky day.  But it turned out he was just really busy.  Whew!

So I came home to a fresh bouquet of flowers from my sweet, sweet husband and all the makings for cioppino!  And how relieved he was that the fish thawing out was cod and not catfish.  Cod would taste better with the cioppino, he tells me.  Which he made flawlessly – filled with lots of chunks of fish, shrimp, squid, mussels and clams and he also added some rice.  We had bought a large jar of cioppino sauce which ended up being excellent (any other time he’d make this from scratch but this jar was pretty good).  To make the soup truly his own, he added some of his home-brewed pale ale for flavor.  Wow!  

He and I love spicy food so we added a healthy squirt of siracha (hot red pepper sauce) and it was a really delicious, filling meal, paired with a nice bottle of sauvignon blanc from Pedroncelli (Sonoma/Dry Creek Valley) and some rosemary/olive bread.  Very smugly, my husband knew I’d blog about his latest creation.

I definitely give him points for patience when it comes to cooking.  He takes the time preparing everything and is very mindful of the time to cook everything perfectly.  Seafood can get rubbery easily and so he cooked everything at just the right time so the fried fish was both flaky and crunchy, the shrimp was tender and the rest of the seafood simply yummy.   A delicious expression of love in my book!

how we eat, pray and love

I am blessed to have every other Friday off and I take the time to indulge taking my time to cook.  But my day ended up filling with errands so I took out the old reliable crock pot.  A couple of pork chops, half a jar each of green chile salsa and picante and set it for 10 hours on slow.  I served the shredded pork with warm tortillas and my version of Mexican rice (leftover rice, chopped red pepper, corn and black beans).

My dear husband humored me Friday night and we watched “eat, pray, love”.  The movie was a disappointment – there was nowhere near enough eating, praying or loving.  We switched to a testosterone-filled Saturday doing two brews during the day and watching the unrated version of Hangover with a dear friend after dinner.  Our Saturday eats were good:  beef and vegetable soup for lunch (using leftover NY strip steak from earlier in the week), paired with grilled herbed turkey and cheese sandwiches.  For dinner, my husband grilled some steaks and I made a very creamy mashed potatoes with parmesan cheese.  We served a side salad with it and a bottle of red wine.  Our “Hangover” friend shared both meals with us and it was awesome!

Besides the food and friends part of Saturday, my husband and I just had a fantastic day, filled with a lot of love in the midst of doing stuff we enjoy.  I helped him brew as usual and in between assisting him, I made a Valentine’s Day wreath for the front door and then started stripping the stain off a sewing center that I got from my mother-in-law.  It’s a beautiful piece of furniture but I don’t like the stain on it. I plan to turn it expresso black.

Sunday was another inspired time at church, followed by an overdue visit with my in-laws.  Dinner was a sad Italian affair at String’s, reminding me and hubby why we haven’t eaten there in over a decade. But the visit was good and welcomed!

 

I enjoyed our own version of eating, praying and loving infinitely better than the Hollywood versionJ

inspiration: creamed honey

A coworker is a beekeeper on the side and he's been selling some really good honey. This time he made creamed or spun honey with cinnamon.  Folks have been raving about it so I bought a jar earlier this week.  I've been thinking about what to eat it with.

So when I got home I immediately looked up a recipe for biscuits.  I actually wanted some corn bread but I haven't had time to go to Trader Joe's where they have a really good mix.  But I found a simple recipe for buttermilk biscuits and the clincher as usual is that I had all the ingredients.

I then thawed some chicken breast tenders and dredged them in flour mixed with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  I fried them in a little bit of olive oil. Afterwards, I drained off some of the oil so I can use the pan drippings for the sauce.

I had a can of cream of mushroom so I dressed that up by adding some sliced fresh mushrooms and chopped onions.  I sauteed both in the pan drippings then added the cream of mushroom.  I thinned it a bit with about a quarter cup of heavy cream.  That little carton of heavy cream is lasting us a long time!  For veggies I boiled some asparagus.

The dinner presented well and the flavors were what I was expecting and wanting.  The creamed honey was excellent on the biscuits.  It was a good dinner overall.  Very satisfying!  

last night wins over tonite

Last night I was victorious with my first ever attempt at meatloaf.  I had taken out a pound to thaw before I went to work that morning.  All day long I thought about what to make with it.  The best I could come up with was meatballs and make some spaghetti.  But that didn't really excite me.

I had gotten some macaroni last Sunday during our awesome trip to the grocery store.  I had been craving baked mac and cheese.  Quickly I went through my mental pantry and fridge and confirmed I had everything I needed to make BMC!  So what would go well with that?!  Meatloaf!

I used to use epicurious for online recipes but lately I've been going to the Food Network.  Since I watch a lot of FN and the Cooking Channel, I try recipes from my favorite chefs.  And I found one that I liked, mainly because it was simple and I had all the ingredients.  This one is from Paula Deen.  I tweaked it slightly, using green onion instead of regular and I added some chopped fresh parsley (I felt like it needed some fresh flavor and I had some on hand).  The recipe was for 1.5 lbs of ground beef.  I only had 1 lb and ended up using just half of the tomato sauce the recipe called for.  Though a smaller loaf, it still needed to bake for 1 hour.

Now for the BMC.  I used a cup of dried macaroni and cooked it per the box instructions. I then added 2 tbsp butter, 1/3 cup heavy cream, 1 cup grated cheese (Mexican blend and Italian blend).  Over low heat, I stirred it all until the cheese melted.  I then transferred the mix into a baking dish and sprinkled a layer of garlic & herb bread crumbs on top.  I put it in the oven in the last 15 minutes of the meatloaf baking time.  For the last 3 minutes or so, I switched the oven to broil to brown the tops of both the meatloaf and BMC.

I served the meatloaf and BMC with a side salad.  It was a delicious meal.  The meatloaf was moist and the BMC creamy with a little bit of crunch.  My husband enjoyed it as well.  We were comforted indeed!

Tonite I whipped up a quick linquine with shrimp using some leftover fixings for the sauce.  Some canned stewed tomatoes, Alfredo sauce, mushrooms, garlic, green onion and fresh parsley.  Unfortunately my heavy hand showed up tonite and I overdid it with the parsley.  It looked more like alfredo pesto although I was aiming for more alfredo with hints of tomato and parsley. 

My husband, who is on to me, reminded me that parsley goes a long way (just like ginger!) and that the bunch cost only 49 cents.  I couldn't tell him it wasn't the price really but the whole idea of wasting it.  I did tell him I did exercise some self control with the garlic and also with the few red paper flakes I sprinkled in the sauce when what I wanted was a whole tablespoon!  So 2 out of 3 is not bad at all, if I may say so myself!

a beautiful weekend

This past weekend was just simply beautiful with my husband.  It was one of those rare easy weekends that we weren’t rushed and had no commitments. He indulged me my to-do list and they were fairly easy chores.  Since it was sunny out, we eagerly went outside to do some yard work.  First he took down the Christmas lights while I mowed the lawn.  Then he did the edging because I just can’t control the blasted edger.  While he did that, I did some quick reading on how to prune our little vineyard of 21 wine grapevines.

We pruned away and marveled at how much the vines grew this past season.  So much so that we gathered enough grapevines to make some wreaths!  That was an added bonus – a cool little project I didn’t foresee.  I got excited with the prospect.

We went inside for some yummy, impromptu leftover lunch.  The day prior my husband didn’t get to eat his pastrami sandwich so I grilled that and paired it with some tomato soup, sliced pears, crackers and the last of the Brie.  I love lunches like this – fancy yet simple and easy.  Afterwards, we tackled a long-awaited project:  shortening the window blinds throughout the house.  I helped my husband get started with one and then he took over the rest while I went outside and worked on my grapevine wreaths.

I finished with four different size ones.  I’ve been wanting to put seasonal themed ones on the front door so this is perfect!  I plan on making one for a dear friend’s birthday. 

Sunday was a great finish to the weekend.  Church was inspiring and then we had a very productive trip to the grocery store:-)  Found some amazing deals and delicious options for meals.  We enjoyed watching football in the afternoon and then my husband took another turn cooking – this time grilling a t-bone steak that we shared, along with some sea salt filone bread and a green salad.  I got to enlighten my sweetheart with something I learned from Rachael Ray:  the small side of the t-bone is filet mignon and the large side is New York strip.  Did you know that?! 

a special treat

Cooking this week has been uninspired because it's my busiest week at work.  Thankfully my husband is low maintenance and appreciates whatever ends up being our dinner.  And more importantly he doesn't mind leftovers.  I have to admit that I can get really creative with leftovers.  I don't just rewarm them; I try to serve it with different sides, etc.  Or make an entirely different meal with it, like using leftover pork chops to make moo shu pork.  But that will have to be another post.

I am even more thankful when my husband takes a turn at making dinner.  Because he is an excellent cook...I would even say chef level.  He is naturally creative at it and is more knowledgeable than I am about spices and flavors.  I do most of the cooking because I'm fast and organized.  Also, he usually comes home dead-tired from a job he doesn't enjoy.  Reverse for me so I'm the default cook and it's worked out.

But this week, with the crazy stress at work, my husband cooked dinner Wednesday.  And it was fantastic!  We had gotten a fresh red snapper at the Asian market (where the fish and seafood are awesome and affordable!!!) and he made a crab & portabella stuffing for it.  And the white sauce he poured on it before serving had sherry and heavy cream!  Decadent and just simply incredible.  We ate it with rice and broccoli and a nice bottle of our favorite white wine.  The house smelled heavenly and we had a beautiful, relaxing mid-week dinner, just what I needed after a stressful day.

We both said for presentation, it should have been in a glass or ceramic dish.  Oh well - next time!

off topic - football analysis

My husband and I are hooked on professional football.  I had wisely given it up about ten years ago because it is too much for my obsessive nature.  And it all came back full force when I got married.

Ever notice they spend hours on analysis, before, during and after the game?  And the stupid questions they ask the coaches and players!  Unlike the military, they know better than to reveal their strategies to the press.  Sheesh.

I vented at my husband yesterday when Phil Simms asked Darrelle Revis on whom the Jets will focus.  And expectedly, Revis says they plan on stopping Brady.  Um, duh.  Of course you want to stop the quarterback!  That's where it all starts!  If you can stop the QB, there will be no plays, literally no offense.  It doesn't matter who the QB is. 

So I tell my husband that if I were a defensive player being interviewed, I would say I'm gonna aim for the center.  I'm going to be so lightning quick and fast, he's not gonna get a chance to snap the stupid ball. I'll mess with his head.  All legal plays of course but heck, get to the center and you won't worry about the QB.

All the networks have at least 5 guys on their panels.   I don't get it. Just play the game and call the plays.  Not only do they over-analyze, these guys are so obvious with their favorites.  They drool and trip all over themselves over Brady and Rivers.  Like my husband says, they would all want to kiss Brady.

Back to cooking.  Nothing too interesting the past couple of days.  I'll try to get back on it tonite with dinner.
 

shock and awe

I hate to admit it but I’ve got a heavy hand when it comes to spices.  My husband has to remind me regularly that a little bit goes a long way.  Emeril’s BAM! has nothing on mine.  I put a lot of shock into some of my meals. 

Last week my husband was nursing a head cold.  I had Asian planned for dinner so I thought I’d make hot and sour soup.  That’s one of my favorites and he loves it too.  You’ll never hear me go for the egg flower soup at restaurants.  Amazingly enough, for a soup that has such complex flavors, it is fairly easy and actually simple to make.

And so  I make a batch and I julienned a huge chunk of ginger.  Much to my husband’s disapproval!  He reminded me that a marble-size one, finely chopped, would have been enough.  The soup still had the awe but the shock wasn’t necessary.  We still enjoyed it and it helped clear up his head cold.

Now I am capable of hints of flavor. I make a mean potato salad that my husband just loves.  I made some the other day to go with barbeque beef sandwiches and spicy pickles and I got heaps of compliment from my love.  My well-known “secret” ingredient is bacon.  But I have another secret that I have yet to reveal and I only put a little bit of it.  I think it enhances the flavor quite a bit but you would never guess what it is.  I also put boiled egg, green onion and sweet relish in it along with the usual mayo and mustard.

Tonite we’ll have fish. I’m thinking lightly breaded with some rice and veggies.  I need to make dessert one of these days.  It’s been awhile.  I’ve not made any because of the dreaded new year, etc

simple enchilada sauce

My husband is better than I am when it comes to making a truly homemade meal.  For example he likes to make his own spaghetti sauce.  I think there are really good quality jars out there and I just doctor it up a bit.  I made my first batch of buffalo wings (fried not baked) and he asked if I made the sauce.  Nope. The first time I made enchiladas, there was that question again:  “Have you ever made your own enchilada sauce?”

There was challenge in that question. I heard it loud and clear.

So I finally took the time to look up a recipe and found this.  And of course I had to personalize it and added 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika. Excellent!  Really easy to make and not at all intimidating.  I made turkey enchiladas, using leftover turkey from Christmas.  Now I have my own jar of my own sauce!  I hope to continue to make my own sauces which really is a lot better with less preservatives.  And if you’re asking if I used homemade chicken stock for the sauce – nope!  Sigh.  I’ll have to make stock soon.

Tonite it’s Cornish game hen for dinner.  I like these little guys.  They are a lot tastier than chicken and one hen is a perfect serving for two.  I combine all sorts of spices with a little bit of butter and then I spread the mixture under the skin.  I will bake the two halves skin up and sprinkle a little bit of parmesan and bread crumbs on top for a bit of crunch.  I still have leftover au gratin potatoes from the last two nights (made from scratch!!!) and I’ll steam some broccoli for the veggies.

I’m trying to serve a lighter fare for dinner.  Since getting married, my husband and I have gained weight and primarily because we tend to have really big dinners.  I think our breakfast and lunches are fairly healthy with good proportions.  But dinner…we tend to pig out.  So I’m doling out our portions so we don’t go for seconds.  Third night in a row and I envision success!

Hope you try out this recipe soon. And add your own touch to it and make it your own.

discovering the meat tenderizer

My earliest memory of cooking was back when I was 5 or so and my grandma was teaching me how to cook rice.  You measured the water by sight and when in doubt, you used your fingers.  Measuring cups didn’t exist where I grew up.

So although I’ve been cooking for over three decades, a few months ago I used a meat tenderizer for the first time.  Wow!  What a discoveryJ

I made pork cutlets (or schnitzel or chicken fried pork or whatever you want to call them).  We buy these thick pork chops at Costco and my husband likes them grilled.  My guilty pleasure though is anything deep fried; if not deep, then fried will do as well.  Especially meat.  So I sliced the chops cross-wise and two chops yielded eight pieces and by the time I was done pounding them, there was enough for two meals!  I couldn’t believe what difference the tenderizer made.  I dried the pork slices first with paper towels before I pounded the hell out of them.  (Otherwise you’ll splash bacteria bombs all over your kitchen).

I used some sea salt, tons of black pepper and really rubbed them into the meat.  Then I beat one egg and that was enough to moisten all the pork. I used some Panko to bread them and then I fried them in some extra virgin olive oil.  Deep frying wasn’t necessary since they were so thin and will cook fast.  Medium heat.  I served the pork with cooked rice (water measured by sight!) and Asian greens with shitake mushrooms and oyster sauce.  Sweet chili sauce on the side for dipping.

My husband compliments the dinner and asks “So, what prompted this dinner?”

I simply replied, “I was craving something fried.” 

I am now inspired to attempt my first ever chicken fried steak.  I can’t wait.  It’s one of my favorites.

So if you own a meat tenderizer, I hope you’ve used it.  If not, use it soon!

venturing into blogging

I have been wanting to blog for awhile now and a new year is good time to start.

I am passionate about cooking and have just recently started gardening.  So I will be sharing mainly about that.  Food will be the headliner but daily life will be make a regular guest appearance; at the very least it will be the background.

My husband shares my passion - in every way.  And not only is he the appreciative recipient of my culinary efforts but also a great cook himself and his advice is invaluable.  He'll be featured in my posts as well.

I plan to share recipes, tips and daily life experiences.  I welcome your comments and hope we can encourage each other to great meals and even great relationships!

Let's eat!

(I've got a pot roast simmering in the crock pot, blanketing the house in a heavenly aroma of seared beef, red wine, vegetables and spices.  Perfect for winter.  I've got Irish soda bread to go with it).