Awakened Joy in the Kitchen

I haven't posted on this blog in a long time. I started it oh so long ago when I first moved to Asheville before husband and baby. Actually it was only 3 years ago, but I find myself so far away from the person I was in that stage of life that it might as well have been a decade ago.

The one thing that hasn't changed much from the "Nicole of Innocence" past and the "Nicole of Reality" present is my interest and passion in sustainable, delicious eating.

As I said, I gave birth to my first child, Anna-Joy in May of 2009. Today at a local mom's meeting, we had to state what we do for ourselves. I like to cook (as long as I'm not rushed). The rhymn of chopping, stirring, tasting is very therapeautic for me. My awakening joy in the kitchen is challenged by a limited budget and a little Anna-Joy clinging to my legs. However, I look at her and hope she will grow up knowing what real food is and where it comes from. God gave us a beautiful Earth where the sun beats down and lovely colorful delicasies come up from the dirt just like magic.

I am enthralled by the magic, and I love to journal and write. So this blog is for me, but you're welcome to enjoy it as well.

SO - here goes...

I hope, by the time I'm old, to have at the very least one dozen recipes mastered. You know the ones that Grandkids eagerly request of their Grandmas.

Here's what's on my list so far:
- Buttermilk Biscuits
- Apple Pie (and pie-crust for that matter)
- Eggplant Parmesean (a dish I eagerly request of my Grandma)
- White Bread with home-made strawberry preserves
- Pot Roast - I'm all ready on my way to a pretty good one!

That's all for now. I think the others will come by way of trial and error. Here's some recipes I tried this week:

- Kale Chips - Very good, but time consuming. Wash & Dry kale, tear into smaller pieces, massage 2 T olive oil into the leaves, salt & peppah, bake at 350 for 15 minutes on a rimmed baking sheet (or two).

*I don't think I'll make these again unless I get a major craving. But yum!

- Apple-Stuffed Acorn squash - Cut in half two acorn squashes, remove seeds. Dice up two apples. Mix 1/2 stick of diced butter with the apples, and sprinkle with ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cinamon, salt, and peppah. I also added quinoa to this buttery apple mixture. Spoon the apples into the center of the squash. Bake for 45 minutes at 350.

* I didn't care for this. I usually like most vegetables, but turns out I don't like acorn squash, but I bet this would be delicious with butternut squash. The quinoa-apple mixture was great and would make a yummy porrige for breakfast with milk added.

- Cranberry Spelt Muffins with Sunflower Seeds - This is a recipe I adapted from the Baklava Queen. I have never used fresh cranberries before. I think they're probably better if dried first? They are kind of potpourri tasting fresh. The actual muffin texture, though, was nice. This was also my first time using spelt flour.

- Sesame-Cream Cheese Dates - I think I bought the wrong kind of dates. My friend Nancy made a date treat and the dates were much more moist. Or maybe these were just a little old? Either way, they turned out pretty good! These dates had a hole straight through the center from where they were pitted. I put some cream-cheese in a ziploc and cut the end off to make it a pastry bag. I squirted cream cheese into the center of the dates. Then, I drizzled Raw Agave nectar over the dates and tossed 'em around in the bowl until they were well coated. Then I rolled them in sesame seeds. Great success (says Borat)!

*Note, next time get better dates and maybe toast the sesame seeds beforehand for added flavor of toasty goodneess.
The baby is in bed and I feel like writing, so I'm also going to include a shopping list. Here's a look at what kinds of wholesome foods $93.80 will get you at the local co-op.

- 2.1 lbs Organic Rolled Oats (Anna-Joy and I eat soaked oatmeal everymorning for breakfast) That's what I call a cheap breakfast! This will last us over a month unless we decide to use them in baking.
- 0.56 lbs Walnuts
- 0.66 lbs Pitted Dates
- Organic Teething Biscuits for - Guess who!
- 1 lb Organic Maple Syrup
- 2.83 lb Corn Meal - For corn bread and dusting french bread.
- 0.62 lb Organic sesame seeds
- (1) Box Artichoke flour Angel-hair pasta
- (1) Box Gardenburgers (mostly mushrooms, not soy!)
- (1) Bag frozen corn
- (1) 1/2 Gallon Organic Milk
- (2) frozen Spelt pie shells - for a quick quiche dinner.
- 2.8 lbs Organic Sugar
- (1) 44 oz. bottle of Raw Agave Nectar - I've heard of friends using this and wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Your body processes it better than sugar. I used it in the cranberry muffins and for the date dish and still have 3/4 of a bottle left.
- 2.99 lbs unbleached white flour - for baking bread! Nothing like home-made bread!
- (1) tub of Organic cream cheese
- (1) tub of Organic shredded Parmesean
- 2.29 lbs Organic Spelt flour
- 2.7 lbs Organic Sunflower seeds
- 3.73 lbs ***Local*** Organic Sweet Potatoes - These were $1.99/lb compared to $0.68/lb at Ingles - I was shocked! It is worth it, but we also have a very limited buget. I think I got maybe 5 sweet potatoes for almost $8 - yikes!
- (2) Bunches Organic Kale
- (1) Box Annie's Deluxe Mac & Cheese

Here's what I got at Ingles for $97.28:
- (1) jar organic salsa
- 4-Pack cane sugar Root Beer for the Honey
- 02433521116 (your guess is as good as mine)
- (2) cans black Olives
- (2) cans evaporated milk - I'm going to use these in a recipe I found for home-made mayonaise
- (1) Organic Apple Juice for AJ
- (1) Jar coconut oil - like the agave nectar, I've heard good things about this stuff and wanted to try it out. I post when I use it.
- (2) jars Prego pasta sauce
- (1) carton sea salt
- (1) Bottle Organic lemon juice
- (1) Bottle Olive Oil
- (2) bags Caribou Coffee
- (1) bag Organic Pinto beans
- (1) bag Great Northern beans
- (1) CELES TB CHA (? any guesses?)
- 1 lb Organic butter
- (1) carton Organic 1/2 & 1/2
- (1) Box of Garden Burgers
- (2) Frozen Pizzas
- (2) Boxes Organic Frozen Waffles
- (1) Organic Frozen Spinach
- (2) acorn squashes
- 25 lbs (yes, I said 25 FREAKIN pounds!) of Organic Carrotts for juicing
- 6-pack Kiwis for juicing
- 3 lbs grapefruit
- (1) Bag of Organic onions
- (3) bulbs of Organic garlic
- (5) Organic Gala apples

And there you have it. This food should last us all month. We only need to pick up a few fresh veggies and salad mixing here and there.

Ok, I think that's quite long enough. I may have just been making up for lost time on this blog. Good nite!