Culinary Adventures with Lori
Sunday, November 17, 2024
My Weekly W's
Thursday, November 14, 2024
Stretching the food and the dollars
Sunday, November 10, 2024
My Weekly W's
What's top of my mind: Mindfully enjoying every moment of every day. Time goes by so quickly on its own I don't want to rush things. I want to enjoy every season to the fullest. I have seen Christmas decorations in the stores for months and I just want to enjoy Fall and all it has to offer. We've passed our leaf color prime but there is still a lot of color to enjoy on our walks and the cool morning weather is just invigorating to me.
Where I've been: I had a hair appointment this week and had him cut a couple of inches off. My hair grows so quickly but I guess that is a good thing. TBG and I found a new breakfast spot and it was delicious. We've enjoyed lunch there multiple times and now they recently started serving breakfast. I can't remember the last time I had a Denver omelet that was this good. It came with hashbrowns, toast and it was all just amazing.
Where I'm going: Outside of work, I don't have anywhere I really need to go. No appointments which is always a good thing. The possibilities are wide open.
What I'm watching: The British Baking Show. This season is a lot of fun with great bakers. My favorite did get kicked off last week. She seemed like such an awesome person. I kept thinking, "I wish we were friends". Do you ever see people like that and think yes, I need this person in my life?
What I'm reading: Cookbooks. I dug out The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook to revisit it and look for something new. I remember my mom buying this book and I was fascinated by it. I was so happy years ago when she passed it on to me.
What I'm eating:
Thursday, November 7, 2024
My Top 5 Food NO's
I am a very adventurous eater. So when I was thinking of what is a hard pass for me it took quite a while to come up with 5 things I won't eat but here they are.
1. Hot beverages. I don't have anything against coffee, hot chocolate or tea, I just don't care for hot beverages. It could be freezing cold and I may drink three or four sips but that's all I can handle. I can't explain it other than to say I've been that way my entire life.
2. Organs. I just can't make myself eat them. Liver, hearts, brains, etc. Many years ago a I went with a friend of mine to a truly authentic Mexican place in Florida where they only spoke Spanish and the menu was in Spanish. I ordered a dish that looked pretty good. I took one bite and it was NOT something I found enjoyable to say the least. I asked her what the hell is this and she replied cow brain. (Taco de Sosa's) That was the day I decided to learn to read and speak Spanish.
3. No soggy pasta. I don't think this needs an explanation.
4. Kale. I've tried it multiple different ways and I just don't like it.
5. Couscous. I think it's a textural thing.
Any food that you just really never want to eat again? Enquiring minds want to know. Have a great day!!
Sunday, November 3, 2024
My Week
The last week of October was a pretty good week aside from the brutality of Monday at work. I made it through though, so I call that a success.
Sunday, October 27, 2024
Time to Catch Up
Sunday, September 15, 2024
My Weekly W's
What's top of my mind: This is the beginning of my favorite time of year. I love Fall and Winter and all of the holidays that they bring. Last year our holidays were minimal because of TBG's health issues. This year, we're going to celebrate like we've always done. TBG is very artistic, and he always does our pumpkin for Halloween. My task is always a special Halloween treat. We both found our inspiration for this year, and I'm super excited. Below are the photos of our inspiration, and I'll post our creations next month when we do them so you can let us know how we did. Yes, even if their an epic failure, I'll show you.
Sunday, August 25, 2024
My Weekly W's
What's top of my mind: Our house. It's that time of year when I go through every cabinet, closet, drawer and room to get rid of anything we no longer use. I'm noticing that a few items that I wasn't ready to part with last time are easier to get rid of now that almost a year has passed, and it still hasn't been used. Any 'stuff' that isn't used or that one of us just truly loves, has no place here. I'm a firm believer in the theory that just because you have room doesn't mean you need it.
Where I've been: I was off Friday and went to Kroger, Farmers Market, Aldi and Kohls. The joy of living in a small town is that all of this took less than two hours. I remember one trip to Publix taking over an hour in SW Florida because of traffic and crowds. I don't miss that at all! I did pick up my September treat to welcome Fall. As soon as Labor Day is over the pumpkin candy dish will be filled.
Where I'm going: No plans which always makes me happy.
What I'm watching: The days are getting shorter, and the bright green of the trees and grass have changed to a deeper dark green. Fall is coming.
What I'm reading: A Fine Romance by Susan Branch. I've had this book for a while and decided it would make a nice summer read. I'm half-way through and it's been fun hearing about their trip and the places they visited.
What I'm eating:
Sunday, August 11, 2024
My Weekly W's
What's top of my mind:
This is SO true! I have been bombarded with zucchini and various peppers from so many different friends. We have been eating zucchini in various ways at least twice a week and I made a loaf of zucchini bread. The peppers have all been frozen or dehydrated. There will be a lot of spicy stews and chili's this winter. This isn't half of what we've been gifted.
Where I've been: I worked Monday-Wednesday and other than the farmers market on Friday, I have been at home. Home really is my happy place.
Where I'm going: No appointments or commitments and I'm perfectly happy about that. Next Saturday we are taking a day trip about an hour north of here. I hope the weather is perfect like it's been the last four days but it is summer, so we'll deal with it if it isn't. The 'bers' are coming though.
What I'm watching: I found a new series that started on Netflix called Blue Ribbon Baking Championship and we watched the first three episodes this weekend. We both are really enjoying it. The contestants are blue ribbon bakers from fair's all across the country and the challenges are fun to watch.
What I'm reading: This has not been a typical year for me when it comes to reading. Normally I would have read twenty or more books by now and I think I've read four.
What I'm listening to: Cicadas. The normal summer variety that do not swarm you or land down your shirt or in your hair. They sit in the trees minding their own business and play the sound of summer.
What I'm eating:
Sunday, August 4, 2024
My Weekly W's
What's top of my mind: It's time for me to crawl out from the rock I've been under. I was feeling pretty emotionally drained most of July and just needed to turn everything around me off and focus on each day. Now I'm back to feeling pretty close to my normal self and I'm shocked that it is August. Not that I'm complaining because the 'bers' start next month and my favorite time of year begins.
Where I've been: Binx had his two-year checkup and got his nails trimmed and he was such a good boy. He now weighs 10.8 pounds and got a clean bill of health. He's now three times the size he was when we brought him home. I've made many trips to the farmers market and continued to dehydrate and can all month. I didn't go this past week because we're in the part of growing season that friends are begging us to take tomatoes and peppers and of course zucchini. We also decided to walk around the flea market they have at the mall every month and finally found a set of glasses that I loved. $5 for a set of 8 very heavy glasses was an awesome deal.
Where I'm going: No plans or appointments as of right now for the next week. I do have a four-day weekend so I'm looking forward to that.
What I'm watching and what I'm reading: I haven't really done either lately.
What I'm eating: We're limiting how much bacon we eat but we did finally have our first BLT of the season this week and it was AMAZING.
Sunday, July 7, 2024
My Weekly W's
Friday, July 5, 2024
In My Kitchen
I am joining Sherry at sherrys pickings for her monthly series In My Kitchen where people from all across the globe share what is going on in their kitchens.
June is always the start to a busy time in my kitchen putting fruits and veggies up for the winter. I didn't grow much in the garden this year so I'm thankful for a nice local Farmer's Market to find all of our seasonal favorites. The canning, freezing and dehydrating begins.
The best thing about Summer is all of the fresh produce. I'm fortunate to live in an area where we have a pretty long growing season.
This company was at a fundraiser we attended and I chose this bag of double dipped chocolate covered peanuts. They were so fresh and delicious I wish I had bought more than one. Isn't that always the case?
While shopping I found this 'localish' white corn meal. I used it in my recipe for cornbread and am very happy to have found it. I will be buying this brand from now on.
I typically make all of our sauces, including BBQ sauce, but I do like to have a jar on hand this time of year when I need to save time. This is from the processing plant/store front where we buy a lot of our meat. It has a smooth flavor that isn't too sweet and is delicious on grilled chicken.
I am a huge cheese fan so I was excited to try this when I saw it. It's a cheddar and gruyere blend and it's very tasty.
June was a bit warmer here than normal so I didn't want to do much baking but needed a sweet treat. Banana pudding to the rescue. You can find my recipe here. It's such an easy and refreshing desert that is perfect for any season. Culinary Adventures with Lori: 2019 Christmas thoughts
I have a rather large collection of cookbooks and I keep promising myself that I won't buy anymore but I am weak. I love Recipe Tin Eats website and kept hearing about her cookbook Dinner so it kind of jumped in my arms when I saw it at the bookstore. I've already cooked a few things out of it and have dozens of page markers with others to try. It really is a great book.
Well, that is my look back at what went on in my kitchen in June. Sherry, thank you for hosting. It's always so much fun to see what is going on in everyone's kitchens.