Stinky Babies

Dear husband of mine, please don't fertilize these tomato and broccoli babies with that whatever it is! again. The house smells like a dog pound.

Spring(ish)

I took these pictures the other day, a couple of days before we got another 8 inches of snow. It looks like this again now, only without the sunshine. Lotta, lotta mud going on right now. These pictures will be interesting to Jay and me 3 months from now........ maybe I should clarify that this blog is just as much for us as for you... literally a "web log" of our life.

The Picky Cook

I don't enjoy cooking that much. I'm too picky. I suppose that every person who is responsible for placing food in front people has some sort of criteria for the food they prepare. My criteria is pretty high.
1. It needs to be good for you. No processed stuff. Whole wheat. No refined anything. No corn syrup and ingredients I can't say quickly and easily.
2. No dairy (Olivia reacts to it)
3. The least possible amount of sugar.  (Olivia reacts to it.)
4. I want to know where my animals came from. I don't
buy much meat at the store. Mostly "honest " ground beef from the local ranch.
5. Oils are not created equal. Butter, high quality olive oil and coconut oil are the best.
6. Needs to be cheap. Ha.
7. Needs to be simple and easy.
No wonder cooking isn't my favorite thing. How do you make a casserole without holding it together with cheese or cream of mushroom soup? Oh, I'm learning slowly.  And then sometimes I just break the rules. I like to thicken soups with a half a cup of brown rice. It doesn't make it thick like flour would, but it fills in the cracks. But tonight I just used flour in the fish chowder.  [And no, I didn't use milk. I used water, salt, butter, onions, and garlic. Didn't even use chicken boullion (too fake and expensive)]

Why do I put myself through all this? I have my reasons, the same as any cook. I feel better this way. In part, it is Olivia's food sensitivities that force me to do this. It goes along with the ideals that Jay and I have for our lifestyle. "Wholesome as possible, but all things in moderation."

Two recipes for you to critique: Simple Spaghetti and this rice dish that doesn't have a name because it doesn't deserve one yet.

Spaghetti- 3 garlic cloves minced into olive oil. Dump in 1 quart of tomato sauce. Fresh or frozen basil leaves. Simmer. Cooked whole wheat spaghetti.  1/2 lb. browned beef. Mix.

Rice stuff
Brown beef, add chopped onion and minced garlic and saute with beef. Add salt. Add 2 cups of brown rice and 5 cups of water. Add 1quart of frozen green beans. Simmer and stir occasionally until rice is cooked and water absorbed. Add a big dallop of butter to smooth it out. Totally sustenance food, not memorable. Can you help it out?

Spring!

Starting tomatoes...