Spreading My Wings........and crossing my fingers!

Even though I'm admittedly the world's laziest blogger, or at least the laziest one I know, I've had a lot going on on the cooking front lately. I've done more "free" catering as a way to get my food out there, and today...just NOW, in fact...I created a Facebook page for my fledgling business.



I know it's not much, but it's a start, right? Between this hobby blog and my regular Facebook page, I've uploaded enough food pics to either entice or bore everyone I know, so I figured it was time I increased my audience! There's a whole world of people out there to entertain, bore or feed, after all!

And so it begins.............again

Wow, I can't believe how long it's been since my last post! I thought having a job sitting at a computer all day would be conducive to my writing...I could just bang out quick posts here & there in my downtime, but as it turns out it had the opposite effect! Not only have I NOT taken advantages of the spaces between tasks, when I get home the last thing I want to do is get back to work on a computer...what's a lazy blogger to do?

Guess the only thing I really can do is to pick back up and get better about keeping my blog updated, yes?

Since there's no time like the present, I have several new projects I want to share with you....I have been a very busy girl! A few months back, I was asked if I had any interest in catering end-of-program receptions at my local meditation center, The Shambhala Meditation Center of Atlanta.

The first couple of receptions I catered, I kept it simple - mainly because I just wanted to get a feel for it and to see what people tended to like or dislike. I made mostly vegetarian stuff like

Tarts,

Salads

Zucchini Boats

and various other dishes...which were all good, but then I discovered that several of the teachers and participants were vegan and a few had gluten allergies and/or sensitivities.

I began to experiment with recipes that catered more to their special needs. The challenge has been to find a way to prepare them not just healthy, but also delicious...I have embraced this challenge wholeheartedly and the results have been more rewarding than I ever imagined!

I'll put more pics in my next post! Until then............

The Handmade Ravioli experiment

I made the most wonderful loaf of Rosemary bread on Monday, so of course I had to fix something to go with it.....handmade ravioli! I'd bought some lovely Dark Cherry & Pork sausage from The Spotted Trotter, and found a pasta recipe from one of my favorite chefs, Jamie Oliver Making the pasta itself wasn't difficult ~ in fact, it was much easier than I expected...but the kneading! It went on and on......about 15 minutes, I'd say, until it had that "feel" that Jamie said to look for...but here it is, all made into yummy not-so-little raviolis. I was quite happy that they didn't come apart or explode while cooking! I braised some collard greens with onion, garlic, and olive oil...not that collards necessarily "Go" with ravioli, but I wanted a green and that's what I had on hand :) I also broiled a couple of tomatoes topped with shredded parmesan for good measure. Since Mike doesn't share my enthusiasm for greens I thought they would make up for the lack of a veggie on his plate.....I forgot he doesn't like cooked tomato either! Oh well, it was YUMMY!

Fun with a macro lens

We got a new camera a couple of months ago, and I have been practicing with it more and more ~ and then the husband bought new lenses to go with it...what FUN! All of these are of plants in my container garden & yard...

Kitchen chronicle

I've been back to cooking a lot more lately, but I've been a horribly lazy blogger! Several wonderful (and not-so-wonderful) dishes have come out of my kitchen in the past couple of weeks so I'll show you a couple of them now!

My favorite dish of the past couple of weeks is Linguine with Shrimp and Lemon Oil, a recipe I found on the Food Network website.

It's light, fresh, and bursting with flavor! It's also very simple to make, which is an added bonus if you want something quick but impressive.
Being the second time I've used this recipe, I didn't follow it exactly ~ I changed a couple of things to suit my taste: I used anglehair pasta instead of linguine, cilantro instead of parsley, and I added a handful of pine nuts to give it a little crunch!

I also tried my hand at making a couple of recipes from the Hobby Farm Home magazine - actually this was my second time making both the Boston Baked Beans and the Moose Bread. The baked beans not only taste wonderful, they're less expensive to make than buying canned beans....

although next time, instead of using salt pork I think I'll use a sweet bacon of some sort - maybe maple cured.....YUM!

the moose bread, however, well, let's just say both times I tried to make it I failed miserably! Knowing that I'm a pretty good cook, I can only guess it's a flawed recipe...maybe something was lost in the editing process? Who knows, but both tries produced a thick, chewy brick that could best serve as a doorstop rather than a meal enhancer!

Last night's dinner was also from Food Network ~ Cajun Chicken Alfredo, and it was really delicious...it took your basic alfredo sauce to a new level of yum!

To go with it, I made a salad with home-made Ginger-Lime dressing

and a fresh loaf of Challah bread....normally I would serve French bread with this type of dish, but I made the bread yesterday anyway so I figured "why not?"

I've got tons more pics of things I've cooked recently, and hopefully I'll be able to play "catch up" a bit in the next couple of days, but in the meantime, click the links I've provided and give these recipes a try! You won't be sorry!

My little seedlings (and whatnot)

On the last full moon I started two flats of seedlings for this year's container garden. I might have gotten a little carried away, so chances are if you read this and ask nicely I'll send a few of them your way when they're ready!

This is how much they'd grown as of March 26th....still just wee little babies!

I've got several different things growing...5 each of Lavender, Fennel, Cilantro, Tarragon and Tomatoes in one flat, and Thai Basil, Basil, Thyme, Marjoram, and Forget-Me-Nots in the other.

This is them today. Most of them are getting pretty big already, but the Tarragon & Lavender (top left) have some catching up to do!

The tomatoes, fennel and cilantro are growing the fastest ~ I may have to move them into bigger pots sooner than I expected...

On another gardening note, I have a fig tree I grew from a cutting that is now in its third year in a very large pot, but I want to plant it in its permanent spot this year if we can agree where to put it.

You can't tell by this pic, but it's about 5' tall now.

I know it needs plenty of sun and a nice sized area for it to grow in, but we have a small yard so space is an issue....what to do???

My Rosemary is back again this year

so is my yummy Greek Oregano

and my trusty Lemon Balm

I bought a nice English Lavendar plant for the front entrance...I just couldn't wait for my little sproutlets to grow!

All & all, I'd say the yard is looking pretty good so far!

Although it could use some new mulch and a good weeding!

Thinking

I read a blog earlier today that discussed how we create our own circumstances....like attracts like, so what we send out to the universe is what it gives us back. This has got me thinking about the energy I send out ~ how it affects other people and how it comes back to me.

I try to be patient and kind; to be generous with every resource at my disposal, whether it's my time, cooking a meal for someone, knitting a gift, or just listening when someone needs to talk. In turn, I have found myself surrounded by like-minded people.

My love, Mike, has an exceptionally kind, brilliant, beautiful soul, so I know I must be doing something right. I have many wonderful friends who are at least - if not more - passionate about living in a way that benefits others and creating peace and sanity in the world.

On the flip side of this, I have been experiencing some troubling health problems lately that seem to have become chronic.

Is this a reflection of poor choices I've made with people or diet? Does it indicate a need for a lifestyle change? Should I cut down on this, ramp up on that? Should I search my mind and heart for clues or look to my body for answers? I think a healthy amount of introspection can only do me good...