The Quest Is On

Nutrition and healthy eating has been on the forefront of my mind for quite sometime. I once took a Nutrition 101 course and I think that forever sparked my interest in food. Additionally, having a mom that performs incredible feats in the kitchen was even more incentive to begin my own culinary adventures. 

Like any child, I was a picky eater and admittedly even now there are certain foods I will not eat: mushrooms, avocado, lamb, certain cheeses, eggs etc. Mostly it's the texture of the food that will either win me over or prevent me from further sampling. Yet, in some ways my palate has grown and I have become adventurous in trying the unusual (haven't had the chance to do it as much as I'd like). My food motto has morphed into "if I'm traveling to a country, I want to experience their local and weirdest cuisine." Pretty daring for me, considering getting sick in a foreign country is not my idea of a good time.   

So, with the help of some friends (read Saveur) I happily embarked on my food adventures. As my affinity for cooking and eating grew so did my sources of inspiration.

Julie and Julia

 

became for me a symbol of the trials, mishaps and delicious accomplishments experienced by one who goes, does and cooks.

Once others received word of my undertakings, I was only supplied with an even greater number of inspiration. Brian's mom subscribed me to Food Network Magazine, the first issue arrived in the beginning of January 2011 and there are delicious pancakes that I want to try my hand at making. Brian bought me The Good Housekeeping Cookbook and my mom bought me Around My French Table.  All in all, I am ready! The only factor stopping me from taking step one is the idea I ingrained into my own head- I want to eat healthy.

How do I combine health and flavor without cutting out ingredients? I don't know but am on a mission to find out! 

Hiatus. Over.

Hiatus over indeed.

I felt that my return should be accompanied by a new design, a homage to one of my favorite seasons and all the lovely, comforting foods that come with it. 

Ah yes! Food. In addition to a new design, I will be adding new content - Food. 

So with out further ado, I present my first official "culinary entry." 

-Sweet and Spicy Sausage Rounds-

Ingredients

• 1 lb Kielbasa sausage, cut into 1/4" rounds
• 2/3 c blackberry jam
• 1/3 c steak sauce
• 1 Tbsp prepared mustard 
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• add a side dish (I chose to make garlic mashed potatoes)

Slow Cooker Directions

1. place all ingredients except side dish in slow cooker; toss to coat completely. 
2. cook on High 3 hrs or until thickly glazed (I cooked on High 3hrs then Low 2hrs)
3. server over side dish

makes 3 cups

Before I begin with the photos (I'd add instructions, but that would be overkill since this dish is so easy to make), I must say that I used the above recipe more as a guideline and flavored the sausage as I saw fit
(read = added more of everything, but focused mostly on the blackberry jam)

sausage 

adding steak sauce to the sausage & blackberry jam (addition of mustard not shown)

cooking

the final product. tastes much better than it looks, I promise!

The above is courtesy of One Dish, Slow Cooker, Casseroles cookbook lent to me by my mommy ( :] ) an amazing chef who I single-handedly credit with my love for food as well as my passion for cooking.

Sadly, the disconnect from "I love food" to actual cooking, came from me never being one to cook for myself. However, I love having someone to cook for! and now that B and I are homeowners I have a permanent "someone" to stuff full of food (and the accompanying  happiness, well that's just a perk!)

B's critical voice: dinner was exceptional.

Thus ends my first ever culinary post. I hope you enjoyed it my dear readers.         

The College Life, Take 2

There is nothing better in life than giving up financial independence, free time, a carefree existence, time with cherished friends and family, all for the purpose of pursuing a dream. This dream that I speak of was more of a passion, a passion to obtain a greater fulfillment from my life expressed through serving others.

I followed my dream wholeheartedly, my mind shielding me from remembering the penniless existence I used to lead as a [first time] college student. The little naive me that I was, only some 15 months ago, happily threw caution to the wind and embarked on said dream by giving up my adulthood life and all the luxuries that came with it.

Now, the older and wiser me yearns for the simple luxuries of life- a homemade meal, like the ones I used to make from scratch (and let's not forget the Love added in for good measure).

So, yesterday I couldn't help but laugh at myself when I unpacked my groceries and to my amused horror had bought -

And ate this for dinner:

I must say, this takes me back to the days of being a [first time] college student on a small budget and a diet consisting of tater tots, Ramen Noodle Soup and Snapple Ice Tea.

Guess I've upgraded to fancier noodles, added a little nutrition to my meal, and now pay $2 for a half gallon ice tea. Yep, life is good.