Re-Creating the Moments

It's time to take a step away from my culinary problems and look at my not-so-crafty side. I grew up in a crafty house, with a mother who can sew, embroider, crochet, and generally make nice-looking holiday crafts. In fact, I have fond memories of watching her and a friend turn out all kinds of Christmas crafts while I played around with the scraps they tossed my way. I knew my creations were simplistic (even ugly), but I was little and everything I did was simple. I couldn't wait until the day I got bigger and made "real" crafts.

I'm still waiting.

Case in point: many parents make lovely photo albums or scrap books for their children. I forget to take pictures. Or miss the cute ones and then force my very young offspring to "do it again" so I can attempt to capture it. Last year, Hannah did so many adorable things while we were camping and almost every time I had to a) borrow a camera (I forgot mine, for the third year in a row); and then b) ask to her re-do the pose.

"Hannah, go back in the tent and poke your head out. Good. Now put your head in your hands and stare into the distance with a dreamy look on your face."

Just recently, Jacob had his first official haircut. Of course, I didn't have a camera. I tried to let it go, but just couldn't, so a week later I took him back and asked if I could take some fake shots of him in the chair with the cape. The stylist was even kind enough to comb his hair as if she were about to cut it to make the pictures more authentic.

I feel like this wouldn't happen to Martha.

A Recipe for Cement

About 4 years ago, right after I had my first baby, a friend brought me some individual-sized, home-made, frozen chicken pot pies. The first time I had one, I was hooked. These delicious, one-dish meals were full of flavour and vegetables (two things sadly lacking in my own cooking). She said they were easy to make and passed on the recipe so I could fill my freezer with a healthy supply.

It took me 2 years to finally summon the courage to attempt what did not look like an "easy" recipe at all. But, I pulled up my shirt sleeves and resolved to make a large batch. I cooked the chicken. I washed, cut, and cooked the vegetables. I had my store-bought pie shells ready. I just needed to make the filling and thicken it with cornstarch. The recipe said something like "add cornstarch to thicken". What kind of instruction is that? I started small, without any real idea of how much cornstarch I should be adding. I stirred and stirred and that filling did not thicken. I added more cornstarch. Still nothing. By the time I had added more than a cup of the stuff, I started to become concerned. Then I read the box. Oh. It thickens over heat. A helpful thing to know. So I brought my cornstarch-saturated mixture to a boil. And boy did it thicken. It solidified right in the pot. I scooped it into my pie shells, crossed my fingers, and froze all 30 portions.

Inedible portions, it later turned out. And this is why this project is so important. I clearly need help.

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

As per my first post, I don't (or I should say, didn't) cook with fresh herbs. To be honest, I hardly even cook with spices. I used to have this one spice called "Allspice" and I thought it pretty much covered everything. To me, it tasted great. I used it on meat, potatoes, whatever. But my husband hated it. So I replaced it with a variety of other familiar-sounding flavours: oregano, thyme, garlic, etc. In fact, we got an entire spice rack filled with exotic ingredients as a wedding present. That was 6 1/2 years ago. I still use those same spices, which says something about how often I actually incorporate spices into my meals.

I know - spices have a shelf life. What is it? 6 months or something like that? Well, I always thought that the ones I have still seemed fine after 6 years. Except for the ones that have hardened into unusable solids. But I never used those ones anyway. Needless to say, I am looking forward to learning how different spices and flavours will enhance the increasingly complex meals I will be making. And since my own collection of spices just might be past its "best before" date, I especially like the idea of using fresh ingredients, where practical.

My husband, Scott, is probably looking forward to food with some flavour. Although secretly, I still think that "Allspice" had something going for it!

First Time with Fresh Herbs

The title of this post alone should give you a pretty good idea of my skills in the kitchen. So I am proud to proclaim that last night I made a pasta sauce from scratch, using actual leaves of basil. Not even store-bought basil - this was straight out of somebody's garden. There was still dirt on it, that's how fresh it was.

We love pasta in our house. It features on our menu at least once or twice a week (when you only have 4 things you know how to make, repeats are unavoidable). I used to absolutely love Original Ragu with Ground Beef, but then they changed their recipe and their sauce became very watery. I tried a few other brands and couldn't find anything I really liked. The thought of making my own sauce was very appealing to me; however, it also was also strangely intimidating. Opening a jar had set a very simple precedent.

Enter my first "expert" or cooking coach. Chanthone ("Martha blown-out-of-the-water") offered to provide me with one recipe/week to start building my cooking repetoire and skills. And so I attempted a sauce made from fresh tomatoes, fresh garlic, and fresh basil (courtesy of Chanthone's garden). It was restaurant-style good. Now, I realize my standards might be somewhat disadvantaged, but this recipe put me in a whole new level of cooking ability. I cooked with fresh herbs, for Pete's sake!

If this is the type of progress I see after one day, I'm almost scared of what a year will do. I just might be giving Martha tips!

The Recipe: (written in language for a non-cook)

Fresh Tomato Sauce

2 tbsp. olive oil or butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
Saute in frying pan until softened (2-3 min.)

Add:
2 stalks green onions chopped (I did have to call a friend to see what parts of the onion you use...)
2 medium tomatoes, diced into 1" cubes
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar

Simmer over medium heat until everything is soft and looks like chunky sauce. Add 1 tbsp. basil (approx. 5 large leaves), finely chopped (stack leaves together, roll it cigar style, and slice thin slivers). Adding the herb last will give you a fresher taste of the herb.

If you want to add chicken (I did), add boneless, cut-up pieces of raw chicken after the garlic has softened and cook until the chicken is done. Then add the rest of ingredients as listed.