Fun in the Fridge December 3, 2007

Welcome to this week’s edition of “What’s in My Fridge?” At least once a week I find myself cooking for one. Now, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are all well and good, but sometimes a girl wants more! So, I hit the cupboards and icebox for inspiration. This week’s feature? I’ll call it Egg Noodle a la’ This and That. (Sounds appetizing, doesn’t it?)

First, prepare egg noodles bought 2 months ago for a Stroganoff never made.

Chop the 1/4 red pepper left from Bombay Rice the Monday before Thanksgiving. (still good!)

Chop small shallot your dad bought you on your “cooking adventure weekend” while Hubby was in D.C.

Sautee’ veggies with minced garlic, and the tiniest bit of olive oil (both are staples in my kitchen).

Eventually, you should decide to add some salt and pepper. Always a good idea.

Then, eye your spice rack suspiciously, hoping something will strike your fancy. When it doesn’t, in true Katherine style, open each jar and sniff while also inhaling the aroma of onions and peppers to see if it would compliment the veggies. Aha. Thyme smells like it might be right. Who knows!?

Crush Thyme between your fingers to release flavors. Stir until aromatic.

Drain pasta. Grab the capers left from Lemon Caper Pesto w/ Fusili and Spinach, toss in a few with the veggies, stir just until hot.

Toss veggies with hot noodles and a tsp of butter (because I like noodles w/ butter!) . Grate a sparse amount of the Parmeggiano Romano blend you bought for Russell’s Caesar salads, that he doesn’t eat anymore, on top.

Now, because you are never really sure how it’s going to come out, it is also a good idea to snag the last half-glass of the $4 wine your hubby brought home the other day. Chances are, even though it was only $4, and took no effort on your part, the wine will turn out better than the pasta. In which case, eat as much as you can stand, then drink the wine. You might be lucky enough to drown the odd aftertaste of capers and thyme.

Aren’t you glad you didn’t come to my house tonight?!

Funny, isn’t it? May 4, 2007

It’s funny how God likes to mix things up. Usually at the time you least expect it. Or how He increases your knowledge of something immediately before sending you into a situation totally unrelated. For instance, I learned yesterday that next Tuesday is my first day as a “professional” anything.  A job I have been waiting for since early February, and a process I started in December (I’m stoked!).  Oddly enough, I just began reading the book “The Hidden Art of Homemaking” by Edith Schaeffer. This book is about how to make a living space a real home, how to enrich your life with creativity and sensitivity to your surroundings.  It’s brilliant, and inspiring, and gives an aspect of elegance and ownership to life wherever we live it.  You just need to read it. Especially if you are one of my newly married or engaged friends! Edith (we are on a first name basis :)) inspired me to accomplish some tasks I have wanted to do, like refinishing some furniture, as well as adding some plant life to our decor. That was Wednesday. Thursday I found out my new job starts next week! Funny, isn’t it? Now I begin the phase of my life where I balance my marriage, work, home, and personal growth as a woman.  Thankfully, Edith offers advice on how to combine them all! My personal growth is affected by my creative expression, my home benefits from these expressions, and as a whole, my marriage is happier and my job is more enjoyable because I am cultivating those areas of life that are often supressed by work and stress. I know this sounds like a self-help book, but it’s not. It is a really practical guide to being creative. You know the best part? Edith puts is perfectly:

“It seems to me that the marks of personality-love, communication, and moral sensitivity- which are meant to sharpen as we are returning to communication with God, should lead to an increased rather than a decreased creativity. The Christian should have more vividly expressed creativity in his daily life, and have more creative freedom, as well as the possibility of a continuing development in creative activities.”

“Nevertheless we have been created in His image, so we can be, and are made to be, creative.”

Who knows? Maybe I’ll get around to removing the macaroni-yellow paint from my antique dressing table, or growing some herbs (See manicotti post below).  Let’s just get through the first week on my new job!

Hello world! April 12, 2007

Welcome to my yummy world! I hope to share recipes, cooking disasters, cooking successes, spiritual insights, and things on my mind. Hopefully, cooking will not be the only thing I write about, but it is one of my greatest joys, and I want to share that with you, whoever you are! If you don’t mind a bit of bad language, I recommend the book Julie/Julia, as it is loosely the inspiration for a blog like this. So, please try the recipes, and avoid my mistakes, and let me know what you think, about anything, and, I’m always up for a good laugh!