A quilter’s gotta eat, too

This is a post about food.  MMMMMMmmmmmm.

I like to cook.  I like to eat.  What I don’t like is figuring out what to cook.  Many Sunday mornings, I’d look at the grocery list and think, what will we eat this week?  It made me hate to make the list.  But, I’m no good at helter-skelter shopping either.  I need a list to make sure I get all the ingredients.  I think my Mom had everything to make everything, so she just needed to keep everything stocked.  Not us.

My favorite cookbook has always been this one.

I’m pretty sure that my Mom got it as a wedding gift.  At some point, I got to go through her cookbooks and this is one I took.  In fact, this isn’t really the one she got way back then.  I used the one she got so much over the last 20 years that it was wearing thin.  So, when I found another one, in better condition, in an antique shop, I snapped it up and now my Mom’s has a special place where it is protected. 

I mean, who wouldn’t want to make a luscious glazed ham, studded with cloves?

Or lasagna?

Or chocolate cake and peppermint ice cream?

Or apple pie with cheese slices?  (incidentally, best apple pie recipe ever!)

Or whatever the heck this is?

There’s even a chapter on table settings, and who doesn’t want his guests to sit down to this?

But, it was a bit dated.  I still used it for instructions to bake ham and roast turkey and bake an old fashioned cake or cookies and that apple pie that’s to die for.  But there were easier ways to make so many things and much more diversity in our diet.  So, when I found a new edition, from the 90’s, I snapped it up.  But, beware, because the one from the 90’s is not as good; all quick fix, combine a half dozen cans and call it dinner kind of food.  That one went to goodwill.  Then, I found a new one from 2003.

$2.50 in an antique shop.  And, I can tell you, it is a wonderful cookbook.  I made a few recipes out of it and then, one Sunday morning, when I was staring at that grocery list, trying to decide what we were going to be in the mood for on Thursday, I decided to pull all that week’s meals from this cookbook. 

And, that was the start of a great idea.  What it evolved into is an attempt to make all the recipes in the book, Julie and Julia style.  I’m not working from front to back like she did, but instead, I pull a recipe from the grilling section and one from the crockpot section and one from the meat section and one from the poultry section, working those sections front to back, and if I add something from one of my other cookbooks, like something Thai or Indian, I manage to make the whole family happy.

And, we’re getting some new experiences.  We’ve had different flavored roasts, and oven fried and oven barbequed chicken, Steak au Poivre, Chicken in a variety of sauces, and stir fries.  Last night, we had Stroganoff and I’ve successfully smoked my first brisket, tho it took two tries. 

I’ve only had to skip one recipe.  Gingersnap pot roast didn’t sound all that yummy, and it had sweet potatoes and Rob doesn’t do sweet potatoes.  He had an unfortunate run in with them as a child and I have to candy them secretly, for myself, at Christmas. 

Because I’m choosing from different sections, we’ve barely scratched the surface of what this book has to offer…tho I’m not sure what we’ll do when we get to the lamb section.  Around here, you’re more likely to find goat at the market than lamb.  I don’t even know if my store has a section for lamb.  So, we’ll likely skip some recipes there, too. 

Not only is the family enjoying the experience because the results are good and diverse, but I’m enjoying it, too.  It is so easy not to have to think about what we’ll eat next week.  It’s all written down for me in order.  And, I get to try a variety of techniques (I confess, I’d never used a rub and rarely a marinade other what worcestershire and italian dressing. 

Now, I can think about how to quilt the perfect feathers in the perfect stitch length in the perfect quilt top…daydreaming…

Have a great Tuesday.  If the Syglet is nervous about Friday, she’s keeping it pretty close to the chest.  We’re being very indulgent, while still reminding her where the lines are.

Lane