It's Beginning to Sound a Lot Like Christmas...

Actually, it starting sounding like Christmas on November 1. We could probably listen to it all year long, but I don't want to get bored with it. I want it to be special music for a special time of year. In fact, this year, I did something I've never done before. I took the time to get to know the lyrics. I wanted to pull out the lyrics that described what I thought Christmas was about. Some of them are just words pulled from songs, others are phrases. All of them are things that I want to remember about this time of year. Today I am going to share some of my favorites.

• Tis the season to be jolly! 
• Jolly= full of happiness and joy. 
• Let your heart be light
• The holidays are a reminder of missing loved ones (or not being married or not having kids or being away from family). These reminders are often painful and weigh down our hearts. During this season, we can take hope in the fact that because He was born, He was able to fulfill the requirements of the Atonement. This isn't a season to dwell on our losses. It is a time to feel the peace knowing that those losses will be made up for.
• Don't cry, I'll be back again some day.
• Okay. This was from Frosty the Snowman, but think about it in a different light. We celebrate Jesus Christ coming to Earth. Someday, we will get to celebrate Him coming again. That day, there will be no more tears.
• Making spirits bright
• I think there is definitely a theme to Christmas songs. Let the magic of this time of year touch your hearts, uplift your spirits, and renew your hope for the next year. 
• Offspring of a virgin's womb
• This is one of my favorite miracles. Jesus Christ had to be the offspring of God in order to fulfill his mission on Earth. He had to be the offspring of man to be subject to death and to understand the spectrum of feelings associated with being mortal. Because He was Mary's son, He can understand the trials I go through in a way that no one else can. 
• Let every heart prepare him room
• It is easy to fill this time of year with shopping, planning, decorating, baking, etc. Those things can all be important, but it is most important to make room for Him in our hearts.
• There's a happy feeling nothing in the world can buy
• Happiness, peace, and love come from the Savior. Nothing can replace that. 
• Laughing all the way
• Don't forget to laugh! Watch funny movies and spend time with family and friends sharing the love of Jesus Christ.
• Remember Him as you picture Christmas this year
• Plan ahead so that when you think about how Christmas of 2013 was, the Savior was at the center of your celebrations.

There were so many more, but they all reiterate the same message of Christmas: Focus on the Savior this holiday season and your hearts will be filled with peace and love. That will always be better than any gift you will receive. I hope that this will encourage you to listen to beautiful Christmas music and listen to the lyrics as you decide what you want your Christmas to be this year.

Let it Snow!

My favorite three months of the year are November, December, and January. Yep. Today you get to know why.

November: Two reasons. Gratitude and food. I am happier when I think about the things I have been blessed with. There are a lot. I learned long ago to be specific. Make a really long list of things you are grateful for and you have less time worrying about the things that are going wrong or things you lack. (Don't be specific about those things. Doesn't help you have a thankful heart. Just makes you eat more.) I am so sad about the commercialization of Thanksgiving. It makes me so sad that Thanksgiving is cut short for shopping. Thanksgiving should be a day you spend time with your family playing games and watching movies and eating delicious food. It should not be a day that people are trampling over each other for a sale. Nothing is worth that. The end.

The food should go without saying. It is delicious. I love it all. I love that it brings families together to cook. Sounds like me, doesn't it? Food with family. It's such a perfect holiday. Plus if you make a lot (like my family), you have leftovers for days. Thanksgiving could last all weekend if you plan it just right. 

December: I love the snow that usually comes with the final month of the year. That's what prompted me to blog today. It started snowing last night and isn't going to stop for a couple of days. Plus temperatures aren't going to be over 30 degrees all week, so it is just accumulating. I love sitting inside, cuddled under a blanket watching it snow. I have always loved shoveling snow. I love how pretty it makes everything. I love how quiet it makes everything. Finally, I love seeing the animal tracks in the snow. Am I the only weirdo that looks for tracks in the snow whenever I am in the car? Yes? Then forget I said anything. Pretend I am normal. Or just don't judge. Even better, try it! It is fun to see the pathways they take.

My favorite time in December is Christmas. I love Christmas music. We have a rule in our house that we can't start listening to Christmas music until November 1. You would think that would be easy, but I could listen to some Christmas music all year long. We want to make Christmas a very special time, so we limit the music to two months instead of twelve. Christmas is always special because we get to focus on such an amazing part of our Savior's life on Earth: the beginnings. It's such a fascinating and humbling story. I love getting to spend time studying those stories in the scriptures. I have so much respect for Mary and Joseph. I will talk more about the Nativity story another post. (Bonus - I will also talk about Christmas music in another post. Yes, you're welcome.) December in my family also means a repeat of Thanksgiving dinner plus a ham. Yum.

January: At the beginning of January everyone is determined to be their best self. Yeah, it doesn't usually go beyond January, but it's nice while it lasts. No, I'm not one of those people. I don't like people telling me when I should make a decision to be better. I am just going to like myself how I am and try each day to be a little better. I don't have a deadline for my resolution, and somedays I fail. Luckily, I don't have to wait an entire year before trying again. It's nice.

I was born in January. I love having a birthday in January. (Things go on sale after Christmas so my birthday presents can always be purchased on sale.) I get presents a month after Christmas so if something is missed at Christmas, I only have to wait a month. Plus it is still cold and snowy. Plus it is a day that is dedicated to me. I get to pick what I want for food and I usually get ice cream or ice cream cake. Yum. (Apparently, everything revolves around food in my life. I like it.)

I am going to enjoy the next couple of months and I will try and blog to share the things I have been keeping from you. Sorry about that, by the way. I'll be better. You'll see.

Road Trip, Part 2: The Food

If I am being honest with myself, I would admit that the reasons for this road trip were three-fold: listening to my husband speak, visiting his family and old stomping grounds, and eating delicious food. I am not going to tell you the order of those reasons though. Feel free to guess.

Today, I want to talk about the food. Oh, the food. Have you ever planned a vacation around places you want to visit... to eat the food they have there? If you have, we should be friends. That's one of the first things I look into when we go anywhere. We had a list before we went on our trip and hit every single one (plus some extras). So before you keep going, you have to promise not to judge. I already know that I ate way too much, but it was part of a plan. I wanted to eat so much delicious food that I would be sick of Southern food and wouldn't miss it as much while I was in Utah. Spoiler alert: I ate enough food to make me sick, but not sick of Southern food. Sad, I know.

I love food from the South. I can't believe I went 25 years without knowing what it was really about. I can't believe part of that time was spent at culinary school where the are still convinced the French know everything about cooking and that the best of food comes from there. Well, I am here to tell you that there are people from France (not sure who they are, but I'd like to meet them someday and hug them) who moved to the South and perfected an aspect of food the French don't get. So, what I am trying to say is that Le Cordon Bleu needs to add a completely new class focusing on barbecue. (Noun, not a verb.) Teachers would need to be from the South. I am willing to interview for those positions, in case you have connections and can set this all up.

I am ready to tell you about the places we visited. (Don't worry, I have a towel nearby for when I start drooling. Yes, that will probably happen. No, I will not tell you when.) We stopped for the first night just outside of Wichita, Kansas. We decided we would only eat at places we don't have in Utah so up first was Long John Silvers. I know what you are thinking. It isn't BBQ and seems like an odd choice since it is a chain. Well, at one point in our lives, Joe and I lived close to a LJS and fell in love with their tacos. It's weird, but they are good. Plus I really like their shrimp and the coleslaw is delightful. I am sure there will be a LJS in Utah soon. (They keep playing commercials for it, and that happened just before they opened a Popeyes so it makes sense.) 

Next in line wasn't a restaurant. Joe's aunt is exactly what I picture when I think of someone from the South. She is so sweet and welcoming. I will tell you more about her in another post, but I had to mention that she made us dinner. She knew that we would only be at her house for a little while before having a dinner meeting with the organizers of the event in Memphis. She couldn't let us stop without feeding us. It was so good - home-made rolls and pasta. Yum. The only downfall was that she was worried about making food for me since I went to culinary school. I feel so bad when people say that. (Please know that I am not a food critic. I am just a food lover. I'm not a picky eater and food is always good when it is made with love. The end.)

That dinner meeting happened at Texas Road House. It made me a little sad that it was a place we have out west, but I was craving steak, so it worked out. It was so good. I order my steaks medium-well to give chefs a break. I don't want to be that person that sends back her steak for a different temperature. I like my steaks medium-well, but I will eat it at medium and well-done. So everyone wins. Luckily, it was perfectly medium-well. The only other thing I will say about Texas Road House is that I don't usually order steaks there. I love their salmon. Yum.

From now on, I won't tell you when we ate at the following places, I will just tell you about them. We went to Krystals next. It is a Southern White Castle. We actually tried both on this trip, and with a vote of 2-0, Krystals is the little hamburger place of choice. I think that the chili cheese pups tipped the scales. (Imagine chili cheese dogs that are about 3 inches long. Then call them pups instead of dogs. CUTE!) 

The first BBQ place we went to is Joe's favorite BBQ sandwich. (That means it is a pulled pork sandwich. It comes with pulled pork, a little sauce on top and coleslaw.) Tops BBQ was good. They toast their buns which is a big plus in my book, but they didn't have a spicy version of their sandwich. I love spicy things. So this wasn't my favorite. 

Next up was Kream Kastle. It is Joe's mom's favorite. It is in Blytheville, AR. She talks about it when we talk about BBQ. So we couldn't be that close and NOT visit. We also couldn't visit and not send her a picture to rub it in. (Don't worry, I am not cold hearted, she had it a couple months ago.) It was good BBQ. Definitely better than anything we have tried in Utah, but this one wasn't my favorite either.

 

This one is my favorite. Leonard's BBQ catered the speaking event in Memphis. Oh my goodness. The pork had a perfect smoky flavor and was super tender. They had hot BBQ sauce that was to die for. Seriously. So. Good. Joe went up after the dinner to ask the Leonard's employee if they sold it in their restaurant. Best thing about people in the South. They are super nice. This guy told him that of course they sell it, but that he should just take a bottle. So I got to bring a piece of heaven home with us. Something you should know about Leonard's is that they make a mustard coleslaw. It's different than any other coleslaw I've had and so delicious. It helped make the sandwich.

The next place we went was for my brother-in-law. It is one of his favorites. Corky's. I should mention here that one of my favorite things about visiting all of these places was the smell outside the restaurants. You can smell the flavored smoke. It is the perfect hook to get people to buy food. If I lived in the South, I would have to run errands on the same day because once I was out of the house and smelling the delicious food, I would have to buy it. I wouldn't have a choice. Corky's was really good. I had their BBQ nachos.  

Picture this: tortilla chips topped by pulled pork, jalapeños, cheese sauce and a dusting of their BBQ rub. Yes, please. After the nachos, I realized I needed to take rub and sauce back with me. They sell that stuff everywhere. I ended up with two kinds of sauce from Corky's and sauce and rub from Rendezvous.

That brings me to Rendezvous. I loved Rendezvous. Since they are famous for their ribs, I decided to try them. That's new for me because I don't eat meat off the bone. It grosses me out. Turns out, I do eat meat off the bone when it is that good. They were so tender. The rub was so flavorful and the hot BBQ sauce was perfect. 

I had sauce all over my fingers and face by the time I was done. It was worth it. Luckily, in places like that, people don't judge when you make a mess because they are doing the same thing. They have the little moist towelettes on every table. You need to use those when you are finished. When we were done eating, we watched the guys in charge of the smoking.

I wanted to move in. They had a wall of smokers built in and you could see the stacks of ribs and pork shoulders inside them. Now my dream house includes a smokehouse right next to my kitchen so we can smoke meat year round. You're welcome, future neighbors. 

That was the end of Memphis. It was perfect. We went to St. Louis from there and after such amazing food in Memphis, I had super high expectations for St. Louis. The first couple of things I want to mention all have to do with Joe's aunt and uncle. They were such amazing hosts. He smoked ribs for us (luckily, I already knew that eating them off the bone wasn't a problem) and made homemade potato salad that complimented the ribs perfectly. He also made jambalaya that was so good! They made breakfast for us every morning that we were there. Biscuits and white gravy, sausage, bacon, eggs, and finally chocolate gravy. I was introduced to chocolate gravy just after we got married. It is still a little new to me, but it started growing on me after trying his uncle's version. 

The last place in St. Louis that warrants mentioning is in the section known as The Hill. It was settled by Italians and has the cutest fire hydrants. 

They also have bakeries and Italian restaurants. We went to Zia's. Let's start with toasted ravioli. This is my new challenge. I want to make them. I want to have the marinara sauce from Zia's. The recipe will do. It was so perfect. It didn't have the sweet or bitter flavors some sauces have. It was perfect. I can't say that enough. I wanted to drink it. Wish I was kidding. 

It couldn't be an Italian restaurant without bread and dipping sauces. They had such delicious olive oil to dip bread in. I got a salad with my entree. The dressing was so good. The entree was perfect. (Can you tell that I wouldn't change a thing about this restaurant?) Let me tell you why. Here is the description: Mostaccioli prepared in a sage cream sauce with fresh grilled chicken, bacon, broccoli, tomatoes, and mushrooms. Topped with blended Italian cheese and seasoned bread crumbs and baked. Yep. It was as good as it sounds. 

Just found out they sell the sauce and olive oil online. Yes, you may get that for me for Christmas. I will share with you. Maybe.

There is only one place left to tell you about. I am a little sad this is the end of the list. On our way home, we stopped in Ogallala, NE for the night. They are in the middle of nowhere and Urbanspoon had high ratings for the Peking Chinese Restaurant. Sounds a little weird that Chinese food would be good in NE, but we tried it anyway. It was really good! Plus the owner was so funny. We got it to go and when I walked in to pay, she asked about where we were going while she was running my card. After she was done she said goodbye without giving my food. Then she laughed and went to get it for me. It was super cute. 

This was such a great food vacation! I am so glad we got to go to all of these wonderful places. I can't wait to go back and do it all over again! The only thing I will change is remembering to pack antacids. 

Road Trip, Part 1: The Drive

I lived in the same house from the time I was born until I graduated from high school. My parents still live in that house. My grandparents live 5 miles away and have lived in that house from the time my mom was 8. The town never really changes. I love it.

My husband's life was completely different. He started out in the Memphis area, spent most of his time in Europe until high school graduation. He spent most of his vacation time in St. Louis with family. He moved several times and lived in different countries. His life fascinates me because I have no idea what those things are like. I was never the new girl and never had to learn a new language to go to elementary school.

It took all of about an hour to give him a tour of my town and the places that are important to my history (the hospital where I was born, the schools I went to, favorite restaurants, and other random places I like). There are so many places that are meaningful to my husband, it would take years to cover them all.

That is why I was so excited when he was invited to speak in front of constitutionally-minded groups in Memphis, Tennessee and St. Louis, Missouri. I finally got to see some of the places he would tell me about. It was a dream vacation. I am going to break it up into several different parts because we packed about a million things into 8 days.

We decided to drive so we wouldn't have to worry about renting a car to visit all of the places we had on our list. (Oh, the lists. I had a list of things to pack, a list of food to take with us, a list of food places we wanted to visit, and a list of places we wanted to visit. It was delightful. I love lists.) So we drove. We left at 5 and drove all day. We listened to books and music. We talked and laughed. The miles flew by! (Not kidding.)

We packed soda, water, stuff for turkey and cheese sandwiches, cookies, chips, and grapes. I packed them in the very back of the trunk so I could have access to it all through the back seat without making a mess of the back seat. (I like having a clean car when we travel.) I also kept a garbage sack and threw it out every time we stopped to fill the car up. It was a perfect system.

Next tip - I packed two bags for us to take. One of them had all the stuff we would need for an overnight stay somewhere and I would repack it when we stayed somewhere longer than that. It was nice to just take one bag into the hotels we stayed in. Also, I packed the cooler with ice when we left and put everything into the fridge as soon as we got to the hotel. Before leaving, I would pack a new bag of ice from the hotel and repack the cooler. It kept everything nice and cold. I kept gallon-sized baggies in the trunk for that very reason. Worked like a charm.

We got to drive through part of Oklahoma. That is where my dad served his mission. I spent a while that morning talking to him about places we were driving through and taking pictures of road signs for him. It was so fun! I wish he could have been there to show us around. How fun!

Driving through Kansas and Oklahoma, we went over several toll roads. I am not sure what they spend that money it. Hint: It's not the road. I tried several times to get rid of all the pennies we had stored up in the car. They didn't want the pennies any more than I did. Too bad.

Since we made the trip in 8 days, it was a LOT of driving. By the end of it, I was sick of being in the car, but I wouldn't have changed it! I love the mountains in Utah and Colorado. I loved the trees and changing leaves in the south. I love how pretty this country is. I love how different each area is. (Except the middle part. What is out there? No offense to those that live there and love it - I just don't see much from the freeway.)

I can't wait to tell you about the rest of the vacation! The food, the entertainment, the company. It was perfect. Plus I took about a million pictures! They may not be perfect, but it was the first time I was compared to a Japanese tourist. I was so proud! You'll love them.

How to: Make Perfect Brown Sugar

I would like to tell you a story today.

Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl who lived in a small town and loved to cook. (Read: when I was little, I loved cooking just as much as I do now. It was for different reasons then though. I loved being in the kitchen with my mom or dad and learning something new. Now I love to cook because it is a way I get to serve my family. I love that it involves all of my senses and allows me to be creative. Before you ask, yes, when I talk in real life I add parenthetical statements to most of my conversations.)

Back to my story. I loved baking with my mom. It was just so fascinating to me that you mix a couple of ingredients together to make bread and if you add a couple of different ingredients you could have cookies or a cake. It still fascinates me. (What a great blessing to have this kind of variety in our food. Imagine with me back to the first conversations about food on this planet. What if they would have decided we could just eat green foods or only foods that grow on trees? Instead, I can eat foods that grow in the ground, foods that are red and foods that come out of Twix wrappers. Delightful. {Man. I did it again. I'll try and do better the rest of this post. Promise.})

One day while my mom was working, I decided I would be a helper and bake cookies. I got out the butter and sugar and started mixing it - with a hand mixer, remember when we used those for everything? - then I realized that I didn't have any brown sugar. I was devastated. Here I was trying to be sweet and make something sweet and I was stuck. I wasn't old enough to drive and there wasn't a store within reasonable walking distance. I called my mom and asked her what to do. She, of course, offered to bring some home when she finished working. It would only have been a couple of hours waiting, but I was already in the mood and had everything else lined up on the counter. She told me that another option would be to make brown sugar. Oooohhhh! Yes! I wanted to do that one. She explained the process of mixing molasses and granulated sugar. Easy. She got a call a couple minutes later from a panicked daughter. I followed the recipe just like she told me to, but it was too gooey and dark and clumped. She gently told me to add more sugar and I would be just fine. I overdid it. It was like cream colored sugar. You can imagine this process went on for a little while until I had two massive bowls of brown (ish) sugar waiting for my mom when she finally got home from work. I don't even remember if the cookies ended up being made.

I will never forget that first day of making brown sugar because I knew I would never make it again. It didn't matter how expensive brown sugar became, I would never try that again.

Like most people, I don't like to lose or fail, so I decided to try again. I was smarter about it the second go-around. I didn't follow the recipe on the molasses jar. (Should someone tell them that their recipe is off?) I started with sugar and added molasses until I had the perfect balance. I like it to have a rich flavor, but not be overly sticky. This recipe is perfect for baking, making BBQ sauce, and for adding a rich/sweet flavor to other sauces. Luckily for you, I will give you the recipe I came up with and you won't have to have a traumatic experience. You're welcome.

Brown Sugar
5 c granulated sugar
2/3 c molasses

This amount fits perfectly into my small KitchenAid mixer and I do two batches to fit into my storage container. I actually tried this two different ways this week to see which worked best. I added half the molasses and mixed it in and then added the next half and mixed that in. I also just dumped it all in. It made no difference. So make it easy on yourself. Just dump it all in and mix it up. The only thing you need to remember is that you need to scrap the sides of the bowl several times because the molasses likes to stick to it instead.

Also, I took pictures so you have an idea of what everything will look like. The pictures are from the time first attempt when I added the molasses in two batches. You'll still get the idea.

You will notice the little chunks of molasses. Don't worry. They will go away as you mix it all together.

Yum.

Scrape several times and you will end up with smooth brown sugar. It is stickier than store-bought brown sugar. Don't worry. That is a good thing. It helps keep it from getting dry and hardening.

Perfectly contained. I just use a measuring cup to put it in my container. Try not to pack it into your container.

Most of the time, I find that the price comparison is pretty even between making brown sugar and buying it pre-made. I prefer making it myself because that way I can buy bulk sugar and use part of it for brown sugar. I also like being able to control the amount of molasses I use. Plus, for those days that you make 5 or 6 different varieties of cookies and run out of brown sugar, you can just make it instead of going to the store. (I did that this week. It was delightful. I will share recipes soon.)

**Update - When I first posted this recipe, I told you to add granulated sugar and brown sugar. That doesn't make brown sugar. I corrected it to molasses. Thanks to a dedicated reader for catching my mistakes!**

Favorite Time of the Year

I love the couple of weeks of fall that Utah gets. I love watching the leaves change color. I love feeling the temperature lower. My husband laughs at me when I watch the news just so I can see how cold it will get the next day. It makes me smile. He laughs at me and bundles up. My poor Southern boy is cold blooded.

We've almost been married two years. They weren't lying: time flies when you are having fun. I love being with my best friend. We are pretty perfect for each other. I wouldn't change anything about our life. (Ok, that was a lie. I'd add a kid or two. That will happen when it is time, and since it isn't time, I'm as happy as can be.) We are celebrating two years by driving the entire day. Yay! Ok, so unlike life, it isn't about the journey. It is all about the destination. I am headed back to the South to eat BBQ. A lot of BBQ. I can't wait to tell you about the places we stop and the weight I plan on gaining. Delightful.

That isn't for a couple of weeks, so I needed something to keep my mind busy until then. Lucky for me, it is time for case lot sales. I hate to admit it, but I've spent the last couple of hours preparing for grocery shopping. No, I'm not using coupons. That scares me. I just study ads. You'd be surprised at the subtle differences in prices. I feel like this is a part of my job as a homemaker. I get to plan menus to feed my family. I feel good about my efforts when I save money and build up my food storage for a rainy day. (Or to eat right before we move again... Haha!) This week is filled win shopping trips that could take hours. I am so excited. Not kidding. My husband may not be as excited. I don't think he has ever been with me shopping at a case lot sale. How fun for him this time!

My tips for case lot sales come from eating food storage and liking to grocery shop.

1. Buy stuff you will use. Buy things you like and will eat. If you are unsure, just buy one can as a sample. I recommend doing that early in the week of case lot in case you like them. That way, you can buy more at a great price.

2. Check prices. Ads might tell you certain products are on sale, even if they are only a couple of cents cheaper. Grocery stores are trying to make money and will do that during case lot sales since we all equate those words with cheap prices. Just be aware of regular prices. I try really hard to keep track of sales prices for most of the items I buy. This helps me determine how good deals are and how much of certain products I should buy at certain price points. Is there a rehab program for grocery shopping addicts? I should look into that.

3. If grocery shopping panics you, go late at night or early in the day. Less people usually means less stress and less waiting around in lines.

4. One way I keep grocery shopping fun is remembering that this is one way I can serve my family. That makes it less like an item on my to do list and more like a way to help others. Perspective changes everything.

Those are my words of wisdom for today. My final thought is to remember to watch LDS General Conference this weekend. It will be amazing, trust me. Yes, I'll tell you all about my favorite talks next week sometime.

That's What I Get!

My procrastination came back to bite me. I got sick before I started getting things done. I got some kind of sinus infection so I spent a LOT of time sleeping this last week. I was always tired and even fell asleep during an important Cardinal game this week. That doesn't happen ever. Luckily, I woke up to learn that they won. I didn't make anything spectacular to eat. If I am being honest, I didn't cook most days. My husband took over with most things - cooking, cleaning, laundry, running errands, etc. What a great guy. Seriously. The good news is that getting sick cured me of wanting to procrastinate. I have wanted to tackle my to do list all week! Can't wait!

I am still coughing and my ears won't pop, but I am feeling so much better! I even cooked yesterday! Twice! I made egg salad sandwich - I will definitely share my recipe with you someday. It is so good. I also made a quick stir fry last night. It's one of my go to meals because I almost always have veggies to use for it and it comes together so fast. I get the rice going first, cutting vegetables while it comes up to a boil, and by the time I take the rice out of the oven, the vegetables are just about perfect. That's not bad for 25 minutes of work.

A couple of tips to make stir fry come together faster - pull out all of the ingredients you want to use at the beginning, pick 4 or 5 vegetables you want to use each time (you don't always have to use every vegetable every time), and sharpen your knife before tackling a chopping job like this to make it go much faster. People often say that you should have all of your vegetables chopped before you start a stir fry. It's a good idea, but if you are short on time, cut things in order of how you want to add them to the pan and cook while you cut. I always start with onions and bell peppers because I want them softest. Carrots usually come next. Don't forget to stir it while you are cutting and adjust the heat if you have to.

Last of all the updates for today is that our new couch was delivered yesterday! It's so nice. I've already taken a nap on it and am a BIG fan. It's comfy and is making me excited to decorate our house. (I have never decorated a house before and am crazy nervous about it. My creative outlet has always been cooking or writing. Now I get to convert my creativity to make our home reflect who we are. Should be interesting.) So stay tuned for my decorating ideas and cooking will start up again soon. I also have an idea forming for some blog posts in October. Couldn't be more excited about it, but I am not going to give you details yet. You'll just have to wait.

I'm still here.

I have all of these great intentions to blog and teach you about the things I'm learning almost every day. Instead, I think about my list of things to do and then I stop thinking about it and I procrastinate. I fill my days with reading, watching movies, playing words with friends, and cooking. I know that sounds lazy, but I am positive I'm not the only one who wants to have days like that.

I could give you a million reasons for me not wanting to tackle my to do list (Blogging is on there about a hundred times. It's quite the long list.) but at the end of the day, you just don't care and I can't blame you. Life finally calmed down and it's been glorious to get back to sleeping in and waking up in my own bed. I am slowly making my way back into the ranks of the productive people of the world. I made some good strides this week by deep cleaning, planning ways to decorate my new home, and searching for furniture I want to add to our collection.

I am not cooking a lot of new things lately, but I have to tell you about my favorite treat lately. Fruit salad. Oh my goodness. I made one for a family reunion earlier this month and haven't been able to stop. There are a million different ways to create a perfect fruit salad, but the recipe will always be different for everyone. I usually add things like peaches, nectarines, strawberries, blueberries, mangoes, grapes, kiwis, and plums. You can add orange segments, pineapple, banana (I recommend adding this one right before you eat it - it adds a nice texture, but it can get mushy if added and stored with the other fruit.), you could also add different berries and melon. You can always add fresh mint if you have it. If you don't, basil is a GREAT substitute! I like adding thin slices of shallot just for a balance to the sweetness.

Now, you might say, "Gee, thanks for that list of fruit, Kylee. You're such a great food blogger. I like how detailed your recipes are and how much instruction you give with all of your recipes." To that, I say, "You're welcome... and I wasn't done. Stay with me."

When you make a fruit salad (or any salad), there are a couple of tricks and tips.

• The first will always be to try something new! If you had asked my husband if he wanted some nectarines a couple of weeks ago, he would have laughed at you because it was a fruit and probably a gross one. Well, he loves fruit salad as much as I do, so I call that a win. Don't fill your salad with a bunch of new fruit. Try one or two at a time. 
• Next, pick a color palette. Fruit salads are beautiful when you add several different colors, but they can be just as appealing if you stick to a single color. I usually plan my palette around fruits that are in season (and on sale).
• If you want to add a sweetness to your salad, I recommend mixing a little sugar with strawberries. I actually add basil and shallots to this step because strawberries won't lose flavor or texture by mixing them really well.
• Don't be afraid to cut your fruit into different shapes. They don't all have to be diced exactly the same size. You don't have to be crazy and make animal shapes, but you get bonus points if you do!

I am going to start praying for snow soon, so if you want to enjoy the last of summer (or summer/fall in Utah), I suggest you start with this salad. It's sweet and light and a perfect note to end a meal and the hot weather on.

Food Storage Challenge

I know that I have been missing the last couple of months. I also know that I start posts now with things like, "Remember when I used to post regularly and then I stopped?" Well, life really has been crazy. I don't know that it will be less busy the next couple of weeks, but I am hopeful that it will. I miss blogging!

Now to update you: We moved. The plan was perfect. I picked an area I wanted to live, figured out a price range that would make it worth it, and started looking at condos. Then all I had to do was pick the one I liked best. Easy, right? (I wasn't being selfish about places to live. My husband honestly didn't care about where we lived. He just wants me to be happy. He's sweet like that.)

Well, the most important step in that is that we wanted to feel that our choice was ratified by our Heavenly Father. So we kept looking at condos, talking about what we thought and felt, prayed, and moved on if it didn't feel good. The worst part was that none of them were right. I can't even count how many we looked at. I can't count the hours spent online looking at listings and telephone calls made to ask questions. It was a very overwhelming and discouraging process.

So we decided we wouldn't move. Unfortunately, our condo had already been rented to someone else. Well, we found a condo just around the corner. My wonderful husband talked down the rent and we just had to move around the corner. The only downfall is that we lived in a unit that had the garage on the first floor and the living area upstairs and we moved into a unit that is almost identical to that. We had to move stuff downstairs only to move them upstairs. Thank goodness for family! I would have died if we had to move it all alone. Not kidding. The only other weird part is that our new condo is just like our old condo but everything is backwards. It's been crazy getting to know our new place.

Okay, now that you are up to date with the big move, I think it is time again to talk about using our food storage. I really didn't want to move it from one place to another (especially now that I know that we are in an upstairs condo again). I kept it very simple the last couple of weeks because we have spent a lot of time with family. Let me tell you the most important thing I learned.

First, I didn't need to worry about our food storage. I should have worried about kitchen gadgets and BOOKS. Oh, the books. Boxes and boxes and totes full of books. Luckily, they are really light. (Oh how I wish you could see my face and hear the sarcasm dripping off my lips.) It's okay. They make me more smarter. Now moving them makes me more stronger. It's a win-win!

Haha! We are going out of town again this weekend, so I am not even grocery shopping this week. We are eating spaghetti, sandwiches, cereal, and more canned goods. We are starting a new food adventure on Monday. I don't know when I will first blog about it, but it's going to be good. There will be so many more recipes to share with you. I can't wait to start cooking again!

The Word of God

Do you remember when I used to post on my blog? I remember those days. Waking up each morning and deciding what to talk about that day. Making lists of things I wanted to tell you in the future. Planning our daily menu on what I wanted to make that day. *Sigh* Those were the good ol' days, weren't they?

I have had a lot on my mind lately. Don't worry. I am not going to take you on a journey through my head. Go to Disneyland instead. The animation is much better. (I will reiterate my previous confession that I am artistically challenged.) I would like to share one of my thoughts with you though.

I like that our experiences shape the way we look at the scriptures. For example, I love kids and want about a million of them. When I read in the scriptures the way the Savior reacts to having kids near Him, I feel better about the way my heart is drawn to them. It makes those stories more touching to me.

I am finding that because I spend so much time thinking about, studying, and reading about food, when things that can relate to food are mentioned in the scriptures, I have a different perspective than someone who cares enough about food to eat it. Does that make sense? I hope it does by the time I am finished today.

In Hebrews 4:12, there is a comparison that tugged at the corners of my mind for weeks. I'm going to copy the scripture here so you can stay with me.

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

I know this sounds weird, but it took me back to culinary school when we were butchering chicken. I was taught to use the joints as a guide to separate the thighs and wings from the chicken. It makes the work easier because you don't have to cut through bone. (Anyone in those classes can tell you that I was determined to be friends with a butcher so I didn't have to do those things. I don't like cutting through bones.) I only knew that marrow is inside bones. Impressive, right? I did some research. Basically, marrow is soft tissue inside bones that creates red blood cells. Red blood cells deliver oxygen to our organs. Without oxygen, they shut down. So, bone marrow is important.

That's the background of where my thoughts always lead when I read about joints and marrow. So you can imagine how I was a little confused about what it meant to divide joints and marrow. If you look at this phrase by itself it doesn't make much sense. However, if you compare it with dividing our body and spirit, it opens up an entire world of insights.

First, remember when I said that our experiences shape the way we look at the scriptures? Well, it's more than that. We read in the scriptures that we learn the gospel of Jesus Christ line by line and precept by precept. That doesn't mean that those lines and precepts are stacked on top of you until you feel overwhelmed. That means that we are presented with a line of the gospel and once we understand and are ready for more, we are given another line to help our progression. It is a very personal and merciful gospel.

The word of God can separate the temporal from the spiritual in our lives. As we read the scriptures and words of modern prophets and apostles, we can allow it to affect our temporal lives by choosing to keep the commandments found in them. (I think of this almost like a check list. Keep the Sabbath Day holy, don't kill, love your neighbor, etc.) We also have the choice to allow the words of God to affect our spiritual lives. We end up doing all of the things on the checklist, but we know why were are doing them. We are actually becoming like Christ.

Now, to use the joint and marrow comparison to come to that same conclusion. We know that joints are important for all of our movements. (Click here for my resource for this truth.) We don't always think that without marrow (and by extension, red blood cells and oxygen) having joints isn't enough to help you move. We can do those things on our checklist, but without knowing why and becoming better by doing them, it is almost like having a joint without the marrow necessary to move it.

Marrow carries oxygen to every part of our body. Every single part of our body. It helps our bodies reach their amazing physical potential. We can move, breathe, and ultimately create life. Our spiritual potential is just as incredible. Since we are literally His sons and daughters we have the potential to become like our Heavenly Father. The only way we can do that is to let the word of God "pierce" our souls and "divide asunder" those attributes that will keep us from reaching our potential. Then as He discerns our thoughts and the intents of our hearts, He will see us as He intended us to be: like Him.

Not What I Expected!

I thought it was time I update you on my experiment with eating through our food storage. I have learned so much! I like the challenge of making new things out of the same items, but I am learning that if I ever got to the point that I needed to use my food storage, I want more variety! I have a lot of oatmeal and vegetable soup and beans and beef stew left. I am still trying to figure out new ways to use it all without falling back on soup! (Did you know that you can make soup out of ANYTHING? It might not be so bad in the winter time, but soup gets a little old in the summer.)

I have also learned that I miss fresh vegetables and fruit. Those are most often the things I buy from the store now. (Yes, I shop for groceries. It is a lot less than I normally would though, and it is all perishable stuff. So, I don't consider it cheating.) I can't wait to have a house that has space for a garden. Then I can use the fresh produce from my garden for meals, then turn it into my food storage for the winter and spring and live happily ever after. *Sigh*

The next lesson I want to share with you is that you have to make sure you have something in your food storage for days you are craving something sweet. I will admit that I love to snack on honey nut cheerios. Before you panic, remember who is talking and realize that it is always going to be the less expensive and equally delicious, generic brand. *Cough, Cough, Western Family, Cough* (I'm not picky enough to need to spend crazy amounts of money on puny boxes. I am all about the massive bags of yumminess.) Even though these little snacks have a bit of sweetness, some days it just isn't enough. Have a stash of cookies or a brownie mix somewhere. (Or use your food storage to make something sweet. Just don't run out of butter or eggs. They are pretty important.)

I learned that things like rice, beans, and potatoes can help stretch just about anything. I mean, I knew that before, but didn't use it the way I am now. I now appreciate things about cooking that I didn't before: like falling back on stir fry for my go to meal during the week or not having to use a can opener every day. I like learning things like my pie dough can be frozen if it is wrapped nicely. Plus, I actually miss taking pictures of my food to tell you about it. Yes, I know the photos are lackluster at best, but I miss teaching you about my favorite recipes and tips and tricks.

The last thing I want to tell you is that I feel that everyone should spend at least a couple of weeks trying to eat through their food storage. See what you get sick of first and what you should have more of. Learn how to creatively use what you have on hand. It is important to have the confidence to open the cupboards after you haven't been shopping in a while and make a healthy meal for your family.

I love this part of homemaking. I love cooking. I love creating things that my family needs to survive. I believe that I was given a talent to have instincts in the kitchen and to find joy in serving my family in this way. I have really enjoyed this experiment, but I am looking forward to moving and returning to normal life in the kitchen. Feel free to count down with me. We're down to less than a month now!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Do you ever just want to bake? I have wanted to the last couple of days, and finally gave in today. I was so excited to have recipes to share with you, but I am terrible with the whole taking photos with each step of the cooking process. Sorry about that. Don't worry, I will share with you what I have and use my words to fill in the blanks.

First of all, let me tell you how I feel about baking. I love mixing ingredients and watching them transform. I like seeing yeast bloom and bread rise. I like knowing that cakes and cookies and breads use most of the same ingredients, but just by changing a few of the techniques, you end up with completely different products.

I was most excited about baking rolls today. Oh, how I love rolls. They are perfect for snacking and making sandwiches. Plus, who doesn't love dipping rolls in soups or sauces? Yum. So those were easily the first thing on my list today. I have the perfect recipe for easy, soft rolls. After I started kneading the finished dough, I realized that I hadn't taken any photos. Sorry again. I will make them again soon (because these perfect rolls freeze so well - you'd never guess they were frozen and then thawed) and I will probably take photos. So, keep being patient with these. I promise I'll share the recipe soon.

While my rolls were rising, I mixed up a quick batch of chocolate chip cookies. They are my husband's favorite. Good news? I took photos of these!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c Butter
3/4 c White Sugar
1 c Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
3/4 tsp Salt
3/4 tsp Baking Soda
3 c Flour
Chocolate Chips

Step 1. Soften the butter. (I usually get the butter out before I get all my other ingredients out so it can be softening while I work. Sometimes, I hold it in my hands (in the wrapper) to soften it faster. Then I cream it in my mixer for a while. Keeping your hands on the bowl help soften it quicker.)

Step 2. Add the sugars and cream well. It should look really similar to finished cookie dough at this point. Make sure you scrape the sides of your mixer several times while you combine the ingredients.

Step 3. Add the eggs, vanilla, salt, and baking soda. Make sure it is mixed well.

Step 4. Add the flour and slowly mix it in.

Step 5. When the flour is almost completely mixed in, add the chocolate chips. Mix for a couple of seconds, and you're done!

Step 6. Oh wait, no. Not quite. Bake them at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. In between each batch, I put the dough in the fridge so the dough doesn't get too soft.

Step 7. If you live in my house, you let the cookies cool and then you put them in the freezer.

You can replace some of the flour with wheat flour so you can pretend they are healthier. They are just as good.

After I made this batch, I made a batch of peanut butter cookies with peanut butter and chocolate swirled chips. They are delightful. I will share the recipe with you tomorrow. For now, I am going to finish watching The Host (while telling my husband how the book is different from the movie - I'm SURE he loves that part) and snacking on cookies and rolls. Perfect end to a busy day.

Quick Update

I didn't forget about you. I've just been busy. I'm still busy, but I wanted to let you know that I didn't throw in the towel. I still like blogging and still have things to say. Be patient with me. In the meantime, a funny story from last week.

So the day of my last post, the AC in my house stopped working. Completely. I watched in horror as the temperature rose from the standard 72 degrees to 75 then 80 and so on. Luckily, it was the start of a 6 day stretch of outside temperatures in the triple digits. A call was placed immediately to get it fixed. So we waited patiently. Read: Kylee used up all the ice in the freezer so she could try to stay cool. There were several drives in a nice cold car during the hottest part of the day and sometimes at 1 AM because your house shouldn't be 85 degrees that time of night.

My sweet husband decided that he was willing to do anything to help me feel more comfortable. Mostly because he is just that good. I think a little part of it may have been that extremely hot Kylee seems to be a close relative of the Kraken. He brought me bags of ice, planned a date during the day to sit in a cold theater, took me out to eat so I didn't have to cook. He made it bearable.

The coldest it got in my house was 84. The high was a whopping 91. I refused to dry my hair because that just meant more heat. (Go ahead and picture it, Kraken with hair that is dried funny who somehow seemed to sweat ALL day long.) I know it all sounds a bit melodramatic, but I am always hot anyway. I didn't use a coat a single day last winter. I wore a jacket a couple of times, and that was just when it stayed below freezing. That's saying something for Utah.

Luckily, it only lasted Thursday afternoon to Saturday night. It made me extremely grateful for AC and not having to live in a time or place that I would find extremely uncomfortable. Definitely not funny at the time, but I can laugh about it now!

Semi-Homemade Pot Pie

Okay, I finally got over the memories of baking class (and the mishap the night I posted about it). Now I can post about one of my favorite recipes. It's a super flaky pie crust that is the perfect topper for pot pies. It is SO easy to make. Don't be scared of it taking too long or being too difficult. Just remember the most important step when making pie dough: keep all the ingredients as cold as you can!

When I made it a couple of weeks ago, I didn't get the butter and shortening cold enough and it melted as I rolled it out. That just means that it didn't roll out nicely and I couldn't roll it over the pot pie nicely. It was awful. I cried. I refused to take a picture because it looked like a patchwork quilt gone very wrong. It still tasted good, but it wasn't pretty at all. Tonight's version is so much better. It's still not perfect, but it was getting hot and I had to hurry. It's after 8 PM and still 98 degrees outside (no, not the singing group) just the really hot temperature that is dangerously close to triple digits. Speaking of triple digits, it is supposed to be that way for at least the next six days. I'm not even opening blinds. I'm just going to swim for a while every day and then hide in my cold house. Sounds delightful, doesn't it?

Since I am still using food storage for most of my cooking, I used canned beef stew as the majority of the filling. This is a great way to use up leftovers! Add your favorite veggies and meats. (I don't recommend adding rice to them, however. The rice gets too mushy. Feel free to serve it with rice though. I had a roommate teach me that trick 9 years ago. It was a cheap meal for a college student and rice makes most things better. Since I wanted to lighten up the beef stew a little, I added sautéed onions, carrots, and celery. It was really good! So here we go...

Beef Stew Pot Pie

Flaky Pie Dough
10 oz flour
7 oz shortening (or a combination of shortening and butter or all butter)
1 tsp salt
3 oz cold water

Step 1. If you are using butter, dice it and leave it in the fridge until the shortening is done. If you are using shortening, there are a couple of tricks. Run it through the squares of a cooling rack and put it on a plate and in the freezer for about 30 minutes. If you don't want to use a cooling rack, you can spread it out on a plate and run a fork through it so it isn't a solid mass. (Oh how I wish I had taken a picture of this step. It sounds all sorts of confusing and it really isn't tricky.) You just want it to get cold so it doesn't melt as you mix it with the flour. Trust me.

Step 2. Dissolve the salt into the water and put it in the freezer until you bring out the shortening. You don't want it to become ice, you just want it super cold.

Step 3. I measure out the flour at this point and put it in the bowl I am going to use to mix the ingredients together. Then I put it in the fridge. Remember how I said everything had to be cold? I wasn't kidding.

Step 4. Once your shortening has been in the freezer about 30 minutes, you can mix in into the flour. I used a potato masher because I don't have a pastry cutter. It worked like a charm. You want the butter and/or shortening to be about the size of peas. Work it in pretty good so most of the flour is incorporated.

Step 5. Add the water. Mix it gently until it absorbed. Do not over mix.

Step 6. You'll never guess this step! Oh, you did. Put it in the freezer!

Step 7. This is when I made the mix for the inside of the pot pie. It's the perfect amount of time for your dough to rest and get cold again.

Step 8. Put the filling in the dish you want to bake it in. (You can use cute individual dishes, or you can take a family style approach and put in in a 9x13 pan.) Maybe I drizzled hot sauce on it before topping it with the dough. It was a good idea.

Step 9. This is when you can take your dough out. Roll it out on some flour to fit your baking dish(es). You want to roll it out to about 1/4"and turn it 90 degrees often so it doesn't stick to your counter.

Step 10. If you are using a 9x13 pan, roll the dough onto your rolling pin and roll it out onto your pan. Cut it to fit. If you are using individual pans, roll out your dough and cut the dough big enough to fit the pan. (Ok, I know this doesn't look perfect but it was SO much better than my last attempt that I didn't care about the corners needing extra pieces and that little tear in the middle. Maybe mess up your first one so the second one is killer no matter what it looks like!)

Step 11. Vent your dough. You want a place for the steam to escape. Make a couple of slits with a sharp knife.

Step 12. Bake it at 350 for about 45 minutes. You want the edges of the dough to be lightly brown. Since your vegetables and meat should already be cooked, you are just cooking the dough.

Step 13. Dish it up! Blow on it, it will be hot.

Sorry for not taking pictures of the finished product or the vent. I made it a heart. Awww. Cute. By the time it was at this point, it was getting too hot to be in the kitchen. Then our AC started acting up. It was more important for me to be happy and cool down than it was for you to see a picture. I trust that you have a good imagination. Plus you'll be making it soon so you know exactly what it looks like. Right?

Agency & The Need For Liberty

I didn't really think about the concept of liberty before I got married. I have always been grateful for the freedoms we have in our country, but I didn't really think about them. I was taught in school that the federal government was the supreme law of the land: whatever they say goes as long as we are being kept safe. They would expose our enemies and make steps to ensure we were protected from them. (Examples include invading other countries and killing threats to America before they could invade our country; everyone getting full body scans by the government before being admitted to an airport; or the recently exposed tapping phone lines without probable cause.) As long as I was safe, the federal government had every right to take away pieces of my liberty.

Well, I was wrong. One of the most interesting phrases I've heard regarding these things is that if people have nothing to hide, they won't have a problem with the government searching their phone records or carry on bags at the airport, etc. Not that it is anyone's business, but I have nothing to hide, and I have a problem with it. You should too. I would like to explain why it is more than the fact that it is illegal or inconvenient.

Before we were sent to Earth, we were in the presence of a loving Heavenly Father. He presented a plan that allowed us to come to Earth to receive a body and allow us to become like Him. Part of that plan was that we would be given agency. We would be responsible to make our own choices and would be required to deal with the consequences that are tied to our choices, whether they be good or bad.

Now to tie them all together. In order for us to be able to use our agency, we need to be free to do so. One cannot learn about the foundation of our country without realizing that it was inspired and directed by a Heavenly Father that understood just that. We needed a country that protected our right to choose. We needed a freedom of religion that allowed for the church of Jesus Christ to be restored to the Earth. I can tell you, without at doubt, that any person that has lived, does live, or will live on Earth agreed to our Heavenly Father's plan.

We all remember the alternative was that we didn't have agency and every one returns safe and sound to our Heavenly Father's presence. Of course He wants us all to return. He just knows that it is more important for us to CHOOSE to return to Him. That same concept can be transferred to our government's laws. Of course it is ideal for all of us to be safe and people to not get hurt, but it is much more important for us to be free to use our agency. If that wasn't the case, our Heavenly Father wouldn't have risked losing some of His children by giving us our agency and knowing that some would use that agency to refuse to return to Him.

After realizing how important it was to our Heavenly Father that we have our agency, it became more important to me to find examples of this as I read my scriptures. The Book of Mormon is FULL of the rise and fall of governments and talk of liberty and agency. In Mosiah 23:7-8, we read about the early days of our continent when the inhabitants were deciding on a system of government. The people wanted a king and they are told that unless they can ALWAYS have a just king who wouldn't think of himself above those he served, that they shouldn't have a king because they would be oppressed and put into bondage due to the iniquity of their king.

This is one of the reasons I think our government was set up in the way that it was. The people involved with the writing of our constitution were guided by the Spirit of the Lord as they researched ways other countries had tried to protect their freedoms. They understood that our freedom is from our Creator and that it would be important to protect that freedom in order for people to prosper and create happiness. After reading about the people in the scriptures dealing with corrupt governments, I have a better understanding of why it is important to do my part to ensure we elect men and women who are dedicated to protecting our God-given rights. It takes more than that though. We need to educate those around us to do the same because our rights are in the hands of millions of Americans who aren't aware that our liberty is so much more important than the so-called "safety" promised by our governments.

Since so many people have a say with what to do with my liberty, it is my job to let them know that I want to be free to use my agency. Please don't let money or government promised safety become more important to you. Because in the end, you will only have as much money as they think you should have and you will only be safe because they will be telling you what you can do, where you can go, what you can have, and who you can become. We all have the right to choose those things for ourselves, and it is up to us to protect those rights every way we can.

I love reading in 2 Corinthians 3:17 that liberty exists when the Spirit of the Lord is present. And since we read and hear about encroachments on our liberty every single day, I think it is safe to say that the Spirit of the Lord no longer resides in either federal or state governments. To be fair, it has been this way for a long time. I also think that there are still individuals who strive to have the Spirit of the Lord with them, but that number seems to dwindle every election. Do some research. Not just about the people who are running for office, but about what they truly believe. They can identify with any faction they want to as long as it is their goal to keep you free, to follow the Constitution as it was written instead of in ways that they will gain power.

At the end of the day, I will continue praying for those in leadership positions in our country. I will continue educating myself in matters that affect me and my family. I will continue doing everything in my power to preserve our liberty. Our agency depends on it.

Culinary School Adventures, Part 5

I have bittersweet feelings towards my Baking and Pastry class. I was super excited for this class because I LOVE baking. It fascinates me. On the first day, the instructor asked us to give a reason for being excited to bake. I told him that I was excited to learn more about the science behind baking. He bluntly told me I wouldn't learn much in this class and that if I wanted to learn that, I should have specialized in baking and pastry. (That should have been my first clue that we weren't going to be friends. More about that later.)

Baking classes are much different than any other class. It was a very nice change of pace. There is actually downtime. We would usually lecture and see a demonstration during the first part of class, then we would scale our ingredients and have time while it proofed or baked. Everything would be cleaned up and we would get to relax a while before we were done with class. Plus, we worked in groups of two for most things. I love the girl I worked with. Anita helped keep me sane in this class. We had so many good talks and laughed every day. She is the sweetest little mom! (She's only little because she's 4'11" - she has such a big heart!) She is such a hard worker. She is definitely one thing I miss about being in Arizona. We had so much fun! Also, we got to sneak leftovers out at the end of every day. (We would bake 6 baguettes at a time and dozens of cookies. Who just throws those things away? Not me!)

The first thing we learned is that the only thing we could measure by volume were egg products, dairy products, and water. Everything else had to be weighed. For the first week we had to learn the old school kind where you had a weight on one half and your product on the other and you had to make them balance. After a week, you could use a digital scale. (So much faster!) After we were taught the importance of measuring and scaling ingredients, we were let loose on biscuits, muffins, and cookies.

I felt really confident in baking because I grew up with a mom that made rolls, bread, cookies, cakes, cinnamon rolls, cream puffs, etc. She would let us help so I knew the processes for all of those things. I'd worked with different doughs and batters. It helped a ton because not everyone had. The one thing that worried me was plating things. I am not very creative when it comes to things like that. (If you could see the rough drawings I did for plating in my notebooks, you'd agree.)

I will definitely share recipes from baking because they are delicious and much easier than you would imagine! Just to make your mouth water: chocolate torte, french bread, brioche, croissants, turnovers, pastry creams, buttercream frostings, quiche, lemon tart, cakes, sauces (chocolate, caramel, raspberry, blueberry, etc).

The head chef in baking didn't like me. I honestly don't know why. I did all of my work, was respectful, asked questions during lectures, and aced all of my tests. He liked the way my food tasted, but he was just rude. I am actually really grateful that I don't remember all the things he said to me because he made me cry just about every day. Except now, I wish I had an example so I wouldn't sound like such a baby. I was really hard on myself in the plating portion of this class because I wanted my plates to be perfect. He got really upset with me this day because I started to cry because I couldn't cut a pretty piece of cheesecake. (I know this sounds like not a big deal, but I was still working crazy hours, I was tired, and I already felt like he hated me at this point. I just wanted to do a good job.) He kicked me out of class until I could handle being in class. So I walked outside to cool down and decided I didn't have any respect left for him and that I was done asking and answering questions. I was going to do my work and only talk to him when I absolutely had to.

After I went back to class (I wasn't going to let him win.), I plated a different dessert, which happens to be the opera torte and tuile cookie pictured below. I know it is blurry, but I took this picture with a flip phone, and this is the only way to make it big enough to see. (Remember flip phones? I finally got rid of mine about a year an a half ago. I still have a slide phone though, don't worry.) Opera tortes are 7 layers of cake, buttercream, and ganache. It is smothered in ganache, and "Opera" is piped on with chocolate. The tuile is vanilla flavored with with dots of chocolate tuile on the corners. The sauces on the plate are raspberry coulis and carmel sauce.

So I was going to surprise you all by posting a recipe from baking today. Well, I still will, but as I was making it tonight, I remembered something about Baking I wanted to tell you about. When I would work with pastry doughs, it was important to keep the ingredients really cold so the butter wouldn't melt too fast. Well, the only problem with that was that my hands were always hot! Everything melted immediately. (I still joke about that today. Holding frozen butter in my hands is the fastest way to defrost it. Weird. I know.) That just wouldn't work in school. So every day before we would start work, I would get two produce bags full of ice for my station. The first would cool down my work table and the second was so I could keep my hands cold. (Let's be honest, when I wasn't doing something for class, I was standing in the walk in freezer, holding my bag of ice so I could stay nice and cool.) I wish I would have remembered that tonight as I baked. It may or may not have ended in a melt down (haha - pun intended!) and a lack of pictures. You'll see.

Culinary School Adventures, Part Four

Culinary Foundations 3 started right after Christmas break. I took those two weeks to escape from the heat in Arizona. The only request I had for my dad and grandparents (all of whom picked me up at the airport) was that they bring me my coat. I obviously didn't need it in Arizona, but I flew into Idaho, and it was snowing. I can't tell you how excited I was! I loved cooking for my family while I was home. It was fun to tell them things I'd learned about. I relaxed for those two weeks, flew back to Arizona and started classes 3 days later.

Maybe I should have studied and stayed busy maintaining my knife skills while I vacationed. Culinary Foundations 3 was crazy hard. I don't know if I just started missing my family and snow (who would have guessed that the only winter I spent away from Utah/Idaho is the winter that breaks snow fall records) or of the class was legitimately more difficult. I am pretty sure it was a mix of the two.

Le Cordon Bleu in Scottsdale has two campuses. They are about a mile away from each other. The first campus has its own parking lot. The second campus is a couple of blocks away from a parking garage. I was at the second campus for Culinary Foundations 3. Let me paint a picture for you. The temperature in Scottsdale was about 70 degrees. I was wearing my whole chef outfit and had to walk a couple of blocks in the middle of the day. Then I would spend a couple of hours in a room with about 15 students running around using ovens, stoves, grills, and fryers. Then I would walk the couple of blocks back to my car. This wasn't so bad at first, but let's just say that each time the temperature rose, I walked into class looking like I just went swimming. I think I went through more deodorant in the 8 months I was in Arizona than I will ever admit.

In Culinary Foundations 3, we cooked a lot every day. We would get a list of 4 or 5 recipes each day and the instructors were more focused on plating than CF2. Plus, the chefs would try our food every day and critique us. That was super intimidating. I got a little scared reading the syllabus at first. Calves liver, sweetbreads (PS That is not a nice name for cinnamon rolls or some other delightful treat), rabbit, rack of lamb, sausage, calamari, oysters, lobster, and crab. We obviously moved on from chicken, fish, beef, and pork chops. Well, we still used them, we just got to branch out more in this class. I probably won't make most of the proteins we learned to make, but I am so glad I learned! The most important lesson from this class was to be confident in my abilities. I used to use my nose and palate, instead of measuring ingredients, to create things that tasted good to me. It changed the way I cooked.

Okay, so let's talk about the day I figured out what sweetbreads were then had to make them. I wrote down all the recipes and notes in my little notebook the night before class. That way I knew what to expect the next day and wouldn't feel overwhelmed and cry. (Yes, there was still crying in culinary school at this point.) Well, I read about sweetbreads the night before we were going to make them. It is the thymus (throat) of a calf and looks like a brain. Just because I like you, I want you to see a pretty picture of them.

It is such a crazy process. You soak it for 30 minutes, blanch it, rinse it, blanch it in mirepoix and then you clean it. It has gross membranes that you are supposed to remove. Super gross. Look at the picture and see if you can find them. (It's so much worse than cleaning chicken or pulling beards off of mussels.) Then you press the little pieces together with a weight (we let it press overnight) between two pans. After all that, you cook it. Most times, you dredge it in flour and pan fry it. Sweetbreads were the one thing I refused to try in culinary school. I ate liver, lamb, rabbit, etc, etc. I couldn't eat sweetbreads after spending 30 minutes trying to remove all those membranes. Plus my friend tried it and gagged, so there was no way I was about to follow suit. I won't EVER eat sweetbreads unless it is a life or death situation for someone I love.

The chefs all knew that I wasn't planning on a career in the culinary field. They were so great to work with me! For example, I didn't like breaking down fish when their eyes were looking at me or breaking down a rabbit. They would do those parts for me. The only downfall was that I couldn't listen to music while I cooked. That is what keeps me calmest in the kitchen.

I don't remember a lot of the day to day stuff in this class because I started working during this class. (Don't worry, I have all the recipes and notes still, so I will post recipes once we move and I stop eating my food storage.) I did taxes in the morning, went to school in the afternoon, came home and showered and went back to work for a couple of hours. After work, I would do homework, iron, and plan recipes for the next day. This is one of the reasons I didn't gain weight while I was at culinary school. I didn't have time to eat outside of school. Plus I would cool down in the pool most nights.

The best part of this class was our final. We were tested on our butchering skills. (We had to break down a chicken and a fish.) Then we had to use that chicken and fish to come up with two dishes for our final. We were given guidelines like certain knife cuts we had to use, we had to have a starch, vegetable side, sauce, and garnish. But we got to create the recipes and plates. It was delightful and the chefs loved it. I got an A on it. It was a good end to Culinary Foundations 3. I loved the chefs and this class, but I couldn't wait for my next class: Baking!