Food adventures....

OK, this post is long overdue, according to DH. However, it's about my recent and rather sudden re-awakened interest in cooking. Whilst DH and my bro and I were watching TV one Sunday night about a month or so ago, I was bored....so I picked up a copy of the "Appeal" magazine from Save On Foods. I was amazed how it totally absorbed my attention and how I actually considered that most of the recipes were well within my capabilities. I have a sneaking suspicion that the movie "Julie and Julia" may have twigged something way back in my mind making me realize that I really do enjoy cooking, but just couldn't be bothered.

So.....the following weekend...when looking for something to have for Sunday dinner, I remembered reading the recipe for Beef Bourguignon....and...having heard about it in the afor-mentioned movie, I thought.....why not??? The recipe from Appeal is on Page 18 here and it proved to be relatively uncomplicated. When comparing it to the Julia Child recipe, it seems that hers, while much the same ingredients, is much more labour intensive. My attempt, by all accounts, was a success......
Some pictures of the actual dish.......and then the sides.....mashed potatoes, baby carrots and green beans, along with a nice wine, which of course is mandatory!!
Having shown you this, of course, the realization has hit me that I would never make a REAL chef....I just don't clean up the presentation enough!! Splatters on the sides of the casserole....(shudder!!)

So the BB went off swimmingly....so, feeling rather pleased with myself, I tackled a couple of baking projects, which is normally not too bad for me, but I have to say that I usually use a muffin mix as a starter when I make muffins and then add to it. However....again in the
Appeal magazine Page 56 (see link above) I found a recipe for Chunky Apple Banana Bran Muffins. I think that the fact I had most of the ingredients played a large part in my enthusiasm, plus the fact that I was at home alone with no distractions.....just music playing. Anyways, they turned out amazingly well and I learned to fill the muffin cups using an ice cream scoop....so easy!!
My next baking challenge was Healthy Blueberry Bran Muffins....which was on the KCTS website (PBS) and again....they were very successful (especially with the ice cream scoop.)The only change I made with them is I used 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk instead of 1 cup of skim milk and 1/2 cup of applesauce or plain yogurt.



From this same site, I explored a bit and found a wonderful cranberry, orange, apricot salsa which is delicious and makes quite a large quantity. I'm a real fruit salsa fan, so this just hit the spot.

So, I have no more pictures as yet, but since this revelation, I have found myself to be quite creative in cooking and baking. It seems that DH is also, to a lesser degree, feeling the pull of cooking a wonderful tasty meal. His attempts have been very successful.

More about my (or our) cooking adventures in future posts....but for now, I'll just keep my apron ready and camera handy!!

Slainte!!