Intro, Revisited

Since I'm not doing much with my fibre business at the moment, this poor journal has been sitting stagnant. One day, I hope to have the time and energy to pick it up again, as it was an incredible outlet.

I am "The Chef" in our home. That's not to say that Don isn't a great cook, he's amazing! He just has so much on his plate that he rarely gets the chance to cook. We, like many others these days, are looking for ways to be a little more efficient with our money, so I try to be creative with meals.

We have a 20 month old that has recently found a deep love of food. I think that's due to his new-found ability to handle a fork which gives him a bit of independence. Most parents (at least in my experience) seem to be hesitant to introduce this hands off (no pun intended) approach since it usually comes with a week or so of mess.

Nothing a bib, a tea towel across the lap, and (in extreme cases) an old shower curtain under the high chair won't remedy! This too shall pass, right?

We're very lucky that Quinn doesn't have any noteable allergies, so the food possibilities are endless. Some of his favourite food to eat are things you wouldn't imagine a toddler would enjoy - hummus, curried chicken salad, arugula...

How did I learn how to cook? The mean streets of...Ok, really, it was from my Mom. She was the Queen of "Cheapo Cooking". Out of necessity, we would eat pots of chili, spaghetti, stew, and garbage soup (all the leftovers of the week in the pot). I attribute my psychological inability to eat leftovers to this experience, but I did learn how to stretch a buck.

When Don and I got together again (he was my high school boyfriend, 1, 2, 3...awwwww), my form of food was more "comfort" and his was more "gourmetish". Over time, my comfort food has become more refined and I've experimented (and found I like) cooking with things like red wine. And over time, he's admitted that my style of cooking has become his "comfort food".

As a family, we really enjoy food...and I very much enjoy trying to come up with new (healthy) combinations that both appeals to our palates and don't break the bank.

So that's what you'll find here...recipes, hints, and ramblings about food.

Some posts will have actual recipes with actual measurements, and some will be general ideas of measurements. I only know what WE like. You might adjust ingredients and amounts to suit your family.

If you try any of the recipes, I'd love to hear about them! Maybe you do something similar with a few tweaks? Tell me about it!

I hope you enjoy what's on our plates!

There will probably be some random musings about the things that I question, or things that are important to me...you've been warned.