For the Love of Potatoes

When the kids and I arrived home around 7:00 pm, I asked Chris what he wanted for dinner. "Deep fried anything, covered with cheese," was his answer.

Obviously I was not going to deep fry anything. I made a basic salad, chicken, and oven fries.

At my house, oven fries are super simple:
1. tiny potatoes washed & quartered
2. into the bowl: oil, powdered garlic, pepper; stir then add quartered potatoes
3. dump onto a rimmed cookie sheet and broil on high, removing every 5-7 minutes to flip (2-4 times)
4. when they are golden and perfect, salt then eat them

Harley's Salad Dressing

Well, the kids kitchen is not yet gone, but Harley has entered the kitchen.

The other day, he asked if he could make (and eat) a salad for a snack. Could he make both the salad AND the dressing?

His creation was quite good with interesting flavour combinations I would never have chosen, but they all work really nicely together.

Ginger Braised Red Cabbage

By far, one of the simplest dishes I make yet still impressive, delicious, and satisfying.

Inspiration From The Food Network

My boys LOVE food. They have always enjoyed watching cooking shows and pretending in their kitchens. One day years ago, I found them playing in their kitchen "cooking" stuffed animals.

The Side Dish

The side dish seems to have disappeared as of late. When cooking, I tend to make a couple of dishes, veggies, meat, starch... but it seems rare that I create just a classic side dish, like buttered corn or green beans and almonds.

Garlic Vegetable Omelette

I will be the first to tell you that I do not like eggs. In fact, I really do not like eggs. All by themselves, the texture, flavour, and aroma - I cannot handle it.

I clearly remember it - a night when I was about 7 or 8, I slept over at a friend's house. The mom and dad of the home kick-started Saturday morning with a nice big breakfast of bacon, toast, and sunny side up soft eggs. I ate all I could of that breakfast - even some of the egg whites - until my stomach threatened to embarrass me, at which point I stated I was full.

The other day, I knew I needed an egg for breakfast, protein and veggies, but what could I make? The best answer: eggs.

Grandma's Tomato Juice Spice Cake

There is nothing like aroma to transport you to another time and place. A few weeks ago, I volunteered to make desert for a get-together with friends and family. But what could I make for a group of 22, including thirteen adults, one nine-year-old girl, and eight boys aged two to eight?! 

Two desserts were obviously needed: chocolate cookies and Grandma's Tomato Juice Spice Cake.

The cookies were made first and were a raging success - the boys thought we should just eat them and take only the cake for dessert that night. I decided lunch was a better idea, and fed them something healthy on top of the chocolate cookie they had each just consumed.

Then, the cake batter was made to my Grandmother's instructions and went into the oven. Upon taking it out of the oven, I was transported back to my Grandmother's little apartment and her tiny galley kitchen.

Grandma and my Mother at my wedding