Lovin' some Sunday Food

Today Charlie and I made home made bread and beef barley soup. Delicious! I have never made bread from scratch before, and now it doesn't feel quite so intimidating as it once was. Our oven cooks much faster than the recipe called for so it was a good thing I caught it before the top crust any darker than it was.

It was a beautiful fall day here too so I am happy we were given an extra hour for daylight savings time. I am lovin' it. 

It seemed to rise faster than I thought. 

Beautiful

I never write down how I make this so I didn't get quite enough barley in there.

Slices of heaven. 

It even looks like bread!

Sushi!

We made sushi! Well at least my husband did while I offered moral support and taste testing. My sister gave us a sushi making kit for Christmas and we have been wanting to make it for a while but I gotta be honest it was intimidating until we went to a sushi class and saw an armature make mediocre sushi. It was fun and yummy. We didn't realize how far the ingredients would go though, and were able to make it two nights. I am looking forward to the next sushi night! Just thinking about it is making my mouth water.

Celebrating our Anniversary

Charlie and I celebrated our 11th anniversary this week. He decided to make for the first time fresh tuna and what better night to do so than on our anniversary? Having never prepared it before he randomly picked a recipe as he often does but then added his own twist to what he was in the mood for and of course it was really good. We had no idea how filling it would be so if you're thinking tuna is too expensive like I did, well a little goes a long way!

While Savannah is out of town visiting her grandparents she asked what we had for dinner on our anniversary and when I told her "tuna fish" you could tell she scrunched up her nose, pictured a can of smelly tuna, and was like, "What?" So I explained to her that it was fresh tuna like how daddy makes fresh salmon. She said, "Oh. Did you and daddy catch the tuna fish?" I laughed and told her that no, we didn't. That we bought it from the store. She asked this question with much credit to the fact that she and daddy have been out fishing a lot lately and naturally she thought it was something we had caught while out fishing. We will have to show her how big a tuna really is and where they live for her to get the real picture I think. Kids are so cute. I just love them.

Speaking of fresh tuna we went to Island Sushi buffet last night to continue celebrating our anniversary. It is one of newest favorite sushi bars. We like that it is quality ingredients - including real crab - not that fake stuff and the atmosphere is a lot of fun. You literally sit around a bar where there are chefs in the middle preparing all sorts of rolls as well as any roll you request. The owner is super friendly and enjoys conversing with you as you dine.

Now I know what you are thinking when it comes to a "buffet" and don't get me wrong, we had our doubts at first as well. Anyway besides being all you can eat and getting any roll you want for one price the sushi comes around to you on tiny little boats that float on water in a stream around in a circle. It is really a fun way to try all sorts of sushi made fresh in front of you. Oh and one thing to mention, don't get a Wisconsin bratwurst sausage roll. Sure it is fun to entertain the idea being in Wisconsin and all, but take it from me, it is not a sushi experience you'll want to try any time soon.

Random thoughts on cooking and kitchen...

So I love cooking on cold wintry Sundays. I recently made The Pioneer Woman's Perfect Pot Roast after watching her make it on the show over a year ago (back when we had cable) and it was so good that I am now as I am typing this making her Pork Roast with Apples and Onions. It smells so good!

If this pork turns out the way I am hoping it to I am taking my relationship with Ree Drummond to the next level. I thought about maybe doing what that gal did on that movie called "Julie & Julia" which I loved by the way. I have always been more of a "country" girl and secretly wished I were Amish or lived in the Pioneer days so I naturally took to her when I saw her the first time on Food Network. I love her recipe posts on her blog too because I am a very visual person and she posts close up pictures of each step she takes in the recipe which is how I would do it if I had time and lived on a ranch.

Thinking of country...last year I remodeled the decorating in my kitchen and since then every so often I am given something to add to my collection...well as you can see things have been coming along.

I am at a loss when it comes to decorating and really have only ever put up whatever I was given or already had. This is probably only the second time I actually had to think about what I wanted and then went out and bought what I could find that matched. It was hard too!

The picture above and below are my two main walls in my kitchen. The door between them are to my mud/laundry room. I think they would look better had I included them in one picture so you could see. I wanted to put different types of country decor there or even some shelves but because our kitchen is so small not enough room was available to avoid people from hitting their head on the decorations when going out to the back patio.

This is a little shelf above the cabinets above my stove...the two root beer bottles are from our anniversary trip last year in Galena. These are the only items on that shelf. I am waiting to collect more items as I can such as plates with roosters or some other trinkets or things that would just "fit" up there.

On the tile directly above my stove, picture is a bit blurry though :(

These miniature rooster canisters and roosters were given to me, I love looking at them when at my window above the sink. Maybe it is because I love their profiles the most.

As you can see from my window above today is another wintry day in Wisconsin. 11 more days until it is officially Spring, right? 

All in a day's work!

Ever feel successful when you get home from the store and can fill your cupboards, freezer, and fridge and was able to pull it off under your budget spending only $170? I did - only problem was I found that I cheated myself out of a free pizza from a coupon I had. I swear I had 5 pizzas but when I got home I only counted four. Anyway...I was so proud of myself that I took pictures. I'm a nerd to be so excited about something like this but it was fun! Maybe I should quite my job and get into extreme couponing someday. Or maybe not.

Captain and Crunch

I was watching a documentary on cereal on the Food Network the other night and they were talking about how sugared cereals slowly became money makers in the market for kids. I remember them in the cupboard when I was a kid and not sure why my friends' kitchens were so different. My favorite was Lucky Charms. Next was Cheerios. I loved pouring so much sugar on them that it couldn't dissolve by the time I got to the bottom of the bowl. I remember that syrupy sweet milk still and it makes me cringe now.

I thought the other day after Savannah asked for "Captain and Crunch" I really ought to forget what is on sale and what Charlie and I like to "snack" on and get something a little less sweet. That and start hiding the sweet stuff. I don't like the idea of all that sugar in the morning, but kids do. In fact every time I ask her what she would like to eat it happens to be either peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, honey and butter sandwiches, or ice cream. Pretty sad cause it used to be "macaroni and cheese!"

I'd better get my butt in gear and back to the basics! Although she did enjoy the "cucumbers" aka zucchini we made with Shake n Bake. Now that was cute! I wonder if she'll change her mind now knowing they weren't cucumbers.

Food for Thought...

Obviously food is on my mind a lot. So much so that one of my Facebook friends made the observation that my stomach leads my thinking. I guess I must post a lot either about food that is on my mind or that I am hungry.

Since it is a lot on my mind, and I will admit it is - especially at work when I am limited to what I have brought to eat - that is why I decided to start posting "Food for Thought" entries on this blog. What better way to bring up the subject of food?

Why do I save recipes in a file that I want to try but then never do? I know why. Because so many times I have tried a recipe, it didn't turn out the way I thought it would and was highly disappointed. I still think it ought to be a goal of mine to try at least one recipe per month. I had a supervisor at work that once did this. She made it a big production though -inviting friends and family, having drinks and dessert to go with it. Now that is too risky for me. For my husband, that is a different story. He has the knack for compiling seasonings and flavors.

This past week he made salmon with a balsamic vinegar marinade (I don't remember all the ingredients) and grilled avocados. To go with this he had seasoned red potatoes and fresh broccoli served w/cheese. Was the yum. Savannah loves salmon and asked for seconds! Of course he does not remember the ingredients as he just whipped this together one night, so unfortunately to ask me for the recipe? Well I'm afraid you had to be there.