Let me explain…

No, there is too much. Let me sum up.

Tasting notes are overrated.

I’m not a foodie, I swear!

But I like to eat, and I end up cooking fairly often. So that’s why I picked up several cookbooks when we went to our library’s book sale. The other night I put one of them to the test.

You see I like the idea of cooking, but for me the actuality of it leaves much to be desired. I’m the kind of guy who feels that if I spend more time making the food than I’m going to spend eating it, it had better be something particularly special. But considering how often I end up in the kitchen, I periodically decide to learn how to make something new to add to my repertoire, regardless of the time it takes to make.

One thing I’ve not been a success at in spite of my heritage is fresh homemade pasta. In truth, this is probably down to a lack of practice, since I’m pretty sure I’ve attempted it fewer times than I have fingers on each hand. Nevertheless, armed with Giuliano Bugialli’s Classic Techniques, I decided to give it a go.

Now, despite my appreciation for vegetables, which should be apparent to anyone reading this, I am now, always have been and always will be a carnivore. In fact, I regularly spend way too much time thinking about various modifications to my chili recipe. So when Emma suggested that to go with the tagliatelle I wanted to make, should she make the Pioneer Woman‘s short ribs in tomato sauce, I leapt at the idea. The result was nothing short of my own personal food heaven.

Somehow it all worked out perfectly. After Emma put the finished ribs/sauce in the oven, I worked on the pasta (eventually getting it thin enough to read through, although admittedly I would’ve liked it a touch thicker), and when it was ready, we tossed it into the pot with the sauce, Emma sauteed some sort of leafy green that we had (adding garlic to make it tasty), and voila! Food awesomeness.

Chile Seed Harvesting 101

When I got my invitation to the 4th annual tomato pepper seed exchange the other day, I figured it was about time to actually get some seeds ready.

As simple as it is to turn this: into this: it amazes me that more people don’t have their own seed collections.

Feelin’ Hot! Hot! Hot!

While I enjoy all the vegetables that we grow, it must be said that chiles are my passion.

As much as I enjoyed spicy foods, I didn’t really become obsessed with growing my own until we dug our first real garden in Baltimore.

As our “backyard” was composed of about 90% patio bricks, 7% gravel, 2% sand, and 1% good soil, it was a pretty sad affair.

Exhibit A
Note the ADT sign in the backyard

Exhibit B

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nevertheless, by adding pots, a topsy-turvy, and low expectations, it was enjoyable. In fact, much to my delight, I did get a few decent peppers out of it, although not as many as I would’ve liked. In truth, it was probably much more work than it was worth by any standard.

After we got back from our honeymoon,

Rainforest Baking 101

This child has me wrapped around her finger. She knows it, I know it, everyone knows it. Even though I say no more often than Emma does, I’m still pretty much completely at her command, and I guess that’s just the way it is for now.

So when she wanted to make cookies today, real, baked cookies, in the oven, I wanted to say no. Really, I did. I wanted to say, “No, I will not leave the comfort of the air conditioning in order to make cookies which you will then want to eat in place of food at every meal for as long as you can see them sitting on the counter”.