Sorry for the long absence...

Sorry for the long absence. We are in the middle of a move, so if you'll have patience we'll start with all kinds of recipe exchanges and such as soon as we're able.

My New Kitchenaid

I just have to tell people, I got the best Mother's Day present a little early. Thanks to the fact that we live on a cook's budget (and have kids at the same time), we've never really had a budget to speak of by the time Mother's Day came around. So we would use what we did have and spend it on our own mother's (because we love them so much!!!), and then simply spend the day with the best Mother's Day gifts of all: my adorable children!

But this year, we splurged a little. I've been holding out for years for a Kitchenaid stand mixer, but not just any Kitchenaid mixer. I wanted a 6 qt. professional mixer so that no matter what it would stand up to the kind of use it would end up seeing in my kitchen. And boy, am I glad I did! A few years ago, a dear friend let me 'borrow' his-ok, truth time: I swiped it from him for about 2 years since he wasn't using it himself at the time. I loved it, but it was an old 4.5 qt which just wasn't big enough. So I learned my lesson and decided that no matter what, I would just wait and pinch our pennies and wait...and wait. Boy, am I glad I did! My wonderful brother-in-law Malone (I'm not sure why) was cruising through Amazon.com one day and found a wonderful 6 qt Kitchenaid mixer on sale for only $280, which he immediately informed his wife of, and she immediately called me. So I call Johnny faster than you could blink, he agreed and we ordered it. Three very long weeks later, I finally got that anticipated knock on the door. I immediately pulled the thing out, sorted out its various pieces, read through the instructions and glanced through the recipe book, and cleared the counter space for its new home. Since then (this was about 3 or 4 weeks ago), I think I have used it every 2 or 3 days for everything from homemade bread, cakes, frosting and icings, meatballs, German pancakes, and oh so much more. I can't believe the difference it has made to my food. The bread genuinely tastes that way that Grandma Ruth's would (trust me, every one of my cousins that I have talked to about this (as well as a few of my aunts and uncles) are convinced that she never really gave us the real recipe for her bread because we couldn't ever get our attempts to turn out the same), my cakes are actually more moist and easier to decorate, the frosting turns out in a snap, the German pancakes fluff up much more, the meatballs were really moist and tender, and so much more. It has been incredible! I've been using a hand mixer this whole time (or my elbow grease, which at times was much easier), and I'm telling you I never knew what I was missing! Now we are just waiting for the storms to pass and then we'll be trying our hand at making Divinity with the mixer. I can't wait!

1st Restaurant Challenge

We are going to go out on a limb to ask for a challenge from anyone who might read this (and is interested enough to return). We are looking for a 'restaurant challenge'. Basically, we want someone who wants to know how to take foods that you can easily (and cheaply) find in the local grocery store and recreate a restaurant food or meal. We ask that it be a restaurant that can be found in northern Utah (send us the restaurant and we'll verify so that we can actually try the food at the restaurant), and that you do it with a budget of $35 for two.

Welcome!!!

When we got engaged 12 years ago, we began to combine our kitchen appliances, experience, and (heaven help us) methods. We discovered that while John had a great deal of experience with all levels of food, and Rachel had a great deal of experience in serving and eating all kinds of food, we truly had very different tastes. I'm sure this is not strange to most new couples. But we had a slightly different challenge than we've heard most complain of. John was used to cooking with many strange and wonderful ingredients, techniques, and tools...many of which included various forms of alcohol, liqueurs, coffee, teas, etc. And Rachel was adamant about not using those things at home since they are members of the LDS faith which believes in something called the 'Word of Wisdom' (found within the Doctrine and Covenants section 89). Within this section of scripture are found bans on using these things internally.

And so the quest began for our newly-gagged couple. Over the next several years, a great deal of experimentation on various methods began of replacing these ingredients in foods where they are often assumed to be essential. Added to that challenge was the fact that Rachel especially enjoys learning about the history of food and how to make it (when at all possible) from scratch.
And believe us, it really has been a challenge. There are often so many factors that need to be addressed whenever you replace ingredients, especially when you are either baking or attempting to use home garden grown items.

And then the wonderful, beautiful, miraculous children began to arrive, and with them other health concerns. What would be the healthiest options to cook and serve? Are there healthier was of cooking/baking so that we can still enjoy our favorites? And considering our at times frightening combined family history with health, various forms of cooking for diabetics, lactose intolerants, gluten intolerants, food allergies, etc.

So we figured that if we were struggling so much to find sources of information and recipes, we most likely aren't the only ones. So we wanted to be able to help out. So whether you are diabetic, lactose intolerant, gluten intolerant, of a philosophy or religion which excludes certain methods/ingredients, or simply a real foodie that likes experimentation...we invite all to give a voice. We want to try out other peoples methods and test to find the best method or flavor we can based on our experience and the tastes of our family and friends. As well as testing new recipes (hopefully appliances...mother's and father's days are right around the corner, hint, hint) and other such, we want to try to offer choices for people who have needs for replacements or omissions. And if you have advice to share, PLEASE offer it! While we are typically found to be food fans, we definitely aren't perfect!

So come one and all, and lets learn together!