slight digression

It has been quite an eye-opening experience this whole “blogging” thing. My limited computer skills have come up a notch, be-it-ever-so-slightly, and my favorite food blog sites are increasing as well.

There are some truly beautiful food blogs and some remarkably talented people out in cyber space. One in particular that is new to me, but I am enjoying very much is not without salt. Besides being a talented photographer, and chef, her writing is a joy to read. It was actually from her site that I heard about the National Blog Writing Month (nablowrimo) as well as another project called Food A-Z. Food A-Z is a vehicle where we can practice our photography skills with the help of a weekly assignment. We are using the alphabet as a guide and are just finished with “B”. I thought I would share my final submission with you…a Brussels sprout stock. Now I’m on to “C”.

Stay tuned,
Shannon

P.S. In case you’re wondering, the quince paste is resting nicely. It will have its photo op tomorrow.

keeping up

I must say that participating in the NaBloWriMo this month has brought to the surface a few areas in my life where I am falling a little behind. If we were to list out all of the things that fall into the category of “keeping up” what would they be? Mine would probably be paying bills, laundry, and blogging, just to name a few. I’m sure I am not alone in this. We are probably all too some degree trying to keep up. Many of these require some basic organization (easier said than done I find).

There is also another element of “keeping up” that I didn’t realize I was “falling behind” in, which is proper or current word usage. Thank goodness for my college age daughter and friends (whom I adore) to fill me in on this little matter. Yes, apparently this 40 something lady uses some goofy words. It happened yesterday, as my hubby and I took a day trip up to see her in Santa Barbara (homemade brownies in tow no less). When one of these “words” came out my daughter and friends would begin laughing. Now, I do try to take things lightly and like to joke around, but this wasn’t a joke. It was my choice of words that seemed to give them a giggle. They told me it “was cute”, but honestly now I’m paranoid. Perhaps instead of purchasing another cookbook I should look into buying a thesaurus, this might be a good idea.

So today to give myself a little encouragement, that yes in fact I can actually keep up in other areas. I decided to give the dog a bath, vacuum and dust in record time. I pulled out of the freezer some pumpkin puree that I had made a while back for a quick dinner of some simple roasted chicken and pumpkin risotto. So you see, a little planning ahead on roasting those pie pumpkins made a quick and easy dinner option.



My gracious… if this doesn’t sound like keeping up I don’t know what does.


Enjoy!
Shannon


Pumpkin Puree
4 small pie pumpkins

Cut the pumpkins in half carefully with a heavy sharp knife.  Scoop out the seeds and pulp (reserve seeds for another use).
Place pumpkin halves face down on a jelly roll pan and cover with foil.  Stick in a preheated 375°F oven and roast for about an hour until tender.  Place the pan on a rack until cool enough to handle.  Then scoop out the flesh and put in a food processor.  Puree until smooth.  Place in airtight containers or freezer bags.  The puree should be fine in the freezer for up to a year.

makes about 6 cups

more than i can chew?

I seem to be just a little behind.  This is not an excuse mind you, just a fact.  Apparently November is the National Blog Writing Month (NaBloWriMo); who knew.  So although it is November 2nd, I am still going to give it a go.  The annual challenge is to post each and every day throughout the 30 days of November to your blog.  This is a challenge indeed, especially since it's all I can do to squeeze one post out each week. 

But the reality is I want to cook more, write more, and photograph more with the intent to improve in each of these areas.  This is going to take some serious organization, something that I am still in the process of conquering. 

  I know that one month won’t get me to that point, a lifetime is often not long enough, but to inch slightly toward that goal is more than enough for me.

My initial thoughts are to organize the month by breaking it down by weeks. One week might focus on seasonal ingredients that are available right now and using those ingredients in different applications.  Another week could be exclusively devoted to making fresh pasta, tips and techniques.  Maybe another on base notes and top notes of flavors.  The balance of sweet, sour and salty tastes.

I do however reserve the right to change my mind and post on whatever the heck I feel like. I’m not great with structure and I tend to change my mind frequently.

So with that said, I better start going through the piles on my desk.

Scary.

Shannon