3 Pepper Potato Salad

This recipe came from a newspaper out in L.A. back in the late 80's. I fell in love with it's simplicity as well as it's flavor.
I don't know about you, but I get a little skeeved out by all the mayo that goes into summer fare, such as potato salad, macaroni salad and coleslaw. I love that this has olive oil instead. It's still fat, but I feel some relief from the mayo! This is a fantastic dish to take to a cookout or potluck. Everyone loves it!
The recipe calls for 3 different color bell peppers, but I use whatever combination I have. Pictured above, I only had red and yellow. Here is the recipe as I had it written on a scrap of paper...

1.5 lbs. medium potatoes, thinly sliced. (I quarter them lengthwise, and then slice about 1/4" thick)

1 each- red, yellow, green bell pepper--cut in 1/4 inch strips

1/2 cup olive oil- (I use less)

2 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. salt, and pepper to taste

3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

Method:

Boil potatoes until crisp tender(10 min) Drain and return to pot

Add peppers, garlic, oil, oregano and salt and pepper.

Cook over medium heat until peppers soften. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar. Adjust seasoning.

I fiddle with this recipe every time I make it, and I rarely measure anything, so try it like this and play with it until it comes out the way you like it. I wish I could find the newspaper clipping, because this was from memory.
Try it and let me know how you like it!

Wild Caught Alaskan Salmon in Parchment

 How many times in life can you serve wild caught Alaskan salmon and say you actually caught the ingredients yourself? If you're like me, it would be once in a lifetime. So far anyway.
I spent a wonderful week last July with some friends who moved to Juneau. We chartered a boat and went to the Icy Straits to fish for halibut at 350 feet, and then later for salmon. Two very different kinds of fishing.
We filleted, had it frozen and sent it back home where we've been enjoying it all year.

Mostly I've been throwing it on the grill, but with the frigid temperature last Saturday night, I couldn't bring myself to stand out there shivering over a flame.

I had to work with limited ingredients because I was overdue for a trip to the market. I had no salad ingredients, and had no idea how I was going to turn this into an interesting meal for a friend coming over.
I had some store bought shrimp thawed out I thought I'd use for something. I decided on jazzed up brown rice for a side dish.

Here is how I prepared the fish:

I chopped up some zucchini, carrot, mushroom, and onion in a small dice. I made two good sized parchment paper hearts and made a bed of chopped vegetables for the fish on one side of the paper heart. I drizzled a little extra virgin olive oil on top and sprinkles some of my favorite seasoning (Hot Rocks) on top. Oh and a sprinkle of fresh parsley I have growing in my window sill.  You could use your favorite seasoning for fish, or just a bit of salt and pepper. It's up to you. Get creative! 

Next I sealed up the packet by folding the other side of the heart over and then folding over the edges all the way around. The oven was preheated to 425, and the fish packets were placed on a cookie sheet and baked for 15 minutes. It's amazing how the vegetables come out perfectly, and the fish is cooked through while staying moist and tender. There is no fish smell in the oven, and you just throw the paper away, so there is no mess either. When it comes out of the oven, simply cut an X in the top of each packet, and pull opposite edges to open the X and allow some of the steam escape. You can serve it right in the parchment, or carefully slide it onto a plate.

 

 

I highly recommend this method of cooking any kind of fish. It works well with more delicate fish like Tilapia as well.You can actually prepare these and freeze before baking. Take them out for individual servings for a quick meal.

The brown rice was short grain brown sushi rice. I love this type of rice. It's sticky and when I cook it with broth, it had a risotto like vibe. I kept it simple by sauteing garlic and onion and cooking the rice with a mixture of chicken broth and water. At the end, I threw in that shrimp I had thawed out because I didn't know what else to do with it, and some roasted red peppers that I'd fire roasted and frozen back in October.

It was a simple, casual, healthy and delicious meal, made by winging it. Winging it is challenging at times, but that's just how I roll.

Food Confusion and a Veggie and Egg White Breakfast Wrap

This stack of books actually came from my bookshelves, and while it's a little embarrassing when they're all stacked up like that, I'll admit I was a little disappointed that there were still a few missing, I've either lost or lent them out over the years, and never got them back. I wanted the full drama of all the diets and programs I've been on, or at least investigated over the years. (Add to this stack: Body for Life, The Zone, Fit or Fat?, Choices For a Healthy Heart, Healthy For Life and Stop the Insanity--to name a few)

My cookbooks would stack from floor to ceiling without a problem, which leads me to the point of today's entry: What the hell am I supposed to eat? I'm so confused. There is so much conflicting information out there. Not to mention, I love to cook, I love to eat, and to top it off I'd like to drop a few pounds and also write a food blog. There I said it. I want to lose some weight and write a food blog and the two don't seem to go together. I wasn't planning to write a weight loss journal, or a diet plan. I guess it's really not what the hell do I eat, as much as what the hell do I write about?

Having said all that, I have made some progress in this area, and also some inner peace on the subject. For the most part I eat lots of vegetables, fruit, whole grains and lean proteins. I don't omit entire food groups or eat them in rigid combination. Water is my beverage of choice, but only after I've had my morning coffee. I drink green tea and love red wine. Those are my antioxidants!

So what is the confusion you ask? Sounds like I've got a handle on things, doesn't it? I think I just worked it out as I wrote this! I guess I couldn't figure out how I was going to do all this cooking and blogging while trying to lose weight! I didn't want that to be my focus.

Well the heck with it then!  Here is what I made this morning, like it or not it was equal to only 4 Weight Watchers points. Deal with it! ( I'm using W.W. system as a tool only to help me keep track of calories taken in. If they'd like to sponsor me, I'd be more than happy to oblige..) (Oh, and the "Deal with it!" was aimed at me, not you) Trust me folks, I'm coming to grips and working this out as I write. Stay with me!

I put a smidgen of olive oil in a teeny cast iron skillet. Just enough to get some onion started without sticking. If I'd have had an olive oil spray, I would have used that. 

I added a little chopped yellow bell pepper, a couple of chopped mushrooms, and some thinly sliced zucchini.

While they were cooking, I whipped up one whole egg and a few tablespoons of liquid egg whites. 

I found these in a little pint size carton on my last trip to ALDI. I bought it because I hate throwing out perfectly good yolks. I save them and then forget to use them.

If you want to use regular egg whites, you can add one or two, depending on how many vegetables you're putting in your omelet. Sometimes one isn't enough.

I always have the best intentions of making a perfect omelet, but it usually is a hybrid between an omelet and a scramble. So what? As my grandpa used to say, "It all goes to the same place anyway".

To my eggs, I added my favorite ingredient, Rooster sauce, or rather Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce. I can't pronounce the words on the bottle, but it has a picture of a rooster on it. I think millions of Americans call it "Rooster Sauce". It's hella hot, but adds nice flavor if you don't over do it. I added a sprinkle of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper and poured the mixture on top of the vegetables. 

And finally, I put it all in a whole grain wrap. The wrap only has 90 calories and has 9 grams of fiber. That is amazing. That counts as one measly point in W.W. land. The veggies were free. I threw in a point for the oil just because it seems crazy that this could be so few points. I topped it off with a dollop of salsa and really had a good, healthy and filling breakfast.

I use whatever vegetables are in my fridge on any given day. I find if you bulk up your foods with extra veggies, it is a great way to get all your servings in, and fill you up without adding extra calories.

This is only day two of my self inflicted program. I'm very tempted to buy Jillian Michael's book about Metabolism, or Alicia Silverstone's Kind Diet. Anyone have any suggestions? Wish me luck!

Orange Food and Fall Flavors...

I haven't posted anything lately because I noticed I wasn't eating anything other than soups and stews and mostly orange foods. Carrot soup, chicken and butternut stew, cabbage with yams. Lentil soup that looked orange, and finally, pumpkin muffins. In addition, most everything is seasoned with fall flavors like cumin, curry, cinnamon, and smoked paprika.  I've been eating cantaloupes, and about four pounds of oranges per week. Is my body trying to tell me something? Is it screaming out for beta-carotene? I even put carrots and an orange bell pepper in my last batch of turkey chili, people!

 I don't know if readers are interested in hearing about my spinach, zucchini, mushroom and egg white omelets, or my low fat turkey meatloaf.  Maybe they are. Maybe food doesn't have to be rich and exotic to get attention. Not like people.....;)

I've been working solely from home all winter so I am home every day. I haven't been going to the gym or getting enough exercise this winter, so I thought the least I could do is make light and healthy meals for myself and my son. Actually this is the way I prefer to eat, but apparently it's the whole portion control  aspect I need to get a grasp of.
I eat when I'm bored, I eat when I'm pissed, stressed, sad, happy, lonely...I guess there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.
It's when I have company that I make all the food I think I should be writing about. The food I think people want to read about. The homemade pizzas, pastas, scones and pies...chicken paprikas.
 But maybe you want to know how I make my brown rice delicious and not bland, or how to whip up something out of the pantry in no time at all.
I am open to suggestions from everyone, if there is something in particular you are in the mood for. It will inspire me to find a recipe or create my own version of something. All you need to do is ask.

I'm Not Re-Inventing The Wheel Pumpkin Muffins

My intention with this blog is only to share recipes and thoughts and stories and jokes and whatever I feel like in the moment. I am not trying to be anything different than the friend you might hang out with and spend some time with around the kitchen island. Sometimes we'll laugh at stupid stuff, and sometimes we'll attempt to figure out the meaning of life.  Hopefully, in the end we'll feel better for having talked.

So when I post what seems to be an everyday recipe, or 'peasant food', it's because it's what I happen to feel like making that day, and not because I'm trying to win a spot on the Food Network. (insert link here ;) )

This morning I saw Joy Bauer on the Today Show. She does the Joy Fit Club segments on the show. I was chuckling because she was talking about easy vegetable soups and stews, almost exactly like I have been posting here so far. Then she suggested eating a cup of it instead of a salad for dinner, or having some while you prepare dinner to stave off hunger and get a serving of vegetables in.
If you read my last post you'll know why I chuckled. And then I thought....and she's rich...and thin!! What gives?

This afternoon I felt like baking something on the healthy side and also wanted to use the gluten and wheat free baking mix I had left over from a friend's visit.
Yesterday I made a batch of banana muffins with it, but a batch only made 9 muffins? Who ever heard of such a thing?
Today I decided to make more muffins, but I had no more bananas. Joy Bauer said she uses canned pumpkin in all sorts of things because it's so low in calories but full of fiber. So I decided to substitute a cup of canned pumpkin for the banana. I also decided to follow the recipe for Banana Loaf Cake instead of the muffin recipe, so that I might yield a full dozen muffins.

I threw in a handful of pecans instead of walnuts and 1 1/2  tsp.of pumpkin pie spice to jazz it up. They're sweetened with 1/2 Cup of honey, and in hind sight I probably didn't need the vanilla.
They were quick and easy, and my son can have a snack when he gets home. I like the idea of using a different flour other than wheat once in awhile, because I think so many things we eat contain wheat. This mix is made with brown and white rice flour.

Though I rarely use a baking mix of any sort, I think it's ok now and then if it's good quality. In this case, I used Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix.
I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel here, but maybe to just inspire you to look in your pantry and work with what you've got.

 

I managed to squeeze a dozen out of the recipe!

Baby it's cold outside! More mouth watering soups!

I guess winter has finally arrived. I thought we were getting off easy this year, but no. The bitter cold days of January have kicked in, and all I crave are comfort foods. Thankfully the comfort foods I crave right now are more of the vegetable soups and stew variety, rather than the heavy carbs, fat and dairy type. Trust me, I love those as much as the next guy, but I'm just grateful that my cravings are leaning toward healthy.

Last week I made a lentil soup. Pretty basic, but at the end I threw in some diced zucchini. I like to bulk up my soups with lots of vegetables. It's an easy way to get your five servings in. I like to have a cup of vegetable soup instead of a salad on winter's coldest days.  A great tool when dieting, to keep from snacking too much  is to have a cup of it while you're prepping a meal and it'll take the edge off your hunger. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to butter my own arm and eat it around that time of the day.

Tonight I made a variation of a dish I like to make this time of year. It doesn't have a name, but my friend from Argentina made something like it when I lived in California. I never had the spice she had to give it the kick, so I had to improvise. I make an 'inspired by' version.
The basic ingredients are onion, garlic, cabbage, yams, white potato and chicken broth. I had no yams so I used butternut squash. I still have some potatoes from the garden so I used those. I used fat free chicken broth, and I sauteed the onion and garlic in a little olive oil. (Vegetable broth will work fine)

I get the onion to where its starting to get nice and brown, and then add the cabbage and the broth.(I used 32oz. of chicken broth) I cook it down for a couple minutes and add the potatoes and yams. In this case it was butternut squash.

As for spices I usually use kosher or sea salt, pepper and then cayenne or crushed red pepper to give it some kick. This time I used a spice blend called Hot Rocks from a company called Pelican Bay Ltd. It's a "Uniquely hot and spicy blend of seasonings, mineral & sea salts, peppers, parsley, lemon and natural flavorings". (this is where I should put a link and try and make some money from Google ads!)

What you end up with is a brothy, spicy, combo of winter vegetables. You could serve it over wide egg noodles if you were so inclined. Serve it as a main dish or along with your dinner as a side. I skipped the noodles and just had a big bowl all by itself. I added a little more kosher salt to my bowl, and a grind of black pepper. I still prefer the yams, but the butternut was a decent substitute. The Hot Rocks were a nice addition.

If you're interested in making either of these, and have questions, just let me know. I know I've posted mostly soups so far and I hope you're not tired of them already! I just need them to get through the coldest portion of winter!

I'll be looking forward to next spring and summer when I plant my garden and start creating dishes from all homegrown vegetables. I hope to share my garden experimentation here on D.R.O.O.L.

Until next time-

d*

Vermont Salad

I want to share a favorite salad recipe that I got from a friend a few years back. It's called Vermont Salad, but I have no idea where the recipe originated. I'm sure the name came from one of the ingredients in the dressing.

It is delicious, and also a crowd pleaser when you serve it to guests or take it to someone's house.

Enjoy!

1/4 Cup cider vinegar

1 Garlic clove

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp. maple syrup (hence the "Vermont")

2/3 Cup olive oil

1/3 Cup vegetable oil

Mixed Greens (baby greens or mescalin mix)

Crumbled bleu cheese and walnuts

Method:

In a blender or processor, blend cider vinegar and garlic clove.

Strain, and discard garlic.

In a bowl, or food processor, add salt, pepper, mustard, and maple syrup. Whisk or process until blended.

Whisk in oils slowly in a steady stream.

(I did mine in the processor, and it did not separate for more than a week in the refrigerator).

You can use this dressing on any salad you like. It is delicious and goes well on anything. However, this recipe with the baby greens with walnuts and bleu cheese is a winner. I personally like to tweak it, like everything else I make.

Here are some variations. You can choose any combination.

Dried cranberries, fresh crisp diced apple, red onion, red bell pepper strips, toasted pine nuts, Gorgonzola or feta in place of the bleu cheese. I like the bold salty cheese with the sweet of the cranberry or apple. The onion adds a little kick, and cuts the sweetness.

It's a beautiful salad to look at, and makes a great presentation! Hope you like it!                                           

Winter Squash and Chicken Stew

As promised, the recipe for this wintry, warming stew. I cannot take credit for this recipe, and I will post it as written, but will also make side notes and suggestions.

I wrote this all out on Facebook the last time I made it, complete with pictures and notes, and then my browser crashed. I'm just getting around to doing this again.

Let's get started. According to my notes, this recipe is from Bon Apetit - November, 1995. Wow, I had been married a little over 2 years and was  3 months pregnant.  How time flies.

The Recipe:

2 teaspoons olive oil

6 chicken thighs - no skin (I like the flash frozen boneless and skinless. They work great)

1 1/3 Cup chopped onion

3 Garlic cloves, minced (diced, sliced, squeezed, pressed... it doesn't matter)

1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon cinnamon

4 Cups peeled, cubed butternut or acorn squash. (I always use butternut, but it's a personal preference)

2 Cups peeled, cubed Russet potatoes (I use whatever I've got on hand)

1 Cup chicken broth

1 14.5 -16 oz can diced tomatoes

2 Tablespoons cilantro (optional)

I used potatoes and onions from my summer garden, and I measured out

the spices ahead of time

 Method:

Heat 1 tsp oil in Dutch oven- Season Chicken with salt and pepper, and brown on all sides. (About 8 minutes) Transfer to plate

Heat remaining tsp. oil - add onion and garlic, saute until golden, about 5 minutes. Add curry powder, cumin and cinnamon and stir one minute.

Return chicken to pot, add squash, potatoes, broth and tomatoes.

Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Uncover and simmer until chicken and potatoes are cooked through and liquid is slightly reduced, about 8 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper

Sprinkle with cilantro

This is a great recipe used just as written, but I find that it easily adjusts, and you can play with it. I don't measure out the potatoes or squash or onions either. I just use the entire squash because it's almost always more than 4 cups. Also, there is no law against using more garlic in my opinion!
I started using boneless chicken thighs simply because no one wants to deal with trying to get the meat off the bone in the middle of their soup bowl.
The same with my preference to Butternut, I find Acorn to be a pain to peel!
As far as tomatoes, I think I used stewed tomatoes last time. Sometimes I add more broth, water or tomatoes, depending on what is available and how much extra vegetables or chicken I'm using.
Go ahead and experiment. Sometimes I use more chicken...or less! You can't mess it up.
The only thing I do measure out is the cumin, curry and cinnamon. These are potent spices and can overwhelm a recipe if you have a heavy hand. I find this blend is perfect just as written. The cinnamon is a subtle surprise. I would never have thought of using it in stew before.

I love cilantro, but I won't make a trip to the store for 2 Tablespoons. I appreciate it when it's there, but don't miss it when it's not.

I hope you'll try this recipe, and share your thoughts and results.
I appreciate you when you're here, and miss you when you're not. Not like that silly cilantro!

So long decade; it was nice knowing ya...

Happy New Year!  That phrase really doesn't have a ton of meaning to me anymore. Maybe I'm jaded;  I can't get that jazzed up over a flip of the calendar page. It's like a birthday. Remember the excitement about turning another year older?  When did that lose it's charm? I'm guessing around age 30...

What is it about  new year's eve that makes people want to scream, wear hats, blow horns and makeout? Personally I blame the movies. I remember sitting home as a young girl and dreaming about the days I'd be dancing deleriously  in the streets at midnight on New Years Eve. I attempted a few times. I went through the motions, but secretly I knew I was missing something, because truth be told, I felt nothing.
In my twenties, New Years Eve became the ugly sister to Valentine's Day. If you didn't have plans, or you weren't kissing someone at midnight, you may as well join a convent. Not being Catholic, the convent was not an option. I probably just stayed home and stuffed my feelings. I'm chuckling right now, but you know there is probably some truth to it.

My crazy vision of New Years Eve antics

Here is a memory that just flashed through my mind:
The year my brother came back from Vietnam, he and I sat up and watched Come Back Little Sheba. A depressing little movie with Burt Lancaster and Shirley Booth. He was probably really depressed that he wasn't out whooping it up, and I was feeling all happy and special to be sitting up past midnight with my big brother. I remember him leaning over to me at midnight and saying, "Wanna sip of my beer?" I politely refused because I knew if it smelled like skunk pee, it probably wasn't something I was interested in tasting.
 I have a vague memory of us going outside and him firing his gun  once into the air. I don't know if that really happened or not. I wonder if he remembers this at all. I shall ask him today!

My oldest brother Rick and I,  pre-Vietnam days

So as far as the new year? I look at this from the standpoint that this is the end of a decade. A decade that started out really shitty. Like, the shittiest ever in my entire life. (Forgive me if I exclude world events such as 9/11/01, the wars, the housing bubble and financial collapse. I'm speaking strictly for my inner self)

During the last decade I  endured a divorce, early menopause, the death of both parents and 2 other friends. I changed jobs 5 times while raising my son, caring for my mom after dad died, and building a freelance hair business. Oh yeah, and I turned 50! What the hell else do you want to throw at me? Bring it!


But here's the good thing! It sent me headlong  into my journey of self discovery. A spiritual awakening if you will. I went to sweat lodges, group therapy, art therapy, energy healings and any and everything else I could find to get down beneath all this pain and anger I was feeling.  Not just from my marriage, but I went way back to uncover  and face the hurt from my past.
I can look back and see how much I've grown. I can look back and sigh a sigh of relief that the worst of it is now behind me. I have by no means 'arrived', but now I am so self aware. Now when something comes up, I can discern when it is my issue, and not someone elses. There may be nothing I can do about it in the moment, but self awareness is 90 pecent of it. The new milleneum showed me what I was made of.

So yeah, Happy New Year. Or Happy New Decade. The last one was hard, but as Maya Angelou said, "I wouldn't take nothin' for my journey now". I don't regret any of it because it was a period of such profound growth for me. Well...except maybe the turning 50 part....

Carrot soup and whatever jumps off my fingertips.

Happy Holidays Droolers. I didn't post during the Christmas baking season, because I think there are probably enough cookie recipes out there. I made about four cookie platters, but nothing out of the ordinary in my opinion. However I did try my mom's Butterhorn recipe for the first time. The dough is made with a lb.of butter and sour cream! Then cut into triangles, filled with cinnamon, sugar and walnuts, and then rolled up like a crescent roll. They really are pretty fab. If anyone wants that recipe, please request. :)

As for the carrot soup I made today, I decided to wing it because I bought a 2 lb. bag of organic carrots, not realizing I already had another unopened bag in the crisper drawer. For those of you who really need to follow a concrete recipe, this might be a pain in the butt. If you're like me and fly by the seat of your pants, it'll be a piece of cake....or a bowl of soup....It's a little like when your grandma tells you "a fair amount of this, or a smidgen of that". I promise you, it's not hard.

Here's what I did:

I took one big onion and chopped it up, along with

3 garlic cloves, and sauteed them in a little bit of olive oil.

When the onions were softening and turning translucent , I added the 2 lbs of carrots, which I cut up in pieces. Not chopped, not diced.

I also added 3 medium potatoes that were left from last summer's garden, cut them up and threw them in  with about 6 cups of liquid. I used 2 cups of chicken broth and the rest water because that was all I had. Otherwise I would have used more broth. Vegetable broth would be good too if you wanted no animal products.

 I started to think I needed some spices in there, but since I was winging it without a recipe, I had to stop and think. So I added a few shakes of cayenne pepper, a few shakes of cumin, and a couple more of curry powder.

If  I'd  had some fresh ginger, I might have grated a little in with the onions while they were sauteing. If I'd have thought about the seasonings beforehand, I probably would have added them in with the onions for a minute or so before adding the carrots and broth.

I put the lid on, and let it simmer away in my antique cast iron dutch oven. It's been passed down from the grandparents,but by this time I have no idea from which side of the family because they both had a collection of cast iron cookware. It's ok. The feeling is the same no matter who used it.

When the vegetables were fork tender, I put a few cups at a time into the food processor. I didn't really want it smooth, so I pulsed it until it was a combo of chunky and smooth. I stirred in some fresh chopped cilantro, some salt and pepper to taste, and that was the end. I think it needed extra salt to bring out the flavors, because I used more water than broth. I also think it will taste better tomorrow.

 

I think this would be an easy recipe to add things to as well. I could see adding some chopped, sauteed mushrooms, or celery. It's a base you can build on. You just have to look in your fridge or pantry and take a chance. That's what I do. Who knows, this time tomorrow this could be a totally different soup!

Bye for now, and keep on Droolin'.

D.R.O.O.L. -- Historically speaking..

I promise you I will get to the recipes, but first I want to share a little background, so you'll get a better understanding of where I come from.

In the olden days........
My mom was a great cook when I was growing up. By today's standards, I don't know how she would be rated, but to us she was. She cooked pretty much every night of the week, and it was always homemade, good old fashioned 'real food'.
Three signature dishes come to mind, Stuffed cabbage which she learned from her Hungarian mother in law, Mary Shear, Chicken Paprikas, again from Mary, and the best spaghetti sauce on the planet, she learned from the Italian ladies in our Lackawanna, NY neighborhood. You know the neighborhoods that have garlic wafting through the air on Sunday afternoon?  The backyards are connected to the one behind, and sometimes the garden takes up the entire yard.
She'd cook the sauce all day long and I was surprised to find out that it started with some sort of bone in it. I can't remember now if it was beef or pork. I'd come home from school on a spaghetti sauce day with a girlfriend, and she'd serve us some crusty bread with sauce on top, and if we were lucky, one of her divine meatballs. (don't fill up before dinner!)
As the years went by, and we kids were mostly out of the house, she made it less and less. About that time  Dad decided he wanted to try cooking, and man did that ever piss her off. He made sodium laden Chinese cashew chicken, spaghetti sauce from an envelope, Shrimp Jambalaya, and Beef Burgundy. I don't know which made her angrier, the fact that he was as pleased with the spaghetti sauce from an envelope as he was with her all day sauce, or that no expense was spared for his shrimp and beef dishes. After all, she had to work with a shoestring budget and make it work.

I never really learned to cook at home, nor did I help with any meal preparation. I remember I was going to invite my high school boyfriend for breakfast, and I frantically practiced frying and turning eggs. My dog Spanky was the happy recipient of all my experimentation.(I've since learned that broken yolks happen to the best of us)

Coming of age...
It wasn't until I had my own apartment at age 18 that I really took an interest in cooking. Talk about a shoestring budget! I lived on the beach in Oxnard, CA. with my boyfriend, and we brought in truckloads of dirt to our duplex. We transformed a sandy corner lot into a vegetable garden, along with a pen of egg laying chickens. I used to take a cucumber for lunch while going to beauty school, while everyone else enjoyed authentic tostadas from the Mexican neighborhood where the school was.
That was beyond shoestring, don't you agree?
But I learned to be inventive and make things with the garden ingredients. Stuffed zucchini and lots of fresh salads. I even made tomato soup from an enormous crop of cherry tomatoes. It  would have been absolutely perfect if I had known when to quit with the white pepper. Other than that, it was quite impressive. I am very careful of white pepper these days.
I once made stuffed manicotti too. I made the actual pasta shells. Not something a brand new cook should take on, but came out surprisingly, great! But, I never made them again! It was just like making crepes, which I don't do either.

So my experimenting continued, but then I moved back home with the parents for awhile. Not something I recommend after you've been in charge of your own place for a few years. (I won't get into that now).

The disco years...
That is when I started studying dance in earnest, and I stopped eating red meat because my dance teacher said that meat and sugar would kill you. I couldn't commit to giving up sugar though.....but I tried! (side note: Years later he and I went to dinner and he had beef enchiladas) I was still not eating meat! I was like, 'Whaaaat'? And he was like, "What?"     Anyyyyhoooo.........

I started trying vegetarian dishes, and making bran muffins, and eating straight bran with blueberries and milk. It was like sawdust, but I didn't care! I was going to be the lean and fit dancer that I was destined to be!

Around that time I decided to make an Easter dinner for my siblings and their families while my parents were out of town. (hmm..where the heck did they go?) Anyway, I remember my brother Rick was planning to "wolf down wolf burgers" before or after the meal because he was positive it was going to suck. Don't you know he was pleasantly surprised?

Again, I moved to my own apartment and continued on with the cooking. I went through a phase where dinner consisted of cheddar cheese on Triscuits with hot sauce while standing in front of the open fridge. I was in dance class followed by dancing in the disco most nights of the week. Healthy, yet unhealthy lifestyle all at once!

The lean years...
I became quite obsessed with the whole no fat theory of good healthy cooking during the 80's and 90's. If you gave me a low fat recipe out of a magazine with 5 grams of fat for the whole recipe, I'd knock it down to 2 or 3. I was running 3 miles in the morning, aerobicizing  after work, and squeezing the fat out of every morsel of food. Thinking back, yes I was rail thin, but what was I doing to my body? Not only does fat provide texture and flavor, it is a nutrient.  We need it in our diet. I get that now! I wasted so much time obsessing over that crap!
Remember Susan Powter? She was all carbs and no fat. I followed that for awhile. Never mind.........

In the early 90's I threw a wrench into my spokes by attending a cooking school in L.A. for a six month crash course in basic French cooking. All that butter and cream sent me reeling. I was petrified of what it would do to my thighs because we sampled everything. My face broke out on Mother Sauce week. I had zits for days!
I will say, that most everything I learned there was valuable, and my understanding of cooking principals and techniques are much greater.  But most importantly my thighs came out unscathed...but I digress....

Here I am at the cooking school on Melrose Ave.

(for those who don't know me, I'm the spunky looking brunette)

Where is she now?
Well, I moved to a part of the world where folks like their food fried and fatty. Most restaurants serve things in a basket with a side of slaw and mac salad. I am happy to say that I really don't partake in that type cuisine, but once in awhile you've got to have a wing or a Friday fish fry. You can't live in Buffalo and not do that on occasion. In all fairness, Buffalo is coming on board with some 'clean' cuisine.

I have gone back to the basics, with my own twist on things. I don't wick the fat out of my natural peanut butter anymore, but I don't cook with lard either. I cook with fresh ingredients when available, and really enjoy cooking with foods from my own garden or local farms.
I enjoy baking for other people, and I don't keep sweets in the house, but won't deprive myself of a slice of pie when berries are in season.
I've taken from my past memories, my past experience and experiments, and just do it my way.
I have a wall of cookbooks that I treasure, but rarely use. When I look for a recipe, I will find multiple recipes for the same dish and then take the elements I like from each one, close the books and do it my way. The only time I will follow a recipe exactly, is when I'm baking. If dough has to rise, or a crust has to be flaky or fluffy, you can screw it up royally if proportions are wrong. I may also follow a recipe if I'm making something I've never made in my life and I'm having company. Which by the way, is a stupid time to experiment. But that's how I roll...

There you have it. For the most part anyway.  The evolution of  D.R.O.O.L.
Drool on Garth........

INTRODUCTION TO DROOL

Hello DROOLERS!
I have no idea where to start with this. Trying to set it up proved a bit challenging, since I have not been much of a blog watcher myself. I have no point of reference.

After much encouragement from friends to start a food blog, I've decided now is the time. However, I don't see myself as an expert on food, and I don't know if I have the gumption or ambition at this point to do a food and recipe only blog.

Here is how I see it: Food and cooking is a way to get me writing and sharing stories and photographs, which is what I love to do. Yes, I do love cooking and experimenting and sharing knowledge, but at times I've been angry at food. You know, I've used it for something other than nourishment. I know, I know, it's misplaced anger. Ha!
Yes, this blog will also be therapy in case you hadn't guessed. I invite your comments and insights! Hopefully I will not be the only one who feels better after a D.R.O.O.L. session. Not to worry, I'm planning on having tons of fun!

Now for the name D.R.O.O.L. Some of you already know how this came about. It was a Facebook status, you know the kind, 'Hey everyone, what should I name my food blog?' I had lots of fine suggestions, like "dori's stories", "dori's delicious dishes" etc. But then Donna A. came up with DROOL: Dori's Recipes Ooh Ooh La. I thought she was onto something there! I liked it because it was humorous and maybe would indicate that I don't take myself too seriously. I fudged the words a little to fit my intentions. It goes like this: Dori's Recipes and Observations On Life. Cool right? Yeah, I thought so too.

So yes, I will be doing food and recipes, along with photos where possible. I know that writing will spark memories, stories, thoughts, feelings and observations (and laughs) I will want to share.
I have a huge collection of photos which I adore. Many are old family photos, and some are my own work. I hope to weave stories through the photos and recipes. Now if I can just figure out how to use this site, we'll be in business.

Thanks for reading. I hope this will be the start of something good.

dori*