Kitchen Through the Lens: What it’s about

First of all: I hate naming projects. I hate naming projects because despite my marketing background and despite the fact that I’m totally hilarious and funny (it’s my blog, I can say what I want), I have a difficult time coming up with cool catchy names that make you want to pay attention.

You want to pay attention.

In scope of a lot of stuff going on in my world, I decided I needed a project. I needed a fun project, but something… productive. I needed to incorporate something I love, but I also needed to incorporate room for growth. I think this project does both.

I have picked (with some help!), 50 recipes. They’re not all main dishes – some are desserts, some are beverages, some are appetizers, some are sauces. I don’t love cooking (you know this, right?) but there’s no reason for that. I love baking, so, uh… why not cooking? Each week, I’ll prepare one of these new things (not necessarily in order of the list!), and – here’s the fun part – document the process with my camera. Food photography? It’s freakin’ hard, y’all BUT this gives me the opportunity and reason to work on those skills also.

(Win, win)

Without further adieu, here’s the list of 50. I don’t anticipate changing any of these items out – but it could happen. And if and when it does, you won’t roll your eyes at me too much, will you? You’ll be super understanding and supportive and say, “That’s okay, Sarah, you really didn’t want to make that other thing anyway.”

  1. salsa
  2. tortilla soup
  3. pesto
  4. tomato sauce/marinara
  5. caipirnha
  6. croissants
  7. sourdough bread
  8. patatas bravas
  9. potstickers
  10. roast chicken
  11. char siu bao
  12. vinaigrette
  13. strawberry shortcake
  14. fortune cookies
  15. tequila bars
  16. a savory biscotti
  17. cream puffs
  18. Emperor’s pancakes
  19. beer bread
  20. mashed potatoes
  21. homemade pasta
  22. chicken enchiladas
  23. salted caramel ice cream cake
  24. hamburgers
  25. margaritas
  26. prosciutto wrapped melon
  27. tamales
  28. infused vodka (okay, I’m not making the vodka part)
  29. caramel corn
  30. fruit smoothies
  31. Grandma’s molasses cookies
  32. spaghetti tacos (you have kids that watch iCarly, don’t you?)
  33. a homemade treat for the dog
  34. blueberry muffins
  35. fresh juice
  36. cinnamon bread
  37. lemon pasta
  38. Greek salad
  39. Hasselback potatoes
  40. chicken tacos
  41. hummus
  42. risotto
  43. feta stuffed gyro burgers
  44. chipotle stout braised beef tacos
  45. key lime cheesecake
  46. taco pasta shells
  47. empanadas
  48. Narsai mudslide cookies
  49. Wendell’s cookies
  50. Thanksgiving dinner (turkey & stuffing)

The last several are recipes given to me by others  – so pretty specific versus the mostly vague first half of the list. Wendell is my grandfather who died in the late 80s – the recipe I’ll be making, Wendell’s cookies – those were his favorite. I received the Narsai mudslide cookie recipe from my dad – who has brought them up in conversation several times. Joe from The Hungry Dudes gave me links to recipes for items 43 – 46 and when a foodie gives you recipes, you take note.

The kids wanted to make some kind of biscuit for the dog – granted, I won’t be taste testing that one, but… why not? Tequila bars are a Guy Fieri recipe (yeah, I know) that I pulled from a magazine because…tequila. I’m more inclined to pay attention to his recipes if I don’t have to listen to him. Or watch him. Or want to rip the sunglasses from the back of his head and want to beat him with them. Anyway, worth a shot right? I pull a LOT of recipes from magazines…and never make them. This project will help me face down some of that list – maybe discover some new favorites.

Alright. Are you with me? Here we go.

I’m starting tonight. Got my lemon zester ready for some lemon pasta. Let’s do this.

 

Dear Chicago

Dear Chicago,
You’ll never guess.
You know the girl you said I’d meet someday?
Well, I’ve got something to confess.
She picked me up on Friday.
Asked me if she reminded me of you.
I just laughed and lit a cigarette,
Said “that’s impossible to do.”
Ryan Adams

 
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Thursday Ten: Unintentional Holiday Break Edition

1. Well, hello there. Guess I took a break. I didn’t mean to. I sure have a lot to talk about – like Christmas, and how I made a cheesecake so good that it could bring a tear to your eye. I’ll do that. Soon. Just as soon as the holiday chaos settles – JUST A LITTLE.
Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake

2. I told y’all last week how I was test driving the amazing Dell Inspiron One 23? Yeah. Dell provided the computer to me for review and we are basically smitten with the thing (Hello? HD screen? Amazing for photos) – and now I’m giving one away over on BD. If you’re a US resident over the age of 18, get thee on over and enter to win it.

3. I’m finding it hard to believe that 2010 is nearly over – whether that’s good or bad, I’m not really sure. I’m excited to see what the new year will bring.

4. It’s currently 38° and rainy. After the brutally cold temps of the past few weeks (brutal is my word – really, I suppose it could have been worse out there), anything over freezing feels like a heatwave.

5. I try to keep the begging to a minimum here, but since it IS the end of the year – tis the season to make last minute charitable contributions to great causes! And in case you needed one to support… I am walking in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer again this coming summer. 39.3 miles over two days. It’s an amazing experience, and if you would like to support me, and support the cause of kicking breast cancer’s ass, click and donate. (Love y’all. You look pretty today)

6. I need to go and get my hair trimmed but finding the time is so freaking hard. I am really going to be fighting the urge I always get midwinter to chop all my hair off – which is why I have to go SOON so that “hey! Cutting off four inches of hair seems like a good idea” thought doesn’t wander into my brain.

7. I am incapable of typing the word “brain” without typing the word “brian” first. Stupid fingers. And I just typed “weord” instead of “word” and oh my goodness, I think maybe I need a little more sleep.

8. I have been going through an intense perfume smell testing process that evolved from a friend sending me massive quantities of perfume samples from Sephora (I love internet people). After everything I smelled (and there were TONS), I have narrowed it down to Bliss or Philosophy’s Amazing Grace. I loved Versace’s Bright Crystal but think it might be a little TOO MUCH for me. I have such a sensitive sense of smell, I am so easily overwhelmed by fragrance. The lighter the better.

9. I finally bought a Speedlite (well, I got a gift card for Christmas, so I bought nothing). I picked it up the other day and LOVE that I can have some light in my inside pictures without the subject being totally flooded in fake flash. Why did I wait so long?

10. I finally saw Black Swan. Have you seen it? WHOA. I knew it was being billed as a “psychological thriller” but I had expected more ‘psychological’ and less ‘thriller’. I jumped so many times – frankly, it creeped me out a lot. It was one of those movies – I can’t say I enjoyed it – because that would just seem weird. Extremely well done. Extremely thought provoking. Extremely scare the bejeezus out of me.

Thursday Ten: Art and Music and Onion Rings, Oh My! Edition

1.  Last week, I posted a review of Maroon 5’s new album, “Hands All Over”. This week, I’m letting you know that A&M is letting me giveaway an autographed copy of this album. You want it? Leave a comment for me telling me so. I’ll randomly pick a winner next week Thursday.

2. I’ve been still hooked on visiting ArtPrize. I had a two day span where I didn’t go see art, and I was starting to get a little bit TWITCHY. It’s one of the coolest things Grand Rapids has to offer, and I look forward to them announcing the Top Ten pieces later today. The public votes on the winner.

One of the pieces I love is made entirely out of wine corks. Wonder if the artist drank all the wine himself?

3. During ArtPrize, I’ve been loading all my pictures into a Flickr – it’s been fun to see other people’s shots of ArtPrize and to share my own. The downside? Even though I do not have my photos labeled with a Creative Commons license, I’ve noticed that a few of my pictures have been used on other blogs. And it’s a weird feeling – I want to be flattered that someone liked it enough to use it but… That’s Stealing. Odds are, if someone had asked, I’d have said okay. Please pay attention when you’re taking images from Flickr to see if the owner of that picture has authorized its use. If he/she hasn’t, try asking them if you can use it. (Okay, off my soapbox)

4. As I type this, the dog is at the vet getting neutered. Poor little dude – not. Meanwhile, while he’s not underfoot, I have vacuumed and scrubbed my floors. Having the dog not in the house is not unlike when your toddler takes a nap at the crucial point where you need to get a lot of stuff done. Yes, I’m saying dogs and toddlers are similar… except I’ve never REALLY been allergic to a toddler.

5. Music of the week — My friend Lotus clued me in to the free single on iTunes this week, Cory Morrow’s “Second Chance”. Loter’s hubby plays guitar for Cory, and though country music is not usually my thing, the song is pretty good and hey, it’s Lotus-by-proxy. And that’s a good thing. Other recent downloads include (blush) a few of the Glee renditions of Britney songs.

6. Let’s talk about Glee for a second, why don’t we? I like the show – a lot. But I’m beginning to hate these themed episodes. It feels like all the dialogue in between is just filler to get to the next themed song. And while Britney’s music doesn’t annoy me, this episode kind of did and not just because of that BIG EFFING SNAKE. Of all the Britney things to copy, they had to copy the snake? Why didn’t they copy the ratty jean shorts with the gas station bathroom key in one hand and a bag of Cheetos in the other? MUCH less freak-outty than the snake.

7. I saw this clip posted of Jimmy Fallon, Justin Timberlake and The Roots with the History of Rap. Starting and ending with Sugarhill Gang, this is a pretty awesome clip. (If the embedding doesn’t work, it’s worth the click through)

8. After three days of craving onion rings and a failed attempt making healthy oven baked onion rings at home, I caved and ordered them in a restaurant last night. They were SO GOOD, as I knew they would be. They also made my stomach hurty later. Me and fried foods? Not friends.

9. Tomorrow is the FIRST DAY OF OCTOBER. And you know what that means? My birthday month. Yes, month. Eventually, I will get to hate my birthday and won’t celebrate it (no, I won’t) and won’t require a whole month of celebration, but for now? OCTOBER’S (almost) IN THE HOUSE!

10. And since October is traditional Breast Cancer Awareness month, I want to remind you to not limit your awareness of this disease to a mere 31 days a year. So many amazing groups doing great things. My friend Rachel and her friend Tricia are working on a Saving 2nd Base project – also, if at any time you feel like donating to support me in my 2011 Avon Walk, my donation link can be found HERE.

Weekly Winners, Week Ending 9.4.2010

A sense of familiar away from home

Wrapped up my 365 on August 31 - and yep! I started over again.

Eye spy

The puppy thinks my leg is yummy.

My leg goes from snack to resting place in a matter of second

Be sure to visit Lotus and the other Weekly Winner participants.

Weekly Winners, Week Ending 7.31.10

So, the puppy’s leg is fractured, there was a birthday in the house, and… uh… what else? I’m sorry, summer is just a big giant blur and each day blends into the day before it. It’s probably no surprise, after listening to me gripe about winter and now gripe about summer that I am not a fan of weather extremes — spring and fall? I love ’em though.

"I bet this is how your kids, and grand kids, are going to remember you. They aren't even going to remember you had eyes."

Sugar dusted chocolate chips.

Isn't this the saddest thing you ever saw? Now that he's on the mend, he's got a tremendous amount of energy though. It's kind of translating into aggression. CANNOT WAIT til the splint comes OFF.

I love how my dirty mirror almost looks like fancy bokeh. It's not bokeh! It's toothpaste splatter. Awesome.

Yes, it's probably one of the saddest things I've ever seen.

My kid brought this bear into my office - one more thing on my desk. I suppose if I cleaned it, I could actually use it. The rubik's cubes are for a photo project I haven't done yet.

Check out more weekly winners via LOTUS

Weekly Winners, Traverse City Style

Gosh, y’all… I could easily go another week posting pictures of the puppy dog (No, it wasn’t totally intentional that we got such a photogenic dog, but dang, he’s supah cute), but I will refrain from overloading you with canine snapshots, and instead travel back to midweek when I ventured up north.

Ironically, I woke up Wednesday morning feeling very not so fond of the state of Michigan – probably partly related to the stifling crazy heat we’ve had – but then? I drove a few hours, put my feet in the sand and spent hours with friends talking beneath the stars. Suddenly, Michigan looks a little better.

I have been to Traverse City many times over the years – but oddly there is so much of it I haven’t seen. I actually really enjoyed having the opportunity to wander around and see new places.

I love elephant ears. I didn’t get one. I fought the urge. But MAN. I love them.

Ferris wheels scare the bejeebers out of me. But they’re SO FREAKIN’ PRETTY.

Oh hi, Lake Michigan.

The drive home was rainy. Very very rainy. I finally pulled off at a gas station to wait out some of the rain.

For more Weekly Winners, go visit Lotus and check out her great snaps of the week as well as the other WW participants.

Weekly Winners, Week ending 6.26.10

I’ve gurmbled and griped a lot this week, but no matter how busy I’ve been or what part of the state I’ve been in, OF COURSE, I had my camera with me. Here are some of my favorite shots. For more awesome weekly winners be sure to visit Lotus and the other participants.

The Dude must live here.

The shutter speed made this look like pieces of glass coming out of this fountain.

Weekly Winners – Catching Some Fresh Air Edition

Y’know I love me the Weekly Winners. I love visiting Lotus to see what awesome mojo she’s worked with her camera all week, and then visiting all the participants and seeing what they’ve got going on. It’s pretty awesome.  So visit Lotus and check out the other peeps of the week.

A dock on a sunny day.

Who says money can’t buy happiness?

Going up?

An evening at the park

First iced latte of the season – cause for celebration, no doubt. And yes – I keep dental floss in the console of my car.

At the car wash, yeah.

Thursday Ten: It’s Iced Latte Weather Edition

1. Awwww yeah. After guitar lesson every week, Pumpkin and I hit the Starbucks drivethru. You see, I bribe her with chocolate milk if she can hang tight during my lesson. She sits in the practice room with me and my teacher and sometimes gets a little bored (totally understandable). Today, instead of my usual cappuccino I got an iced latte because – WHOA – this weather definitely called for it.

2. Still working on “Falling Slowly” in guitar – every time I hear it, I get kind of giddy – it’s one of my favorites (and the top most played song in my iTunes).

3. And with warmer weather comes… SKINNED KNEES. Pumpkin just wiped out wearing shorts for the first time in 2010. Guess I’d better stock up on bandaids.

4. HEY, Have you read about the PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT yet? Definitely a fun way to raise money for a great cause.

5. This season of American Idol? It’s really boring. I said that last week too. Though, I did love the acoustic version of Chris Brown’s “Forever” this week.

6. Song of the week? Someone posted an audio of “La Mar” by The Beautiful Girls which is really got a mellow Jack Johnson-y flavor to it. I love Jack Johnson, so yeah, I’m loving this one too – and look at that beautiful ocean.

7. That video reminds me that I really want to learn to surf. Know what bothers me most about the thought of surfing? Getting water up my nose. And I’m sure that would happen – maybe even more than once.

8. The iPeriod app for the iPhone is pretty freakin’ accurate. Which is fabulous. *Sob* Can someone give me some Cheetos, please?

9. Do you ever get on a food kick? I made french bread the other day and since have been wanting these fabulous oven roasted turkey sandwiches on slices of warm french bread with just a smidge of spicy mustard. And I just want sandwiches. Lots of them. (Sigh. See number 8).

10. Warmer weather means it’s shorts weather. I hate shorts. I wonder when I stopped loving shorts – because I remember being so excited when the weather broke, the sun came out and I could uncover my knees, but now? Bleh. Shorts? Yuck. Last summer, I decided to skip the whole shorts hooey and wear summery dresses – it was a nice alternative, but not necessarily very practical. So, capris it is.T