Biscuits

Like any true Southern girl, I love biscuits but I usually don't eat them because most store bought ones contain hydrogenated oils (aka. trans fat) which is one of those man-made/altered things on my list of things I try not to consume. So of course who do I call upon when I need to make a true southern-girl homemade biscuit? Well Paula Deen of course :-) Biscuits are really easy make because they don't have to rise like yeast breads and they only take a few minutes to bake. So here you go. And like all special occasion foods, please enjoy in moderation :-)

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Farmer's Market

I love going to the Farmer's Market. What a wonderful economic way to shop for the freshest fruits and veggies AND support your local farmer. Everything I bought today is local, which means it was grown within a 100 mile radius (actually, all of this stuff was grown probably within 30 miles of where I live).

Along with healthy, natural eating, I also like to eat local foods whenever possible. Now I'm not willing to give up my banana and pineapple from Costa Rica but imagine a few hundred years ago, people had to eat local. Most food did not travel thousands of miles before it got to the table.

So for today I have (for only $8.00)

-blueberries

-cantelope

-blue and red potatoes (organic)

-okra (organic)

Dinner!

As some of you know I (almost) always cook from scratch. And almost everything I buy is free from artificial flavors, artificial colors, preservatives, HFCS, and hydrogenated oils. Those things are man made and I just don't think they are good to put in our bodies. I think our bodies were designed for pesticide free apples and not Red #40.

So I hope you enjoy tonight's creation (thanks again to Rachel Ray): Chicken, brown rice, black beans, pineapple, onion, jalapenos, brown rice, jerk sauce.

Hola Mexico!

Whenever I travel (which is not as often as I'd like) I love learning about the food they eat and learning about how they do things differently than we do. This picture is from a store in Cozumel called "Chedraui" which is alot like Walmart here. What do you notice about these pastries here? Mexico has a whole different concept of sanitation than we do. Breads and sweets just sit out in the open like this and you just go and pick what you want. Yes, you could touch them all before choosing and no one would stop you. Other things we normally would find in closed containers or bins are also just sitting out in the open. Yes I consumed my fair share of every Mexican pastry, cake, and cookie. Yes it had been sitting out in the open all day and yes, I am still alive to tell you about it. It's part of embracing the culture :-)

Chicken Fajita Salad with Poblano-Buttermilk Dressing

I got this one out of a Rachel Ray magazine. The quesadillas and avocado were my idea. A little spicy, but that's the way I like it. If you have never tried them, poblano peppers are amazing :-)

Welcome!

Welcome to my food blog. I am not a professional writer. I am not extremely witty with words. I just love to cook and play in the kitchen, and I love to share what I do. I was asked the other week what I would do if I was not a teacher. Answer: A chef or a baker. Somewhere where I could play with food all day long.