Anna and Kristina's Grocery Bag

i have a confession to make.....i LOVE cookbooks! not the ones from the local church ladies...although i do have some of those. no....i HAVE to buy the ones authored by chefs from famous restaurants or something quirky i've seen on a food blog.

i've got so many....The Pleasures of Cooking For One by Judith Jones...Cooking With Shelburne Farms by Melissa Pasanen...Eggs by Michael Roux...Jamie Olivers...Jacque Pepins....Marthas... well....you get the picture.

i'm a weekend cook...not so much thru the week. cooking makes me happy....i "sing" while i cook (i use that term very loosely!) but...another big secret....i have more failures than successes with my cooking attempts. so when i happened upon a show on the OWN channel about two "wanna be" chefs who try out recipes from some of the top cookbooks and then serve their meal to a real chef i felt right at home. their attempts mirror a lot of mine and i laugh my way thru the shows.

Anna and Kristina....i think we may have all fallen off the same turnip truck......

speaking of giveaways.....

it's my 100th post....yea! in honor of this occasion i've made a little diddy from the "fly" collage i used on my christmas cards. it's a small plaque approximately 6 1/2" by 9 1/2".

i've placed it on one of the book covers i found on a junkin trip.

these angels are actually my aunts....both of whom have their heavenly wings now. i've always been told i'm just like the blond one.....some think that's good.....others.....not so much. i think it's a good thing! anywho.........if you'd like to throw your hat in for a chance at the giveaway just leave me a comment on this post. if you put a link to this post on your blog i'll give you two chances. for those of you who may not have a blog an email address or some form of contact will do....and of course if you do have a blog make sure i have a way of contacting you if you win. i'll draw the winner january 4th. good luck!

yesterday when i came home i caught a glimpse of color in my otherwise bland garden beside the porch. on closer inspection i found that one of my vinca plants has decided to share a little of her spirit with me.....thanks little friend! what a bit of cheer on a gloomy...rainy....winters' day.

i just finished a lunch of jamie olivers' crispy and sticky chicken thighs with squashed new potatoes and tomatoes from his jamie at home cookbook. i added a little onion and a few cloves of garlic before baking. as the folks in my family say.....it was so good it would make you slap yo momma (something NONE of us have ever done or would consider doing!) it WAS good. i'm gonna try his italian ham and spinach tart next.

well....'nuff ramblin.......off to the kitchen for a cup of joe.......................

awesome cookbook

i ventured out today to finish up my christmas shopping for my grans and picked up jamie oliver's new cookbook for myself (yeah, i'm like that!). what an awesome cookbook. not only do the recipes look wonderful but if you are a gardener you'll love the sections where he shares his own vegetable gardening experience along with some advice. the whole book is on the premise of cooking with what grows in your garden.......sectioned into each season.

after reading thru and looking at the pictures of his garden i bundled up and went out to put my own garden to bed for the winter.......something that should have already been done! i cut back my bob plant (he was a pass along and i can't remember his name so i just call him bob), trimmed back the butterfly bush that had eaten the bird feeder (my feathered friends were not happy about that!), collected some seeds before pulling up the dryed flowers, and collected and stored the tomato cages. like i said......things that should have already been done but have been put on the back burner. it felt wonderful to be outside after a week indoors.....to smell fresh dirt. i even worked on my plans for next years garden after coming inside to a cup of joe. no better teacher than a garden to learn that life goes on.