Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Staying Out of the Kitchen










I'm over this summer heat! Enough of the 103 degee Hotlanta temperatures. To prove it, here's my nice and tidy kitchen that I don't cook in when it's this hot. Oh no...it's salads and more salads for me. But actually a Chic-fil-la milkshake sounds even better on a hot day! Since my power bill is outrageous already, I try to find ways not to turn the oven on, (and I have 2 of them). Now this doesn't mean that I don't like to cook. Sometimes I actually like to. For instance, on a fall day, I love to have sweet potatoes baking and a homemade chicken pot pie bubbling or a delicious chuck roast complete with potatoes and carrots cooking slowly. I make delicious spahetti sauce, but not with meatballs. I'll give that award to Kathy Christine of Augusta, GA, who was kind enough to send some with my daughter for my freezer. Can't wait to take that out and have it one night when I'm too busy to cook. One of my quick meals is chicken burritos topped with chilies and cheese and sour cream. Don't worry, I cook this almost entirely fat-free. It can be done and tastes great. I make wonderful grits for breakfast. They must be slowly and gently cooked with butter, so you yankees out there don't compare the grits with what you might find at a resturant to the real southern dish. By the way, never could master biscuits like my mama so I buy Pillisbury's frozen ones and they are so good.
I love to cook red beans and rice with sausage and cornbread on a cold winter day or big white lima beans ladened with ham. My sweet mother taught me how to make cornbread and chicken n' dumplings. Speaking of chicken, my homemade chicken noodle soup is my son's favorite and I also make Green Chili chicken soup. Kept for special occasions, because of the high-fat, is my fried chicken. No one makes it better, just ask my kids. That's really living it up to me. I make a simple meatloaf that taste even better the next day as a sandwich. No southerner would be complete without crowder peas with okra swimming on top and sweet iced tea. My favorite. Banana bread is especially good with morning or afternoon coffee or Oatmeal Raisin cookies. For company I like to make Banana pudding from scratch--not the instant pudding you mix that you buy at the store. That stuff is disgusting. I taught my daughter, Sheri, how to bake and decorate sour cream sugar cookies trimmed in beautiful icing for Christmas and how to decorate cakes as well. Now she is better at it than me.
Uh oh--I think this is making me hungry! I can't end this without telling you (more info than you ever wanted) that my sister-in-law, Sylvia makes the best jambalaya that you ever put in your mouth. She & my brother Gary made fabulous jumbo! We used to have it on Christmas Eve when they lived here. How I miss that....Now... that Sil is an awesome cook, whipping up gourmet meals in a flash. Just get out of her way! My sister Dianne makes the best cole-slaw in the world, and her hubby makes the best wings that I've ever put in my mouth! My sister Doris? Well, there's nothing she can't cook, but she's had a lot more practice than me. My son, Jared grills wonderful steaks and his wife Amy has introduced us to some good and healthy California cooking.
Am I boring you to death yet? I just want to add that I quit buying cook-books sometime ago. I have about 20 presently. I gave a lot away 2 yrs. ago. I do occasionally find a receipe that I want to try.
So now I've made up all these excuses for not cooking because I'd much rather be reading or writing or singing or dancing. I need a cook! Wait a minute--I need a housekeeper too. LOL! By the way, if you haven't seen the movie, No Reservations, check it out. It's all about love and cooking. Great movie!
If anyone would like to send me their favorite summertime receipe, I'd love to have it. Guess I'll go fix my salad for dinner...boring huh?

5 comments:

Kristy Dykes said...

You're making me hungry! Wow, you sound like a super cook. I love the pics of your kitchen. And also your office, below.

Maggie Brendan said...

Well thank you Kristy! I'm just a downhome southern cook. Problem is, I get tired of my own cooking or is that tired of cooking? LOL!

Anonymous said...

Wow, I can see I'm going to have to come down South and get me some of that good 'ole cooking. My mouth is watering just thinking about the grits.
Stay cool!

Maggie Brendan said...

Hi Lynne,
Doesn't everyone cook like that when they are in the mood? HeHe..Let's see even though I'm sick today we had small sirlion tip steaks, fresh asparagus, and tossed salad with pecans...and of course, iced tea-sweetened with Splenda. Gotta watch my sugar. I don't want to become too sweet. Ha! Now some would argue with me on that point!

jim robinson said...

Now you've done it...I'm HUNGRY!
:)