I Fell in Love with Food

Perhaps I should say that I fell in love with making food. I've always been in love with food, especially the kind that is chock full of sugar and refined carbohydrates (I wish I could muster the strength to not love those foods). As I scrolled through recent photos I was struck by how many pictures I took of food.

I make dinner, but whether or not I enjoy that process is always up in the air. Making new things tends to stress me out a bit. I don't like going to the grocery store and not being able to locate an ingredient. It's one thing to get to the grocery store with two kids and keep them entertained, but to mosey searching every nook an cranny of the grocery store for some random thing, hoping the kids' sanity stays in tact, makes me perspire to an unhealthy degree.

However, this has begun to change in recent months. Suddenly I have gotten the bug to try new things, expand my horizon, and power through those moments when I can't locate where the garam masala is and Grace is crying because Christian poked her in the eye.

It started with Pad See Ew, Aaron's favorite Thai dish. He kept talking about making it at home instead of getting at a restaurant, and I kept telling him I didn't want to. One day he went to the Asian market on his way home from school and suddenly I couldn't use my grocery store excuse. We made it, and not only was it delicious but it was ridiculously easy.

Then for super bowl Sunday I wanted to make some game day fare. Normally I'm a run to the store, grab a bag of doritos, call it a day kind of girl. But, this time, I wanted to go all out. I was starting not to recognize myself anymore- making effort in the food department? What? I thought that potato skins, ultimate nachos, and freshly made guacamole were the perfect sides to the boneless buffalo wings our friends were making.

Aaron had a bake-sale at his school to raise money. I think it was for a charity, since a bake sale for an MBA program seems a little funny. He asked me to make a quick batch of cookies to support his classmates. Once again, I went against my own personal grain and busted out 6 dozen cookies.

It snowballed from there. Coconut curry chicken (a personal favorite that my sister and Mom make, that I finally learned how to make).

Fresh strawberry smooties.

Crepes, which are always a regular at our house since my pregnancy with Grace.

Salmon stir fry

Green CCC's for St. Patrick's Day

Tikka masala and homemade naan.

Just the other day, when we made Pad See Ew again, Aaron came home from the Asian market with a bamboo steamer for dumplings. Although we bought the frozen kind I can see homemade dumplings in our future.

With all of this food, its a good thing I also fell in love with going to the gym...