Moo Makes Rue

I'm surprised by how much cooking has become such a big deal for so many people.  There are so many cooking and food-related shows on TV these days.  While I enjoy eating, I've always seen food as primarily fuel and good/restaurant food as a luxury.  We didn't eat out much while I was growing up, so I was raised on home-cooked meals that were usually on the lighter side.  Some people, like my sister, seem to really enjoy cooking and do it on a regular basis.  I, on the other hand, generally steered clear of the kitchen as much as possible.  Only now am I starting to explore this area, and I'm doing it for three main reasons:  better physical and environmental health, exercise in creativity, and opportunities to share with others.

Before we left for a week of dining out in New Orleans, we actually cooked meals at home for a week straight!  This is a major accomplishment in our household because it requires some menu planning, time to prepare, and agreement on what to eat.  I was so pleased to be able to use some of the herbs and vegetables growing in my "garden" to prepare dinners.

Here are a few things we made, although I only remembered to take photos of the green bean casserole:

Butternut squash ravioli (from Costco) with homemade sage-cream sauce (featuring my homegrown sage!)
Green bean casserole (my very first time making a roux!  See pics below -- boy did that take longer than expected)
Ginger pork with rice and miso soup
Caprese salad (featuring lots of homegrown basil!)
Popovers
Lilikoi lemon bars
Banana pudding pie

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