A few minutes ago, I turned on my computer to get the normal mundane updates on the day’s news (yay, no government shut down – we get paid!), and possibly put on my favorite reruns of The Cosby Show before heading to bed. Yes, I know this sounds fairly lame – Ok, really lame – for a Friday night, but I’m beyond exhausted from a very emotionally-draining work week, so much so that I even nixed my plans to make a beautiful Cioppino for dinner (I figured that would be a great meal to make when my I-know-where-shellfish-come-from-and-what-they-eat husband was on duty). I “settled” for a Pork Osso Buco from Empire Cafe. Oh, the marrow…. holy cow, yum. My unmade fish stew didn’t stand a chance next to that earthy, meaty goodness. I digress…
So I turn on my computer, and open my photos folder, half-thinking about finding some pictures of cookies I’ve made, but besides that, really not looking for much in particular. But what I stumbled across were images after images of the many meals I’ve cooked – some fantastic and some fantastically not – and found myself at the end of the photos folder simply smiling. The memories of those foods and their corresponding stories (like Rob throwing dough, me flinging Arborio rice all over the place, and standing in a cold kitchen audibly coaxing yeast to bloom) brought a wave of giddiness and comfort over me. They were my experiences and memories… and they were good ones.
So like an old man pulling out the dusty old shoebox and reliving the days of his youth through thousands of baseball cards (of which he still remembers every RBI and batting average), I’ll share just a few of my cooking and food memories through these photos. Obviously, these pictures will not nearly touch the same nerve with others as they do with me, but these are some of my images of happiness… and I hope they will at least make you hungry. 🙂
Who hasnt done this?
Mini Carrot Muffins for a football party... dont know who won!
An impromptu Eggplant Parm on a blustery cold summer night
Recreating Date Night Javiers Tacos
Blackberry picking - those brambles hurt!
Wintergreen Farm carrots
Experimenting with breadstick shapes
Our leftover pizza picnic under a waterfall
Mario Bros mushroom! (don't eat this)
Sometimes the funny looking things are the most tasty.
Sunday Roast Chicken, baby!
This was a pampering night - hard to eat sushi with a clay mask on.
Ginger Gimlets - your eyes will look like this if you have too many.
gorgeous winter fruit - we couldnt get enough of them
Peter Piper picked a peck of.... these.
Yellow Daffodils and red wine. Need I say more?
42 Potatoes 
Jill,
Great Blog, Theresa and I really enjoy it. Hope you’ll contact the World and become a contributor to their Tuesday Cuisine section (which has become really lame). We would have been at Edna’s for the Osso Bucco last night except for the inconvenient combination of factors (Friday, Lent, Catholics). We hope they repeat it down the road. Take care and best to Rob…hope to see you both soon. r/LOB
Love the photos Jill! Someday I will share my blackberry picking stories with you… thanks for sharing your memories. I love the pizza picnic! (where’s the waterfall?) Will call soon…DB