Easy Cheesy

Tonight's recipe experiment was Cheesy Zucchini. We often get a lot of zucchini in our summer CSA, and I like to grow basil in my garden, so this could be a good fit.  It has a good flavor, and it's so basic that there are lots of possibilities for jazzing it up; different cheeses, spices, etc.

It's a super-easy recipe, but I had a couple of "problems".  First, 35 minutes was not quite enough to render the zucchini done, and second, it wasn't enough time to brown the cheese.  Aside from that, it was a nice alternative to plain summer squash and zucchini.

Happy Mother's Day

You win some...

And you lose some. Although I wouldn't actually call tonight's dinner a "loss", it just wasn't a hit.

I like to try recipes out on my family, friends, and guests.  I experiment at least once or twice a week unless it's a super busy week; more if I'm looking for some fun in the kitchen.

I started these weekly experiments almost twelve years ago when I discovered that my "favorites" cookbook had recipes in it that I had actually never tried.  I was a relative newlywed at the time with a new baby, and I didn't know what kinds of food my growing family really liked.  So, I pulled every recipe out and began cooking my way through the entire cookbook.  I had three rules. 1) everyone has to be honest about their opinion of the experiment (if you don't tell me you don't like it, and *I* like it, you may see it again), 2) I can't take your opinion personally (which I had a tendency to do), and 3) there's always pizza.

We never actually ordered pizza in all those years, but there have been a handful of "we don't have to do this one again".  What do I have after twelve years of experimenting on my family and friends?  Well, my family still loves me.  I still have my friends.  And my "favorites" cookbook is now two overflowing cookbooks that I am now trying to digitize into recipe software so that I can find them easier.  I also have a new appreciation for Martha Stewart, Alton Brown, Ina Garten, and Emeril Lagasse...to name a few of our favorites.

I may just keep posting my little experiments here and share my experiences.  We've collected some fun recipes along the way.  Maybe I shouldn't just tuck them away in my recipe software, but pass them on for others.  Just don't start with this one.

Thank you, Mom and Marc

Ahhh. *This* is how you play hookie!

More Fun with Color

Today is our last official day of Spring Break (no, I don't count the weekends). Our final Boredom Buster is tie-dying.

For me, this is journey into the unknown; I've been curious about it, but have never tried it. Patrick has tie-dyed as part of some summer camp or other so he just jumped right in and started squirting. Katherine, who just enjoys squirting stuff and making messes, also jumped right in.

It will be interesting to see how their works of art turn out. Katherine did a swirl pattern like the one I found on Pinterest, but the rest of their dyeing is random and should prove to be quite colorful.

We may still do another activity today, but my organized program is officially finished. Next week they can go back to school and I can feel good about the fact that I did some real "intentional parenting" this week (and had some fun with them, too).

Fun with Colors

Spring Break Boredom Buster #3.
Today we used another Pinterest find.
Katherine, who loves to paint, got into it pretty quickly, but wasn't too interested in using the glue (a surprise given her usual over-use of the stuff). Patrick had trouble getting into it at all, but I think it was mostly because I made him get off the Xbox to do it. What he doesn't seem to get is that I was going to kick him off the Xbox for awhile anyway. They both came up with some artwork that suits them (I'll try to post pictures later), and I will have some artwork to hang on the wall above their computers. :)