5 Days and Counting

Yes, that's right, five more days of work. I am SO excited for multiple reasons, but high on the list is to be able to get back on a relatively normal sleep schedule. A few days ago I woke up at 3:30am to go to work and two of my housemates were up cleaning from a party the night before. It really makes me feel crazy when I am leaving for work and see people who have yet to go to sleep.

On another note, yesterday I made sweet biscuits for strawberry shortcakes and they were like woah yummers, the best I've ever had I think. After living in the South for 5 years, I take pride in making a good biscuit. However, although I have made some damn good ones, none were good enough to brag about. Sorry I don't have a picture, I guess I was too concerned with eating one than photography. The recipe came from good ol' Martha Stuart, gotta love the woman. I wish I could say it was from Edna Lewis or some other really wonderful, traditional Southern cook, but I'll take a great recipe where ever I can get it. These were BIG and tall and fluffy and with a crunchy sanding sugar covered top, almost cloud-like, but satisfyingly cloud-like, not like eating air cloud-like, got it? It was Martha's sweet shortcake version of her basic baking powder biscuit. I plan on making the none-sweet version next to see if they make me rant like this too.

Lastly, in the spirit of off-loading the randomness that is my brain, I have been thinking about nostalgic foods again. I know, I've written about nostalgia before and I'm sure I will again because so much of our personal food preferences and excitement is rooted in warm memories, tradition, childhood, and habit. Just like all our other preferences, they act as a way we define ourselves; as silly as it sounds, the foods we like and don't like are part of what we call our "identity." Enough philosophical ramblings for the day, onto what I really wanted to talk about--the foods I have been thinking about making when I go home to California in a few weeks. I have been making a mental list over the past couple weeks, but have been meaning to make a formal list because my memory is complete shit and thus lists are my friends. However, while I'm at it and haven't blogged in ions I thought I would share it with all of you because I am confident you care...a lot.
Foods to be prepared, enjoyed, and consumed while home with the fam:

1. Something AMAZING to bring to my friend Natalie's pot luck wedding. This is very important and I've drawn a blank so far, but I'm hoping inspiration will hit before the big day.
2. Mama's mac and cheese (it has gruyere and fontina people)
3. Mama's corn pancakes with salsa and sour cream
4. Our famous taco shuffle, a.k.a. the meal we make when we know we are going to be feeding a crowd, which is pretty much always. It's perfect because everyone gets to assemble their own tacos and picky eaters (Danya, though I believe she's starting to warm to vegetables/colorful foods), former Vegans (oh my God, that's me), etc. are all happy. Plus it's fun to fill the table with as many wacky toppings as possible and then send them around the table (clockwise) until we've all gotten our fill.
5. Beet salad
6. Coleslaw
7. Challah french toast...and regular french toast.
8. Lotsa different kinds of pancakes I've been hankering to try--I love getting up early and making special breakfast for the siblings before they go to school; always more exciting than cereal or toast.
9. This isn't really cooking, but is seriously nostalgic--sitting on the huge green couch in our living room and savoring Mom's famous DARK coffee and talking really fast about life, philosophy, anything because we're so caffeinated and thus a little crazy and excited. This is the reason we're all addicted, it's pretty much the best part of the day.
10. Making lots of homemade ice cream; I have some special flavors in mind.
11. Chocolate spice cookies with Danya; we made lots of these last winter and couldn't get enough of them. I'm teaching her how to be a neurotic baker like me.
12. Egg in a hole, Noah's first culinary masterpiece and one of my favorite breakfasts.
13. Lots of chicken, the meat my family just can't get enough of--I think because my Mom can always seem to find a new, crazy yummy chicken recipe, thus we never get bored.
14. Pesto pasta.
15. Burgers on english muffins.
16. That salad with with avocado, shrimp, corn, and other yumminess that I can't recall at the moment.
17. My sister Kyle and I have the mission of recreating a favorite childhood drink that we used to get as part of a family food co-op when we were kids. It hasn't been on supermarket shelves for more than 15 years, but it came in capri-sun type bags with a straw and were carob-mint-malt flavored rice milk (or some other kind of alternative milk, we can't really remember). Wish us luck.

Ok, I'll stop now. We'll see if I can fit that all into a weeks worth of eating. The lift will help I'm sure.

Tootles.