Good Morning Friend! How are you on this lovely February morning? Did you stretch and smile this morning, roll over and go back to sleep, get up and feel a little grumpy? Me? I got up, did my first few morning things and then decided that the bed looked so inviting that I had to lay back down for a bit. I did. I'm glad I did too. But you didn't come here looking for intel on my going back to bed habits, you came FOR THE FOOD! Spring is upon us and I'm so very glad! That brings us to wonder about what kinds of recipes are perfect for this time of year with the weather sometimes cold, sometimes warm and more rainy than ever! I've got a few perfect things for you... How about a single sheet pan chicken dinner, complete with veggies, potatoes and delicious chicken? Just add a fresh salad and you should be on the road to delicious town. Here's the video if you prefer that. Is an easy soup your thing this time of the year? How about just opening some cans? That's easy, right? 8 Can Taco Soup is probably perfect!. Serve it with some crispy tortilla chips and a dollop of sour cream, boy dog, we love it around here. It takes about 10 minutes to throw together and you can keep most of the ingredients on hand as an easy go to weeknight meal. And hey, you can never go wrong with a Mexican Chicken Dorito Casserole. Ever. My new Hot Chocolate Sauce is going to take you over the top too, just saying. It's better than any store bought sauce and you can whip it up in literal minutes. ___________________________ HOT COOKING TIP OF THE WEEK Some time ago, I may have mentioned that I purchased a Berkey Water Filter for my home. It's a massive silver missile silo looking apparatus that sits in my kitchen taking up a huge amount of space and offering great comfort that it is filtering out all the yuck from the water. I don't know how to reconcile those two things to one another: taking up so much space in my tiny kitchen and offering me safety and comfort by doing its job. It just is what it is. Anyway, if you have listened to episodes of our podcast, Dorks with Sporks, you will know that Sarah often "goes off" about NYC water and if it does or if it does not make a difference in the pizza crust, bagels, etc. in NYC. (Why does she care? I don't know, you'll have to listen and see if you can figure it out. She does seem on a mission to alienate New Yorkers though and I wish she would stop). Anyway, that lead me to investigate a bit further about water and if it IS lending flavors or qualities to our food. I found an interesting article at Cooks Illustrated, however, you have to have a membership to read it (and since I have one, I'll just paraphrase what I read for you). Some large cities employee water testers who sample and taste the water so that it meets certain standards. The water district of Southern California employees 25 such testers. What they find is that depending on the water source, it is influenced by its surroundings. For example, water at the beach often has a sulfur taste, water from a mountain spring will have earthier tones to its flavor and still others will have tastes that change based on the mineral content or the amount of leaf litter that falls into the water before it is filtered. How does this affect your cooking though? It reminds us to be mindful of how water may flavor our food. Boiling pasta in your tap water? Using bottled water to make coffee? Does your sweet tea made with spring water taste flat? All of these waters have different make ups and will cause your food/drinks to taste differently. One isn't necessarily bad or good, it just affects the end product and you should be aware of how what you are using affects the food quality. For example, If I'm making fresh squeezed lemonade, I always use water from my Berkey because it is filtered and has no taste that affects the lemonade. If I'm making coffee, I can just use tap water because my tap water doesn't seem to affect the taste of my coffee. Now for the real kicker. Sarah, you are right. Cooks Illustrated tested the water from NYC and there's no discernible difference that would make any difference at all in the baked goods HOWEVER, the water in Kentucky DOES make perfect Bourbon. __________________________ THREE LITTLE THINGS If you've hung around here any time at all you'll know that I'm doing my best to be thankful for the small things in my life so that daily gratefulness falls into place. I mention some of these things here just so that you will be reminded to be thankful too. When we are thankful, we are appreciative and when we appreciate the things around us and the people around us, I think we tend to take better care of those things and people thus making the world a tiny bit better place. Imagine if we all went around being thankful to each other for the gifts we bring to the table, just imagine that.
_________________________ A FINAL WORD During the past few weeks, despite Covid, I've had the great joy of sharing several meals with diverse groups of people. I am always amazed at food's ability to bring people together. We might not agree with each others politics, we may have never sat at a meal with someone of that religion before, perhaps we've never encountered a family group like we are seeing before us BUT we can ALL AGREE that the dessert is delicious and that the salad dressing totally MADE the salad. Once we find some common ground, it makes understanding each other so much easier. It's one way to learn to be kind again, I think. As I write this to YOU, it occurs to me that you and I may not see eye to eye on certain things and guess what, that's ok! I think YOU are wonderful and it's ok if we don't agree. What we do agree on is some good food! I sincerely think that you are wonderful and terrific. YOU make everything here possible and I can't possibly thank you enough. So, Thank you! If you know someone who might like these emails, please forward it along to them or suggest they sign up at the website (www.loavesanddishes.net). Just know that I love you and I'll catch you next week in your inbox, God willing and the creeks don't rise. Love you! Wendi Jo Unsubscribe | Update your profile | PO Box 82 , Danbury, NC 27016  |
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