Cooking Shows

(Note: I am not affiliated with any cooking shows nor am I endorsing any. I just am giving my opinions.) I don't think there is anyone more picky about what cooking show to watch than me. I love cooking shows and watch them frequently but there are not very many that I "approve" of. The one I liked the most was  Nick Stellino but they don't air his (at least by me) anymore. I also like John Besh with his New Orleans cooking but I wonder how healthy his food is because of all the butter and salt he uses. People like Rachael Ray are too perky to watch in the morning (but she's great in the afternoon!) and Julia's Child's old show bores me to tears. I have great respect for Julia Child and think she was great for her time but the cooking show she does with other master chefs is just so boring. Julia's comments seem unnecessary and she never helps, she only eats. Maybe it is just with her old age, she can't do anymore. I'm sure I'm missing out on part of the story but I feel like she was  more interesting and a much better cook in her early years (well, they aren't really early years since she started cooking late in life but the years before this show). Growing up, we had a Spanish TV channel and they always had the best cooking shows. There was something about not knowing what they were actually saying but their dishes always looked delicious!

Someday, I would love to have my own cooking show or restaurant but I don't think I'd like all the behind the scenes parts. I like cooking and baking and sharing what I know but I couldn't do any of the managing, financing, producing, and things like that. Seems silly I know but we'll see. Maybe I'll find a business partner who knows all that and I can just cook all the time! Wouldn't that be amazing?

Leave some comments and let me know what your favorite cooking shows are. I would love to check out something new!

Cocoa the Escape Artist

So as I mentioned in the introductions, we have a bunny named Cocoa. We got her several weeks ago so I think she is about 3 and a half months old. She is adorable and we love her to pieces but she escapes from everything we put her in! Originally we had a pen for her made out of 24 inch high (2 feet) baby gates. She figured out how to climb them within two days of us putting them up. Then, while we were coming up with a more permanent solution, we kept her in her cage (don't worry, when we were around she would still be in her pen and getting plenty of exercise). She learned how to get out of her cage. For the past week or so, we have her in a slightly bigger area with 36 inch (3 feet) fencing bolted to the walls with wood panels on the bottom so she can't escape that way. We figured she's only about 8 inches tall (with all four feet on the ground), something 4 and a half times her height should be plenty! Well, she proved us wrong. Yesterday, she was very intent on jumping near her fence. Now, she does this all the time because she has crazy amounts of energy and is just a silly rabbit so I didn't think anything of it. Plus, up until this point, no matter how hard she jumped, she still had at least 6 inches to a foot before she reached the top of the fence. Well this time, she got her paws up on top of the fence and I got scared she was going to make it over so I called my husband at work to see what I could do until he could come home and do something better for her pen. As I'm on the phone with him, she jumps (from the ground) and makes it over the fence. Needless to say, I had to hang up the phone and chase her before she started chewing on the computer cords or ripping up the carpet. I actually caught her fairly quickly but now we are at a loss as to what to do next. As it is, David and I have a hard time getting in and out of her pen (to feed her, change her litter and water, spend time with her). Any suggestions would be must appreciated but in the meantime, we just have her on constant surveillance since she seems incontainable!

Hard Boiled Eggs

I have recently discovered that my husband LOVES egg salad. Egg salad is super easy to make.....once you make the hard boiled eggs. I can't be the only person who struggles with this because of the 100s of websites telling you how to get hard boiled eggs perfect every time. My first attempt was actually a huge success. I was surprised but figured that they were easier than everyone was making them out to be and from then on, I would know how to make them. Well, since then I have tried to repeat my success several times and have still failed. I'm doing the on the stovetop method. You cover the eggs in cold water (in a single layer, so if you're making a lot of eggs, you better have a big pot). Then put them on the stove (uncovered) until they boil. This part gets me because eggs themselves have bubbles so it's kind of hard to tell if the eggs or the water are boiling and what is considered boiling (you can also overcook eggs). Then you take off the heat completely for 12 minutes (if your eggs are large) and cover them. Voila! Your eggs should be done.

Are there any uses for eggs once they're sort of cooked but not quite hard boiled? If you make a big batch and you didn't let them cook long enough you get a lot of eggs you can't do anything with. If anyone knows of anything, please feel free to write it in the comments because otherwise, I'm going to be wasting a lot of eggs until I get this right.

Fat Quarters

I have had a recent obsession with going to fabric stores and I like every single fabric I see! I limit myself to the bargains and clearance but I still end up with way too much with no projects in mind. I have a lot of fat quarters now in all sorts of colors and patterns and I am looking for things to make with them. I don't have a sewing machine yet but I am getting pretty good at hand-sewing. Everything I have googled though for fat quarters seems so....pointless, like just to use up the fabric itself. I like making things that have a real purpose in my life, not like pin cushions and pot holders. Yes, these things have a purpose and are cutesy but do I really need any more? I've been thinking about making bags and things with them but I don't have THAT much experience yet. If anyone has any ideas for other things, I'd be happy to hear them! In the meantime, I'll just keep collecting pretty fabric :)

Introductions

I've been thinking about starting a blog for a couple months now and I finally got the oomph to do today so here we are! My name is Jamie and I married David on July 14th, 2012. I had just graduated college two months beforehand with no clue what to do with the rest of my life. Luckily, my husband makes enough to support us both so I am a happy housewife. I cook, clean, bake, and have recently been teaching myself how to sew and work on crafts. I also work on our house because it's not finished yet. That's a long story but to try to keep it short: David's parent's bought the house several years ago and gutted the entire thing (walls, electrical, plumbing, etc). We decided to buy it a few months before our wedding and we worked hard enough (we are doing all the work ourselves) to get it done to the point where we have several rooms to live in but we still have a ways to go. It can be very frustrating at times but it definitely allows us to put our own style into the place.

So anyway, hopefully this blog will introduce you to some cool recipes, sewing projects, cleaning tips, construction venting, and cute stories about our mini-rex rabbit, Cocoa. Welcome!