100 have you tried list

the items underlined and italic are items I have tried.

1. Venison - grew up on this and I love it

2. Nettle tea

3. Huevos rancheros 

4. Steak tartare

5. Crocodile - does alligator count? 

6. Black pudding

7. Cheese fondue

8. Carp

9. Borscht

10. Baba ghanoush - I do live right next to Dearborn MI after all.

11. Calamari

12. Pho - I have many very close dishes but not this exact one

13. PB&J sandwich

14. Aloo gobi

15. Hot dog from a street cart

16. Epoisses

17. Black truffle

18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes

19. Steamed pork buns

20. Pistachio ice cream

21. Heirloom tomatoes - grew some this year

22. Fresh wild berries

23. Foie gras

24. Rice and beans

25. Brawn, or head cheese

26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper

27. Dulce de leche

28. Oysters

29. Baklava

30. Partridge 

31. Wasabi peas - I have had Wasabi with my sushi, is that the same thing

32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl

33. Salted lassi

34. Sauerkraut

35. Root beer float - ginger ale floats are great too

36. Cognac with a fat cigar

37. Clotted cream tea

38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O

39. Gumbo

40. Oxtail

41. Curried goat

42. Whole insects 

43. Phaal

44. Goat’s milk - Grew up on this, took years to be able to drink cow milk

45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120

46. Fugu- I don't know how to do strick through on blogger so I will just state it - nope, not worth it.

47. Chicken tikka masala

48. Eel

49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut - every friday when I worked

50. Sea urchin

51. Prickly pear

52. Umeboshi

53. Abalone

54. Paneer - is on the menu this week as a matter of fact

55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal - I at one time worked at MickyD's

56. Spaetzle

57. Dirty gin martini

58. Beer above 8% ABV

59. Poutine

60. Carob chips

61. S’mores

62. Sweetbreads

63. Kaolin

64. Currywurst

65. Durian

66. Frogs’ legs

67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake - a good friend used to own an elephant ear cart, she made good money.

68. Haggis

69. Fried plantain - I have made this

70. Chitterlings, or andouillette

71. Gazpacho - I have made this

72. Caviar and blini

73. Louche absinthe

74. Gjetost, or brunost

75. Roadkill - several different kinds

76. Baijiu

77. Hostess Fruit Pie - It gave me a tummy ache

78. Snail 

79. Lapsang souchong

80. Bellini

81. Tom yum - oh yeah I think all the shel fish would kill me

82. Eggs Benedict

83. Pocky

84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.

85. Kobe beef

86. Hare

87. Goulash - both kinds

88. Flowers

89. Horse - nope but I have had moose

90. Criollo chocolate

91. Spam - oh yeah baby

92. Soft shell crab-swelled up like a balloon, with hives

93. Rose harissa - if this is the same as harissa then yep, thanks Warda I do love it so.

94. Catfish - not much of a fan

95. Mole poblano

96. Bagel and lox - I made lox last week

97. Lobster Thermidor

98. Polenta - since I was a kid

99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee - best coffee ever

100. Snake

A new bathroom!

There is only one way to explain the bathroom before, brown, Brown, BROWN.  I was not a fan.

Hubby and I got to work to make the bathroom bright, all I could think was I wanted a bright bathroom, the opposite of what we had before!  Painted the brown ceiling white, the brown walls gray, replace the brown sink and toilet to white, and had a company come and for $265 had the ugly brown bathtub refinished in white.  I am so happy with my new bright bathroom.  however, we did not go to the expense of replacing the brown tile.

Now What

okay, I have been done with my summer class for a few weeks now (got an A by the way) and I am cooking. I have not had time since last summer to enjoy the kitchen and wow I am enjoying. I have canned dill pickles, sweet pickles and tomatoes; all out of my own garden. I have also been creating new for me dishes and working with my daughter on things that she wants to try cooking. All of this has been so fun!

On top of all of that my husband has gotten me all kinds of new camera equipment to play with. The new stuff has given me a learning curve for photo taking but it has been fun.

I am sure you are starting to think, why has she not been blogging since she is doing all this kitchen play? I have a really good answer, my computer died. I am typing this on the Dell Latitude we have for the kids. While this is a great little computer for the kids I can't get the hang of typing and using this little thing and to blog on it would not really be very enjoyable to me. soooooooooo if it isn't one thing it is another and in 7 short days I will be back in class. I hope to post a few recipes soon, wish me luck!

blahhhhh

I hate to say it, but I have not been making anything new these past few months...hope to find creativity soon and come back to this place on the web. 

 Thanks ~Shayne

A Friend's New Blog

A friend of mine just started his own blog. His blog is not about food like most I follow it is about Detroit, Detroit Suburbs, real estate, and what ever else strikes his fancy. The blog is simply called Jason's Blog.

Spice Rack Challenge for February - Orange Zest

I have grown to really enjoy polenta with braised short ribs. Simply by accident I discovered that polenta was great with a hint of orange.
One day as the short rids came out of the oven I was whipping up a batch of polenta when I realized that the orange zest I was going to add to the meat to add another layer of flavor while they braised in the oven was still setting on the counter in a little bowl. I figured if that could have been good in the braise maybe it would work in the polenta so I added it in. It came out really great and the kids just loved it and, truth be told, they are not really polenta fans so now orange polenta it is.

When it was announced that orange zest was the Spice Rack Challenge for February I was not so sure what to make for the challenge and then I had a craving for braised short ribs and remembered the orange polenta. At that moment I knew that I was going to do the polenta for the SRC. Visit Mother's Kitchen later this week to see the roundup

Orange Polenta

3 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup corn meal or dry polenta
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
pepper
dash of nutmeg.

In a sauce pan add in water salt and orange zest and bring to a boil over medium heat. Once water is at a boil whisk in the corn meal/dry polenta. Be sure to whisk vigorously to avoid getting lumps. Cook over medium-low heat for about 3 minutes or until it starts to thicken. Add in the remaining ingredients and cook, stirring, for another 2 minutes.

MLFB Challenge - Kitchen Gadget Love

There are so many things I love to use in the kitchen but the two that I had to take with me to Mexico, just in case I could not find them there, were my garlic press and cast iron fry pan. While I was in Mexico I did very much like the lemon juicer that I was using (never used this kind before Mexico) so I am adding that to the list.


This month the Michigan Lady Food Bloggers asked that we share some of our kitchen tool must haves. Please visit the Michigan Lady Food Blogger Blog later this week for the roundup.

Playing With Paint on the Wall

Feeling so guilty here that I have not been keeping up on my blogging. Blogging, the way that I wanted to log a reference for my recipes, crafts, home decor and art. It has nothing to do with neglecting all of these things, because I sure have been doing them; however, now that I look back I do not have a story or reference for the things I did do. Guess what, I am shooting myself in the foot for not writing it down.

Yesterday, after many weeks of thinking it through, I took the leap and painted the half bath in our new house the color inspired by the movie The Bridge to Terabithia. Yes, I painted the bathroom gold with that simmer effect to it, Ralph Lauren Metallic paint called Golden Candlestick. While there is a little touch up that needs to be done to my less then perfect paint job, I love it.

See for yourself...

Sink Before

Wall Before

Toilet Before

After

The painting on the right I painted a few weeks ago

I am so excite. I still need to find a rug and I would like to place some kind of twigs or branches over the toilet but that will have to wait for the right ones to come along, until then this is what it is.

I want to do this in the bedroom with silver but the hubby is not excited with that idea.

The Poof Act

ok so I have been neglecting my blog a little...alright, alright a lot but it has been a whorl wind summer with the return from Mexico and then living with my parents while looking for a house and joining weight watchers (not cooking a lot of new things) and moving into our new home and now unpacking and then more unpacking. I do plan to join you here on a weekly basis soon, really that is the plan. until then here are a few photos of the new place before we make our changes.
These photos are of the house before we owned it so the furnature, colors and stuff are not ours

Peek

One of the things I loved about Mexico was all the little doorways that peeked into something beautiful.

Sugar: The Bitter Truth (The SHORT Version)

Wow so much said in 11 minutes.

there is so much great information at undergroundwellness.tv

Spring 2010 in Michigan. Beautiful things found in the Woods

Wintergreen