Loving to cook and cooking for love . . .

I was listening to an interview with a chef and the question asked was what gave him his inspiration to invent and cook such interesting foods. He said that first and foremost, the main ingredient for success was . . . love!

I thought that was interesting because I know that I love to cook/bake but never fully realized that I do it because I love my family. I care about what they eat and the only way to control a good deal of their nutritional intake is to spend time in the kitchen cooking and baking.

Yes, we enjoy fast food on occasion but it is a treat. Many times, too, they say 'thank you' and venture that it would have tasted better done at home.

We've all heard it said that we raise our children as we want them to be as adults. If you don't raise them on a variety of foods and the necessity of actually eating one's vegetables, will they pass it on to their own families?

I knew a wife/mother who thought it was hilarious that she had married someone that came from a restaurant/gourmet background while she couldn't cook well. After their 25-plus years of marriage, I would have thought she'd have been past the amusement and learned to cook better instead of finding it funny that her husband didn't have really good meals.

Mothers who don't want to cook for whatever reason might take a moment to consider this: If your child or husband were in danger, would you rush to save them? Taking the time to to feed them healthily and properly goes along those lines, too.

Gluten-Free Success!

 Being relatively new to the gluten-free lifestyle, I'm still experimenting. I found a recipe on-line that looked interesting and contained no weird ingredients I'd have to go hunting for in order to accomplish the end result. As you can see from the picture, I managed to bake a reasonably presentable lemon cake with lemon curd filling. As we enjoyed our dessert, we suddenly realized that we had missed having cake and this one felt and tasted like cake . . . without the gluten.

Although we ventured into trying the gluten-free diet for the sake of interest, really, we have discovered that my husband has been having less digestive issues which leads us to believe he is one of the purported one in 133 that actually have some problems with celiac. In any event, he doesn't want to go back and as long as I am able to produce cakes like this, he sees no reason to venture back to the land of wheat and gluten.

Catholic Trivia Question!

My husband asked me about this the other day and although we know this saint by his first and famous name, who knows who Saint de Veuster is? I had to look it up, too!

Our Temporary Cat . . .

 There is a long saga around why this cat is hanging around our house. I will have to share it someday but, in the mean time, this kitty just loves being our temporary cat until we can find a good home for her. She is full-grown but on the small side with the most delicate of paws. She is, however, a hunter and we often find the remains of her hunting on our front porch and in the garage. Let's just say that we haven't found a single mouse or rat since she came on the scene.

She is a very loving, friendly little beast. She loves to be petted but lets you know with a firm pat on the hand when she has had enough. If you persist, you get the soft paw with a hint of claw. Uh, we haven't dared go beyond that as we assume the result might be a tad painful.

Today, she discovered the tree and all the fun she could have in it. She likes watching dogs go past underneath her not knowing there is a lurking cat observing their every move.

The First Day of Summer . . .

 It is often difficult to determine a separation of seasons in California but, according to the Old Farmers Almanac, the first day of summer for 2013 is on June 21st this year. Although I am not a hot weather person, there is something about the initial warmth of sunshine on one's face, the sounds of the bees buzzing about their business, the heat bringing out the scent of the flowers, and the butterflies. I really like butterflies. It is sad, however, that seeing one is an event these days. Too many people, houses, and cars seems to have chased these flying masterpieces to other places. It is, however, the one benefit of having any kind of flowers or garden going as the few that seem to flutter around usually appear to show off their pretty colors and intricate designs before heading off to safer abodes.

Cats Prowl Across My Quilting Fabric!

To date, this may be my favorite download for embroidering on my sewing machine. The usual cat designs verge on the cartoon variety but these show up as more realistic. They look even better in 'person'! The pattern called for an entirely different color palette but I decided I wanted a black cat and an orange one for the tote bag I'm working on right now.

Successful Afternoon!

 I love my embroidery/sewing machine but have had days when I've wondered if the feeling was reciprocated! It seemed that every project was beset with broken threads and tangles. Not one to give up, I tried the small paint palette . . .It went smoothly from start to finish. I was suspicious! I tried the little butterfly and the same thing. Our Lady of Guadalupe had some broken threads to redo but went smoother than the last time I tried this particular pattern. Went for THE test and did a full hoop pattern that took an hour and 15 minutes. As you can see, the three, little kittens seem very happy with out  mittens. Either I got enough sleep and did everything perfectly right or the sewing machine realized it is stuck with me now! :-)