Monday, January 9, 2012

New Year, New Challenges!

Hello, all!  Kerry here, reporting on some goals that Bannon and I have set for ourselves for the blog.  We even discussed it at a quiet, sane point in our days, so you know this is legit.

We are going to follow along with reddit.com's 52 Weeks of Cooking Challenge!  Each week, a challenge will be given out, following a rotating format.  Week one is a specific ingredient, week 2 is a theme or cultural idea, week 3 is a dish type (examples being casseroles, breakfast foods, etc.), and week 4 is a particular cooking method.  We're a little late getting started-would you expect anything else of us?-but we're not too late to follow along!

Week one (Jan 2-8) was eggs.  I don't have a specific recipe to share, but I did make some killer breakfast sandwiches.  I fried some amazing pepper bacon from Bluescreek, then fried some eggs in the bacon grease, gently breaking up the yolk but not scrambling it.  Also, if you haven't done this yet, try eating some free-range, farm fresh as possible eggs.  Maybe it's just me, but I can't go back to eating the eggs from the grocery store.  I was surprised by how different the taste was to me.

Anyhoo, after you've fried up your protein spread, put some cheese on it and let it melt in the skillet while you toast up a soft egg bagel.  I used cheddar and Lender's bagels, but that's because it was what we had on hand.  Put your eggs/bacon/cheese tower on the bagel, and enjoy some total comfort food.  I don't recommend it for everyday consumption, but it was a nice treat!

Week 2, which we're in now (Jan 9-15) is Chinese food.  I'm not sure what we'll be making, but I'm thinking at least some fried rice, and maybe some sort of appetizer.  We're encouraged to shop from a local Asian foods store if possible, or the international section of our grocery store.  I'm not sure what Bannon will be posting (we didn't get that far in the convo, the Little Dude became very insistent on watching Blue's Clues around that time), but the goal is for each of us to try a recipe a week.  We may cover for each other if needed, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

To give you an idea of what you (and we) have to look forward two, the next 4 weeks will feature soups, pan frying, beer/wine/liquor, and Brazilian.  I'm not sure what to make for Brazilian week, I'll need to do some homework!

I've also decided to try to feature a monthly craft (with pictures!) and a monthly "green" activity.  The craft will be something for around the house, hopefully using or repurposing something you may already have around the house.  Think holidays, DIY decor, etc.   The green activity will be guiding you, and giving reviews, on things you can make for yourself-detergent, hand soap, play doh for the kids.  Save yourself some money, and feel better about avoiding dodgy ingredients.

Keep an eye out this week for a Chinese recipe or two, as well as a little experimenting with making your own spray-on Oxy Clean!

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