Tools of the trade

One thing I learned from building a house is you need the proper tools to get the job done. This is also my first lesson from Tyler. His first chapter is all about the tools you need to cook like a pro. I also learned that I'm lacking in the tool area. I have all the usual stuff that anyone uses but I don't have any fancy tools. I want to be fancy.


I've compiled a list of things that I am lacking in my kitchen:

*professional grade knives - but these can wait for now.
*slotted fish spatula - sounds sketchy....
*various wooden spoons - I probably need more than one, right?
*kitchen string - is this to tie the kids to their chairs when they won't finish their food?
*pepper mill
*chopsticks
*electric rice steamer - my sister got me one of these and I used it so much that it broke. For the record, since then I put on my big-girl panties and have mastered the art of cooking rice on the stove. This used to be a real problem for me. There is hope!
*one 10" tart pan
*bamboo steamer - any ideas what this is?
*food processor - yeah. I need one of these.
*immersion blender - Dang, I used to have one of these and gave it away.
*whetstone - probably for my amateur-grade knives.

Last night I couldn't sleep well. In my journeys through late-night infomercial surfing, I came across an ad for this:It's called an AeroGarden and I want it.

Most, if not all of Tyler's cooking contains fresh herbs. An AeroGarden grows fresh herbs during those long trying winter months in just 10 days! AeroGrow founder Michael Bissonnette said, "Wouldn't it be great to have fresh herbs, flowers and veggies growing in your home, any time of year?". Why yes, Michae! Yes it WOULD be great! I'm sold. Now just to sell Ryan on it. I know he hasn't gotten me a Christmas present yet.

Anyway that's my list. I wish Ikea was closer. I would for sure be much fancier if Ikea was more accessible...

Amanda & Tyler

...sitting in a tree?

Nope. Amanda & Ryan sitting in a tree.


Today is our 10 year anniversary. I hate to be cliche but I really did marry my best friend. I love this man more and more every day. He is an amazing father and husband. I've never met anyone who works harder than him. Did I mention how funny he is? I nearly pee my pants every day! I think he's pretty nice to look at too. I love you Ryan!


Here's to 80 more fun-filled years of bliss!



Okay, enough of that.

Back to task. Yesterday I made my decision about what cookbook would be our lives for the next year. There were way too many cookbooks to choose from. I kind of felt a bit bullied by Martha Stewart. She has way too many cookbooks and they were everywhere I looked! And Rachel Ray. I love you Rachel but I didn't pick you either.

I have to admit, Jamie Oliver was a very close second. He's just so darn cute! Don't judge me, the criteria involved more than just the cuteness factor. It does help though (sorry Emeril. Bam!).

After a long, arduous journey, I finally decided on Tyler Florence. Not just one Tyler Florence cookbook either. I will be using Stirring The Pot, Dinner At My Place, and Tyler's Ultimate. I decided on three because he just didn't have enough recipes in one book to keep me occupied. Plus look how cute he is!


The bonus is he has a show on Food Network that I can watch and get additional tips and recipes from. I have seen his show before and he's a good choice. Not too spazzy (again Emeril, Bam!) and quite casual. I also downloaded the Food Network app on my phone, just for good measure.

I think I have my work cut out for me. The first recipe I looked at was fresh crab. Crabs scare me. They look like giant spiders which really scare me. I have an extremely hard time eating scary food. Maybe my kids come by their picky eating habits honestly? Probably.


This picture was from a trip to Hawaii we took a few years ago. We went to what I called "crab island" and crawled around the rocks with them. They are gross. Ryan was excited to see crab on the menu though. But he eats all the gross stuff. Escargot is one of his absolute favorite appetizers. You couldn't pay me to eat a snail. I'm serious about this one. I will NEVER, EVER eat a snail! You can quote me on that too. Ryan has convinced me that calamari is really good. I just stay away from the whole ones. I like the rings, I just can't bring myself to eat a baby anything especially if I can see all the parts intact. The kids even like calamari. When we go out to eat we have to order enough so we don't fight over it.

This is definitely going to be an adventure. I did see some really yummy recipes that involved fresh homemade pasta. There were some pretty deadly desserts too. We are going to be eating good. I might go see if McDonald's or Tacotime will sponsor this adventure just in case. I have a feeling we'll be gracing their doors more than once in this next year.

I think I forgot to mention that I'm not starting until January. Tentatively. I might get ambitious and start earlier but the plan is to start after the craziness of the holidays. So until then....

The Big Idea

I want a "thing".

This year I turn 30...draw your own conclusions from this statement. I'm excited for my 30's. Last decade was spent having and raising babies. I didn't hate the 20's, they were good to me. But I've definitely grown leaps and bounds from the 20-year-old child who was me a decade ago. Maybe this search for a "thing" is some sort of early mid-life crisis. I don't know. All I know is some kind of adventure is going to happen this year.

It seems like everyone I know has a "thing". My definition of a "thing" is something that you absolutely LOVE. You dream about it, you think about ways to improve it, you educate yourself on it, and sometimes it can define you. Don't get me wrong, there are things I'm good at and enjoy doing but nothing that I can't stop thinking about. I seem to go in spurts with my first love: Music. That's an obvious one though. I don't think there is a church function I haven't sung at. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to shut down my musical side. If anything I'll do more of it.

But I'm bored.

Last year we were building our house and that was my thing for sure. Even though it was major stress all the time, I loved it. I loved decorating and making decisions for our house. The only problem is it's done and it was kind of a let down to not think about it all the time anymore.

Enter the big idea....

I've been feeling antsy for a few weeks now about having something to do. Last week Ryan and I went on a trip to Mexico to celebrate our tenth anniversary. On the plane trip there we watched the movie "Julie and Julia". I love this movie. It was really fun and cute and halfway through I looked over at Ryan with bright eyes and told him, "I want to do something like this!" The seed was planted.
Then on Sunday we had a lesson in Young Women's about Courage. The main point I got from the lesson is you shouldn't be afraid to try new things. After church I looked at Ryan with the same bright eyes and said, "I think I have a little bit of courage to do something!"

The clincher was last night. Let me give a tiny bit of a back story about my kids. My kids are the pickiest eaters known to man. I have hurt feelings about how much of my food they don't like. My sister is an amazing cook who has had some training. She cooks food that isn't usually what I call a "Southern Alberta Staple". You know, the meat-and-potatoes-Sunday-dinner food. Whenever my kids go to Auntie Joey's house they get fed gourmet meals that they haven't even heard of. They LOVE how Auntie Joey cooks. They also don't ever complain about her food.

The same thing goes for when they eat at Grandma Jensen's house. Grandma J does cook a majority of Southern Alberta Staple food. I have incorporated a lot of her cooking into my own menu at Ryan's request. There are some meals that I cook EXACTLY the same as Heather (my mother-in-law). One night we were all eating dinner at Heather's house. I don't remember what she had but it was something that I regularly cook. Katie turns to me and says, "Hey Mom, you should get Grandma to teach you how to cook this. It's super yummy." I just smiled and took another bite to hide my frustration.

That brings us back to last night. I decided to go out on a limb and cook Curry Chicken. My children have never had curry (that I know of) and Ryan loves curry. It was a BIG HIT! I couldn't believe it. Nobody complained and everyone cleaned their plates! Ryan looks over and says, "I don't know why you don't cook more food like this. You should try something new more often."

Challenge accepted.

So that brings us to "The Challenge". I'm going to loosely base this adventure on the idea from the movie "Julie and Julia" and find a cookbook to cook from. Tomorrow I have an appointment to go to in Lethbridge so I'm going to grace the local Chapters and find a cookbook to use for my adventure.

Ryan also pointed out that I have the kitchen for such an adventure. I do remember vaguely making some kind of deal in order to get the double oven...I don't know though, it's pretty far back in the memory vault....but he does make a good point. I have the resources, I now have a lot more time since Emily is in school part time, and I have the basic knowledge. Don't get me wrong, I'm no gourmet chef by any means. I do feel like I'm an alright cook though.

I'm going to give myself a year to work my way through a cookbook. The cookbook I'm looking for has to have a lot of recipes that we don't usually eat. I want it to have mostly ingredients that I can buy at the local Safeway but I want to step out of the box. I'm also going to write about my (mis)adventures in the kitchen. I'm really excited to start! I'm not sure yet if this is my "thing" but it will at least keep me occupied until we know. Wish me luck. Maybe wish Ryan and the kids a bit of luck while your at it....