Another awesome cookbook..........

I came home from work to this cookbook sitting on the counter with a little note. I had told Thad I wanted this cookbook a while back and he ordered it for me. I was so so so excited, that I sat down in the arm chair in the living room and just looked through my new cookbook page by page, recipe by recipe.

Dorrie Greenspan is a food writer, cookbook author and a contributor for well known magazines like Parade mMgazine and Bon Appetit. She has "been the co-author on two cookbooks with Pierre Hermé, Paris's king of pastry, written the Café Boulud Cookbook with Daniel Boulud, the famous French chef in New York (and, lately, Palm Beach and Las Vegas), and had the great honor and terrific fun of writing Baking with Julia, the book that accompanied Julia Child's PBS Television Series". She also has a blog that is really fun to browse too. So thanks babe, so excited to experiment, try all these fabulous recipes and then share with you all the great recipes I find. Stay tuned......

Nelson Family Cookbook

I am always calling my mom for recipes, recipes that she has made that I love. She is always quick to email them to me or tell me them over the phone. She is a master seasoner who can season anything to perfection. She makes EVERYTHING from scratch and her recipes are tried and true and a guaranteed to be good. She is not scared to take on new more complicated techniques or recipes. She loves to can her vegetables and fruits from her gardens and can whip up a fresh salad from her garden and throw together a vinigrette based salad dressing in no time.

Living in France my mom made it a personal mission of hers to try the foods of the land. She took french cooking classes and tried all their various cheeses. She explored the open aired markets and loved to try little quaint restaurants. When we first moved there my mom was fearless. She did not know the land nor the language and yet she would pile us all into the van and off we would go. When we would get lost and say "mom are we lost?", she would say "no, we are just sight-seeing". And after living in France our taste buds were never the same. We loved butter, fresh meats, breads and cheeses and learned what REAL chocolate tates like.
So one day on the phone my mom told me she was making a Valentines Day present for me (and all the kids) and that I would love it. I came home one day and there was a package on the porch. Inside was a sweet letter stating that she loved that I love to cook and that cooking is a Blackwelder (my mom's maiden name) traditon starting with my great grandma Brozovich who came to America from Croatia. The cookbook had family pictures of good food and good memories on the front and a picture of my gorgeous mom on the back.
Love this picture on my nephew Max cooking with Grandma Peggy!

These recipes are a treasure to me and are priceless. I love knowing that I now have all the recipes I love so much. Thanks momma. I can't wait to get cookin'!

You can visit my mom's blog to read all about her Lavendar fields and apple orchard and read some of her yummy recipes right her at: http://thepurpleapple-lavender.blogspot.com/

A Gift From the hubby.....

I love to surf food blogs and read recipes and in doing so sometimes I find items that I never knew I needed or wanted but must have. In December I sent Thad a link to Martha Stewart's new cookbook "Martha Stewart's Cookies". I love to bake and I love to make cookies and what makes it perfect is that Thad loves cookies too and loves to be a taste tester (he is so selfless, willing to donate himself to the cause). I saw this cookbook on my favorite food website "Two Peas and Their Pod" http://twopeasandtheirpod.com/ and Martha's cookie cookbook came highly recommended. I needed to have it.

So I sent the link to Thad, not expecting it right then and then there but I like to give him ideas and make shopping easy on him. About two weeks later I came home and found a box on the car port. That night Thad let me open the box and what was inside? "Martha Stewart's Cookies"! The cookbook has your basics like oatmeal cookies and chocolate chip cookies but then also features more specialty cookies like Lime Meltaways, Carrot Cake Cookies and Peppermint Meringue Sandwiches with Chocolate Filling. I am so excited to try all the recipes and discover some new family favorites.