Monday, February 27, 2006

Lee Anne tagged me.

1. How many meals does most of your family eat at home each week? How many are in your family?
It’s just Beau and I and we eat most meals at home. Lunches M-F are at work, but all other meals are pretty much at home.

2. How many cookbooks do you own?
Too many to count. I inherited quite a collection when my grandmother died over 10 years ago. I’ve collected a lot over the years as well.

3. How often do you refer to a cookbook each week?
Cookbook, not often actually. I have a random collection of loose recipes that I go to the most. Things that I got from online or my mother or friends or that I made up and happened to write down.

4. Do you collect recipes from other sources?
See above.

5. How do you store those recipes?
In a gallon ziplock bag. I know, I’m administrative and highly organized. You’d think I had a lovely binder with everything categorized. Nope, I store them in a bag.

6. When you cook, do you follow the recipe pretty closely, or do you use recipes primarily to give you ideas?
It depends. Often I’ll follow a recipe to the letter. Other times I just throw things in the mix. I’m more particular about following a recipe when I bake because the chemistry of baking is so precise.

7. Is there a particular ethnic style or flavor that predominates in your cooking?
Not really.

8. What’s your favorite kitchen task related to meal planning and preparation?
Pretty much everything but the clean up afterwards.

9. What’s your least favorite part?
See above.

10. Do you plan menus before you shop?
Sort of. I prepare a list based on things I think I might cook.

11. What are your three favorite kitchen tools or appliances?
Beau’s cast iron skillet, rice cooker, bread maker

12. If you could buy one new thing for your kitchen, money was no object and space was not an issue, what would you most like to have?
A whole new kitchen? Renting means you’re limited to what the homeowner has. My house is 20 years old and the kitchen looks it. I’d like a complete overhaul with stainless appliances, Silestone counters, and a double sink.

13. Since money and space probably are objects, what are you most likely to buy next?
A new, much quieter dishwasher.

14. Do you have a separate freezer for storage?
No, but I’d like to have one.

15. Grocery shop alone or with others?
Alone - Beau and I have tried to shop together a few times and we bought way more than we needed or planned. We each do much better when we shop alone.

16. How many meatless main dish meals do you fix in a week?
Not many. Beau likes a well rounded meal - he’s a hearty eater.

17. If you have a decorating theme in your kitchen, what is it?
Renter’s eclectic chic.

18. What’s the first thing you ever learned to cook, and how old were you?
I have no clue, but it was probably eggs in some form. Somehow I’ve always known how to cook scrambled eggs or an omelet.

19. How did you learn to cook?
I watched my mother as a child. When I had my own place and really started to cook, I used recipes until I felt that I had the ability and confidence to experiment. Later, I went to culinary school for a year - that was the true education.

20. Tag two (OK, three) other people to play.
I won’t tag - if you play, let me know in the comments.