Should I be here or somewhere else???

Hi, friends!

I was excited to have recently begun my food blog here on Blogger (aka Blogspot).  It has certainly been a learning process.  I've tried Blogger before, several years ago when I first learned about blogging and when Blogger, I believe, was still new (or relatively new).  But I think they've changed a lot, and I need to learn how to do everything all over again.  Well, not that I learned how to do everything before, because I didn't then either.  I've already done a few posts in this, my new blog, so I'm learning.

However, I am considering making a switch.  I think I'd like to use Wordpress for my blog.  People say that Wordpress is superior to Blogger if you want to make money off your blog.  I think there's a good chance I will want to start doing some affiliate marketing at some point.  So, yes, I would like to make money off my blog later on down the road.  Or at least have the option to so do.  So I am trying to switch over to Wordpress now.  That's why I haven't posted anything on here lately.

Now I'm dealing with Wordpress being a whole other learning process.  I'm not really finding it to be as easy to use as Blogger has been.  Anyway, If you'd like to check out my progress so far, click here to visit my Wordpress blog.

Combine (1) the learning process of the blogging app(s); and (2) the uploading of photos to the computer and then to the blog; and (3) the actual blogging/typing to go along with the photos..  It's a bit much extra stuff to have on my plate at the moment.  Therefore, it's kinda hard to find the time to devote to this whole new venture, especially considering that I'm sharing a computer with my boyfriend.

All I know right now is that we have some great meals comin' out of this kitchen!  And that I want to share them with others.  I also want to share kitchen / cooking tips, etc.  The medium of blogging, rather than Facebook or whatever else, is the medium that I think I want to use for doing that.  I'd like to share ideas, knowledge and information and help to inspire others.  I'd like to do it in a way that is creative, fun, and a potential source of income.

Thanks for visiting my blog(s).  I hope you will visit again!

this blog on Blogger:  http://soulflower1970.blogspot.com/
newer blog on Wordpress:  http://soulflower1970.wordpress.com/

~ Emily

Using leftover cooked food in a salad! ~ 09-06-2013

Grilled zucchini and radishes ~ 09-05-2013

Joey grilled some veggie burgers and veggies last night.

Veggies were seasoned with:
salt, pepper, olive oil, onion powder, and a tiny bit of cayenne

Yum!

We had this with corn on the cob and veggie burgers.  Everything was cooked on the barbecue grill.  No pics of the rest of the meal.  These veggies were the star of the show!  :)

Lentils and carrot tops (carrot greens) ~ 09-04-2013

Tonight, I had the pleasure of trying carrot tops for the first time.  I opened some web pages to read about these greens before cooking them, but I followed my intuition instead, without reading first.  I filled my pan with greens and then about half-full with water.  I didn't want to drown the greens, just steam/cook 'em only as long as needed.  I figured they would cook down significantly, as greens normally do.  After I started to cook them, I read that the bottoms of the greens would be tough.  Indeed they were!  I overcooked the leaves while the bottoms remained tough.  This was definitely a learning experience.  Next time, I will certainly trim away the thicker parts, the bottoms, and save the thinner, leafy parts at the top.  Anyway, the verdict is.....

The leaves were delicious!  I added butter, salt and pepper, and just ate around the tough parts.  My sweetheart added the garlic-and-olive-oil mixture that I will describe below.  He went back for seconds and maybe even thirds.  He described the taste as carrots, celery, and [something else..  was it onions?].  I agreed that it did taste like all three of those things..  Although, now we can't remember what the third item was.  :-p

Idea for future meal:

Add these to a casserole or "stuffing" (a.k.a. "dressing") type of meal or side dish.  Something with seasoned bread/croutons.  With celery, onions, sage, thyme...?

The main course:  brown lentils (basically, lentil soup)

I seasoned them with salt, pepper, cayenne (not enough to make it spicy, only just enough for great flavor), cumin, and fresh onion, carrot, and garlic.  I would have added celery, if I had still had some on hand.  But I didn't have any celery.  Note:  I don't usually cook in this aluminum pot, but it was the only appropriate-sized pot I had on hand.  It is on my mental list of items that I will eventually replace with stainless steel.

Fresh garlic mashed with a mortar and pestle.  I just roughly chop the garlic, put it into the mortar, add salt, and mash it.  The salt helps the pestle to grip/mash the garlic instead of slipping off of it.

Then add olive oil.  If you like fresh garlic, this makes a great dressing for salads or any savory meal.  (Store leftovers in a glass jar for a day or two.)  We put this on top of the lentils after serving, which totally kicked it up a notch!  (Am I allowed to use that expression here?)

Cooked carrot tops.  See how the thick parts weren't cooking down?

Cooked lentils with the mashed garlic & olive oil & salt mixture on top.  IT.WAS.SO.GOOD!!!  The seasoning was perfect.  The flavor was wonderful!  I went back for seconds and thirds, ended up eating too much, and then complained afterwards about being full.

Red potatoes and kale ~ 09-03-2013

I cut red potatoes into eighths and steamed them.  I then used the same pot to steam the kale after transferring the steamed potatoes into a skillet with a little bit of olive oil.  I steamed the kale, then added it to the skillet with the potatoes.  I wanted to brown the potatoes, but didn't leave them in long enough for them to brown.  I decided they would be good enough just like this.  And they were.  I chopped some garlic and tossed it in and gave the whole thing a few more minutes.

Simple, easy, and sooo delicious!

This was served with fish sticks.  (There was nothing special about the fish sticks; they were just a processed food item that was easy to heat up in the oven.)

Basil ~ 09-02-2013

 

This is sweet basil from our plant. I just washed it and am about to put it in the oven on low heat to be dried.  I will then use some of it to make Italian seasoning with five other dried herbs we already have on hand.