Halcyon Eve

about me

***To those who were kind enough to give me gifts of premium membership (but chose to remain anonymous)--THANK YOU so much for your thoughtful gifts! What a sweet gesture!***


(Note: the photo above was taken from Orcas Island, San Juan County, Washington. It is not by me, although the haiku is. The photo (OrkilaSunset.jpg) was found on commons.wikimedia.org, available for use under the GNU free documentation license, and was taken by Connor Lee (User:WAvegetarian). I have shrunk the photo and added text.)

I recently completed a 2-year transfer degree in engineering. I'd originally planned to complete a bachelor's degree or possibly even a graduate degree in civil & environmental engineering, but there has been a change in my plans. I've decided that, for me, college isn't compatible with being a good wife and mother--I'm too busy all the time, and too stressed out. So I'm leaving school (at least, for now) to go back to being a full-time SAHM and homeschooling our son. It was a hard decision to make...but in the end, not really such a hard choice after all, choosing between my family and my schooling. I'm excited to have more time for cooking, now, too!

My DH and I just celebrated 16 years of marriage this December. We are the very best of friends, and we still feel like we are on our honeymoon, even after all these years. I’m feel very fortunate indeed to have been blessed with my perfect companion on my first try!

We have a delightful and funny 5-year old son (pictured at the top, taken in the spring of 2008). He is showing great interest in cooking (unsurprising, I suppose, since DH and I both enjoy it), and he has a fairly sophisticated palate for a preschooler. He especially loves salmon, chicken, broccoli, and carrots. He has two really big dislikes: potatoes and mushrooms! Most everything else is negotiable. Naturally, he also loves sweets! He often plans out meals he will make for us “when I’m big”. So cute!



Our first "child", our cat Stella Snagglefang (above), passed away this spring. She was nearly 16, and we'd had her since we brought her home at a little under 6 weeks of age. She was a good cat, and we miss her terribly.





The newest members of our family are Tiger, a big, handsome, brown & black tabby boy, and Coco, a sleek and lovely tortoiseshell girl with one golden foot. We adopted Tiger from a shelter about a month before Stella passed on, and Coco a few days after she was gone. Tiger is a laid back reformed tomcat who greatly enjoys living "il dolce far niente", while Coco is a princess, a prima donna, and a would-be fierce huntress (who is limited to hunting her kitty toys instead of all the birds and squirrels outside!).

Tag games I play:




Some events I've participated in:



A note about my rating system:

5 stars: We just really loved it! The recipe either had a huge "wow!" factor, or is simple and good enough to become a "core" recipe. Very few (and only minor) changes, if any, needed (e.g., reduce salt).

4 stars: Really good recipe. May have needed some adjusting to make it suit our tastes, or else mixed reviews (some loved and some didn't). Probably not a staple, but one I'd certainly make again.

3 stars: Okay recipe. Either we weren't very enthused with it, or it needed substantial tweaking to make it suit our tastes. Might make again, with a lot of changes. Probably would recommend only conditionally.

2 stars: Really didn't suit us and would take a substantial amount of tweaking to make it suit.

1 star: Really awful; I feel no amount of tweaking would make it suit, and would never make again.

Because I know my and my family's tastes pretty well and am experienced enough to have a good idea of how a recipe ought to be like from reading it, I expect that 1 star ratings will be exceedingly rare, if in fact ever assigned (none so far). 2 stars will be rare. 3 star ratings should be unusual, but not unheard-of. The majority of my ratings will be 4 or 5 stars. If a recipe turns out poorly and I feel it was due to a. changes I've made, b. equipment problems, or c. cook's errors, I will either leave no rating, only comments, or I will not penalize the recipe's rating (depending on the situation). Typically, I will make a recipe as written the first time, with some exceptions such as adjusting seasonings to suit our tastes, substituting a preferred ingredient that I am confident will work as well (e.g., subbing fat-free evaporated milk for cream in a sauce, or subbing chicken thighs for breasts), or substituting ingredients I can use for ones I can't (e.g., subbing arrowroot starch for cornstarch).

Favorite Foods:

We like a variety of foods from a variety of cultures. I'd say that Asian, Mexican, and Mediterranean are probably the most consistant winners, though, as well as "plain" home cooking. I've recently become interested in making bento (Japanese boxed lunches).

I really love fresh vegetables and fruits. In warm weather, my favorite meal is a salad with some homemade bread and perhaps some cheese; in winter, it's soup with some homemade bread and a bit of cheese--maybe a small salad, too, depending on the soup. I love fresh herbs in green salads! Cheese is another favorite food, though I don't like veined cheeses and I'm not fond of most French cheeses. I prefer sharper cheeses, and I really love English cheeses, like red leicester, wensleydale, and double gloucester.

I've recently found out that I have an intolerance to corn (maize) and corn products…guess how many foods in U.S. grocery stores contain corn products! I'm having to change the way I cook quite a lot, but all for the better: fewer processed foods, more cooking-from-scratch. I’ve recently revived my interest in bread-baking, and I’ve developed a love for soups.

Because I have to avoid corn products (so hard to do!) and my husband avoids "traif" (non-kosher foods such as pork or shellfish), and because not all restaurants are suitable for preschoolers, eating out can be very difficult. It's honestly less fuss to just cook something than to try to find someplace "safe" to go out!

I have a reputation in my family for making delicious and attractive green salads. I'm also known for my mashed potatoes, pasta salads, and chocolate cakes.

We have an extensive cookbook collection, but I've hardly touched them since joining Recipezaar. I hope you enjoy my recipes!

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