Morning y’all! How’s it going? Other than not feeling 100% (sore throat and a little cough) I’m doing pretty well!
Last night’s dinner was Chick-fil-A, sans photos! Mainly because we had to get to the grocery store so badly that I just didn’t have the time, energy, or ingredients to make anything at home. Besides, Chick-fil-A is a favorite of ours that we eat about twice a year, so we decided to go for it. I had a regular chicken sandwich and 3 of Nate’s chicken nuggets. YUM! I’ve heard they marinate or brine their chicken in pickle juice, so as soon as we got home I decided that I would do that to prep for lunch for tomorrow!
When I got home from the store I let the dogs out and saw that one of our trees is is full bloom, and I couldn’t help but try to catch a picture in the fading light:
Our neighbor has the same sort of tree (I’m not what one might call “garden savvy”), but his is a huge cloud of white flowers…SO pretty! After unpacking all of the groceries, I decided on a whim to make Ashley’s Roasted Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter. Y’all, I don’t even have words. I’m not even sure if words exist that do justice to this nut butter! As soon as it was done processing I added it to a slice of toast:
[Excuse me whilst I wipe the drool from that photo off of my desk]…
Incredible. Astonishing. Amazing. It’s a move-you-to-tears kind of good! I basically have no self-control around it and went to bed with a stomachache from too much nut butter. All that to say you should make it now and feast!
Breakfast this morning was inspired by Caitlin’s: a banana and almond butter grilled sandwich. Gee, I wonder if I have any almond butter laying around…? 🙂
Only one of the best breakfasts I think I might have ever had. It’s 2 slices of whole wheat bread (each spread on one side with 1/2 tsp of Earth Balance), 1/2 of a banana, and 2 Tbsp of the almond butter. Grill to perfection and enjoy! Holy heaven in my mouth…
So yes, I am having an identity crisis. A food identity crisis. I started to realize this last night as I was watching Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives (obsessed) and saw different types of food being made around the country. A segment came on about a Southern food joint in the Northwest, and I thought to myself, “I LOVE Southern food…I think I’ll try to specialize in making really great Southern food!” Then the next segment came on about a restaurant in Pheonix, Giuseppe’s on 28th. They serve classic, authentic Italian cuisine, and more than anything it made me want to learn EVERYTHING about Italian food! And then came segment on Southwestern food, and it all happened all over again!
I would say out ofe every type of food, Italian is by FAR my favorite! I want to go to Italy and learn from the people there how to cook what they eat, how to savor it, and how they do it all by hand. At the same time, I am so drawn to Southern and Southwestern styles of cooking. I mean really, who (besides a vegetarian/vegan) could turn down an incredible piece of fried chicken? Not I! All that being said I’d love the become an “expert” of sorts in some form of cooking, but don’t know what to focus on just yet.
Do you have a desire to learn more about a particular type of cuisine? What is it and why? Like I said, I just feel drawn to learn more about Italian cooking. I feel like it’s all-encompassing and, like the food, so full of life, artistry, technique, and requires an enormous amount of love to do it well!
I thought that sandwich looked familiar ; ) Next you’ll spy it on my blog – yummy!
I would love to do more raw cooking – blending flavors, dehydrating… it looks so simple yet I am intimidated by it all!
Oh and I would love to learn the language of wine =)
That’s a gorgeous flower picture! Omg I would looooove to go to Italy and learn everything there is about Italian food and wine–I’d be in heaven!
I hear ya! hehe
I’m obsessed with Chik-fil-a and Triple D! I can watch that show all day! I’m trying to get to every restaurant Guy went to in my area and i’m almost done…woohoo!
I saw that nut butter on her blog and I was almost drooling, it sounds so so so good!!!
I’d love to learn Italian!! But I also live in the South and I love Southern cooking.
Just discovered your beautiful blog- love it! love the spring bloom pic- this has to be my fave time of year. I like how you engage your readers. I focus on Italian a lot because I lived there for a few years, but residing in Seattle gives me a huge appreciation for all things Asiatic. I’m kind of an ingredient slut- I’ll handmake Italian pasta, throw in some edamame, and do a coconut milk sauce to really drive the pan-global thing home.
I’d love to specialize in either Mediterranean or Italian!
I love Latin food, there is such variety and flavors. Fun to cook too.
My favorite food genre is Chinese! I love Chinese food but the hubs only tolerates it…so I don’t get it as often as I like!! Surprisingly the one food genre I don’t like is Italian (crazy considering I am a runner and carbs are my BFF) but it just doesn’t appeal to me on any level. Maybe because I had a lot of spaghetti as a kid! haha! I am still burned out. I also can’t handle ricotta (my tummy doesn’t like it) so that rules out a lot of classic Italian dishes for me. 🙁
These days, I seem to be really hooked on learning to cook indian and asian food. Not sure why but they just really appeal to me now days.
I love cooking, but I am a complete disaster when it comes to baking. So even though it’s not really a type of cuisine, I will say that I would love to learn more about baking. From a French pastry chef, perhaps?
I told Ashley that I would probably binge on that nut butter if I made it.
I would like to learn Greek cuisine, it’s simply delicious and has been one of my favourite cuisines for a looong time. Traditional German cuisine would be great learn too because of my German roots. 🙂
Bring souther + italian together!! I’m sure it can be done…maybe? haha SO glad you loved the almond butter. That samich looks to die for…I had it minus the grilling action and it was good…I can’t imagine with it all gooey and warm. YUMMMMm 🙂
I would LOVE to learn how to make my own Thai food. I love it!
How did you grill the sandwich? Do you have a special panini press, George Forman? Looks delish!
Also, what type of toast did you top with the almond butter that you made, it looks thick but fluffy.
Just in a pan over medium-low heat! Probably around 2-3 minutes per side until it’s the right amount of done-ness for you 🙂
Italian is by far my favorite type of food too! But I sort of wish I knew how to cook other types of food besides Italian. I am Italian and grew up cooking all sorts of amazing things but sometimes I wish I knew more about Spanish or Asian foods.
I love Italian food too!! In terms of wanting to learn more, I’d say Asian cuisine intrigues me the most…other than a simple stir-fry, I rarely try my hand at it, but I’d love to learn more about it!
I would LOVE to take a series of baking classes! I heart baking so much!!! oh, and wine classes! That would just be fun :)}
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I actually don’t like Italian very much, probably because I don’t really like tomato sauce. I really love Mexican and Asian! I have Jaden Hair’s cookbook and it gives great tips on cooking Asian cuisine.