Nourish - 31 Things Day 11

Random facts about me + food

1. I love to eat. I love coffee. I love carbs. I love shrimp. I love anything with cheese on top. I want to love vegetables more than I do. I like to look at them, copy down recipes featuring them, often feel drawn to them, but I find that too many vegetables get thrown away in our house. 

2. I like to bake, especially cookies and pies and quick breads. I like to try new recipes and plan meals for larger family events, such as Thanksgiving. I don’t like the everyday cooking, however, and Andrés usually takes care of that.

3. Growing up, we always had home-cooked meals. I remember asking “What’s for dinner?” every night, and every night, without fail, responding with groans. I know I did this and I don’t know why - I usually enjoyed my mother’s cooking and wish I had some of her recipes now. My favorite food memories as a family were when Dad would do stir fry at the table in the wok. (I loved the carrots the most.)  I remember that he had a special “order” for putting in the ingredients. I wish I knew his secret now - stir fry never tastes as good when I make it. I also remember coming home from basketball practice during the long winter months and having spaghetti (and two glasses of milk). My spaghetti never turns out quite like Mom’s, either.

4. On the Miller’s side, the kitchen table was always stacked with goodies and much of the talk and catching up happened around this table. Every time we got together there was something new to try - spinach dip, mini Ruebens, white chicken chili, Special K bars, cocktail meatballs - and I’d often come home from the gatherings with a new recipe or two.

5. When the kids are older I dream of having one night a week or month where we make a meal from another country or culture. Right now I don’t think they would be adventurous enough. 

6. I know the kids’ favorite pancake recipe by heart. We make it that much. Nicolás loves to help.

7. Like Grandma Bauer, I make popcorn, but not just on Sundays. We probably have popcorn as a treat three or four times a week.

8. When I was young, my parents gave us a treat before bed every night. We don’t do this with the boys, since we usually eat so close to bed time, but it is something I look back on fondly from my childhood.




And the two-page spread: