There's no place like home...and it's kitchen.

Ahhhhhh, home. i am so blissfully happy i cannot tell you. i told my mom as we drove in to town, "at this moment i feel so incredibly safe, just like that." it is so bazaar to be surrounded once again by things that are so familiar. to suddenly fall back into my old routine without even thinking. to hear Naomi's voice chattering in the other room. these are truly the things that make home, "home" for each and every one of us.
let's see, since I've been home i have tried to do all the things that remind me of home. sitting outside in the lawn chairs with mama and Naomi, having "girl talk." getting doughnuts in the morning from the little bakery across the street. but most of all here people, i have the neeeeeed to cook. the huge spacious kitchen calls my name, with it's blue chrome counter tops, and hardwood floors. everything is just as i left it, the jars of flour, and big cutting boards. i am really and TRULY home now....



My first goal was to make these mini raspberry cheesecakes, a recipe i made up on a rainy day in the dining room. they were everything they were supposed to be. to top it all off i made the raspberry sauce with both red and golden raspberries. got get some, their in season! they are sooo pretty, and have a bit more of a sugary taste than red ones. we ate these on our precious sunny day outside before the spring rain attacked us.





Next i drove out to my dad's house to work my magic. the cool thing about going to culinary school is that you have instant bragging rights, who else is going to challenged you alleged know-how?? dinner was served on the big kitchen table with the help of my dear sisters Hannah and Naomi. Naomi insisted on being included in the prayer before we ate because, i quote " she stirred the sauce, and zested an orange ok!" we ate pecan crusted tilapia, served over garlic and parsley cous cous, and leek and onion caramelized in white wine. then I it topped with an orange balsamic gastruiqe and fresh feta cheese. a nice salad and homemade bread and brie cheese from shadow bakery in covington topped it off. so good! it is considered a true accomplishment when you have picky teenage boys going back for more! Hannah made her infamous chocolate chip cookies for dessert. don't scoff at the simplicity, Hannah's cookies are a force to be reckoned with, and have become famous in these parts. you have not tasted a chocolate chip cookie until you've tasted Hannah's. it's a fact.


that night was the first time we all of us kids had been together in a long time, and it was truly wonderful. I am so thankful for my family... dare i say it, even more than food!! This week the phrase "absence makes the heart grow fonder" has proved itself true.