It’s a meme. Amy Jane tagged me, and I suppose I deserved it - I tagged her with one a while back. So here goes. 8 random things from my cooking life.

1. I won’t let the kids in the kitchen when I’m cooking. I’m so paranoid that I might splatter or spill something hot, or that I’ll be paying so much attention to one thing that I’ll step on one of them. So they’re not allowed in the kitchen when I’m cooking. We have a playroom right next to the kitchen, so that’s where you’ll find them most evenings between 5 and 6.
2. I don’t cook on Sundays. Yes, I observe the Sabbath. At least in some ways. By not cooking I take tons of stress off myself and then we eat on paper plates so that clean-up is easy too. By not cooking, I mean we have sandwiches for lunch (or zap leftovers in the microwave), and for dinner we do pizza - usually the refrigerated kind from the deli section at the supermarket. I add toppings and extra cheese and bake. I don’t consider that cooking. But we do eat.
3. I buy canned spaghetti sauce. I can make it myself, but I choose not to. I made it myself for years when I lived overseas, but there are so many companies here that do a great job of it, that’s one less thing for me to spend my time on.
4. I do make my own salad dressings and honey mustard. Just because.
5. There’s always a bag of frozen blueberries in my freezer. Bean likes them in her oatmeal, and it’s the perfect remedy for bumps and bruises. When an ice pack isn’t convenient, frozen blueberries do the trick. In fact, some of our friends have had to stock frozen blueberries because their kids are now convinced that frozen blueberries are the only way to heal bumps and bruises.
6. My best meals are spur-of-the moment. And unfortunately are usually un-duplicable. I just throw in what I have, improvising as I go. The sad part is that when it’s awesome, I can’t recreate it.
7. I almost always try out new recipes when we have company. It drives hubby mad, but I have a lot of fun with it.
8. I’d much rather experiment with something new than recreate an old favorite. This goes for restaurants and travel destinations too. I suppose I’m just adventurous that way.

So there it is. And in return, I’m tagging Lara and Colleen. Just spreadin’ the love!