With Love From Scratch

This is the name of my new gourmet cafe, where everything is homemade from scratch. Ok, it's not really open to the public, but it exists in my house! And my most faithful client is my husband. :)

I've been married three and a half years now and to say the truth, I don't really remember what I used to make for dinner in that first year of marriage. This is probably because there isn't much to remember! I think I heavily relied on boxed pasta, quesadillas and banana bread...I did know how to make that! Slowly I started experimenting with new recipes out of our desperate need to eat something different and soon I discovered that I loved the kitchen! Still, by their very nature, experiments don't always turn out right and my poor faithful "client" endured many bland, over-cooked, under-cooked meals before I started becoming more confident and capable.

I remember wishing I could get to the point of being known for certain dishes, like my mother and my mother-in-law are. There are certain things they make that people keep coming back for again and again. That's how I wanted to be. But it has taken over three years to feel even close to this goal, especially since my growing love for experimenting in the kitchen often keeps me from repeating and perfecting recipes that turn out well. Slowly but surely though, I have reached a point where at least in my little "cafe", we have some of our own favorites...not just hand-me-down recipes from our mothers (which are awesome), but our very own!

So my project today is to make my official menu. Maybe I went a little too far with naming my cafe and everything, but it helps inspire me and it's fun. My goal is to categorize on a menu, just like in a restaurant, all of the food I feel I can make really well. Why? Because even after so many experiments and successful meals, I still stand in front of my pantry wondering what in the world to make for dinner! Maybe it's my pregnant forgetful brain at the moment, but I still end up relying on boxed pasta and canned sauce, simply because I can't think of anything else! In my opinion, this is due to a lack of planning ahead and establishing a variety of things I feel confident making. Also, the more I make them, the easier and quicker they will be even when I forget to plan ahead.

Eventually I also want to add "prices" to my menu. Don't worry, I will not charge you for being a dinner guest at our house! It will be a way for me to plan my weekly menu based on the cost of each meal, so that I can manage my grocery budget better. Yes, I know I'm a planning fanatic.

So why do you care about all this? If you don't, I'm sorry you read this far. (ha ha) But if you also love cooking, or maybe don't love cooking but are trying to learn to make good food anyway, creating your own menu is a fun inspiring way to give yourself a plan and some variety to choose from. Think of what you would order at your favorite restaurant and dare to find a similar recipe online to try out at home! If it's great, add it to your menu. It's kind of a hobby of mine to make things at home that you would normally only get at a restaurant, and usually they turn out even better! It's not as hard as you think and it makes you wonder why people don't make these things at home more often. Like what? Molten Lava Cakes. Chicken Marsala (just like Olive Garden). Cheddar Biscuits (Red Lobster). New York Cheesecake (Cheesecake Factory)You name it...you can usually find it at www.allrecipes.com Who wouldn't want to eat this stuff at home for a fraction of the cost?

My point? Be bold, make a plan, try new things, have fun. You'll be surprised and you are sure to wow whomever you live with... they will become your most faithful clients. :)