The Great Prep

-Warning: story time first, then regularly scheduled message towards the end.  But you should read all of it, because it's worth it!!-

Growing up I always admired my mother's cooking style.  True southern comfort, always served with a side salad.  Some of my childhood favorites were/are pot roast, shake and bake chicken with mashed potatoes, her fresh made chicken soup, and those oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.  To this day those are my favorite cookie.  Now my Mema -she made killer chicken and dumplings, chicken pot pie, and both women make killer biscuits.  Mmmmm!!!  My mouth is watering at those biscuits....  *sigh*  Growing up my sister and I were invited into the kitchen where we learned various methods of chopping, sautéing, and baking.  One of the skills I, in particular, didn't learn was recipe reading.  It wasn't until I got to college that I realized that people cooked with recipe's!  WHAT?  My world was shattered....  MOM!  How could you?!?!?

No -just kidding.  But it really was a shock.  Because I went from being directed in the ingredient inclusion (ok -now we need 1/4 brown sugar from that shelf right there) to being completely flabbergasted that I didn't know how to make my beloved cookies I had to work my way through developing my own prep style.

So the transition began.  Each time I returned home for a holiday or mini-vacation (because we all know that musicians only take working vacations...it's true.  Don't be ashamed!) I was sent out of the kitchen!!!  WHY?!?  Besides the fact that it was embarrassing, I didn't understand that my foody transition had happened and was throwing off their game.  I looked on as my mother and sister co-habitated the kitchen, moving like clockwork doing their thing -walking to and from the ingredient locations almost silently, getting what their minds told them they needed from the various shelves and pantry.  While they used recipes, they didn't really.  It was mostly just to remind them of that random spice, or that 1/4 tsp of whatever.

Since they didn't need me I practiced.  Trumpet is a good sound track for cooking.  Trust me.  ;)

Recently my sister was on bed-rest (did I mention that I have a cute nephew??  His cheeks kill me!!!  So cute!) my mother and I made the short hike down to visit her.  Not just to cheer her up (because GIRL TIME is THE BEST TIME!!!), but to also stock her freezer so that she wouldn't have to stress over food and a new baby.  BEST IDEA EVER.  I'm never giving diapers again.  I'm just going to stock your freezer.  You're welcome.

So I'm in the kitchen with my mother, and she's making a mess!  Mommah -you know I love you, but this is SO true!  She's got everything piled high on the counter and is digging into her first recipe.  I'm starting to hyperventilate.

Pause -I'm not OCD and am just a tiny bit of an organization freak but I was truly struggling in this moment. -ok -GO!

She started looking on her recipe list as I frantically put pastas with pastas, sauces with sauces, spices with spices, and meats with meats.  Sorting was my only hope of personal survival, and you're welcome because as things really started cooking I was the only one who knew where everything was.

It was during that moment of sorting panic when I realized how different my cooking prep was as an adult than as a child.  I can think back to any number of cooking experiences and one of the first memory flashes that pops up are the MESSES we made.  Not sure if it was me or my loving sister that made them, but everything was always a mess.  A fun, awesome, blessedly hot togetherness mess.  My childhood rocked, y'all!  Standing in my sister's beautiful new kitchen, everything was a hot mess.  I was a hot mess.

I ran around wiping down counters and washing pots and pans, and cutting and prepping veggies and measuring out spices all while my mother asked me what the heck I was doing.

It has officially happened.  I AM one of those people who, while in the kitchen, prefers to have everything ready to go into the ___ (mixer, pot, casserole, crockpot, etc) before the cooking/baking adventure begins.  And I AM that person that will hand wash all excess dish clutter in between projects (like the baking phase and the frosting phase).  And I AM that person that told her mother that she was going to lose it if there wasn't a clean pot ready for the next freezer meal (just in case you were worried, she says she still loves me).

I also happen to be the person, because of this prep obsession, that manages to use practically every bowl in the house to enable my calm cooking atmosphere.  *shrug*  It could be way worse!  My next prep step that needs work is execution.  I frequently get SO incredibly excited about the current project that I misread or forget to read recipe instructions.  Or drop fully loaded cake pans on the floor....  Proud.  I'm so proud.

Thank goodness no one's perfect!  I'd love to hear how y'all prep for food projects!  Also -I'd love to hear that I'm not alone.  Which is mostly why I'd like you to tell me how you prepare!  Leave me a message, or write a post on it, and let me know!  Who knows -you may have a better way, and I'm always looking for new ways and things!!!

Happy cooking!
-XO-
ME!

Beans!

I've got so many beans that they're coming out of my ears.

I've got garbanzo beans and black beans.  And now they're beautifully packed away in my freezer.  But they didn't come that way....  I got these beans dried at the co-op, which is AMAZING!  When choosing where to start (after giving myself a pep talk that beans are good...beans are good...beans are good), I thought about which beans we would really eat.  That answer was easy.  We enjoy hummus, so check on garbanzo/chick peas.  I also like black beans in chili and stews (just a few...not a million!), so check on black beans.

Feeling empowered, I stood facing the beans. I looked up and down the amazing row that encompassed flours, oats, sugars, beans, pastas, and granola.  I could have stood there all day just drooling onto the floor.  Flattering vision, I know.  Expecting it to be intimidating I was shocked to realize that I was making quick plans to take home as much as I could.  Split peas, mixed beans, quick oats, turbinado sugar, stevia extract, whole wheat pasta....swoon swoon swoon.  Once I got a hold of myself, I merrily scooped up some of the black and garbanzo beans, and a little of the quick oats just because (home-made instant oatmeal?  HECK YES!) and went upon my merry way.

Once home, it dawned on me that I had to cook said beans.  Crud.  So I googled and googled, and then looked on allrecipies (because theirs is my favorite site -has a free app, which is nice).  Everyone was telling me something DIFFERENT!  Oh the distress....  So I asked a girlfriend, who not only told me that I needed to plan something else in my day while re-hydrating the beans, but that they also needed to soak with a BAY LEAF.  Yep -you know what they say about beans?  It helps with that.  ;)

So I started with the garbanzo beans.  12 hours to soak, 3 hours to boil.  They were great.  Nice and easy, didn't make my house stinky, and chopped up really nice into some hummus!  YUM!  But the black beans -not so nice.  They were a tad stinky, and took 7 hours to soak, and 2 hours to boil, and turned my stove top purple (perhaps I was ambitious with the amount of water I added to the pot...boil over!).  Overall, however, I used them in my great cooking adventure (more to come on that), and things worked out beautifully.  The rest, well I filled up mason jars and stuck them in the freezer!  :)

So all in all, my first beans experience was important.  I learned about consistency and texture of what is cooked and what isn't as well as what is re-hydrated and what isn't, what to change and what to keep doing for next time, etc.  I also learned a little about myself in that tasting raw ingredients, formerly deemed frightening, is really important.  It teaches us to identify what we're really cooking with and what we're drawn to, and how we like it!

So far, I'm loving this adventure!  Who knew....

-XO-

B.

Sooo..."the zen cookie"? Why?

Hi!  Welcome back!

I'd like to share with you the birth story of "the zen cookie...gets real."  No gory details, I promise!  Just  a little humor and insight.  :)

Haha (laughing just thinking about it...this is also why I'm bad at telling jokes...)!  I was speaking to a friend the other evening, whilst cooking away joyfully, about the humor that is inherent in the name of this blogging adventure.  This blog name was suggested to me, and after laughing hysterically I thought, "yeah, actually -that sounds awesome!"  Here's why.

First, I have something to confess.... I'm not zen.  I'm WAY not zen -I'm...well, I'm not in general.  :)  I'm excitable, enthusiastic, and loud about everything.  This is how I choose to live my life.  Being Briana brings me joy, and I LIKE THAT!  If you're curious if I'm ABLE to be calm and still the answer is yes, also when I choose to be.  I'm sure that this blogging process will expose my inner zen, but I like feeling excited and passionate -it allows me to express how and what I'm feeling most accurately.

Second -I LOVE cookies (this statement was intended to show excitement, therefore accurately expressing my love for cookies.  Did you get that?)!  I love to eat them mostly, but I do enjoy baking them.  I prefer them to be crunchy instead of raw-like in the center.  Sorry, y'all -I'm not a gooey cookie kinda gal.  Makes me wonder what I'm eating....  Just sayin'...

Third -this is a blog about getting and being real.  Real food, and real sass.  You read that right.  I said SASS.  Because I'm SASSY!  *snap snap*

And there you have it, folks.  "the zen cookie...gets real" birth story.  The humor in this, to me, is part of the fun.  I want you to imagine me calmly mixing up a batch of...whatever.  CALMLY.  See -I can't help but giggle.  Because to me, I'm wearing flour, listening to Bach (don't judge!), and skipping around my kitchen.  I'd love to hear your visions.  Ohh -I wonder if even some of them will be zen.  HA!  A girl can hope!

Maybe tomorrow I'll whip up a batch of celebratory cookies...on the crunchy side, of course.  :)

-XO-
B.