Kitchen questions

I was not tagged for this, but it's a free country and I'm inspired by cooking lately:

1. How many meals does most of your family eat at home each week? How many are in your family?

We eat all of our meals at home with the exception of a dining-out date on Friday or Saturday night, and a Sunday Feast with friends after Church - usually Shiva restaurant. Two of us in this family plus Harley Cat - he eats all of his meals at home.

2. How many cookbooks do you own?

Around 10.

3. How often do you refer to a cookbook each week?

Maybe once, though I am currently referring to them or recipes more often.

4. Do you collect recipes from other sources? If so, what are some of your favorite sources - relatives, friends, magazines, advertisements, packages, the internet, etc.?

I do - from relatives, friends, the free Delicious Living magazine at Whole Foods, other magazines, Martha Stewart if I catch her on TV, and the internet.

5. How do you store those recipes?

In a kitchen drawer and bookmarks on my iBook. I plan to clean out that drawer and make a nifty recipe notebook or roll-a-dex contraption.

6. When you cook, do you follow the recipe pretty closely, or do you use recipes primarily to give you ideas?

I follow recipes closely, but I tend to use over-generous teaspoons of cinnamon & nutmeg, whole vs. half limes or lemons, and I use extra cilantro.

7. Is there a particular ethnic style or flavor that predominates in your cooking?

Indian, Greek, Mediterranean, "Granola", creative salads, and the occasional cakes, muffins, or brownies. Johnny cooks the true Indian food but I've cooked Indian-inspired recipes. He will give me an Indian* cooking lesson soon!

8. What’s your favorite kitchen task related to meal planning and preparation? (eating the finished product does not count)

Grocery shopping for all the ingredients, chopping vegetables, stirring anything with cinnamon or nutmeg, and licking spoons & bowls.

9. What’s your least favorite part?

Cleaning up.

10. Do you plan menus before you shop?

Yes.

11. What are your three favorite kitchen tools or appliances?

Electric mixer, vegetable peeler (I love peeling cucumbers and inhaling the scent), and coffeemaker. OK, see, we have a tiny apartment kitchen and I'm just now expanding my cooking repertoire. We will be house-shopping soon, and I will buy niftier appliances!

12. If you could buy one new thing for your kitchen, money was no object, and space not an issue, what would you most like to have?

A much bigger fridge, and a cute apron, preferably vintage-looking.**

13. Since money and space are probably objects, what are you most likely to buy next?

A pastry blender and bundt cake pan.

14. Do you have a separate freezer for storage?

Nope.

15. Grocery shop alone or with others?

Usually alone, though when Johnny joins me he cracks me up - as usual.

16. How many meatless main dish meals do you fix in a week?

A rare one - Johnny is a proud carnivore. I love meat, also, but sometimes I will eat a goat cheese pita or something without meat hearkening back to my vegetarian years in high school.

17. If you have a decorating theme in your kitchen, what is it? Favorite kitchen colors?

Our kitchen is too tiny to have a theme! We're gathering ideas for the house from Domino and Dwell magazines. Um, our current dish towels and pot holders are blue & black.

18. What’s the first thing you ever learned to cook, and how old were you?

I really have no idea because I've rarely cooked thus far - Mom, why is this? Pure sloth? Marriage has brought out the cook in me - I'm really enjoying the culinary life.

19. How did you learn to cook?

My Mom, Johnny's Mom, Johnny, Kierstin, Christine, and other friends are all giving me excellent cooking tips nowadays.

20. Tagging?

I'm tagging Kierstin, Christine, Susan, Lauren, Leslie, and Robyn, if they will be so kind as to play. If Aunt Denise, Amy B., Spivey, Holly, or Katy had similar blogs I would tag them, too.

21. (And since it is a free country, I am adding my own question) Will you cook anything today - if so, what?

I'll wash a bunch of salad: Romaine lettuce; spinach; cucumber, broccoli heads, and avocado to chop & slice; and add a small bit of cilantro. Maybe add a few chopped carrots for good measure. Have I divulged THE best salad dressing in the world? - Newman's Light Balsamic Vinaigrette. I will also grill boneless and skinless chicken breasts on the George Foreman for our salads along with my goat cheese & walnuts, and Johnny's blue cheese.

*Speaking of Indian, look what Peter Leithart has to say.

**Credit for the cute apron picture is due to one of my favorite blogs, Little Birds, which I'm sad to hear will be no more. My consolation is this cool Mama will soon open an online store at Etsy where I will purchase such a cute apron.