A Culinary 30 by 30

Hello, Friends :)

As some of you who read my other blog or know me personally may already know, I have been very ill of late. Like, bedridden and need blood work and lots of tests ill. This has kept me from blogging and I apologize. Thankfully, after ruling out Flu and Mono, it appears that the culprit was a combination of a lingering bacterial infection that wasn't cleared up by the last round of antibiotics I was taking for a double ear infection, in combination with a virus that I must have picked up at the daycare where I work. I am pleased and thankful to say that other than a little congestion and fatigue, and I am feeling much better, and hope to continue to be on the mend.

Depending on how busy I get this weekend, I am hoping to also post a recipe, but I wanted to get this down too, while it is still fresh in my mind. I have recently started to read a lovely food blog, Crumbdoodles, written the sister-in-law of a dear friend, Nubby. The first post I read at Crumbdoodles was a suggestion from Nubby, about how to make homemade Oreos. OMGYUM. I have yet to meet Becky in person, but she sounds lovely and her food looks DELISH.

But I digress. On a recent perusal of Crumbdoodles, I came across Becky's 30x30 List. Having recently compiled one of these myself, I was curious to read hers. However, hers was slightly different. Becky's 30x 30 List was Culinary. It was a list of foods that she wanted to cook and blog about by her 30th Birthday. And darned if I don't think that that's a freakin' AWESOME idea. So, if no one minds, I would like to start my own Culinary 30x30 List, as sort of a companion piece to my other 30 by 30 List. Cooking is such a huge part of my life, it seems only fitting to have a set of goals for that area of my life as well :)

 And so, in no particular order, here is my 30x30 Culinary List :)

Note: These are foods that I have not yet attempted in my home kitchen. There are plenty of other foods that I've already made that I would love another crack at, but for now, this is a list of foods I have not yet made on my own....

30 Foods to Cook and Blog About by my 30th Birthday

1. Homemade Ice Cream ( I used to help my grandparents make this when I was little, but I have never attempted it on my own)
2. Flourless Chocolate Cake
3. Paella
4. Dolmades (rice-stuffed grape leaves)
5. Pita Bread
6. At least one type of gluten-free baked good (bread, cookies, pancakes, etc)
7. Fruit Preserves (and by this I don't mean Jelly or Jam, I've made that many times, I mean canning whole pieces of fresh fruit, i.e. peaches, and preserving them for the winter).
8. Duck (I'm very hit and miss with Duck, sometimes I like it and sometimes I don't. I am determined to find a preparation for it that I consistently enjoy).
9. Calamari
10. Molten Chocolate Cake/Chocolate Lava Cake (I've heard it called both, but they refer to the same thing)
11. Pudding made entirely from scratch, no boxed mix (cornstarch is allowed as a thickener)
12. Shepherd's Pie
13. A palatable fruit/veggie smoothie (I know several bloggers who have recipes for these, I will be hitting them up in the near future).
14. Yogurt
16. Cheese (at least one type, preferably more)
17. Butter
18. Some sort of dish featuring raw tomato (I despise raw tomato, but I'm determined to find at least one way that I will eat them raw and enjoy them.)
19. Chocolate Mousse
20. Baguette
22. Sushi
23. Pad Thai
24. Poached Eggs
25. Grilled Corn on the Cob
26. Croissant
27. A case study of how to incorporate more veggies into my diet (this will probably be another series of blog posts on it's own, but it is a goal, therefore it is making an appearance here).
28. Ratatouille
29. Sauteed Greens (Swiss Chard, Beet Greens, Collards, etc) Technically I've already made Utica Greens, but those have pancetta and bread crumbs and peppers in them, and I want these to be as un-doctored as possible.
30. A signature cocktail, and a non-alcoholic version of the same.

As with my other list, I will not necessarily stop at 30, I will add to this list as I'm inspired to do so :) These were just the first 30 that popped into my head. Do you have a list of Culinary Goals or foods you want to try making at home? I'd love to hear about them!!!

Keep Cooking :)

Love,
Lynn

Yummy Link

Hey All :)
I was struck down with a severe double ear infection this week, which basically rendered me useless, in the kitchen and otherwise, so I didn't really do noteworthy cooking this week. My mother made a slammin' batch of Peanut Butter Blondies, but I had no hand in making them, so I didn't really feel right posting them here, it kinda felt like cheating. Now that I'm on the mend, I hope to have something blog-worthy coming for you next week :)

In the meantime, PLEASE go visit Deb at Smitten Kitchen, which is quite possibly my absolute favorite food blog :) Check out her *big game* offering of Meatball Subs with Caramelized Onions  (OH HELL YEAH!!!)

You're Welcome :)


Love,
Lynn