Food, food, food...

Not much has been happening in our lives the past few days. We are missing our company but also settling back into our routine. Savannah sort of had a bomb explosion type of day yesterday but did much better today. I think she had just been stretched too thin as far as what she was capable of adapting to over the past couple of weeks and she had to get it all out yesterday (yeah for me :) ). So, what I decided to talk about today is food. As many of you know, I enjoy food :) Well, mostly, I enjoy cooking. Since having Savannah, in particular, I have found that I really enjoy a wide range of food. I enjoy experimenting with different things I thought I would never eat and the food network has become my favorite channel. It has been fun learning new flavors and how they mix together.

Tonight we went out to dinner before our orchestra concert. We went to a restaurant called Aubergine Bistro. Brian was given a gift certificate there as a gift so we decided to try it out. I had a wonderful filet. It was cooked perfect and almost melted in your mouth! The salad was excellent. It was one of my favorite types of salad, mixed greens, feta cheese, walnuts, raspberry vinaigrette dressing, yum. However, they had a new addition to this salad, sun dried tomatoes. I was a bit skeptical because they are a strong flavor and not one I would think would go with this sweet salad. Boy, it was wonderful! I cannot believe how it added a whole knew dimension to the salad! Brian tried something new. Take a look at the picture in the top left corner. That would be what Brian ate tonight! It is elk. This is the second time he has had an opportunity to order it. He passed the first time but couldn't resist this time. He loved it! I wouldn't touch it, but he really enjoyed it. All I can say is that it was awful red on the inside. Me and my medium filet kept to our side of the table :) On our way home we got to discussing what exactly an elk is. So, here is your lesson for the evening. An elk is a deer. It is the second largest deer after the moose (which is in fact a different animal). At one time an elk was believed to be a red deer, however, DNA research has found that they are not the same animal. Also, and Brian was really excited about this part, they are highly susceptible to infectious diseases. Now he finds out! The discussion also lead us to talk about other four legged "deer" type animals. So, just for your information, a gazelle is an antelope. An antelope is related to a cow or goat. And Brian did not eat either tonight :)

Last night at small group the opening question from our study was what foods can you remember eating as a kid that you could not stand. It was interesting to hear what everyone had to say. They also asked if you were ever able to grow to like these foods. We have determined that Brian has gotten over his "green peppers and celery" episode from Kindergarten and has grown to eat pretty much anything. I am amazed at some of the stuff he comes home and tells me he has eaten for lunch with his friends. As for myself, the one thing I can remember is that anything that could be made into a pancake type shape, did. Potato pancakes, salmon cakes, tuna cakes and so on. To this day I do not even like the idea of a crab cake. I am also not a big fan of potatoes au gratin, although I think I ate something along those lines tonight. Brian and I were reflecting on how we were both opened up to a whole new world of eating when we were married. My family eats a lot of spicy foods, which was new for him. For me, the introduction of southern type foods like various forms of greens were added into my "like" column. Anything stand out from your childhood that you didn't like to eat?

As I stated before, I really enjoy cooking. If you have a favorite recipe that you would like to share, send it on out! I am always willing to try something new. There is a running joke that I never make anything twice because I am so busy trying new things :) I am working on this though.