One Way or Another

 As we  have stated in previous columns food is very important to our family.  After all, we all have to eat so why not enjoy it.  We love to cook because we like to eat good food.  We also enjoy trying new and different recipes.  Meals should not be boring and always the same old same old.  Our logic is if we like all the ingredients in the recipe then chances are we will like the dish we create.  The kids are wonderful.  They never turn their noses, up even if the dish may look a little funny.  They will at least try it.  Because of that, it makes for some very interesting and adventurous meals around  our house.  You may never know what will show up on the table.  Robin always says, "If we do not like it then we can always go out to eat."  So far, we have never had to do that.  She also tends to be creative and inventive sometimes.  The only problem is  if we like the dish, we may never be able to eat it again.  No recipe and no measurements were used only things thrown together.

It has not always been that way, Robin did not have the adventurous spirit until she discovered The Dinner Doctor cookbook by Anne Byrn.  It gave her the encouragement to think outside of the "box" and not be afraid of see what happens in the kitchen.  She is also funny about leftovers.  Our family does not mind them, we have them all the time.  However, Robin has an unwritten rule, we do not have the same dish on back to back days.  We also only eat the dish only twice.  After that, it has to be created into something else.  Hence, the title of the article, One Way or Another.  That is her cooking philosophy, either you are going to eat it one way or she will turn it into something  completely different. You will never hear at our house "Not that again!".  Leftover steak becomes fajitas  one night.  Leftover grits becomes a great breakfast casserole another morning.  Her personal all time favorite is to throw together a casserole.  It is made from a sundry of leftover items  she finds in the fridge usual combined with pasta or rice and topped with cheese.  We have always said our kids would eat cardboard - if it is cooked with garlic and onions.  Even though we produce most of the food we consume, we still do not want to waste it.  In these tough economic times we need to get all we can out of our food dollar. 

Another favorite item in our kitchen is our cast iron skillets.  We truly believe they make everything taste better.  They are also wonderful to bake in.  There is something about all the years of seasoning being absorbed by the cast iron that just seems to come out in the food.  We promise Robin has never tried to just one of our many skillets on Keith.  Notice we said tried, does mean she has not thought about it.

We do not know if this column really has a lot to do about farming or not.  But, we can truly say because of the adventure of farming, we have become more adventurous about cooking and food is a lot more important to us than before. 

Our advice to anyone is do not  be afraid to see what you can put together.  Take chances with your food.  I have a friend who introduced us to what she calls a pantry salad.  She takes fresh salad greens and tosses them with whatever she has in her pantry.  It was at her house we had goldfish crackers and all kinds of dried fruits and nuts in our salad-delicious.  Cooks.com is a great resource to try new recipes.

Robin does have one confession to make.  Of  all the members in our family, she is the least adventurous when it comes to meat.  Everyone has tried goat except her.  Several of our family members really love it and prefer goat over beef.  Maybe one day she will overcome her fear and try it.  After all, if she does not like it one way maybe she will like it another.