March is upon us

I have been having fun the past few days finding new cooking spots to view as well as blogs on cooking. The latest I found this morning was for 50+ if you are interested. The site name is EON and here is the cooking group community.eons
There are two cooking groups and I joined both. It will be a fun exchange of ideas, recipes and just comments. There are many groups to get into which I can read now and then but I chose the cooking cuz that is my main interest now. My favorite haunt now is Slashfood at Slashfood who always has something of interest going on.
Here is a place to post your stickies each day to keep from losing your to-do list. STIKKITS is the place to go each day whether to add something new or even check out your latest to-do-list. I am finding I go there more and more as I am thinking about jotting something down as I surf the web. Great!!!!
Another place for searching out something specific whether shopping or whatever. Come join WINZY and maybe even win something. They have daily prizes based on the members who come for searches each day. The site is WINZY This tells them I referred you to join.

LENT IS UPON US

I figured we can always use a good laff and this kitty will get us there.

Lent is coming next Wednesday and I need to stock up with lenten meals and recipes. I usually cook whatever for this period of time but I also like to have meals available on busy days.

One of the mainstays is macaroni and cheese which goes with most things. There are plenty of good recipes available on Southern Living, Better Homes and Gardens, Sunset and other cooking sites. All you need to do is add a can of tuna(drained) and some green peas and you will have a good meal.

I love fish but not so much the frozen. I already have shrimp in my freezer so I plan on a few meals with this item. Being as most of the fish markets here in MS are gone, due to Katrina's help, there is not much fresh fish to purchase. Maybe some of the local stores may have something available. Lobster and crab usually is there but can get expensive. We like gumbo and can use the crab and shrimp for a good meal. So there are many good ideas if a person is creative.

Of course meals can be created without any fish which I have tried in the past. I love vegetables of all kinds and a good cheese omelet with goodies added is delicious. Pizza is another answer to meals which can have lots of ingredients added to the cheese. The only time it can be tedious is when I am hungry and I don't care to wait a half hour while I create. As I sit here to write this, I am writing down ideas so I will be ready next week.

LOOKING FOR COOKING ANNUALS

I am on a new quest--looking for cooking annuals either previous years or current(2006-2007). I found the latest for "Taste of Home 2007" at amazon.com but it is too pricey right now. The previous cookbooks from 2000 to 2005 are more reaonable. The cookbook for 2005 is probably the one I will go for now. Another book I am looking at is called "Fine Cooking" which is being offered with their subscription for this year. Not so sure if I would like to have it but may have it sent, look thru it and decide then.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am creating my own online cookbook mainly with the recipes I find this year. I may have to make the book into separate sections as it creates a separate page for each recipe which normally a cookbook is not created that way. It sure is alot nicer to look at a cookbook the way I am creating it versus looking thru a list of files to find what I want. They have an index page at the beginning by categories which is another facet I like.
One thing is that I do make many of the recipes that I save mainly for a variety in my meals and treats. This week I made the peanut butter/chocolate treat which is rather rich. I also tried a mexican dish and scalloped potatoes to go with my pork. This is the week for promoting cooking for tailgating(which is not allowed for Super Bowl Sunday. IMAGINE!). BHG has come up with a site BHG RECIPES and I need to look at Southern Living as I feel sure they will have something also.

FOOD BLOG AWARDS

Another week has passed and I have located some ideas from Southern Living Magazine listed as TOP 40 HOLIDAY DESSERTS FROM SOUTHERN LIVING. Very goood show of foods to make for your holiday company.
SOUTHERN LIVING
SouthernLiving RECIPEFINDER
Here is a place to see all the sites that won awards for their contributions to food blogs.
BLOGAPPETIT
One nice thing about this is that you spend lots of time going from blog to blog to get the latest. I have definitely added this site to my favs as I have the whole list available onscreen. Fun, fun.

MY FIRST DAY

Today is my first day of setting up my blog where I can publish my cooking finds on the internet as well as to express my feelings for food in general. I have become addicted to cooking blogs and look forward to reading what others have published regarding recipes, cooking, and restaurants to visit. Whether I agree or not is not the issue as I am willing to learn about what is available. My latest adventure is to create my own recipe book from many of the online finds that reach my taste buds. This I am doing thru the online offer from BHG which I will post the site later on. Somewhere down the line I would like to create a Family recipe book with all the great ones from my Mother, my own recipes and those from family members.