learning curve – Elspeth's Day by Day

Hi everyone!

Happy Wednesday! I hope you are having a great week as we make our way through April. This month has been flying by in the blink of an eye. Easter being at the beginning of the month has certainly made this month go by faster.

One of the things I have gotten back into the habit of doing this year is trying new recipes once a week. I started this practice a few years ago, but fell off the wagon, due to life getting busy. At the start of 2024, I wanted to get back in the habit of cooking a new meal once a week again. I know how to cook and bake and I would say I’m pretty decent at both, but I really wanted to expand my skills in the kitchen.

I’ve been trying new recipes regularly since January and wanted to share an update of what I have learned over the past four months. I keep track of the meals I have made and tested, you can find them on my Instagram stories and I have them saved too!

Here’s some of the biggest things I’ve learned over the past four months:

Lots of soup recipes were found on Pinterest

-Always be looking for recipes-There are some days when I know what meals I want to try and other weeks, I am looking for ideas. I am constantly scouring Pinterest, blogs, cookbooks, and even asking family and friends what meals or recipes they would be interested in trying. I’m always open to trying new dishes and sides and mixing and matching different flavors too. You never know what will stick, so I always try to keep an open mind.

–Build in extra time when trying a new recipe- I always try to budget extra time when I am making a complicated recipe. I like to take my time to make sure I am following the directions to a tee and I’m giving everything enough time to properly cook. There’s nothing worse than having your taste testers wait on food or have things not be cooked fully. I also want to build in time for errors or mess-ups.

Crab cakes were a recipe that took some extra work and prepping.

–Be open to feedback and criticism- This is easier said than done, but I always ask my family or judges about what they think of the meal. Sometimes, the meals are successes and everyone’s happy, other times, I get recommendations to try other sides or flavors. I try to be open to feedback because I know that’s the only way I will get better.

-Portions- This is more of a technical side of things, but I still haven’t mastered portions for servings. I try to make enough for six people, I have been making just enough for six, but there’s not always enough for leftovers or seconds. I need to do a better job of cooking bigger portions so there’s more than enough food for seconds or leftovers.

Salmon bowls that were such a hit, there was no leftovers.

-Not Getting Intimated by Complicated Recipes- A lot of the meals I have made can be made in under an hour and are fairly easy to cook. They include using kitchen gadgets like the Air Fryer, are made in one dish or a crock pot. There are a few bigger recipes I want to try but they take a lot more planning and time in the kitchen, I want to work on trying recipes that may scare or intimidate me to build my confidence in the kitchen.

-Getting Better at Familiar Recipes-While I am all about trying new recipes each week, I also want to make sure I am getting better at recipes I have tried before. It can be great to try new things, but I also want to get more reps in making some of my favorite family recipes like roasted chicken, spaghetti, homemade soups. I also want to have a few recipes that I can call my own and that will only come with more practice in the kitchen.

–Have fun and be creative-One of my favorite parts about cooking is getting creative and trying new foods. I am a huge foodie and making different dishes brings me joy and confidence. I also love to serve my family and friends something that I know I put time and effort into researching, buying ingredients and preparing. Not only is cooking and eating something that you need to do to survive, but I love that I have come to truly enjoy it.

My cooking and baking journey is just beginning. I tend to make my meals on days off when I have more time to cook and prepare a meal, I know that won’t always be the case. Some nights, a quick dinner of salad will have to do, but other nights when I have more flexibility for a more detailed meal, I know I will be taking advantage of it.

Tell me: what advice do you have for a novice in the kitchen looking to expand her knowledge? Let me know in the comments below!

Hello all!

Happy Wednesday! I hope you are having a great week! It’s starting to feel more and more like fall. The leaves are starting to change, it’s getting cooler and it’s almost time to start pulling out legging and long sleeve t-shirts.

Today’s post is a bit of a different spin on the weather. One of my summer goals was to grow a garden. I have always wanted to get my hands dirty and see if I had a green thumb. I love vegetables and planned to challenge myself to see if I could grow my own. My first summer of being a gardener is in the books, so I wanted to share what I learned and a bit about my experience. I am by no means an expert gardener. This was my first year giving it a try and I’m happy with the results, even if it did have some ups and downs. I learned a lot and I will be taking what I learned this year and using it when I garden in the future.

I started the process back in May, with the help of my boyfriend, who has helped grow his fair share of vegetable. I did some research on what plants vegetables to try and grow. Since this was my first year, I decided to not go overboard and start small by planting seeds for tomatoes, peas, cucumbers, carrots and peppers. I got the seeds at our local nursery and went home to plant them.

I found a section of the garden, dug the holes, planted the seeds and covered them with fresh planting soil and gave them some water.

I like to be creative whenever I can, so I made signs for each plant so I could keep track of what I planted and where it was located.

Then the tending began. I checked on my garden every day and watered them frequently. It was exciting to see the progress of my vegetables grow through the summer, what started out as seeds, turned into stems, blossoms, leaves and eventually fully grown vegetables.

The biggest thing I learned through the process of growing a garden this summer was the power of patience and accepting trial and error. It takes a while for things to grow sometimes things don’t always grow according to plan or grow at all.

My garden growing- peas, carrots, and cucumbers.

For example, I started out with a lot of peas, but they quickly died, after researching I think it was due to being overwatered. I also got blossoms on my pepper plants, and they grew a lot too.

While it was frustrating and disappointing, I still had other plants to care for.

Other vegetables did fairly well. I got a handful of tomatoes, while small, they were tasty, and I was very proud of them.

I used them to make a Peach Caprese Salad.

A fresh salad with veggies from the garden

I also got a handful of cucumbers, I really enjoyed seeing them grow from week to week and lastly, I got carrots!

I started the summer with the hopes to grow five different vegetables and ended up with three, for my first time growing a garden, I’m pretty proud of successfully growing different vegetables and being able to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

I will definitely be growing a garden again and I want to try my hand at some new vegetables too. I really enjoyed the process of growing vegetables, and my favorite part was having something to show for a hard summer’s work. Next summer, I may change where I grow my plants and may change my watering habits. I have a much better appreciation for fruits and vegetables especially when I see how long it takes to grow the individual vegetables.

There’s no better feeling than accomplishing your goals and it feels pretty good when they are a success and taste good too.

If you have grown a garden, I want to hear about your experience! What did you learn and what have you grown?

Let me know in the comments below!

Happy Planting!

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My Latest Blog Post is up. Give it a read. xoxp

My Latest Blog Post is up. Give it a read. xoxp