My wonderful webmaster reminded me that I promised recipes when she set up my blog. So, I have added a new category: Food! Recently, carpel tunnel syndrome has caused me to take a brief vacation from painting, so I have been filling the time with cooking experiments. I subscribed to Cooks Country, a magazine I highly recommend to those of us who are not sure what fond or the Holy Trinity means in relation to cooking.  It is a treasure trove of information for the average cook who would like to do more than simple meat and potatoes, but not go hog wild. In other words, you still won’t get truffles or fois gras at my house. However, I have now learned the secret to prevent frozen french fries from getting soggy on the bottom. (Put a rack like the one you use for cooling cookies on your cookie sheet so the hot air can circulate around the fries.)

Just before Christmas, I burnt out the motor of my hand held mixer making a triple batch of fruitcake. I decided, after thirty years of longing for a stand mixer, that it was time to make the splurge.  Since I knew I would be stuck with whatever I bought for the rest of my life, I went for the big one…and bought a 6-quart Kitchen Aid. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000P9GWFS/ref=oss_product

By the way, they are cheaper if you buy them on Amazon. com. I did a lot of research to verify this. I used to enjoy kneading bread, it was therapeutic, but I have to say the Kitchen Aid makes short work of it and does a fantastic job. Side benefit- no wrist pain! If you don’t make big batches, don’t buy the 6-quart model, buy a smaller version.

By the way, in cooking the Holy Trinity does not refer to God, but to the three main ingredients used in most recipes.  As in religion, there is a lot of controversy about what it consists of. If you are a Cajun cook, it would be celery, bell peppers, and onions.  French cooks might substitute carrots for the bell peppers and so on.

Fond refers to the browned and caramelized bits of meat and vegetables stuck to the bottom of a pan after cooking a piece of meat. It is used to make wonderful sauces.

Stay tuned for the recipes I have tried in recent months.