Monday, August 4, 2008

Variety is the Spice of Life.....

Or in this post....spice is the variety of life. I love different spices. I am especially fond of garlic, oregano, parsley, basil, cinnamon, ginger, paprika, cumin and certainly salt and pepper.

There seems to be certain spices that are relatively unknown until someone starts promoting them and then POW, it's everywhere. It's almost like a designer handbag. All of a sudden, everyone HAS to have it...or put it in their food. The spice I am referring to is cilantro.



And I can't stand it.

Everyone I know seems to love it. I think it is harsh and bitter. I can take one bite of a dish and tell that it has cilantro in it. It literally makes my stomach turn.
Isn't that strange that one person can love the taste of something and another despise it.
Woooo. Such deep thoughts.
yawn.
Sorry if I bored you. I almost fell asleep typing......zzzzzzzzzzz.

Anyway, this week's menu, sans cilantro is as follows:
Monday - Baked chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn
Tuesday - Spaghetti with meat sauce
Wednesday - Scalloped potatoes with ham, peas, beets
Thursday - Pot roast, rice and gravy, carrots, spinach, apple salad
Friday - Fried Pork chops, mac and cheese, cabbage, green beans

While I'm thinking about it, I'm gonna do next week's menu too. My, how ambitious of me.....

Monday - Marinated chicken tenders, sesame rice, zucchini and onions, mandarin orange salad
Tuesday - Country fried steak, rice and gravy, green beans, corn
Wednesday - Fish Cakes, tater tots, peas, beets, fruit salad
Thursday - Pork roast, hash brown casserole, collards, candied carrots
Friday - Chicken enchiladas, re fried beans, salad

Also, I am going to try to make more homemade deserts instead of "store bought".
I will make 2 or 3 a week and if we run out before the end of the week.....so be it. With 4 fellas in the house, cookies disappear VERY fast. If I want any, I hide them. I'm just sayin.....

This week I am going to make brownies. When they are gone, I will make a peach cobbler. (the way brownies evaporate in this house, I will probably be making the cobbler about an hour after the brownies come out of the oven) After the cobbler will be chocolate chip cookies. When those are gone......no more til next Monday.
The next week's deserts will be.......
Chocolate cupcakes w/ peanut butter frosting
Angel food cake with sliced strawberries
Rice Krispie Treats

Well, that's it. I hope I have given the six of you some good meal/desert ideas and maybe made your mouth water just a bit.........slurp.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love cilantro. I buy it fresh at the market, and I have dried cilantro in my pantry. That's right, I have a pantry. WOOT. I put it in my guacamole, my salsa, and sometimes....eggs. LOVE IT. I'll give you five points if you can remember the spice that I hate. I don't even like to sit at a table with someone who is eating it, which is difficult when I go to a restaurant with a blue an white flag....

Oh, and the recipe for that sesame rice would be appreciated. Katie is on a rice kick, and we've had coconut rice, rice with chicken broth and peppers and onions, and I think rice and eggs. I think she'll like sesame rice.

Anonymous said...

I hate cilantro too. To me it tastes like someone has added a dash of dish soap to the dish.

Can I come over for dessert? I'm willing and able to fight off the guys for a brownie or a rice krispie treat.

Robin said...

WMF - I agree with the dish soap taste. yucky!
Shoofly - The spice you hate is rosemary. (what can I spend my 5 points on?)
Sesame rice is easy.
1 tsp sesame oil
4 cups cooked rice
2 TBSP sesame seeds
a few heavy shakes of teriyaki sauce
Heat oil in large pan. Add rice, seeds and sauce. Stir fry quickly and serve. I sometimes add a couple shakes of soy sauce too. Depends on my mood and how much water I want to retain the next day....

Pat said...

I am oh so impressed that your family actually eats beets. Wow! How did you do that? And for the record, I'm a cilantro fan.

Debby Vannoy said...

Two weeks of recipes! WOW!!! We have already eaten dinner and I could eat with you!!!

Could you please send your recipe for peanut butter frosting? That sounds absolutely sinful!!!

This should really inspire me - at least the family wishes it would.

April said...

YUM, I am hungry now!

Somehow I love cilantro, I know I know, I'm a freak of nature! I grow it in my garden, inhale it over my salsa and eggs, and make a mean Cilantro Lime Chicken with it. Now Curry, BLEH! That stuff is gross'er than gross!

Anonymous said...

Words about Cilantro...

It is a scientific fact that you are genetically predisposed to either liking or hating cilantro. So blame it on your DNA. There is nothing that you can ever do to change this. If you think it tastes like soap and smells like rotten meat, that relates to the way that your taste buds respond to the cilantro. I personally like it, but I understand that it tastes different in some people's mouth than it does in others. In my mouth it tastes bright and lemony with a little bit of sharpness. Mexican food would be boring without it, but I don't want my cilantro hating sisters to eat soapy flavored refried beans...

That does not sound appetizing at all!!

Mrs.Naz@BecomingMe said...

I'm sorry that your tastebuds don't like Cilantro...you need to have a serious talk with them. Miss you!!