Capturing my love of whole foods, combined with the activity of a bustling kitchen.

A weekly collection of photos from the center of my home. 

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You are so patient. Or, maybe not but that's what I'm telling myself. Thank you! Those apple recipes are all typed up into a post and I've loaded a bunch of photos onto the computer... all will be ready for you in a blog post tonight. I'd hoped to get to it yesterday, but I was pulled in directions other than the computer so it did not happen. But tonight! I have a few hours to myself later today so I'll  be able to get it all posted. Two blog posts in one day - sorry!

I made some beef broth this week and took the opportunity to make Jenny's Salisbury Steak recipe. It was wonderful! My only changes were sage instead of thyme in the pan sauce, I skipped the red wine and doubled the beef broth instead, portobello mushrooms were used, and I used a little arrow root to thicken the pan sauce... because, gravy. I think next time I'll add another yolk or two to the patties. But do give it a try! I also roasted a huge spaghetti squash and it was perfect with all that mushroom gravy.

I cook quite a bit more meat than I used to. And very little grains, legumes, and nuts. Nope - not Paleo (but even if it were, I bristle so much at that inaccurate label that I'd never use it - I'm a little stubborn). I'd love to go into depth about it, (and I definitely will in the upcoming session of Whole Food Kitchen in early 2015), but here on the blog I tend to pull back about personal dietary details. The internet gets a little wacky with that info sometimes. But I will say this - we have found (going on almost a full year now) that a very simple diet of vegetables, good quality fats and meat, fruit, fermented foods, raw dairy, and lots of bone broth has eliminated the chronic migraines my husband has suffered with for nearly 25 years. (That's a sentence worth reading again.) As for me, about a thumb size portion of meat is perfect, then load me up with veggies.

One of our favorite ways to prepare cooked vegetables is roasted. 400F, some ghee or other high temp cooking fat, a large shallow baking sheet, sea salt and pepper. The other night I roasted potatoes and broccoli. First, the potatoes went in for 20 minutes... then, I took them out, turned them with a spatula and moved to one side of the pan. Broccoli was added to the other side, a little more ghee on top, sea salt and pepper. The whole pan was returned to the oven for another 20 minutes. Both done perfectly, one pan, two different cooking times.

Last week I posted a picture with a little dish of herbs, garlic, and oil. Someone asked what it was - it was just that! Olive oil, minced garlic, rosemary and sea salt. I added it to roasted vegetables in the last 10 minutes of cooking, turning the heat way down so the olive oil did not go past its smoke point, but the garlic was able to get nice and roasty. Combined with the fresh rosemary... oh, man that was good. I remember the first time I ever had flavored olive oil. The year was 1993 and flavored oil was a hot new thing. A woman that Adam and I worked with made us a bottle of garlic rosemary oil for Christmas and we ate an entire loaf of crusty bread in one sitting because the dipping oil was most amazing thing we'd ever tasted. Ah... that's a great memory.

Each day I find myself snapping a picture or two in the kitchen - a pile of ingredients, a table waiting for us to gather around, a sink full of soapy dishes, a cup of tea, dinner as it comes out of the oven - simple, everyday moments in the kitchen. These photos serve as a reminder of days gone by and as encouragement to carry on in this busy kitchen of ours when inspiration is lacking.

Every Thursday morning I'll post my photos from the week, words or recipes optional. Just glimpses into my kitchen and you're invited to do the same!

It's simple to join in:

• On your blog, post photos taken in your kitchen throughout the week.
• Words aren't necessary, your photos will tell the the story. Some of us enjoy adding a few thoughts to accompany the images... the choice is yours. 
• Feel free to grab the brief description at the top of this post, or add a few words of your own to explain the project.)
• Link back to this post so your readers can visit This Week In My Kitchen and join in. 
• Come back here and link up your current post (not your main blog) so we can all visit your kitchen!
• Join me every Thursday or the occasional Thursday if that works better for you.
• Please be sure to only link up if you are participating in this series. Thank you!

I look forward to visiting your kitchens!