Friday with Finn

His socks say "Butter Me Up" on the bottom...

A long time ago, when I had lots of free time and a subscription to Bon Appetite I would wait anxiously for it to come every month and then spend hours pouring over that magazine when it came in the mail, placing post-it notes on pages of recipes that had a nice variety of ingredients and pictures that made my mouth water.   I could look at a single month six or seven times and find something new each time I flipped through the pages.  It was in the pages of Bon Appetite that I learned to make a Thanksgiving Turkey and found the most delicious breakfast egg and mashed potato dish.  Back then I lived with my parents and each month I would choose one recipe every month to try out...we ate really well on a regular basis, but it was always fun to try something outside of our comfort zone.

That was then...the days of wine and roses.  Now my magazine of choice is Parents and my week is a goat rodeo at night when we're getting home from work, making dinner, getting Finn organized, hearing about Abby's day, showers/baths and lights out for safety.  I rely very heavily on having a menu planned out so that we're not scrambling to get something thrown together for dinner.

On the weekend, however, I can experiment.  And I still pull out my old Bon Appetite magazines, which I have moved 4 times (even though my Dad told me he'd never move "those damn magazines" again and Uriah tried to forbid me from bringing them South because he didn't want to lift the boxes).

I have time to devote to the kitchen even if I have to pause half way through because my favorite helper needs a snack or a nap.  Last weekend, I utilized my BFF Beverly to make pumpkin bars - with real roasted pumpkin, not the canned stuff! - and cream cheese frosting.  And I am telling you what...I may never go back to the canned pumpkin.  Ever.  I also found a recipe for Thai Chicken pizza, which was good, but a bit spicy for Abs.  And I employed BFF to make some honey wheat bread.

This weekend is going to be more of the same...I'm going to experiment with meat loaf (because it's rainy and cold and it feels like meat loaf weather) and I found a couple of cranberry sauce recipes that I want to try.  We're having the having Post Family dinner at my house on Sunday (and by Post Family, I mean those of us that have defected to the dirty, dirty South) so I get to do some experimenting on Sunday, too.  I'm giddy with anticipation right now; after I put Baby Boy to bed tonight, I'm going to dive into that stack of Bon Appetite and find a couple of good appetizers for Sunday.

The days of really experimenting with food again are a ways into the future, and my subscription to Bon Appetite won't be renewed for a couple of years, but Abby is ever the adventurous eater, so it is my fervent hope that Finn learns to love food - all food - as much as the rest of us so that I can continue to do what I love to do...cook something interesting and make my family happy.