About Me

Welcome to my world of blogging or what not. I am just your average working mom with little to no time on my hands. Rather then put what little time I do have to good use like volunteering or giving back to the community I am sitting here at my computer thinking about food and what I am going to cook tonight, so I decided to write it all down. Why not share my love for food and family?

Food is basically how I relate to life. I don't think there is any time or event that I don't say, "Well, what are we eating?" In fact my mom is supposed to be in town this week and the first thing I asked her was where she wanted to go for lunch. Food to me is life, love, delicious, nutritious, the best part of my day! I mean we need it to live of course, but there is so much more to it than that. The kitchen, in my house at least, is the center of family life…this is the place where conversations happen, homework is completed, family calendars are kept and yummy, delectable treats that make your soul sing are created. Ok I am rambling; I apologize in advance as I will do this a lot so…food very important, blogging about food important.

Why is food so imperative in my life? I think it all began when I was a baby. My mother owned and operated the Artichoke Café along historic route 66 in Albuquerque, New Mexico; a four star restaurant during her reign. It was here that I grew up sleeping on top of the fridge, breaking into the desserts to indulge in my favorite guilty pleasure (chocolate mousse with black olives, gross sounding I know but early on I learned the love of sweet and salty foods) and "riding" the giant vacuum cleaner at closing time. My mother was a self taught cook that really just happened into the restaurant business. As the youngest of three, we all learned to love GOOD food. You know your mother is a chef when you bring a snack in for school and your mother packs a cheese, caviar and fruit plate or perfectly styled tea sandwiches with homemade butter cookies, let's just say somehow my snack day came up more often than the other kids. Now as a wife and mother of three I have tried to pass on this enthusiasm for food to my children (Piña, 9, the picky one; Little Man, 3, the fighter and Mister, 5 months) and husband ("whatever, it's just food"). It doesn't matter how bad my day is I always know I can come home make dinner and feel better about life in general. I don't need the "runners high" I just need a pan to cook with and something to throw in it.

With that I bring to you my LIFE:

• Real Food: Meal planning, recipes, what works and what doesn't
• I review restaurants: I work in downtown Cincinnati so most of them will be here. I love anywhere I can walk to from my office. Restaurants with niches, new places and my ultimate goal is to find that perfect hole in the wall place that I can just keep going to over and over.
• Share recipes: Some that I come up with and others that I find thru the internet, friends and family. Usually I end up combining about 4 different recipes to come up with one good one and if it's bad I will share that too so you don't make the same mistakes as me.
• Ramblings about good things and bad and how it all comes back to food.
• Juice Plus+: My new side job that is slowly taking over my life, in a good way. I love watching my family get healthier and happier on JP+!

If you care please join me on my adventure into the culinary world and how it can make or break each day.