A Kitchen Meme

I was tagged by Bioluminescence to complete this kitchen meme. Here are my answers!

1. How many meals does most of your family eat at home each week? How many are in your family?

Just about every meal, we eat at home. Bo and I go out occasionally and eat dinner together, and we sometimes order pizza, but most food is eaten here.

2. How many cookbooks do you own?

Probably about twenty-five. I haven't counted, but I have three or four that I really use often.

3. How often do you refer to a cookbook each week?

Probably twice a week, but it goes in waves. Some weeks I refer to cookbooks more often, and much more often during holidays or when looking for meal inspiration. I have a lot of recipe cards I use, too.

4. Do you collect recipes from other sources? If so, what are some of your favorite sources (relatives, friends, magazines, advertisements, packages, the Internet, etc.)

Everything. Friends, internet, magazines, packages, whereever I can get them.

5. How do you store those recipes?

My favorites I've typed up with stories about the recipe and then laminated them. Printed out, they're 4x6 cards. I hope to do that with all of my favorite recipes. The others, along with owner's manuals for kitchen appliances, have their own drawer, though I may put them all in three-ring-binders, at the suggestion of a recent visitor.

6. When you cook, do you follow the recipe pretty closely, or do you use recipes primarily to give you ideas?

I follow them pretty closely.

7. Is there a particular ethnic style or flavor that predominates in your cooking? If so, what is it?

We make a lot of food, basically. :-) We like Italian foods, lots of fruits and veggies, and rice.

8. What's your favorite kitchen task related to meal planning and preparation? (eating the finished product does not count)

Looking through cookbooks for good recipes.

9. What's your least favorite part?

Doing the dishes.

10. Do you plan menus before you shop?

Sometimes I plan the whole menu, and sometimes I think of meals as I'm shopping. I try never to go into a grocery store without a list.

11. What are your three favorite kitchen tools or appliances?

My food processor, kitchenaid mixer and bread machine.

12. If you could buy one new thing for your kitchen, money was no object, and space not an issue, what would you most like to have?

Either a huge, huge fridge, a china cabinet or a really, really good dishwasher.


13. Since money and space probably are objects, what are you most likely to buy next?

A dishwasher.


14. Do you have a separate freezer for storage?

Our friends who rent from us store a freezer in our basement and we put things in there. We also have a second fridge that gets a lot of use.

15. Grocery shop alone or with others?

Usually alone or with Bo.

16. How many meatless main dish meals do you fix in a week?

Almost all of them.

17. If you have a decorating theme in your kitchen, what is it? Favorite kitchen colors?

Kitchen colors are hickory, forest green and the accents change depending on the season. Right now, it's mint green, red and white.


18. What's the first thing you ever learned to cook, and how old were you?

I don't remember what I first learned to cook as a child. My mother didn't really teach me domestic skills. I cooked my first meal from a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook while trying to woo my dear Bo. Chinese Pepper Steak and stuffed tomatoes, I believe.

19. How did you learn to cook?

Self-taught, inspired by the desire to feed my future beau. :-) We had no home-ec in my school.

20. Tag two other people to play.

Whoever wants to. Leave me a comment and I'll come see your blog. :-)