The Adventures of Alora and Robert: Starting At The Basics

Growing up, I didn't have the typically family. My mom wasn't a great cook, and my dad wasn't the bread winner for most of the years. My mom's idea of dinner, was buying the pre-made lasagna at Wal-Mart and throwing it in the oven. Don't get me wrong, she tried to make meals from scratch. She made a killer potato salad during the summers, but cooking wasn't her favorite activity to do. Even though she lacked in the cooking department, she made up in keeping up with our finances, something I am very glad I learned from her. I remember always sitting at the edge of her bed while she went through bills and matched the automated bank call with her checking book (something you don't see these days!!). She's the reason why we could go shopping as often as we did. My dad on the other hand just wanted to have fun, and I don't think money was the first thing on his mind. What he lacked in, he made up for in his meals. It wasn't that often that he was able to cook us dinner. It was usually on weekends, or on special occasions. His grilling skills are phenomenal, and his spaghetti and chili is something I try to mimic from time to time. He's usually the one I call when I want to make a nice hearty meal.

I'm not actually sure what my inspiration for wanting to cook all the time is. Maybe it's just the creativity that flows through my blood that makes me yearn to try new things, even though I may fail at times. It's about having fun in the process, right? Once I graduated college, and actually moved into my own place with Rob, and had to learn to survive without mommy popping something in the oven is when my try need for cooking came out. Not to mention, Rob's mother is one of the best cooks I have met! She is definitely one of my driving forces that makes me try new foods. I haven't tried much in life, and every time we go to her house, I am just astonished at how good it is. This is where this blog post is coming into play today. I've been wanting to try to make homemade bread for quite a few months now, and never got around to doing it. Rob's mother noticed one day, and as sweet as she is, gave me a bread maker. I've had it since Easter, and haven't bought the ingredients to make it yet.... until today! I am so excited to share this with everyone. I've never seen bread being made, so my face was pretty much glued to the glass showing it being kneaded and mixed. Sooo excited!!

My reasons for wanting to make homemade bread, rather than just buying it for a dollar at the store is health, money, and taste. And when all of these can come together, then why not?

Cutting out processed food is something I want to end up doing, but currently it's a problem for me. It's so expensive to buy at whole foods, and I don't have a house where I can grow my own food. These soon will not be a problem though. It's actually supposed to be cheaper to make home made bread, depending on the ingredients in them.It's about $0.40 - $0.50 to make the bread yourself. It's not much of a savings, but the taste sure is worth it.

Basic #1

Learning how to boil a egg.

This is actually something I didn't know how to do surprisingly! How do you actually know when it's done??

I had to google this, sadly. Just stick the eggs in an inch or two of water, set to boil, and in 12-15 minutes take it off.

Taadaaa. Not bad for a first timer!

From the boiled eggs, I made a delish tuna melt! I chopped up the eggs, with a can of tuna, add a tiny bit of light mayo, and top it with tomatoes, cheese, and avocado. (I only ate one slice. It was super filling). I place these in the oven to toast the bread just a bit. I'll def be making this again.

Basics #2

The Art Of Bread Making

I would recommend to every woman, to get one of these. You don't have to worry about kneading the dough yourself. Just add all the ingredients and the machine will mix it for you.

*Sorry for the messy kitchen*