Feeding Blueberries

Last fall, I read Julie and Julia, after reading My Life in France by Julia Child.  I was inspired. You may have seen the movie where Julie Powell cooks all 524 recipes of Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year. I'm not so ambitious to cook through a Julia Child cookbook or to set deadlines for myself, but I searched for a cookbook to take on.  Because I wasn't interested in filling my refrigerator with random ingredients that would go bad after using only a teaspoon, I decided on Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food.  The ingredients are simple and I like the emphasis on the local-food movement.   Waters encourages buying ingredients that are in season.  I love that her recipes generally entail a main vegetable or meat that is prepared with ingredients you already have in your pantry; it's amazing how far olive oil, salt, and pepper can take you.  Most of the recipes have variation ideas so I can use up stuff that is sitting in the fridge.  She gives good explanations of why certain methods give the best results.
In case you have this cookbook or buy it, which I certainly recommend, here are a few of my favorite recipes so far:

• Hummus: In Austin, Michael and I were on a quest for the best recipe and threw in all kinds of ingredients.  Waters's 6-ingredient Hummus surprised us as the clear winner. 
• Guacamole: Even after dining all over Austin, a fresh Tex-Mex haven, we would say this guac competes with the best of 'em.
• Haven't gone wrong with her soups: Spicy Cauliflower, Sweet Corn, Red Pepper
• Sweet potatoes with Lime (add salt and butter and you're done!)
• Moroccan Sweet Potato Salad
• Braised Duck Legs with Leeks and Green Olives (couldn't find duck legs in Jackson, so I used chicken legs)
• Roasted Almonds: Michael regularly roasts these and keeps his babies' Omega-3 levels up! 
• Onion Tart: Really pretty and yummy

What does this have to do with growing blueberries? Well, this is what the babies have dined on for the last 9 months, minus the first trimester when I couldn't stand the smell of onions or garlic (both frequent Waters ingredients). I've cooked 95 of the 308 recipes.  30 Percent!  I have a feeling this could be a multi-year endeavor since cooking may take a hiatus while having to feed 2 babies 8-12 times per day.

Here are a few pics, still working on the food-photography thing:

Braised Chicken Legs with Tomatoes, Onions and Garlic and Hummus

Caprese Salad 

Potato Gratin- Delicious!

Simple Salad, Tomato Tart that our friend Jonathan made (not a Waters recipe), and Sautéed Shrimp with Garlic and Parsley