Please send me an e-mail if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.
I try to answer all e-mail within 24 hours.If you DO NOT get a response from me, please either e-mail me again or leave a comment on my blog. Occasionally servers will block e-mail for no apparent reason. It happens very rarely; but I have no way of knowing - and it's very frustrating.
I'd love to hear how my menus are working for you!
You can also contact me by leaving a comment on the 'Weekly Menu' Posting on the Thyme for Cooking Blog
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Who's doing this (About Me)?
The year of no repeats (almost)...
15 years ago we sold our house and decided to embark on the great adventure - moving to Europe.
Why? Why not?
We were ready for a change, and I had always wanted to live in a big, pink Edwardian mansion. The only way for us to do that was to move to Ireland where one could still buy big, pink houses, and to run it as a B & B - or, in my case a B & D (bed and dinner - I hate getting up early so breakfast was out).
With that thought in mind, and because I was bored to tears being no longer gainfully employed, I decided to organize my cookbooks (more than 200) and my personal recipes (don't ask).
That not being enough of a challenge I decided to prepare a different main course every night for a year. The husband agreed (freely, of course) provided I would repeat his favorites at least a few times. So I did. I had always tried to be a creative cook but this forced me to expand my horizons a bit, as well as forcing me to actually look at all of the cookbooks I had been collecting over the years - like the tome on Hungarian cooking that I bought at the Hungarian pavilion at a World Expo in the 80's.
After doing all of this work - and duly cross-referencing it, I kept thinking that there must be a way to share all of the work that I love to do - and have time to do - with people who don't have the time (or know how) to do. And .....there you have it - Thyme for Cooking! Maybe my work will help some one else develop a love of creative cooking - or just have more fun in the kitchen.
What's with all the herbs?
I like the flavor of fresh herbs so have always had an herb garden: a 4 foot square in the Midwest (I never had rosemary survive the winter or get more than 6 inches high); a clump of chives and a thyme plant in the ground and basil in pots in Ireland; a rosemary bush the size of a small car in Andorra towering over my large sage bush and the rest in pots; and, finally, here in France, the herb garden of my dreams - 20' by 35'.
I might have gotten a little carried away but what the heck. I now use a hedge trimmer on the chives and oregano and make and freeze enough pesto to last the year.
In order to use fresh herbs year round I freeze them: see herbs They will last a year and can be tossed into rice or soup as it cooks for summer flavor in the middle of winter.
If you don't have them, can't find them, or just don't want to bother, substitute dried except where I specifically say to use fresh. If you don't like a particular herb use another. If you don't like any don't use any. The flavors will be different but you are the one eating it after all - be flexible, be creative, and enjoy!
Would you like help planning dinner?
Our Weekly Menu Planning Service (Menu Mailer) gives you healthy, gourmet dinners, carefully planned to
reduce waste
and insure a wide variety of seasonal, wholesome foods each week.
All text and images are copyright © 2005 - 2010 Thyme for Cooking, K. L. Zeller.
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