Tasty Tribal Temptation

Ah, the weekends in Anchorage! Time for cooking, eating, and oh, did I mention cooking? Dear Husband lived up to his husbandly-ness by driving me around to my favorite Pixie-land destinations (read - food and specialty food shops). But, once again, right there under my nose, at the good old Commissary on Elmendorf Air Force Base, was THIS!

Well, the good folks over at Tribe have certainly got it right, the taste-testing will commence tomorrow, along with the return to the work week. Of course, once I ventured over to their wonderful site, I found a one-dollar coupon for it...AFTER purchasing it. That's exactly how my luck rolls...but I digress. You know, as a working adult, I constantly fight the "Sunday Night Depression", whereby your mind is consumed with the fact that your freedom and free time are evaporating with every minute that ticks by.  So, to fight this negative and unproductive trend, I play a little game with myself. It's quite simple, and one must simply have the discipline to wait, and be rewarded! I make sure that I have a little something special, whether it be a new item of clothing, a special candy or snack, and I must ignore it until MONDAY! This week, it is my little 3-flavored tray of creamy garbanzo-beany goodness.


How do you make sure that you are taking care of you, during the work week?


I shall cut fresh carrot, red bell pepper, cucumber and take tiny, sweet grape tomatoes to take a little dip in the 3-kinds of fun hummus. I wonder which one I will like the best? Could it be the roasted red bell pepper? The garlic? Or will I just like the classic the best?  Next post will reveal all (sshhh, maybe the Tribe people will back the truck up to my door and send me enough hummus to swim in! YAY!!)

Since I've been delving back into classical French cooking, I decided to make Bouillabaisse, a very classic, very French fish stew. I was chomping at the bit to trot out a bit of my gourmet Pixie-skills, and it went very well. No pictures, alas, the nature of the stew required it to be served piping hot, straight after spooning on the rouille, and with lots of warm French bread.  I took a very long route to show you what I found for making the lovely dish........

No my friends, that is not some alien celery plant, it's FENNEL! Not only that, IT'S ORGANIC! IN ANCHORAGE! My cup runneth over! The licorice-tasting bulb and fronds of which the Italians are very fond of cooking with. As I prepped it for the stew, I had to julienne the bulb, and tasted some of the strips. I was pleasantly surprised, as in the past I did not care for it's  strong flavor. Now I can see utilizing it more frequently in it's raw state, as well as in cooked dishes.


Have you ever started liking something that you never did before? What was the one thing that tipped you to the other side?

Eat well my friends, and stayed tuned for the results of the triple-threat-hummus taste-test, and this coming weeks' post about the re-creation of the famous Tony Romas' baby back ribs! And please be kind, and do something special for yourself for the work week. Life is short, and sometimes, when we are hurting a little bit, being your own Mommy is just what the doctor ordered.