Food Network and our new toy!

Of the dozens and dozens of TV channels we have access to, my favourites are E! (mindless celebrity gossip) and the Food Network (obviously cooking!). When I first came to the U.S., I wasn't allowed to work. I quickly got into the routine of watching Food Network in the morning, going to the supermarket in the afternoon, then spending two-three hours making elaborate meals for Dustin and me. That all ended once I started working! We now live on frozen dinners and pasta-and-sauce boxed meals.

I do miss cooking, though. One of my favourite TV chefs is a Georgia lady named Paula Deen. She has the most wonderful personality and of course, has the beautiful Southern drawl. Everything she cooks is hideously unhealthy, full of mayonnaise and butter and cream, but she's wonderful to watch. When my dad came to the U.S. for our wedding, we actually went to Paula Deen's restaurant in Savannah. We didn't see her, unfortunately. Another favourite TV chef is Nigella Lawson, an English lady whose recipes are very similar to Jamie Oliver. Just throw it all in a bowl, mix it and cook!

Dustin may find that I start cooking a little more often again, after our weekend shopping trip. We bought a beautiful KitchenAid mixer! We've both eyed them enviously in the shops, but at an average price of USD$400, we weren't in any hurry to get one. But, on the weekend, we found them on sale for $140! So, we lined up at the cash register to buy ours. When we got to the check-out, we were asked if we would like to open a store account to get 15% off our purchase. You better believe we did! Our sales girl was new, so she had to get her manager to help her with our sign-up. We waited maybe a minute, but the manager said he'd give us 20% off for our patience.... So, we got a $400 mixer for $100! I love shopping trips like that!! So, we brought it home, set it up and promptly made 2 loaves of bread. Yummy!