In Which She Pretends She Is a Chef :)

I was visiting my grandparents' house last week and I got a chance to envelope myself in the Food Channel now and then. When I encounter these shows I am so glad we do not have cable t.v., for I'd be sitting there watching the cooking shows all day long. ;)

Some of my favorite chefs to watch at their trade are:

Ina Garten on "The Barefoot Contessa" [who I didn't get to see this time. :( ]

Giada De Laurentiis 

Bobby Flay

The Pioneer Woman

And the cooking-competitions "Chopped", "Iron Chef", and "Cupcake Wars." :) I have a silly little fondness for such things. So watching the cooking channel leave me having two desires:

1. To be able to chop that fast and with those knives.

2. To be original with my meals--to make them look amazing and taste superb.

I started thinking of ways that I could dress up the food I make for my family--after all, I spend half the day in the kitchen [literally] and there has to be something I could do differently now and then. :) I am thinking about starting up a recipe-inspiration series--what do you think of that idea? :) For now, here is some Pinterest-inspiration to help you and me along. :)

Frankly, this is brilliant! I have not tried shaping my eggs this way, but I think it would look stunning for a Mother's Day breakfast for really any occasion where you thought a little extra love would not go amiss. (Pity I don't like hard-boiled eggs. :D)

Okay. So this is not exactly food, but I adore this color scheme--it is so...Sicilian or something, with the citrus fruits mixed with the simple flower arrangement! Gorgeous!

Aren't these just so happy?!? Love it. I'm thinking it is Jell-o layered with...yogurt or pudding or something? Hm. Not sure how that would taste, but it's stunning!

Admittedly, I'm a sucker for pretty things. Especially parfaits...

What a cute little chubby pot-pie! I love personal things, and that dish looks simply adorable.

I've decided radishes are not good for anything except decoration. In that category they are irresistable...

And check this out:

Isn't that breath-taking? I love it. So. Much.

While on the subject of flowers I've gotta say, someday I am totally doing this:

There is a surprising array of flowers that are entirely edible--you just have to ferret them out. I had sudden inspiration (while taking a walk with Maryanna after choir) of sprinkling a salad with Violet Wood-sorrel (pink oxalis) which grows in profusion around here--The leaves, stems, and flowers taste like lemon, and so as children we called it "Lemon-grass," little realizing there was already a plant christened that. :D

This is what the wood-sorrel looks like--isn't it beautiful? But back to food.

It is also a proven fact that I am fond of tiny things like appetizers--aren't these adorable?

These are really neat too:

Not sure what they are filled with, but those appear to be roasted squash blossoms on top. :)

Anyway, I was greatly inspired by the Food Channel last week and I hope this post inspired you too. Look out for more neat recipe ideas in the future!