iSurf Culinary Crafts: My Friend Herb

It doesn't matter if you pronouce it "her-bs" (like Martha) or "erbs" (like me), most of us have a cabinet full of these recipe staples in our kitchen!  I know I am particularly fond of the less than a buck variety you can find at Market Place.  Head over to iSurf and read Culinary Crafts: My Friend Herb where Leigh talks about a favorite teacher and the only F she ever received!

A few things happened when I read Culinary Crafts this morning.  First, I got hungry!  Second, I started thinking: what's my favorite herb or spice?  It's sage, I am a big fan of dressing (or stuffing) anytime of year.  Then I got a little tickled because my daughter has just started kindergarten and the school atmosphere is so much different now than when I was a student!  I guess "sticks" have replaced the good ol' fashioned paddle these days.  Not that I would ever be a supporter of paddling kids, but I would say that paddling was probably a lot more effective than pulling sticks any day!

And then I got a little nostalgic.  The last recipe, Roasted Potatoes, brought back memories for me of high school, too.  Not of a teacher, but of my mother-in-law.  I remember, in the early days of dating my husband, going to his house and seeing the difference between how his mom cooked and the way my family cooked.  Being a picky eater, I was always a little scared.  But, Gail used to make "herbed" potatoes and even though they were jazzed up with herbs and spices, they were still plain enough for me to enjoy.  And I really did like those potatoes!  I may have to tone down some of the spices from Leigh's recipe, but I'll definitely have to plan a night and make that family favorite for my kids.  It'll be a great way to introduce them to Grandma Gail, whom they never got to meet and know, too. 

Thanks Leigh, for the walk down memory lane!  Don't they say that smell is the sense most intensely tied to memory?  I can believe it, can't you?