Raising the stakes (or steaks)

I love food. And I love how food can bring a family together. I started this blog as a way to chronicle my quest in finding good - no make that great - meals for my family. I didn't want to believe that restaurants with a menu kids could color were our only options when dining out. Nor did I want to 'deceive' my kids by masking good-for-you ingredients in their dish. And I definitely did not want to be the kids' short order cook, serving up typical toddler food they would eat while my hubby and I ate 'grown-up' food. Whether it be from a recipe, pre-packaged or eating out, I wanted an outlet to share the good, bad, and tasty.

 
I am amazed and quite frankly, overwhelmed by the number of bloggers out there. The ones that get my attention, and better yet, lure me back time and again have my utmost admiration. For me, these blogs are an honest and fun peek into a personal experimentation: A mom who is teaching herself and her son the art of cooking in 365 days. An eco-mom teaching her kids to cook healthy. A mom getting her son to eat vegetables. There's The Julie/Julia Project of course.

Since my goal is to raise adventurous eaters, then I too need to be ready for adventure. So I am challenging myself to try *at least* two new recipes a week, test something store-bought, and review one new restaurant (sans kiddie menu) a month. I'd be lying if I told you dinner didn't come from store-bought rotisserie chicken and mac and cheese from a box with a bunny on it now and then. But who wants to read about that? And hopefully after some time, I will have a catalog of great eats that my boys can try out on their own kids.