DIY Dinner: Sausage

We recently said one of our goals this year was to be more aware of what we are eating and where it is coming from. Well, today that goal has been achieved. (This does not mean that we will stop now that we are ahead.)

Tonight we made homemade sausages for the first time. pm recently bought the meat grinder attachment for our kitchen aid. I think that we have used it more for meat in the past couple of months than I ever used it for sweets. This too will change my friends...

We made a basic sausage -- pork, onion, garlic and various spices (italian seasonings, paprika, etc.) They turned out really well. Plus, I think when compared to what you'd spend in the grocery store for good sausages, we saved ourselves some money.

There was no mystery meat in these bad boys. In fact, making these made me realize just how much we probably are not aware are in "store bought" sausages. I'd rather not think about it. And, the plan is not to think about it, because we plan to make a lot more of our own homemade meats from locally grown and farmed meat. We'll be supporting our local butcher (Paulina Meat Market) and eating more healthy. A win-win all around.

30 Days of Creativity - Day 14: Cowabunga!

One of our weekly dinner staples is pizza. It was nice to have today's inspiration of 30 Days of Creativity to be pizza. We killed two birds with one stone today then. The stone happened to be our dearly beloved pizza stone.

To our defense, it has been awhile since we have made a homemade pizza. Lately when we got to Trader Joe's to buy the dough they are out. For all ya'll who like pizza and hate waiting for the homemade dough to rise, TD's is the BEST place to go. Too bad they discontinued their garlic herb dough. Oh well.

That's all for today kids. It's Monday. bleh.

Home away from home

Tonight it's a tribute to the homelands. Paella, serrano ham, olives, and red wine. These are only a small sampling of the many things we *love about Spain. The only thing that could be better than eating them here would be to be enjoying them with friends and family as they celebrate (well now celebrated) the day of Andalucía.

Southern Spain, much like many other places in the south, beats to a different beat and has its own flavor. People enjoy life to the fullest - the streets are always bustling with residents and tourists. Its rich heritage (and cuisine) keep people there (not to mention its balmy temperatures in the summer and temperate temps in the winter) and keep tourists coming back from more.

La tierra de amor. At least that's where the story of am. & pm. all began. Somewhere on a winding cobble stone road in the heart of Sevilla.

So tonight we raise our glasses to you, Sevilla. Salud!

(* Here a secret steal on some excellent Spanish wine: Estola Reserva. It's the tempranillo we always keep stocked in our wine rack. You can find it at Trader Joe's for under $7. A bargain well worth it. Click here for a review from albinnyc who is drinking her way through wines at Trader Joe's one glass at a time. We'll be bookmarking this site! :))