Instead of showing you some the of photos that are going into the book, I thought I'd show you one that isn't.
This is a photo of Indonesian Beef Satay with Peanut Sauce. I do looooove the photo, however, I'll have to re-shoot.
Let's play! Can you guess why?
Note: this was written for the lovely wedding issue for the Tampa Tribune
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The Chinese culture is filled with food traditions and symbolisms, so much in fact that I could never keep up and remember them all. During the entire 6 days surrounding my wedding, I deferred to my mother to tell me what to eat to please the Gods of good fortune and fertility. Oh, did I want to have some grapes? I had to eat five of them, not one less because that number that I must not utter, one less than five, means something bad in Chinese. In fact, I am choosing each and every word very carefully in this column so that in case YOU are the one getting married, I do not want to be blamed for any misfortune!
My wedding with Scott was a nice blend of his culture (Scottish-German) and mine. We exchanged vows at Pebble Beach’s legendary 18th hole (ok, Scott just corrected me and said “fairway” not “hole” because I don’t think they’d let 10 pairs of three-inch stilettos aerate the baby-soft skinny grass at the hole), but included Chinese customs throughout the entire week
One custom that we opted out of was serving a whole roast suckling pig at the wedding banquet. According to the Chinese, the pig symbolizes the virginity of the bride, and um, you know where I’m going with that. I say, no sense in pretending or misrepping what is not true, because that would be a lousy way to begin a marriage! Plus, where the heck would we find a whole suckling pig in the middle of a gucci golf resort? Can you even imagine the chef struggling to fit the fat pig on his fancy rotisserie grill?
There is one tradition that I would like to share with you, eating noodles. For birthdays, new year and weddings, noodles are served to represent long life. Don’t be tempted to cut the noodles, or you’ll be “cutting your life short.” You may not be Chinese, but really, there’s no harm in covering all your bases. I mean, who knows what deity drew the short straw and was appointed to be in charge something so boring like “lifespan?”
So, I created one easy dish that covered all your important bases – sort of cramming in as much good fortune as possible on one plate. The sesame seeds and pea pods in the noodles symbolize fertility (remember, if you don’t want children, substitute with any greens, bean sprouts or sliced bamboo shoots.) Shrimp, in Chinese, is pronounced “haa” which sounds like laughter, and may your marriage be full of happiness.
And of course, this column has 688 words, my way of wishing you a smooth path to double prosperity.
Wow, almost 400 entries in the Cooking Light Complete Cookbook contest! Very cool. I cannot believe all the strange, exotic food combinations that you all entered. If you haven't read through the entries, take a look, it's fun to see all the weird flavor combos that you all enjoy.
I'm announcing the winners right here in video form! In fact, this is the very first Steamy Kitchen home made video ever published (i.e. not X-rated)
Steamy Kitchen Cooking Light Winners from Jaden Hair on Vimeo.
And who are the owners of these lucky numbers? Read on....
The next time anyone asks me, "don't you want another kid?" or "are you going to have another baby to try for a girl?"
All I have to do is flash them this photo:
The playroom that was I had spent the previous 2 days sorting, scrubbing and organizing:
I think they are building a secret railway from our home to DisneyWorld.
Thank you Scott for cleaning up this mess afterwards!
Update:
AHA!!! Found this article today! "Stay at Home Moms Worth at Least $117K/yr"
GOOD LORD! What brand of happy pills is she on?
WIth 18 children, I'd be using a lot more than my index finger scolding that child!
from my Tampa Tribune column
I'm sure that a vow to eat healthfully was at the top of most New Year's resolutions lists. Sigh. It certainly was on mine, but I've been doing a lousy job of fulfilling my goal of losing 15 pounds.
I even made it super-easy by limiting myself to just ONE resolution. I typed in my journal that if I could get there by the end of the year, I would pamper myself with a spa day at The Met in Sarasota.
It's May, and I'm so not there yet. Maybe I need to re-evaluate my prize because, as we all know, a change in behavior is only sustainable with a promise of good loot at the end. The words "losing 15 pounds," even the thought of a haircut and four-hour massage, is not enticement enough to turn away that decadent swirl of chocolate frosting or the irresistibly curious bacon toffee. Sugar? Butter? Bacon? Cannot resist.
So I'm thinking that my newly revised prize should be grand, like one in which hordes of people are holding me accountable for my success. Hmmm ... maybe a massive food/wine/music-filled block party to which you are all invited? You're welcome to e-mail me ideas as long you're not selling me diet pills.
But, hey, I did find a nutritious recipe for Potatoes Anna from Cooking Light magazine that I simply love. The super-thin overlapping slices of potatoes are baked in a skillet. The top and bottom layers peel off like crisp potato chips. I've seasoned my version with a combination of ground cinnamon and coriander. At 200 calories per serving, I could almost eat, like, the whole thing.
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Having a mandoline slicer really helps with cutting the potatoes into thin, even slices. My favorite is one by 
Pampered Chef for $60. It's beautifully designed for the clumsy in mind, with a food holder on safety rails and an unexposed blade. You food (and hands) slide effortlessly guided by the safety rails. It also folds up nicely and the 4 blades (crinkle, V-shaped, regular and grating) are stored in a plastic holder that also slides onto the mandolin for storage. The blade is triggered by a spring action - each time your food guide passes over, it triggers the blade to be exposed. Food passes, blade flush. Simply beautiful. Limitations: no blade for cutting shoestring fries and the wide food holder is 3 1/2" oval shaped and your food has to fit in there.
If you're the daredevil sort and don't use the food gripper anyways, then get the 
Oxo brand. While it has a massive food gripper that keep your knuckles and fingers away from the blade, it does not have safety rails. It does cut nicely and is very sturdy. One time I went slicer-bezerk and slid off the "runway" and, well, you know what happened. BUT - it cuts shoestring fries! And you get to watch a nifty video of Mario pimping out the product. I own both the Pampered Chef and Oxo - and would never give up either one of them.Unless you offered large sums of money. Or an evening with Rocco. Or my very own Darth Vader voice changer mask. I'm easily bribed by evil temptations.
You know those thin, plastic Japanese style mandolines by 
Benriner? I wouldn't recommend them unless you are adept at handling juggling knives on a unicycle. Without a stand that holds it erect, you will be balancing the mandoline with one hand at an odd angle and sliding the food back and forth with just a plastic holder doohickey the size of a credit card.
Spend $10 more and get a good quality mandoline.
Cooking Light magazine gave me three gorgeous 
Cooking Light The Complete Cookbooks to give away! Would you like one? Come over here to enter. The random drawing takes place Saturday (May 10th) morning. It's got 1,200 recipes with 630 color photographs and a companion DVD.
It is an awesome book, and my copy is littered with Post-it notes of recipes I want to incorporate into my, ahem, healthy lifestyle, like this recipe for Potatoes Anna!
Recipe + photo setup after the jump
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