tell me what you want, what you really, really want

Excuse the lame attempt at using lyrics. I'm a bit punchy after leaving for the airport at 4:30am. Yes, if you've been following the blog you know that I was in L.A. last week, briefly relished a weekend at home, and now it's on to the next adventure!

We have an unwritten rule that when I crash my parents' home with the kids, I earn my keep cooking up a storm. It's a win-win all around: fresh mountain air, adoring grandparents, and a pimped out kitchen. (Full disclosure: any kitchen with more than one working burner is considered "pimped out" by yours truly. Bet you didn't know that I have been cooking on one working burner back at home for the past 9 months. Mmm hmm. I kid you not. So, no complaining that you can't cook because you don't have the right equipment! Man, that's fodder for a future post....) Anyway, my mom greeted us with a fabulous lunch before handing over the spatula... the highlight was a divine quinoa salad studded with fresh corn, mint and lemon. Then, there were naan flatbread pizzas, with Feta and peppers, which the kids devoured.

And we hadn't been here for more than an hour before my kids were whipping up batches of their summer specialty: fresh mint water (which they hawk to anyone for 10 cents a cup, so bring coins if you're coming to visit!). OK, so amidst all of this excitement I am feeling the need to come up with a plan so I can keep up with the blog, back-to-school projects, and relish this time with my family. I put together a short survey which I'd love for you to take. My head is swirling with ideas in response to your requests for meals plans, cookbooks, more videos and live cooking lessons. Feedback from the survey will help me hone in on the sorts of recipes I should be testing this month + what you'd like to see when school ramps up.

p.s. All survey respondents will be entered to win one of three copies of whichever product I decide to focus on for back-to-school. How fabulous is that?!! So tell me what you want, what you really, really want. Oh geez, I should stop now, go have a glass of wine and hit the hay early... big day of biking and playing in the river ahead, plus some cheffing around here!