Foodie Friday: Random Thoughts

--I have a bushy basil plant in my backyard and no idea what to do with it. None of my neighbors cook with fresh basil. All I use it for is to brighten up canned spaghetti sauce. I wish I could sell it. I saw two stems of basil going for $5.99 at the local grocery store.

--It occurred to me this week that I have never tasted a poached egg. I don't even know how to poach one. Poached eggs sounds like such a 1930s menu item. Since I am all about the retro, I think this is a skill I should add to my repertoire.

--Kraft's free advert-magazine Food and Family is perfect for people who want to tap their inner 1950s housewife. It is filled with the kind of recipes that would have been on a food box or label back in the day. I know the whole purpose of the magazine is to get you to buy Kraft products, but I like knowing the specific name of an ingredient that I need to use in a recipe.

In that same vein, I am starting to understand the appeal of the whole semi-homemade idea. In the past, I laughed at my friends who would dress up store-bought spaghetti sauce with fresh ingredients like bell peppers and onions. What's the purpose of buying sauce if you are going to stand there and chop vegetables anyway? Now I get it. Sometimes you want to cook but you don't want to spend the whole day in front of the stove. Also, starting with a rotisserie chicken from the deli or a cream-of-whatever soup lessens the chance of disaster.