Random wants...almost goals

I've only been on Pinterest for a few days, but I can already tell it's an evil, awesome site. I've found a lot of things to laugh at, added a few funny or cute things myself, but overall, the food makes me drool. Literally! The pictures and recipes also inspire me, finally, to do a few things I've only been surrounded by for five years now. Such as:

• Learn to grow things. Put seeds in dirt, water, whatever it takes to harvest and make a meal from what I grew. Last summer, my mother grew cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, corn, chocolate mint, rhubarb, and I think that's all. I'm thinking carrots, maybe potatoes, definitely tomatoes (my mother got tons and she barely remembered to water the things, yeah Portland climate!) corn and a few other things, depending on space and where we are and how late into the season I can get started, considering our current move date of June-ish.

• Learn to can things (kinda goes hand in hand with growing them) but also includes jarring berries. Even if I grow nothing myself this year, I want to take Kaeden out berry picking, and learn to jar up blackberries, peaches, raspberries, and make applesauce to store, as well as tomato sauce.

• I want to start baking again. I loved it when I was living in Lincoln; fresh made cinnamon raisin, apple carrot bread, the whole process of actually making bread. I remember feeling hugely accomplished and quite happy after making both Tristan's birthday cake and our handfasting cake (including hand made frosting!) (Yes, I realize that's kinda sad. Woot, I made cake!) Maybe I'm turning into a hippy after all.  I want to try my hand again at focaccia, since my last attempt turned out flat. Flatter than it should have been. Kinda like flavored hard tack. 

• I would also like to get better at desserts, which considering my current waistline probably isn't the best goal. Maybe I should go with "Cook better meat" or "Cook more varieties of meals". Yeah, that last one is the best. My current repertoire consists of baked chicken (with lemon and pepper seasoning) some Rice or Pasta Roni, hamburger gravy with mashed potatoes, Shepards Pie (one of my better dishes), enchaldias, tomato mac/goulash/whatever you want to call it, nachos (which I'm not sure really counts) hamburgers, and cake from a box. As my parents pointed out last night, Kaeden is getting sick and tired of my limited culinary budget. Time to expand, before he learns to talk & tell everyone within his vicinity that his mother is a sucky cook. 

That's it for now. I'm sure Pinterest in all it's glory will make me want to do other things, like build my dream house from scratch and fill it with outdoor kitchens and amazing pantries and alcove and loft beds, but I've seen how much fun building is! Check back in with me when Tristan's graduated and has a job and I have learned to not hate the sight of a nail gun.