Coconut Mojito

A picture of me and my dear friend Liz. I'm on the left. <img src="http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/6127/babesstephof5.jpg"> I live in Blacksburg, Virginia with my husband and 3 young children, and one fat cat. I'm a stay at home Mom of an 8 year old girl, 5 year old boy, and 2 year old girl. They are all stinky rotten but I am terribly attached to them. Plus, they do put up with me. I guess I'll keep them. Dinner preparation can be challenging with my toddler hanging on my leg but I still try to make a really nice meal. I enjoy cooking so much and though I could turn to more convenience foods to help me out, I just don't like to. My food is a source of pride for me. Some of my best memories are of my Mom in the kitchen. So, let the laundry pile up and the dust accumulate because I am spending my time in the kitchen. I live in a close knit community and have an excellent support network of other Moms. There are a lot of good cooks in the bunch so there is a lot of recipe swapping. My MOPS group just sent a cookbook to the printer to make it back by the holidays. I helped with the editing. Blacksburg may be small but the presence of Virginia Tech ensures that we have a constant ebb and flow of folks from all over the place. Small town meets global world. I'm originally from Indiana where I was raised to love basketball but have transitioned over to Hokie football. Sometimes our town IS that football team. Certainly, I love the tailgating and I feel at home among the ever present sea of orange and maroon. I love this place. If I am eating out in Blacksburg, I'm most likely to be seen at Gillies's for breakfast, Cabo Fish Taco for lunch, and the Cellar for dinner. RecipeZaar is the cooking site I visit most. I can almost always find what I am looking for here. The reviews and ratings are so helpful. The folks here seldom let me down. I have accumulated quite a recipe collection from you all. Thank you! I find myself in the natural foods section of the grocery more and more these days. I have been gradually weaning the family off of processed foods. I can't fathom becoming a vegetarian anytime soon so we buy organic beef from a local farmer. It's great stuff and we get it at a good price. I've been cooking with whole grains and fresh produce more often lately. I am trying my hand at making my own mayo and ketchup. I went in with a friend to purchase a grain mill to mill our own grains into flour. I look forward to gaining more experience in bread making. Want to try grain soaking. My favorite cookbooks are my old Fanny Farmer and Good Housekeeping, a 1990 edition of the NY Times cookbook, and an Amish cookbook by Marcia Adams. I still love my sweets. I tell myself that if I make it from scratch and I use more organic and raw ingredients, that it's OK. Not exactly healthy but an improvement. I do find that many of the desserts I used to like are just too sweet for me anymore. This has put me on a quest to update or replace some of the recipes I've had for a long time. Other interests of mine include children's literature, cardmaking, writing, afternoon naps. the art of Charles Harper & Audrey Kawasaki, craftsman houses, and tournament-style Scrabble. Autumn is my favorite season. Few things please me more than the fall's crisp air, leaves dancing around in a cascade of colors, and my glorious friends the pumpkins. The Blue Ridge Mountains are perfect. Plenty of trails locally and in the mountains to do lots of nature walks. <a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w115/bugh8er/food%20and%20swaps/ebe3eeba.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> <img src="http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b280/carolinamoon21/Ingredients/BBQlSTKR.jpg"> <img src="http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/Zaar%20World%20Tour%204/ZWTAB-tg.gif"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/PAC08Main.jpg"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/adoptedspring08.jpg">