Tiffany Moen - The Spices of My Life: A Culinary Collection of Recipes, Memories, and More

THE SPICES

OF MY LIFE

A CULINARY COLLECTION OF
RECIPES, MEMORIES, AND MORE

TIFFANY MOEN

The Spices of My Life: A Culinary Collection of Recipes, Memories, and More
2012 Tiffany Moen. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopying, or recording, except for the inclusion in a review, without permission in writing from the publisher.

The names of the commercial products mentioned in this book are registered trademarks (, ) of their companies, such as Adobo, Amys Organic semi-condensed cream of mushroom soup, Basic H by the Shaklee Corporation, Better than Bouillon by Superior Touch, Big Lots, Bosch, Chick-fil-A, Cool Whip, CorningWare, Cracker Barrel, Doritos, Google, Jiffy muffin mix, Jiffy peanut butter, KitchenAid, Krispy Kreme, Kroger, McDonalds, Nutella, Three Ginger tea by Pukka, Pampered Chef, Panda Express, Nutty Rice by Perkys, Peter Pan peanut butter, Polaners All Fruit, Premium Saltines by Nabisco, Quaker Oats, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Ro*Tel, Roto-Rooter, Sazn, Shortys, Stevia, Tabasco, Truwhip, Uncle Sams Cereal, Walmart, and Ziploc. Reference in this book to any specific commercial products, brand names, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm, or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the reader, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the authors or the publisher.

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this book is complete and accurate. However, neither the publisher nor the authors are engaged in rendering professional advice or services to the individual reader. The ideas and approaches contained in this book are not intended as a substitution for consulting with your physician, and the book is not intended to replace medical advice or to be a substitute for a physician. Always seek the advice of a physician before beginning any dietary program. Accordingly, individual readers must assume responsibility for their own actions, safety, and health, and neither the authors nor the publisher shall be liable or responsible for any loss, injury, or damage allegedly arising from any information or suggestions in this book.

Published in the United States by BQB Publishing
(Boutique of Quality Books Publishing Company)
www.bqbpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN 978-1-937084-75-2 (p)
ISBN 978-1-937084-83-7 (h)
ISBN 978-1-937084-76-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012914536

Cover photograph by Andrew Hanneman

Book design by Robin Krauss, www.lindendesign.biz

Book website: www.TiffanyMoen.com

DEDICATION

I would like to dedicate this book first to my mom, Mona Coll, for her inspiration in the kitchen, and for having more energy than any woman should (I am my mothers daughter!). You had us up on stools learning to be helpers as far back as I can remember. As an adult, I always knew you were just a phone call away for cooking advice! To my husband, Eric, for never once criticizing my attempts (and failures) while I learned to cook, and for teaching the children to praise and appreciate me for my efforts. Thank you!

To my children, Danielle, Gary, Kristopher, Stetson, Grace, Monica, Megan, and Nicolas, for being my enthusiastic taste testers while I wrote and cooked for this book. I am so proud of each of you, and I look forward to watching what paths you choose in life.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Id like to thank the team at BQB Publishing for walking me through the process of turning my manuscript into a beautiful cookbook. Terri Leidich and her wonderful team, especially, Katy, Jan, and Julie, guided me every step of the way. I couldnt have done it without you!

CONTENTS

T hank you for including my cookbook in your culinary plans! Writing it has been a fun adventure, and Ive learned so much in the process.

In January 2012, I prayed and asked God to show me something I could do to use the gifts and talents that hed given me. My husband was in the process of looking for a new job, and so initially, I was seeking creative ways to help our family with income. Within a few days, the idea of a cookbook came to mind. The idea made so much sense! I really enjoy cooking. For me, the highlight of the holidays is having my college kids home. It is great to see the smiles on their faces as I make all of their favorite foods.

I took the idea and ran with it. First, I typed up the handwritten recipe cards that Id been compiling over the years. I tried out the name Once Upon a Cookbook, but my sixteen-year-old daughter said, Oh Mom, that name is so lame! So I ditched that one. A few days later, my husband, Eric, said, What about The Missing Ingredient? Most of what youve created has been because youre mulling around in the kitchen, considering a recipe to cook, but youre missing an ingredient. So you end up getting creative with the recipe and making something new. I liked the idea, but that name was taken. So we thought further. I love spices, and have over a hundred of them, and with the unusual family weve chosen, I came up with The Spices of My Life. With approval from the teenage opinion poll (four out of four teenagers agree!), I had a name for the book.

Over the next four months (until we started packing up our house to move for my husbands new job), I feverishly wrote, cooked, edited, and cooked again to get the recipes just right. I was about a third of the way through my list of recipes before a friend commented to me, You are going to photograph them, right? I never make a recipe without a picture to look at. Oh... I hadnt yet wrapped my mind around the photography part! So I recooked a lot of the recipes, and with some photography and lighting tips from my daughters boyfriend, I captured several photos that made my brief Rhode Island School of Design stint proud. (Just a little note hereI decided on the Mrs. Degree and never regretted it. Cooking has become my creative outlet.)

Each creation had to pass five taste testers. They knew nothing would be taken as criticism, and they gave honest feedback. Im thankful that the feedback was mostly, This is awesome, Mom! But other times, they urged me to try the recipe again with more spice, a bit more salt, more heat, and sometimes a recommendation to just start over.

When my son, Kristopher, was little (hes now twenty-one), he was a picky eater. In exasperation, his dad finally told him that he could no longer say anything negative because, Mom is making the effort to cook a good meal. Kristopher thought for a second and said, Okay. I know that I will never have to eat this again for the rest of my life. I guess that reply was his attempt at framing his opinion in a positive light!

One of the most challenging things about creating the cookbook was having my family sitting at the table ready to eat, waiting for me to get just the right photo of the food. They soon learned the process. I would take ten photos of each item, quickly upload each to the computer to make sure that at least one worked, and then I would run back to the table. Eric would say a blessing, and THEN they could dig in. Eventually they didnt even head to the table until theyd seen the food on the computer screen.