Who am I? My name is Xandrea, pronounced like a "Z" as in Xena warrior princess. I am married to my wonderful husband Alex for almost 8 years now. He is active duty Air Force and we are currently stationed at Hurlburt Field, FL. It is so nice to finally be back on the East coast and living so close to so many of our family members. And while my cooking is still eclectic and all over the map....I am trying to explore my southern roots and traditions more than ever before. We have to two beautiful boys, Anthony and Vinnie. And if you couldn't infer from the kids names, my husbands family is Italian. And when you have a strong Italian last name, you need strong Italian first names. But you know what I got out of this deal?? I am now Italian!! That's right! My last name is Italian, so therefore I am Italian right?? My logic so no need to correct me! I am a stay at home mom. So I have a fair amount of free time on my hands. But my kids both have autism so times are not always easy or pleasant.
When I met my husband, my greatest cooking achievment as cheese toast. And Alex likes to tell anyone who meets me and likes my food. I slowly got a few meals under my belt. It wasn't until after the birth of our second child Vinnie that I started dabbling in the food world. I say it is because when I was pregnant I couldn't stand the smells of food and cooking and my poor husband ate frozen dinners and sandwiches for nearly 9 months. And you know what, he never complained. I felt so bad for him that I wanted to make up for all of that and started experimenting. After awhile I realized I was pretty good at this cooking thing and got more advanced with my food and skills.
And I think the biggest kick in the face is that due to either being kids or having autism (changes with the days), my kids eat very little of the things I cook. I mean, I would make homemade chicken soup when they are sick...with homemade chicken broth, but the kids spit it on the floor. I make tasty, fluffy, homemade waffles and they complain about the flavor of the waffles and the fact they are not crunchy from the toaster like Eggos. Some days its amusing really. Maybe one day......
So this blog is just a way to share with all of my friends and family from across the country what I am making on a daily basis and see the fun and different things I find. But I know my food isn't for everyone and not everything I make is liked by all....and that's fine. But hopefully some of my stuff inspires you to try new things and new ingredients.
