My boyfriend and I are in the middle of our big move.  We’ve made the journey cross country, and right now, we’re staying at my brother’s house in the Bay Area until we find a place of our own.  After leaving New Jersey, my boyfriend and I took the opportunity to discover local eateries and organic supermarkets that the different cities we drove through had to offer…

 
Assembling sandwiches at a rest stop in Kansas.  Ingredients from Whole Foods near Ohio State University (a very awesome Whole Foods, I must admit).

A little gem we found in Del Norte, Colorado: Organic Peddler — an organic supermarket and inn!  The sandwich we ordered wasn’t anything special, but the art work, hospitality, and novelty of the place was reason enough to pass by. 

In Sedona, Arizona, we had a dear friend to stay with, so finally we were able to share some real home-cooked meals together.  It was so comforting to be back in the kitchen!  We cooked some delicious meals with all local, fresh, AND budget-friendly ingredients.

Pan-seared tilapia burritos with a citrus red wine, mayo dressing
 

Grilled shrimp skewers and salmon fillet with grilled asparagus.  We did this meal two nights in a row because it was so good!  Cayenne pepper was our go-to seasoning in Sedona. 😉

By the end of this week, the appliances and cookware that I packed away a little over a month ago will arrive here at my brother’s house.  Unfortunately, they will have to sit in the storage boxes until we find a home for ourselves and are able to fully unpack.  Basically… I don’t have my own kitchen right now.  I have to reteach myself where all of my brother’s measuring cups, spatulas, and oven mits are every time I cook.  I have to rework recipes if they don’t have certain kinds of spices.  I have to adjust to the different mixing bowls, pots, pans, and burners.  These may not be crucial to the final outcome of my food, but after getting a whole system down at my own house, it’s hard to break away from certain cooking habits (or cooking comfort zones).

The good thing about the situation?  Living with my two beautiful nephews gives a whole new purpose to my cooking.  This past weekend, I planned to make crepes for breakfast.  I envisioned a sort of Giada at Home style brunch, but instead, it was a messy family affair.  You can see most of the filling ended up falling onto their plates rather than into their little mouths:

Sometimes, the crepe wouldn’t even make it to the breakfast table, as my nephews would nibble on the flat pancakes when they were still on the cooling rack!  In the end, it was all worth it because my nephews were full and their taste buds satisfied.  Today, my nephew asked me to make crepes again, and I more than happily obliged.  I guess it doesn’t really matter if the kitchen is mine or not — so long as I’m able to share my creations with my loved ones.