I'm in LOVE...

This post, admittedly, probably has little to nothing to do with Libya.

It's a more foodie related post, and my absolute delight over FINALLY using my new-to-me, secondhand-but-perfectly-awesome Kitchenaid Ultra Power tilt head stand mixer.

Needless to say, it's probably the single best purchase I've ever made. I got it on the Goodwill Auctions website, from Goodwill Industries of the Columbia-Williamette in Hillsboro, OR. This particular store location has a lot of mixers listed on that site at any given time. My particular mixer was my max bid-- $19.81 (yes, because of the year of my birth)-- plus $23 shipping. Cosmetically, it might not be perfect, but with literally a TINY bit of work (Simply Green by Clorox is awesome, FTR) and rehab, it'll be beautiful.

I do like this color-- Rust-Oleum Metallic Pink Champagne-- for any possible paint job, although Lowe's has a really pretty lavender shade (Lavender Lake Valspar Spray Paint) that is also... tempting. Purple IS my favorite color after all. But the first one, there's a matching trim band (W10211509), originally part of the Breast Cancer Awareness line, that would look perfect.

There are SO MANY mixer attachments that I seriously covet now, but my biggest lusting after is the meat grinder with pasta plates attachments. It's a more vintage item, from the late 90's or early 2000's, and the particular one I want is no longer offered.

I want to make my beloved husband (he's out of the dog house; I love the man too much) kafta-- Lamb Kafta Tagine -- toum, basically all the goodies he has my waistline expanding because I eat them too regularly. I want to make fresh juices and sauces, make my own pastas, and really take my cooking to the next level. It would be awesome to make a full meal that I'd literally grown myself.

I do love to garden, after all.

That's my "foodie goal" for next year-- to grow and prepare food straight from my garden, several times a week. Right now, I'm limited to fresh fruits (blueberries, cherries, apples, plums, grapes) and nuts (walnuts, chestnuts) since my Dad didn't put in a full garden like he has in most years. We're blessed enough to have two homes with sizable yards perfect for gardens, and one of the houses has a well, which will cut down on the water bills. I envision green beans (Kentucky Wonder grow well here, but we usually grow Blue Lake or Kentucky Blue, the hybrid of the two), tomatoes (Romas and a few hybrids), potatoes (natch... I am Irish after all on me Mam's Mam's side of the fam), definitely a bunch of herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, cilantro, a couple of types of basil, chives, etc), garlic, zucchini squash (only one or two of both green and yellow), pumpkins, peppers (both hot and sweet; I did gift my Dad with some Trinidad Moraga Scorpion peppers, Carolina Reapers, and a mix of the hottest habaneros and he's totes thrilled), basically if it grows in zone 8b, I WILL TRY.

And of course, a pizza garden, probably to be put in the raised bed just outside the kitchen and deck, right next to the outdoor stone barbecue (I'm going to try to persuade my husband of the necessity of us having an outside pizza oven, but that may take some convincing).