Picky BIL and SIL want to try traditional sushi restaurants. I do NOT want a part of that. I am Japanese and grew up learning etiquette of eating food from a formal sushi chef. I know they will complain about the customs. Yes some places are casual but I can easily see there being problems. A chef will not take kindly to their complaining for example. Lots of sushi eating rules are for both cleanliness, taste, and respect toward other guests. For example you dip the fish side of a sushi piece in shoyu, not the rice. Rice gets saturated and falls apart contaminating the little bowl and ruins the flavor of the rice. Sending something back to the kitchen? Big no-no. Ugh.

One of our dishwashers was caught sneaking leftover, uneaten food out of the kitchen and giving it to a homeless shelter. He nearly lost his job. I know he meant well but can you imagine how awful it would be if there was a salmonella or E-coli outbreak in a homeless shelter or soup kitchen? He'd go out for a smoke break and load the stuff ready to be thrown away into his car and let it sit there until his shift was over. His heart was in the right place but he had no idea about what type of hazard he was creating. I understand when he said if you're hungry you'll eat anything, but making an already desperate person sick does them no favors.

I'm the former buffet worker. I haven't worked in food service for nearly 10 years but I apply the same rules to my own kitchen. Dedicated cutting boards and plates for raw meat, fresh food like fruit, and cooked food. There is no 5 second rule. Wash your hands frequently. Wash your dishrags frequently. I can come across as neurotic but all it takes is a little raw chicken juice or undercooked egg to make you very ill. I've taught many people how to cook and incorporate safe handling techniques into my lessons. I'm a little shocked at how many know so little about keeping things clean and why you need to be careful.

Having company over for dinner tonight. I'm making teriyaki chicken legs, garlic roasted broccoli and salad with bacon & sun dried tomatoes. I love cooking simple things for guests so I don't spend all my time in the kitchen!

When DH goes to the kitchen to get something to eat he never asks me if I want something. I always ask if he wants anything when I get up. It's a little thing and I don't nag him about it but it irks me.

Haven't gone grocery shopping or brought a single thing home from the store in a week. By using things I found in the kitchen I managed to make healthy meals for 2. This includes vegetables, lean meats and making low salt sauces that are taste way better than stuff from bottles. Check your freezer and the backs of the pantry. Make a menu weekly so you reduce the amount of food that goes to waste and pick recipes with common ingredients. DH and I both work full time but treat cooking and planning as a way to spend time together. It saves us money too since we're not always going out to eat at lunch.

We were discussing household chores yesterday and I mentioned I sweep our kitchen/living room twice a day. DH rolls his eyes and asks why? Because we have two labs that live in the kitchen and everyone is constantly going in the front door and out the back door. Maybe I'll not sweep for a few days and roll my eyes when he says the floor is dirty. Grrrrr!

This morning when I walked in the kitchen the first thing I saw was a lady bug. I live up North where it's still cold, hope this is a good sign.

I always use my cleaning products "wrong"--Windex on the floor, bathroom cleaner in the kitchen, garage degreaser on the dishes...probably the only thing I actually don't repurpose is toilet bowl cleaner.

My DH made a plan to do kitchen remodel project that wreaked of disaster when previously we had agreed on doing it a slightly more expensive, yet easier way. Money is not an issue, the issue was he wanted his own way because I disagreed. For days if it came up I wanted to cry and my anger over it literally was making my head pound. I know it sounds NUTS but I decided to try the law of attraction to get my way instead. I visualized the project beautifully finished, my way and it was done easily and flawlessly. Today out of no where he told me he thinks we'll just do it the "original way." I know it was probably a coincidence, but I am definitely trying this one again.