Twinkle

There are days when I my steps are light, cloud like. Days where I feel like the sun is shining a bit brighter which makes all the colors a bit crisper and the air fresher. People who are so sweet they give my stomach butterflies, experiences that take my breath away, and positive thoughts that reoccur in my head. I have days where the light is so bright my soul overflows with joy. There are days where I see everything through rose colored glasses.

These are the moments that make life fulfilling, driving me to do my best, be as kind as possible, to keep in touch with people that I hold dear and in return, bring other people as much happiness as they bring me.

Life is full of great experiences, moments, and people.

I truly believe that life is equally full of second guessing, heart ache and disappointment. Nature has a beautiful way of creating balance and sustains off of an equilibrium of good and bad.

I appreciate good days, I bask in the glory when there is light. I know what darkness is all about, it is a very real part of my life and I have come to terms with it. The darkness and disappointment makes the good days, sweet people and the sunny days all that much of a blessing.

To all of you -
I hope for the brightest light as possible - the sweetest relationships - the most memorable experiences.
Create a twinkle in your own eye

Madness

There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.
- Friedrich Nietzsche

I would rather do ANYTHING right now than pack my house.

I will even revive my blog - twice in a day - to avoid wrapping another item in paper, move another box, and most of all: decide if we really need all this stuff. Piece by piece - everything must go someplace. Piece by piece.

Moving is a great exercise - it needs to happen every couple of years in order to truly purge all these items that accumulate and weigh us down. Keep it light - moving is hell.

I should clarify a minor detail right off the bat - I am the pack rat in my little family. I know this has caused tension with everyone that I have ever lived with. My Mom told me that when I left, the house was just so much cleaner. Zara, my first roommate was completely the opposite than I, clean and just as organized as a china store. Her closet was so well thought out it hurts just thinking about it, she sorted by color, sleeve length and who knows how. I never learned from her, I should have. John despises, cringes and despises more things that we don't need, use, or that have no purpose. I am learning. I resisted for a long time, resistance is futile, I am willing to be open. He has resolved to the fact that I am going to pack eight or so I my Grandma's quilts around for the rest of our lives and I might have a slight shoe fetish, oh yeah, and like my Grandma, I overstock our pantries.

Craig's list, Goodwill, the curbside, friends and family - ones man trash is an others treasure. I am letting go of this clutter (honestly I still have a very robust closet and kitchen). Moving is going to be a fact of our lives. I know that I am going to be packing this stuff several more times in the coming years. I am going to try my hardest to keep it light.

Well, that is a wrap for the day. The kitchen in 90% packed and feels a bit desolate. A list is prepared for another busy day tomorrow. Piece by piece.

It is starting to hit home. I am leaving - we are leaving. Yep we are leaving! It is in the 70's on the east side while it has rained here all day and looks like it is going to continue to rain for the next 8 months solid. Change is good.  



Thank you

From the bottom of my heart - thanks to everyone who took the time to call, write, and come to celebrate with me yesterday.

I am blessed. Truly. Blessed.

My birthday was a wonderful whirlwind filled with close friends, sweet co-workers (who are also some dear friends), a great walk with the best dog ever, a great lunch followed by a decadent slice of pie, flowers, gifts, a toast at my favorite bar with a table full of lovely friends, followed by much needed late night dinner and *yep* more dessert. 

I am going to miss everyone.

Thank you Azusa, who planned a wonderful night and made sure everything was all lined up
 - you are a fantastic friend -

Peanut Power

The first thing that I learned to bake were cookies. Double batches of cookies. Double batches of peanut butter cookies. Double batches of peanut butter cookies for my dad.
I love to bake cookies.
I love to bake cookies for other people. A dozen cookies might be the perfect gift and it might be the way that I get out of my desk/office job. YEP, I could make cookies for everyone. I have found the perfect peanut butter cookie recipe after years of "research." Three batches later and several tasters agree, this might be the best so far.
I of course made my pops a big batch of fresh peanut butter cookies for fathers day - what else does he need - really? They were a hit. I have won over many hearts with the standard "Cronk" recipe, I have tried rolled peanut swirls with a ribbon of peanut butter, or the standard with a chocolate "kiss" on the center of baked cookies, but I have finally landed on a peanut winner.
J can eat peanuts like he was from the south and actually knows that peanuts grow under ground as like us born and raised on raspberries and salmon know that salmon is better bbq'd than in croques..... So he loves his peanut butter cookies just as much as my dad but J prefers them not too sweet - with a good peanut taste. Folks here we go - the cookie to win the hearts of every nut lover.......

Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies

Adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
Makes about 2 doezen cookies
Prep time: 5 minutes

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
16 tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter (softened)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup extra crunchy peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup dry roasted salted peanuts, ground fine in a food processor

1. Preheat oven to 350 degress
2. Whisk the flour, salt, soda, and baking powder together and set aside.
3. Beat the butter and sugars together in a large bowl ( preferably with an electric mixer for 3-6 minutes) until light and fluffy. Beat in the peanut butter until fully incorperated, about a minute. Beat in the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, until combined, about 30 seconds.
4. Slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Mix in the ground peanuts until incorperated.
5. Working with 3 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll into balls and place on parchment-lined baking sheets spaced about 2 inches apart. Using a fork, flatten the cookies making a crosshatch design. Bake until the edges are golden and the centers have puffed and are beginning to deflate, about 10-12 minutes.
6. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes - eat warm or let cool on wire racks.

Recipes - a call for help

I vividly remember sitting down with my Grandma Cronk one afternoon and thumbed through her collection of cookbooks. We are talking COLLECTION! At the time I had no idea the wealth of knowledge - concerning nothing but cooking - that occupied shelves and shelves in her house. This one particular afternoon, she guided me through some of them, I wasn't that impressed at the time - until now. If I could snap my fingers right now, I would be in my Grandma's kitchen, sitting at the table, reading random old cookbooks right now. It was a history lesson, a lesson on the real roles that we embark on everyday - how to feed ourselves and the ones we love.
The single cookbook that I wish I could get my hands on was one that was from The Great Depression - I think - or was it just a really SIMPLE cookbook. I am talking how to cook anything and use it all. I won't  go into the bits and pieces that are slipping my mind, I just would love to get my hands on it. Grandma - that afternoon left a big warm spot in my heart for cookbooks.
I have my very own shelve devoted to cookbooks. I do pour over the Internet daily to find new recipes, ideas and inspiration but it will never - EVER - replace a hard bound cookbook in my house. I am one of those geeks that might be know to read cookbooks before I go to bed..... 
I am running into a fatal flaw in my cooking adventures in the kitchen. I love to have dinner parties, I am saying that people come over ever weekend for food and drinks. I want to keep it this way and have a life outside my kitchen and potlucks get kind of old after a while. So, I try recipes here and there, new exciting things, out of cookbooks (I seem to trust my blogs more because they usually are a bit more honest when critiquing a recipe and it is such a community that no one that I follow would throw out for everyone to see *gasp* something that tastes really really... lame!) and they are horrible. Guests have been faced to "enjoy" a new baked chicken recipe and really bland appetizers. BLAH! I don't waste my time, money and energy making something that tastes like nothing or something that needs a cup of ketchup or any condiment to hide the flavor and I want people to come back.
I want quick time tested recipes that I know are crowd pleasers. Is this too much to ask?
So - what do I do? I need some way of archiving my recipes - a recipe box! If I could just get my hands on my Carol's (my fault for never being there as her last belongings were being divided up among family and friends - but if someone has a few cookbooks of hers that they  have no interest in, I know of a great home for them!) recipe box - that would save me all the work.
I am making my own recipe box. A collection of my favorite recipes, handwritten on paper, in the kitchen and the go-to for mid week dinners and the BBQ that needs a few sides, not to mention the perfect chocolate chop cookie and toffee recipe for the moments of weakness.
What do you do to keep up on all your favorite recipes? I need some ideas!

Playing in the mud!

I did it! I DID IT!

I went mt. biking for the first time since my surgery - count it - that equates to over four months - ages since I have hit the trails and ventured in the woods!

What a perfect day for it, come to think about it, it was sunny and cool, that was as perfect as I needed, I never minded the extreme mud factor to begin with.

Galbi - CHECK!

Oh and need I forget to mention the sweet new ride that made the day that much sweeter.... oh it is PERFECT! I can't wait to share it with you all. It is down right beautiful! It is John's "work of art." He has gone above and beyond anything I could ever dream of and has made me a feather weight, fast rolling, beauty just for me (well I actually think that he really wants it). Did I mention this bike is perfect. I can hardly stand to wait until the next time I get to ride it. Too bad it is the awesome "shoulder season " here in the "ham bone and it is going to rain all week. 

So the ride was great and then we had the people that we biked with over for a BBQ - the second BBQ of the weekend - that is. I love our new deck and it is getting use. What is better than feeding friends, chatting, enjoying the sunset, and every single one of us were whooped from biking that day - all 10 of us.

Life just got so much better - summer - here I come!

Explosion of global groceries

I usually never take the time to stray from my self-inflicted routine. My weekends are usually filled with friends and I find myself devoting most of the days to being active. I rarely take the time to do other things, like go shopping for an entire day. My sweet, dear friend Az broke me loose of the same old - same old and took me to Seattle for a day of Asian food, girl time and window shopping. A well needed break for me and my tender knee.

Az has been raving about "H Mart" a Asian/Global market north of Seattle for some time now and my interest in adding new things into the bland routine made me jump at the opportunity to have someone just as passionate and have similar tastes (besides the greasy beef) give me the grand tour. She gave me the Asian 101 experience and I didn't even have to leave the country. She explained simple cooking techniques, what she likes, what makes your lips tingle.... and a true interest in walking down every isle with me.

The produce section blew the socks off of anything I have ever seen. The variety was a little overwhelming. Choice in the produce section - that is nothing I usually see at the local markets. Banana flowers? Who knew! A bazillion different types of noodles, fresh, frozen, and dried. Sauces and pastes.... endless varieties.  Seaweed, salads, fresh, died (yummy!). Then the real mind opener - the meat section. The cuts of beef were nothing like I am accustomed to seeing, very thin, interesting cuts. From the meat section comes the seafood section. This is where Az and I share very similar interests. I could live on seafood and the variety that was to be found was a bit overwhelming. Fish in ALL forms - dried, salted, raw, frozen, fresh, and just mysterious. I LOVE pickled fish, and dried fish so I picked out a few gems that looked of good quality and sure to gross out a handful of people if they were to look through my cupboard - or as Joe would refer to a certain type of seaweed, "it tastes like low tide!"

Lunch at the food court is not to be missed - something that we just can't get close to in Bellingham - well unless Az is cooking.

A new do

Before making any life changing decisions in the name of "something has to change!!!" a good haircut and color does the trick for me. I have been burnt out on "things" lately and I needed to be pampered = personal day! I did it, something I highly recomend to most people, words of advice: take a day off in the week and have it to yourself; no work, ignore chores, turn a blind eye to the messy house and just enjoy the day by pampering yourself.

A couple of weeks ago I ran into an old coworker from my days working in the floral shop. Since rocking the counter at Starbucks and putting herself through school, Amy has became a hair styling guru at the new Honey Salon. This salon has reputable and well known stylists in Bellingham. The girls there rock. Amy has style worth coveting including a gorgeous personality and irristable charm - and mad styling skills.

I went in for a cut and color, something that until now I was cheap and indescrimnate about. My hair will never be subject to such torture again. Each time I experiance the talent and true passion for hair at Honey, I leave feeling like a million dollars.

This time I let Amy finally striaghten my hair ( I have wild curly long hair...).

Unbelievable.

Thanks Susie for getting some documentaion!

Eating with a passion

J and I flew the coop this weekend, dashing to Seattle for a short bit to check in on our long lost online-ordained minister and former Bellinghamite.


The mission was simple: eat in the big city.

Mission accomplished (and then some).

"D.lux" needed some prep from his long lost Texan friend for his week in the Fort Worth area. We offically readied his palate for all the Mexican, BBQ, and burgers that one can stomach in the great lone star state.

While in Seattle I tend to get overwhelmed with the plethora of food options, every corner there is a resteraunt or bar, oh the big city! We started with Italian for dinner, followed by a dessert of martinis at Julia's.

The real treat of our food adventure was Sunday morning as we noshed at a top notch cafe and new favorite dinning spot: Portage Bay Cafe. As most of you know I have a slight obsession with fruit, I - can't - get - enough - ever - period. As we walked in the first thing I spotted was a topping bar that consisted of fresh (as fresh as one could get this time of year. My heart fluttered with excitment. I left with a stomache ache.

As if this caloric intake wasn't enough by noon my hunger was rearing its head again and was going to be satisfied by Dick's. A burger and french fries did me in. TKO.

Mmmmm........ Several fantastic meals at establishments that are socially aware. I can get behind that.

Tales of my knee

I think I may be close to 75% with my "new" knee.
So close, so close!
The surgery worked or so it seems. I visit with my surgon this afternoon at which point he will give me a timeline for the next couple of monthes, smile and tell me that everything looks good and then send the bill. Gripping!
After spending the weekend tangling (litterlally getting attacked), whacking, chopping, cursing, pulling, cursing, and then digging out the roots and hauling away two truck loads of blackberry brambles. I HATE BLACKBERRIES! Non-native blackberry bushes are a waste of land and take an extream amount of effort to erradicate. The berries (left) look so tasty, why spend a weekend getting rid of them? Don't even get me started..... just plant natives and save the heartache when they need to go, just like ivy. Just don't do it.
J was a huge help this weekend providing motavation, lots of time and grunt work. Every bit of effort will help with our overall satisfaction and resale value. One project at a time. Next: roof, landscaping, maybe a pump track for J....
Pulling blackberries, digging up roots and carrying wheel barrel loads of gravel is right up my alley on a good day but with a lack of strength in my knee and overall weakened body, this task was a serious undertaking, especially just eight weeks out of surgery. I made it through the project with no mishaps, just extreamly tired. After talking to the doctor, explaining how excited I was to get back in the swing of things he told me to hold on doing these sorts of tasks until about July. Whew, more waiting; looks like J has to dig, mow, and landscape the rest of the season.

A week made sweeter with crepes

I have been dreaming of one of an ipod tpouch for some time now. When I finally broke down and purchased one, I felt as if I needed to cut out some other part of my budget inorder to compensate for the rather extravagant purchase. So I did, and I saved money, ate better, drank less and spent more time at home. I decided that I would cut out eating at resteraunts for a week to offset the needless electronic purchase.

I was forced to cook for myself and J. It is all too easy for us to come home tired and a little hungry, looking for comfort to go sit down at a local resteraunt and have a glass of wine/beer and a plate of food. Don't misunderstand this as if I don't totally enjoy this and look forward to it but it adds up in the bankroll and my waist.

I made a yummy pot of split pea soup to start off the week, which fed us for a couple of days and I am happy to say that I polished off every green smudgen of this wonderful dish. I knew that I loved split pea soup, but I didn't know I would go so far as to licking most of the dishes clean and still wanting more.

In typical fashion I went overboard when I decided to make crepes for the oncle monthly ladies night. I made crepes and the gals all brought a filling which included mushrooms, spinach, ricotta cheese, a creamy mixture of chicken and asperagus, and for dessert we swooned over fresh fruit chocolate and whipped cream.

I came home inspired by the novelity of crepes and made a couple more batches to share with coworkers at a staff meeting. For this I prefilled crepes with a mixture of equal parts cream cheese and cottage cheese, a dash of sugar, vanilla and salt that was whipped up in a food processor. The next morning as I started the day at the crack of dawn I popped these in the oven to warm up and totted them to work with a jar of fruit preserves to garnish the top.

J went climbing in Squamish on Friday, what a great way to bring in Spring and take advantage of this great weather in early March. Knowing that they got stuck in hanous traffic on a Friday afternoon in Vancouver only to get to the border and wait a few more HOURS without dinner and I had gone on a bike ride, we were in need of some animal protien. I rarely cook meat, I leave it up to J and the bbq, but I can handle cooking meat in the crock pot so in the early afternoon I put a pork roast in the crockpot with bay leaves, garlic and red wine. In a couple hours it comes out anf just falls apart at the sight of a fork. Perfect! I took the pork and the savory broth that was produced in the crockpot and miced it with chopped onion, cabbage, soy sauce, and sesame oil, fried it in a cast iron skillet and then added some udon noodles. Perfect dinner and tasty leftovers.

To top off this week of eating in, we (including me!) made hamburgers! I can't remeber the last time that I ate a hamburger so needles to say it tasted increadible. Saturady was a perfect day in Bellingham, a perfect day to sit on a patio. We brainstormed the resteraunts in Bellingham to go sit on a patio and then realized why we spent thousands of dollars on our desck, there is no place in Bellingham to sit on a patio and have a bite, it was an unanimous decision that we had to cook on the grill and enjoy our deck. By the time that dinner was done, it was to chilly to eat on the deck so we watched the sunset in the comfort of our house through the windows. Back to the burgers and the red meat uphoria.... covered in blue cheese, avacado, lettuce and tomatoe smooshed between an english muffin. Ahhh.... summer here we come!

There I did it, no eating out all week which lead to a happy bank account and a new toy!!

Crepes
Adapted from The Joy of Cooking
SERVES 12

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

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Ingredients

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup lukewarm water
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 pinch salt

Directions

1. 
   

   Pour the batter into a pitcher or other container with a pouring lip.

2. 
   

   Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 30 minutes or in refrigerate for up to 2 days. (This allows the flour to thoroughly absorb the liquid and gives the gluten in the flour a chance to relax.).

3. 
   

   Place a nonstick or seasoned crepe pan over medium heat. Coat the pan with a little unsalted butter.

4. 
   

   Stir the batter and pour about 2 tablespoons into the pan, lifting the pan off the heat and tilting and rotating it so that the batter forms an even, very thin layer. Cook until the top is set and the underside is golden. Turn the crepe over, using a spatula or your fingers (fingers work best here) and cook until the second side is lightly browned. Remove the crepe to a piece of wax paper. Continue cooking the rest of the crepes, buttering the pan and stirring the batter before starting each one.

5. 
   

   Stack the finished crepes between sheets of wax paper.

6. 
   

   Use immediately or let cool, wrap airtight and freeze for up to 1 month.

Cheese Straws

I admit, I am a snack-a-holic. By the time dinner rolls around I have munched my way through any hunger that I might of had for a real meal.  Appitizers, chips, crackers are rank high in my book.

I also really love dinner parties and cooking or a big group of friends, my favorite part of course is coming up with sensational finer foods.

When I first came across the recipe for cheese straws it was over at Smitten Kitchen and it was around the holidays. Holidays and parties go hand and hand. The first time that I shared them was at friends birthday party in which they were gone in an a matter of minutes (a double batch mind you) but anything with cheese would have been inhaled by this group of friends that had just spent the day at the mountain.

These really are ultra easy and you most likely have the ingredients on hand. Feel free to tweak the cheese to what ever you have at the time. I have substituted parmesan and even a dill havarti.

The best part about these is the amazing smell that comes from the oven while baking these.

Simply irristable!



Cheese Straws
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen & The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook

1 1/2 cups (about 6 ounces) grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick or 2 ounces) unsalted butter, softened and cut into 4 pieces
3/4 cup flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon half-and-half (I used cream, because I had it on hand; suspect milk would work just as well)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a food processor, combine the cheese, butter, flour, salt and red pepper in five 5-second pulses until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the half-and-half and process until the dough forms a ball, about 10 seconds.

3. On a lightly floured surface, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough into an 8- by 10-inch rectangle that is 1/8-inch thick. With a sharp knife (or a pizza or pastry wheel; both worked great), cut the dough into thin 8-inch strips, each 1/4- to 1/3-inch wide (dipping the knife in flour after every few inches ensures a clean cut). Gently transfer the strips to an ungreased cookie sheet (though I lined mine with parchment), leaving at least 1/4-inch between them. The dough may sag or may break occasionally in the transfer, but don’t be concerned — just do your best. The straws can be any length, from 2 to 10 inches.

4. Bake the straws on the middle rack for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the ends are barely browned. Remove from the oven and set the cookie sheet on a rack to cool.

5. Serve at room temperature. Cheese straws will keep in the refrigerator, in a sealed container, for two days. They will not last an hour at a party.