Food Glorious *Everyday* Food

I love love love food! As I have gotten older my palette has matured and evolved right along with me. When I first moved out and lived on my own I dabbled here and there but mostly I just brought home food from wherever I was a waitress. When I began living with Garrett, we had a deal I cooked breakfast (because I was awesome at it and created great eats) and he had dinner as he loved to dabble and create tasty yummies off the top of his head. As our relationship grew so did our tastes and my desire to expand our hum-drum routine of same'ol same'ol. I started to embrace the role of wife and cook dinners more often, especially when I stopped waiting tables and became a full-time student. I found I was home in the evenings on a regular basis and maybe I could have a nice hot meal ready when Garrett got home from a long day. 

So began my journey into becoming a novice cook. I followed recipes to the letter, never deviating or sprucing it up as Garrett might say. Plus all Garrett ever wanted was beef and more beef. Now don't get me wrong a juicy burger or steak is always in my repertoire but I loved all the different things you could do with chicken and thankfully Garrett was willing to go with my chicken flow. At the time a girlfriend of mine was a far more creative cook, her meals were gorgeous, delicious, and healthy. This inspired me to venture out a bit more. I found lots of great cookbooks and recipes to try out, but sometimes they just required too many things, staples and other items we just couldn't quite afford during that time. That's when my girlfriend found Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Magazine. I have the first volume too BTW. The meals were awesome, we had a great time cooking dinners together for our men! And so my cooking experience graduated from novice to slightly better.

As the years have passed I have become more aware of all the great dishes out there. I particularly enjoyed the Food Network and learned a lot. Watching the chefs do a guesstimate measurement with a pinch here, a dash there or whatever the recipe called for they rarely used a utensil to measure. I loved it, it was all about taste and using your best judgement for what was needed to make the dish great! But my cooking was always a bit hindered by the size of my kitchens. Living in apartments in the burbs of Seattle were small and kitchens likewise. So when Garrett and I moved back to our hometown I finally gained a kitchen of reputable size, one where the two of us could cook together and not get in each others way!




Turkey Chili in Tortilla Cups
Everyday Food Magazine
#79 p.84

  That alone inspired me to embrace my new home, my new kitchen, my new role as a quasi-mom and cook nightly delights! I found that having a plan helped enormously. Create a weekly dinner menu and shop with ease from there. Everyday Foods became my inspiration. Our choices of dinning delights expanded by leaps and bounds. I could master anything in my kitchen! For example just this evening we had Turkey Chili in Tortilla Cups and oh my oh my. I am never buying canned chili again. Lili loved it, Garrett even he loved it. Yes my poor hubby is sick with a nasty chest cold, high temperature and still raved about it.

I have found a new appreciation for food and cooking and the ability to tweak a recipe to become your own. For example in volume # 79 there is a Mini Cheeseburger recipe that I tweaked into Mini Turkey Burgers with Cheese. OMG are these just amazing. In another volume I found a recipe for Asian Turkey Meatballs with Carrot Rice and WOW, spicy and light yet filling. If it wasn't for that specific recipe I never would have had the courage to attempt my own regular turkey meatballs to go with my from scratch spaghetti sauce. No more jarred stuff for us, nope! I create my own sauce. And interestingly enough its never the same twice, but always just as good as the first! After Garrett had these two completely different types of turkey meatballs he was in agreement, we'd stop buying ground beef and continue to go with ground turkey from that point on! Yeah for healthy eats! My man has come such a long way and I am so proud, MR. I ONLY EAT RED MEAT! *tee-hee-hee*

One thing I have always loved about my hubby and our marriage is our joined love of really good food and that Garrett has never been afraid to venture out with me in trying something different. The two of us have come up with some great dishes just from not wanting to buy it or thinking we could do it better. One night we were grocery shopping for dinner and found in the meat display a gourmet ground beef with peppers and cheese. Garrett wasn't willing to pay the price per pound so we bought some plain beef and different fixings to concoct our version of a gourmet burger. And yes it was the most delicious burger I had ever had at home! Mushrooms, bell pepper, feta or blue cheese crumbles with an onion bun or whole wheat, lettuce, onion, jalapeno ranch, and whatever else sounded good. The next weekend we invited some friends over to try our new dish and yup it was a hit.

That story is just one of many I am finding myself being able to tell about my marriage! And just one of the many reasons I find myself falling in love over and over again with my man and with food. Is that too gushy for you? Sorry. But it's true. Our common love of food glorious *everyday* food has helped keep our marriage fun and fresh!

Thank you Martha Stewart and your kick arse magazine! I have found more ways to broaden our dinning experiences thanks to your ideas and suggestions, not to mention I have become a pretty darn good cook in the process!

VooDoo Temptations

What is it about the VooDoo that causes all sensiblities to fly right out the window. All resolve and fortitude to stay on track, keep within my dietary limits to lose that goal weight, just in that moment I hear VooDoo go POOF! What is it about the tasty sensation of the VooDoo that makes our mouths water and our ability to only eat one dissolve? With most doughnuts they are of course good and a "treat", but with VooDoo these creations are sinfully and eclecticly delicious and the Lays Potatoe Chip chip comerical saying "Bet you can't eat just one!" screams as if on a loop in your brain as you sink your teeth into this eatable piece of heaven.

Seriously. A flavor exposion occurs, the innate fluffiness of the nut itself has the perfect consistency required for the ultimate experience. Then the assorted array of various choices in which these delicacies are topped boggle the mind and when you do decide on the one to which you lay it all on the line for there are never any regrets. Perfection. Every Time.

Now keep in mind that despite my utter lack of self control, this rare and I do mean RARE opportunity to indulge in the deliciousness of the unbelievably gormet doughnut is well worth the momentary lapse and will no doubt result in the acute and desperate need to hit the gym and do an extra hour of extreme intense cardio to work off each insanely scrumptious bite! Nevertheless, I say if you have the chance to let VooDoo Temptations to win you over just remember its well worth ignoring all the "oh no the calories, the sugar, the fat, the blah blah blah crap" PUH-LEASE! If you don't allow yourself to experience something wonderful, especially food wise on what is sure to be the most rarest of occasions then what's the friggin point of life! But hey that's just me.

My first introduction to VooDoo Doughnuts was through a television show called "Man vs Food" on the Travel Channel, and OH. MY. GOD. I couldn't help exclaiming out loud, "Are you serious? Truly?", then waited for my husband to get home and said "baby we have to go there one day soon!" Once I played the episode for him off of the DVR he was in complete agreement. That has always been one of the things I've loved about my marriage, our joined love of food and travel. Heck our Honeymoon consisted of a drive up the Oregon Coast hitting every MicroBrewery we could find and then hoping a hotel nearby had a room for us. Pure bliss the open road and my man.



Desi (my niece) Anthony (my nephew) & Lili

Okay perhaps I need to elaborate for a moment. VooDoo is a little doughnut shop in Portland, Oregon created by two men with crazy ideas for eccentric tastyfilled yumminess topped on America's most favorite of favorites, the doughnut. Garrett and I lived in Seattle and often traveled to Oregon to stay in our most favorite of places, Cannon Beach. We would just hop in the car on a Sat or Sun and drive over for a day at the beach. Picnic lunch, wine, cheese and grapes always romantic, yes? Yes. Sadly though when we did hear of VooDoo lifes obsticles got in the way and it wasn't until we moved and a joint family trip to Hawaii with my in laws presented us with the fabulous opportunity to experience the wonder of VooDoo.

Oh yeah. My sister in law has patroned this establishment before.
WHAT!
No fair!

But HOORAY! She's been there. And they, wait, oh yes try to go every time they are in Portland! Oh sweet beans! Oh Joy! So the plan was set. Upon our arrival homeward from Maui we would stop at VooDoo before we drove the rest of the way home from Oregon back to Southeastern Washingon. What a vacation it turned out to be and coincidentally the best birthday of all time for me! Now I must say that the particular VooDoo we chose was not the VooDoo Garrett and I saw on television. That was when we learned that they are a chain! There are now 3 locations ready to sell these most holiest of holies! LUCKY OREGONIAN BASTARDS! So needless to say in April of 2010 Garrett and I were able to visit and patron one of our top choices of food establishment locations we had become privy to via the wonderfully awesome cable show Man vs Food. Thank you Travel Channel, and thank you Adam Richmond for hearing about and showcasing one of the most awesome of awesomes The VooDoo Doughnut shop in Portland Oregon!

Now why you may be asking am I bringing up VooDoo D when it has clearly been almost a year since I had the pleasure of tasting and consuming such bliss? Well... my hubby just so happened to of been recently within 15 miles of VooDoo D for two weeks and on his last day of out-of-townage stay he lovingly endured Friday bumper to bumper rush-hour traffic to go from Vancouver to Portland's downtown business district so his wife, sister, brother, and their kids could have the splendor of VooDoo! What a man I have! So thoughtful and generous! I wish I would have brought a camera to the restaurant on Saturday night to capture the looks on their faces plus the faces of everyone else in the restaurant as they caught a glimpse of what was in the giant pink box!

Oh did I forget to mention that VooDoo D's saying is "GOOD THINGS COME IN PINK BOXES" and is in fact the 'to-go' box color! LOVE IT! Just simply love it! And perhaps I should mention that one of the shop's signiture doughnuts is a VooDoo Doll. Oh yes, A VooDoo Doll. A red jelly filled maple bar (with out the maple of course) made into a person by slicing the sides giving it arms, which is then topped with chocolate, given eyes and a mouth and immediately stabbed with a pretzel stick to mimic an actual VooDoo Doll! And yes it is as good as it sounds!

But my all time favorite has to be the Captian Crunch Berry doughnut. I swear the height of the thing equals a very tall and qutie large burger, one in which your mouth can't quite encompass to bite completely, if at all! There are of course other cereal flavored yummies you can experience. For instance a new one we encountered was a Chocolate covered cake doughnut topped with Coco Puffs! There is also a Fruit loop doughnut and yes you can taste all the different flavors of the cereal, so good!



ODB

 There are many many more and I could go on and on but I will leave you with one last awesome doughnut name and description refered to as The ODB. The Old Dirty Bastard. This is a chocolate, peanut butter and Oreo cookie topped delight! It looks awful and to some may sound atrocious but NO! The words and abbreviaton oh my god and OMG can't even begin to express just how ridiculously good it is. If you remember nothing else just remember ODB serious, ODB, order it and join us over here on the VooDoo Doughnut dark side and revel in utter doughnut elations!


And before I say adieu! Unless you live near or in Portland Oregon and the trek is a short one for you to enjoy VooDoo D regularly the praise and length of this particular blog post may escape you! However, if you don't live close or even if you do and you've never had a VD, if you have the opportunity to stop and try  VooDoo, I say "OMG! DooDoo DooDoo!" And seriously no matter how long the line may be, trust me, it is SO WORTH THE WAIT! And then maybe just maybe you will see my crazy post about a doughnut shop and doughnuts wasn't so crazy after all!

Being a "Pseudo-Mom"

I use Pseudo-Mom because I have no children of my own, yet, in 2009 I become a "mom" to my husband's adopted sister LiXuMei after the death of their father, Jerry.

At the time we were living in the Seattle area and the choice to move was an easy one. Taking Lili into our home and caring for her had been a conversation we had had several times over the years since Garrett's step mother Wendy passed in October of 2004. Yes, there were others who could have cared for Lili and who have children and "know" what to do, but for us there wasn't a doubt in our minds, we wanted her in our daily life. We felt we were at a in a place our lives where we could take on and handle the responsibility. We just seemed like the most resonable fit. Especially in my mind. When Wendy died Lili was only five years old. Such a beautiful yet sad story for one so young. I knew Jerry would continue to be wonderful with her, patient, kind, funny, and being a older parent I've heard you do things differently, the whole wiser bit. Still, his health was a concern and losing the love of your life can take a toll in some cases.

Perhaps a quick back story will help to put some perspective in place. Garrett's parents divorced when he was very little and his father, Jerry, remarried Wendy a few years afterward. They decided to not have children of their own because Wendy didn't want the kids to feel that they were being replaced by their dad. So time flew by and the moment passed where she could have a child of her own. They never regretted the decision but once the kids grew up and started having children of their own, they felt and knew they wanted to experience that same joy. In 1999 they decided to try adoption. Luckily enough there were several other people in their neighboring towns who were also wanting to adopt and adopt specifically from China. And from that point they were set. It took a bit considering both were over 50 and sadly at that age it is slightly more difficult to become approved due to health concerns. But they were eventually approved and in 2000 travelled to China to bring home a baby girl named Li Xu Mei. Truly a wonderfully beautiful moment for them. Lili was 18 months old when they brought her home.

Wendy was so happy and such a good mom. Bringing home a child from China is a huge task, babies there aren't cared for they way they are here in orphanages. LiXuMei was over a year old and in every way resembled a new born. But Wendy loved the challenge and the task of bringing that little girl up to age standards and beyond. Which she did. Being a teacher Wendy helped her daughter to become so well read and articulate at a young age. Truly a beautiful acheivement. 

It was devistating when Wendy passed in 04, especially because she was beating her throat cancer and becoming a survivor. A horrible car accident threw Wendy into a stroke and shortly afterward her poor body just couldn't fight any longer. It left LiXuMei and Jerry very alone and isolated in the back woods of Chehalis Washington. So Jerry made the decision to move back to the Tri-Cities in the summer of 05 to be closer to his other children and their kids. 

Now Jerry had had some heart issues in his past and had suffered two mild heart attacks already. These were some of the concerns I had and why I told Garrett if god forbid anything should ever happen to his father, I felt we could take care of his sister. Unfortuntately in late June 2009 that day came. Jerry died in his sleep from a coronary. We were all so relieved it wasn't painful for him and that he went peacefully. We were doubly relieved Lili was visiting with her Aunt Liz in Tacoma for the week. At the time I was already in Kennewick for the Fourth of July weekend waiting for Garrett to get back from a fishing trip and join me. Receiving that call and not being albe to comfort my husband was heartbreaking. I couldn't stop thinking of LiXuMei. Such a beautiful little girl who has endured such tragedies far too early in her life. 

At that moment I knew in my heart and felt that events which occurred in my life happened for a reason. I wasn't working and we hadn't bought a home or had children of our own yet. I felt that the disruption to our life wouldn't be as much of a burden for us as it would have been for his siblings and their children due to their set routines and such. Once Garrett arrived in town and we had a moment to ourselves I told Garrett we are moving back and becoming guardians of that little girl. There was no question in my heart, any fears I may have had when it came to the thought of raising a child and the challenges involved with a teenager in this day and age just didn't matter anymore. *These fears were just one of the many reasons I hesitated to begin a family of my own* My fears seemed silly in that moment to me and I knew together Garrett and I could handle anything. In that moment our lives changed immeasurably and we were ready for it all.

It didn't take but a split second for all involved to agree Garrett and I were the best choice as guardians for LiXuMei too. Plus as a family everyone truly felt making Lili leave her school, her room, her friends just wasn't in her best interest at that point in time. Don't misunderstand it wasn't a deal breaker if Garrett and I wanted to stay where we were and bring Lili back, but for Garrett and I those reasons just mentioned were exactly why we chose to move instead of bringing her back with us to Seattle. Insidentally Garrett and I had discussed moving back on a few occasions but the timing never seemed right, for me once I heard about Jerry I knew what we had to do; I knew being with family was the best decision for both Garrett and Lili. I could sacrifice all I loved and enjoyed about being in the big city and the burbs for my husband who I loved more then anything. 

I won't lie it was extremely hard to leave a place I came to consider as my hometown. I loved it there on the West Side. I chose to move there for so many glorious reasons, but leaving was the right thing to do. I knew it wasn't about me anymore, it was about a 10 year old little girl. And honestly I wouldn't change a thing. I have come to enjoy being back. Re-establishing old friendships, being around my family and getting to know my plethora of neices and nephews and learning to enjoy the family circle and having a steady support system in place has been amazing. A blessing. Plain and simple. A sad, tragic, unbelievably wonderful blessing.  

This little girl has captured my heart in a way I never imagined possible. She is silly and sweet, gentle and kind, generous and thoughtful. Jerry and Wendy did such an amazing job with her and I just hope I can honor their memories by continuing to do the same. Now being a quasi-mom to Lili is absolutely wonderful. I must say being in my mid 30's has helped in so many ways. And having her in my life has allowed me to see I have had nothing to fear about raising a child and that biology doesn't mean everything when it comes to matters of the heart. She has helped me to realize I am more than ready to add to our happy home one day soon.

One last thought before I finish for today.

Jerrry, Wendy thank you for being the most amazing in laws a woman could ever have. You taught me so much about marriage and patience and compromise. You gave me a gift I can never repay. I only hope I can honor your legacy because you raised a truly gracious and fabulous young lady. As her Pseudo-Mom I look forward to each day and all she and I have to teach each other and hope I do you proud.