Recipe Updates

When J. is gone I don't usually cook, but this deployment I've been eating well!  (thanks to Mrs. A. and Mrs. D. for having me over for dinner and giving me a reason to cook!)

Two recipes I've tried and loved lately are:

Mediterranean Orzo Salad

I didn't take any pictures ... whoops!

I did make a few alterations ...

I skipped olives and capers

and I added red bell pepper, cucumbers and feta.

I also thought the dressing was a bit zesty.  I think next time I will tone down the lemon juice.

and a sweet recipe for you ...

Salted Caramel Bars

These were to die for.  I like to call them Crack Bars because they are so addicting (not that I know what crack tastes like or how addicting it is, but you know).  I followed the recipe to a T.  And I definitely suggest adding the sea salt!

I can't get over how good they are.  Please don't get mad at me when you become addicted.

The Pioneer Woman's Cornmeal Pancakes with Blackberry Syrup

To. Die. For. 

I was a bit skeptical about making pancakes with cornmeal, but I do love cornbread and I do love pancakes so I figured I would love combining them.  Good logic, right?

I followed Ree's recipes and I am happy to report that I did love the end result.  I do think my pancake batter seemed to be a little bit thinner than hers, but after the first batch, my pancakes turned out perfectly.  I used PAM instead of butter in the cast iron skillet, adding a fresh coat after each batch, and had no problems with sticking pancakes.  I also used frozen blackberries instead of fresh - it would be really easy to change the blackberry syrup to another type of fruit if you would prefer something else.

Beautifully golden brown.

Delicious.

These would be perfect for breakfast this weekend!  

Thank you, Ree, for another delicious recipe!

Seattle Send-Off, Part 2

Sunday morning we wanted to go to Portage Bay Cafe, but arrived to find a one hour wait.  We quickly jumped on Yelp and found Row House Cafe nearby.  Bonus - they could sit our group of 11 immediately!  They put us in a back room by ourselves which was perfect.  And what a great find Row House was.  We had french press coffee, delicious meals and our waitress brought us an entire tray of baked goods for dessert.  It was amazing.

From there, we had to say a few good-byes which was hard.  I HATE saying good-byes.  We had to say good-bye to our good friends Mr. and Mrs. R. ... our first good friends in Washington.  I had to say good-bye to Mrs. S. ... one of the people I talked to almost every day in Washington (she is moving to Japan in July so that made it a tiny bit better).  We had to say good-bye to Bag-O and Mrs. B.  Bag-O joined us in Japan but Mrs. B. won't be coming until the end of July!  And then we had to say good-bye to G.S., his roommate and G-rant.  It was a hard morning.

We spent the afternoon lounging in our room and planning the rest of our week.  And then R. came over to visit!  We had another big dinner reservation at Umi Sake (another thing to check off my Seattle Bucket List) so I didn't stay sad for too long!  The K13's, their family members that were visiting, J., R. and I met up with M.C., S2 and her husband.  I LOVED Umi Sake.  We had so.much.sushi at our table.  It was awesome.

Afterwards we took Mr. K13's brother and his girlfriend to our most favorite bar in Seattle - The Bathtub Gin & Company.  Mr. K13's family owns a bar and restaurant and his brother runs the bar, so he was interested in seeing as many bars in Seattle as possible.  We were happy to help him with that task :)  I think they loved the Bathtub!  After that we went on a mini tour of bars in Belltown recommended by another couple in Bathtub.  We ventured into a dive bar ... The Rabbit Hole and let me tell you, this place was weird.  But we had a great time.  We played skee-ball for hours and sampled their late night happy hour menu.  Love sweet potato fries!  Also, the more we drank and the more quarters we put on our tab for skee-ball, the smaller our tab got.  It was bizarre, but we loved it :)  And apparently, The Rabbit Hole is owned by the same people who own The Bathtub, so how fitting!

The next morning (Monday) we met up with E. to do the Savor Seattle Tour through Pike Place Market.  I have been to the market several times, but definitely saw it through new eyes on this tour!  I would highly recommend the tour to anyone visiting Seattle - and check for discounts on Groupon!

We started the tour at the Starbucks at First and Pike.  Our group met, we met our tour guide (Brett) and tried a chai tea latte.

J. and I

E. and I

Our next stop was at Daily Dozen Doughnut Company.  I LOVE this place!  We tried the cinnamon sugar doughnuts and learned about the tiles that make up the market floor!

Listening intently to our tour guide ... that's him in the black jacket and hat.  He also had one of the most impressive mustaches I have ever seen, but unfortunately I don't think we got a picture :(

Our next stop was at MarketSpice.  We tried some tea and learned about their inventory.  I wish I would have known about MarketSpice prior to our move ... their prices were so much better than the grocery store and I am sure their product was far superior.  

Next up ... Pike Place Fish!  I stepped out of my culinary comfort zone here ... we tried smoked salmon and I liked it!  It was delicious.  They also let someone from our group go up behind the counter and catch a fish from the fish throwers!

If you look closely, you can see our group member ... he caught the fish like a pro on the first try!

A mural done to honor the Japanese Americans that used to sell at the market when it first opened.  The Japanese Americans made up a huge percentage of the first vendors when the market opened, but during World War II they were sent to interment camps and many never returned.  The murals were put up to honor the market's heritage.  I found it fitting since we were on our way to Japan.

And then we stopped taking pictures because it was rainy and we spent a good portion of the tour outside.  We stopped by Frank's Produce on our way to Pike Place Chowder to try some oranges and apples.  Pike Place Chowder was the highlight of the tour for me.  I love clam chowder and we were definitely spoiled in Washington -- it's got to be pretty darn good for me to like it.  Pike Place Chowder did not disappoint.  We tried their clam chowder and their seafood bisque.  I preferred the clam chowder ... J. preferred the bisque.  

From there we headed back inside to Chukkar Cherries.  This is another gem I had never bothered to stop by.  We tried 4 different things ... YUM.  J. and I went back afterwards to stock up for our trip to Japan!  Then we came back outside to Beecher's Cheese.  You can't go on a culinary tour of the market without stopping by Beecher's.  We tried a sample of their signature white cheddar and then, of course, a sample of their famous mac and cheese.  Between Pike Place Chowder and Beecher's, we had some great warm comfort food for our rainy morning!  

Next stop was Piroshky Piroshky where I went out of my culinary comfort zone one more time ... we tried a smoked salmon piroshky and also an apple cinnamon roll.  Both were fantastic.  Our last stop was Etta's Seafood Restaurant where we had an amazing crab cake.  They were fresh from the oven and the perfect way to end our tour.  

The tour was really not the best place to catch up with E., so we headed back to Starbucks to enjoy a coffee and some conversation.  From there, J. went back to the hotel to take care of Lucy and E. and I  trekked over to Belltown to try The Yellow Leaf Cupcake Company (we hadn't had enough food for the morning ...)

They're thing is that they do "weird" flavors ... these were definitely not the best cupcakes I have ever had in my life, but it was fun to go and try them!  We tried the Pancakes n Bacon, the Mexican Chocolate and Almond.  

They also have a map of the U.S. and you can put a little sticker on your hometown:

No one had claimed Indianapolis yet, so I left my mark on the map :)

From here, E. and I parted ways ... another good-bye :(  I had to go down to Pioneer Square to pick up my passport and then J. and I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing.  That didn't last long ... we ordered some pizzas from Serious Pie (another Tom Douglas restaurant) and headed over to R.'s to do our laundry!  The downside to living in a hotel for a week is not being able to do laundry.  

As you can tell ... our last week in Seattle was quite the culinary adventure!  As I said yesterday, just writing these posts are making me hungry and homesick for Seattle!

Skillet Cookies

I've been dreaming about the delicious taste of cookie dough for at least two weeks but just could not get the motivation to unpack my KitchenAid mixer and whip the dough up.  But, that all changed this afternoon.  I finally unpacked the KitchenAid and made my favorite recipe (just the regular old Nestle recipe on the back of a bag of chocolate chips) but instead of making cookies, I made one big giant cookie.  In J.'s cast iron skillet.  And then served it warm from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

To. Die. For.

Here's what I did - I followed the Nestle chocolate chip cookies recipe, substituting M&M's for chocolate chips.  I preheated the oven to 350, I sprayed the cast iron skillet with LOTS of Pam and baked the cookie  for 40 minutes.  Next time I would take it out at 35 minutes because it continues to cook in the cast iron and the edges were just a little too crispy for my liking!  Sadly, I did not take any pictures.  Next time!  

Foodie Friday

I interrupt the September in San Francisco series to bring you Foodie Friday.  I'm pretty sure I've mentioned my obsession with Pinterest before ... you can find me here.  At first, I was just pinning things to my boards and enjoying browsing the site.  But over the past few weeks, I've actually started using recipes off my Eat Drink and Be Merry board!  So, of course, I had to share the recipes with you.  I don't take pictures while I cook ... I'm not good at it, I make a huge mess in my small kitchen when I cook and I do most of my cooking at night when the lighting is bad.  So all pictures below are compliments of Pinterest!

Homemade Pumpkin Dog Biscuits from Simmer Til Done: 

Sadly mine do not look this perfect.  My dog bone shaped cookie cutter is a little big and when I was rolling the dough out, I had cookies in mind not dog biscuits.  Next time, I will remember to leave the dough a little bit thicker!  However, Addy and Lucy don't care what they look like ...they love these biscuits!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars from Bake at 350:

O.M.G.  These are delicious.  And the batter is delicious.  I may eat the entire 13 x 9 pan myself.  My mom makes tasty pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, so this recipe reminded me of her and since I love the muffins, I figured the bars couldn't be bad :) 

No Bake Cookies from Lick the Bowl Good:

I only made a half recipe because I was afraid I would devour all of the cookies immediately.  And I was right.  I had to hide some put some aside and take them to L.Rae in San Francisco so I would stop eating them.  Amazing.

Thin Crust White Pizza from Pink Parsley:

YUM.  The Pioneer Woman inspired me to start making my own pizza crust last year.  I've made hers a couple of times, but was looking for a new recipe.  This was just what I was looking for.  I like that the recipes give you enough dough for two pizzas, so you can make one and freeze dough for the future :)  What I don't like about homemade pizza crust, is that it's best to let the dough sit overnight.  So if I get a pizza craving, I can't just whip up a pizza (unless of course, I've thought ahead and have dough in the freezer).  Overall, I liked the dough better than the pizza, but the white pizza was pretty good.  And, of course, you can always put whatever toppings you want on your dough.  You don't have to follow the recipe!

Balsamic-Garlic Crusted Pork Tenderloin from Kitchen Confidante:

Two things ... I overcooked mine (whoops) and also cooked it in our cast iron skillet, so it wasn't as pretty as this picture.  With that being said, it was very tasty and I would make it again.  The original recipe calls for grilling the pork tenderloin which I wasn't going to do, so I loved how the recipe also gave instructions for how to make it in the oven!  I love it when people are thoughtful like that!  So, next time ... going to not overcook the meat and also maybe J. will be home and he can grill it for me! 

Giada's Lasagna Rolls from Pennies on a Platter:

YUM.  I liked these better than regular lasagna!  They are like a big pan of lasagna, but pre-cut and easy to take for lunch the next day!  I made mine with italian sausage instead of pancetta or prosciutto and next time, I'm going to saute fresh spinach instead of using frozen.  There's something about frozen spinach that grosses me out.  And really, you could put anything in them that you want too ... more vegetables, meat or cheese!  I would also use more red sauce next time.  I used vodka sauce for mine (yum), but the rolls were a little dry, especially after being re-heated the next day.  I think more sauce would solve this problem!

Whew, I love Pinterest!  Just look at all these fun recipes I tried that I never would have known about without it!  Plus, now I have new food bloggers to follow.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Little Happies

I just sat down at my desk to try these little happies:

And catch up on my blogging.  Well maybe not catch up, that would take all night.  But get started in that direction.  But first, if you live anywhere near a Cupcake Royale, RUN there and try the Pumpkin Cardamom Cupcake.  O.M.G.  To die for.  I am so glad I'm heading back to Seattle on Wednesday to celebrate R.'s birthday.  Cupcake Royale Round Two, here I come!

I have so much to catch you all up on over the next couple of weeks, but let's start with an update on deployment life.  Saturday marked seven (7) weeks of J. being deployed.  And I feel like I can finally sit back and reflect on what a deployment is truly like.  We've been separated for 7 weeks before, when we were dating long distance, but since we moved to Washington and moved in together, the longest we've been apart is 2-3 weeks for trips home or detachments (Navy work trips).  And while I hate to say it, because I truly do miss J., this whole deployment thing has been good for me.

There have been days when I'm exhausted, when I am tired of dealing with EVERYTHING on my own, when I wish someone else could deal with Addy and Lucy, when I'm scared to be home alone, when I wish I had more time for myself and days when I've cried.  But, for the first time since I moved to Washington, I've found me.  I've had to create a life for myself, by myself, without using J. as a crutch.  I am completely, 100% dependent on MYSELF and that's made me figure out what exactly I want my Washington life to look like.  Yes, it's a little late since we are about to pack up and move, but it's been a good reminder that I am a very independent, extremely capable individual and I don't need J. to be here to have a fun and exciting life in Washington.    

Of course, that doesn't mean I am not counting down the days and weeks until he will get back or that I don't get a slight tinge of sadness every time I do something that I know he would enjoy.  I don't NEED J. to have a fun and exciting life, but he makes life more fun and exciting.  And I can't wait until he comes home :)  We've still got a few weeks (ok, more than a few) but I am hoping they will go by as quickly as these past seven weeks have gone by.

For me, the key to having a successful deployment has been to keep busy (and having two furry friends helps too)!  I have been insanely busy since J. left and I don't even work full time.  I am looking forward to things slowing down this month so I can spend more time doing some of the things that I really enjoy, but that have been neglected the past 7 weeks.  Like blogging and running and cooking.  And watching lots of fall TV ... I just signed up for Hulu Plus and so far, I am LOVING it!

Happy October Friends!

I look forward to catching up with you all in the next few weeks!

Nutella Puppy Chow

Yes, Please!  Another reason why I LOVE Pinterest ... all the delicious things you've never thought of but can now make :) 

YUM.