{buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks}

Is cracker jacks one word or two? Crackerjacks. Cracker jacks. Hmm. I guess I could look it up before I post this...but, I'm too lazy at the moment...and I feel like you get the idea of where I'm going with my title. Where might that be? TO A SEATTLE MARINERS GAME, of course. Anthony and I went to our first pro-game together tonight! What a blast! Now, the Mariners...bless their hearts...they were terrible, but it doesn't matter. We had such a fun time. The weather was perfect, the crowd fun (all 30,000 of us). They weren't too wild, but the stadium was full of patriotic Canadians, so all in all the crowd was quite cheery...and perhaps a bit tipsy.

{hotdogs}

This will probably be one of the ONLY times I post something like this...but, it's appropriate as my husband and I just went to our first pro-baseball game together.

Living in Seattle has been so much fun! We definitely have decided to take advantage of all of the various activities this city has to offer...and therefore, we went to a Mariners game tonight. Hey, they may not be doing the best, but gotta support the team!

So...what do you have to have when venturing to the ball park? Hotdogs!

Now, I'm not a huge fan of hotdogs...but they are a "must" in my opinion when portraying the "perfect ball-park image".  So... I took a couple of bites and went with it.



Next time you're at a game (be it a pro-game, or a friendly competition at the park) enjoy your favorite food and drink...and most of all HAVE FUN!



(for a variety of hotdog recipes, click here!  not that just slapping it on the grill and adding your fave condiments isn't perfect enough for a hot summer's day!)

{japanese cucumber salad}

When the heat of summer is intense, the only thing I truly crave are light salads and fresh veggies. This Japanese Cucumber Salad does just the trick!

I serve cucumbers for dinner, about 3 times a week. And sometimes more. We love them. But, sometimes, it's nice to break of the flavor a bit. As my husband loves most any and all Japanese food, this is the perfect summer treat.

INGREDIANTS:

* 2 medium Cucumbers...or 1 large English Cucumber (Which I prefer) *1/4 C rice vinegar *1 t sugar *1/4 t salt *2 Tbl Sesame seeds toasted (see below)

*Peel cucumbers in half lengthwise; scrape seeds out with a spoon. Cut into thin-thin slices (with sharp knife or food processor). Place in a double layer of paper towels and squeeze out any excess moisture.

*Combine vinegar, sugar, and salt. Stir till dissolved. Add cucumbers and sesame seeds. Toss well to combine!

_____________

To toast Sesame Seeds:

Put them in a dry skillet on low. Stir seeds constantly till golden. (About 2 minutes.)

MOST OF ALL ENJOY!

(**recipe and photo courtesy Foodnetwork.com)

{the sun is shining in seattle!}

Saturday. What a wonderful day. The sun is shining, the birds chirping, and it's on its way to being a hot day. Now, I'm not too fond of "too hot" days (and I have a feeling this day will be too hot), but I'm fond of the sun...for my flowers at least!

The lovely weather has made us want to venture outside. My dear husband is taking care of the "lawn" bestowed upon us. Renting. Oh the joys of renting...and "sharing" lawn responsibilities. Hmm. Not what we expected. It understandable to take care of that which is ours...in our "back yard"...but the street side? Hmm. Interesting. It appears we are the only ones concerned with the unruly "grass"...oh, let's just say it: WEEDS. So, we picked up a weedeater today and we are working on taming it. Did I say, we? Hmm. Not so much. I'm obviously posting this right now. The credit goes to my dear husband.

I'm focused on my lovely flowers. Above is my little herb garden. They are SO happy for the sun today! And directly below are some outside flowers I have in our back "area". These were a house warming gift from Scott and Willow Maurice. Dear, dear friends! Aren't they lovely?! The colours make my heart happy. And they look lovely our patio. Or concrete slab, as it would be.

And the last little picture is of my hydrangeas. I love these. Confession time. I tend to name my plants. The first person who ever knew this about me was my dear roommate, Kimberly. She and I are kindred-spirits because she names (or at least named) her plants too. Oh, the days of university. The second person, Krystal Bingham. How I loved living with her! Either way, the truth is out, let me introduce you to Grace. She's lovely and fits perfectly on our coffee table. Soon she'll have to move outside, but I'm enjoying her indoors for now.

Enjoy this beautiful weekend!

{our kitchen}

Anthony and I have yet to take any real photos of our new place...This is in part because, I'd be the only one to even think of it. Why the pics? Well...to share with you all of course! This seems like it would be an easy feat, but alas, I can't find my camera. (shh.) I managed to take a couple of pics with my phone and only took some of the kitchen. So, for now, here are a few of our kitchen.

I was supposed to get to the boxes today as I mentioned earlier...honestly, I made it through two. AND, I didn't even empty them. I was so excited by the memories inside, that I just went through the material, and packed it nicely back up. Hmm. Not the point. But, I'm happy. And ultimately, still lacking a camera. SO...I'll be posting more pics soon, but here's our kitchen for now!

{i am back. finally. and moved!}

To all my dear friends, I'm sorry for the longest delay ever!

Anthony and I finally got moved from Alaska and are now happily figuring out our new city, Seattle. What a change! We are still surrounded by some boxes but have managed to pretend we're on our way to organization by filling up our guest room with these daunting, never ending square annoyances. I'm going to post pictures (tomorrow I hope!!) so that you all can see our new place. You can at least see our home in progress! Since one of my favorite places of a home is the kitchen (as I believe most of you know by now) I at least wanted to get you started with a couple of pictures of our new space. The others will have to wait, as I still am searching frantically for my camera. These were taken with my less than perfect phone. Hmm.

Though I'm sick of the un-packing, I have managed to procrastinate (yes...I'm brilliant at it) by starting a little herb garden and coming up with new recipes! Hey - I have a new kitchen...gotta break it in with my favorite activity!

 

The quiche is half eaten, yes. So the picture isn't perfect...or is it? I always tend to think that something is better if people want to eat it, not just look at it. For those who like to make food, this is what I did:



CRUST:



3C flour 1C butter 1 Egg 1T vinager 5-6T cold water



Mix cold butter and flour till crumbles (with pastry blender or by hand), Mix egg, water and vinager and then add to flour and butter. (I like to add just 5 TBL of water, but then once mixed add a last TBL if I feel it needs it. Cut in half. This crust recipe is great becuase you can re-roll, freeze, whatever and it's still perfect. I just used one half, and froze the other. Roll out and use fingers to "ruffle" the edges of the crust.  FILLING:



4 eggs** 2 C half & half** 1 1/2 C Swiss Cheese 1/2 - 3/4 Cup parmasan cheese 1/2 C white onion 1/2 C green onion 6 bacon slices (crispy) 6-8 asparagus stalks (based on preference) Tbl fresh rosemary (chopped) Tbl Pepper Dash of Salt



*Crisp bacon as desired (pan or oven) *Cut the asparagus into bite-size pieces, leaving the tips in tack. Blanche. Set aside. *Chop onions. *Combine eggs (beat), half & half, Pepper, Salt and Rosemary (or other favorite herb).  *In bottom of crust put in swiss cheese, chopped onions, crispy bacon and blanched asparagus (NOT the tips though). Pour the mixture over the items in the crust. Sprinkle parmasan cheese over top of mixture, covering well. In the center, make a circle with some of the asparagus tips.  *Cook for about 65 minutes on 350 degrees (let rest 10 minutes) and enjoy!  ** The original recipe called for 3 eggs and 1 1/2 C of half & half, and NO asparagus or Rosemary. When I added the new ingrediants, I had to adjust the filling. The original could work, but I wanted to fill up my pie. And...I added Rosemary cause I love the smell of it. **Some recipes call for a quiche to be cooked at 375 degrees, but I personally like the lower temperature for longer...as it's more moist. Either one will be successful!



TILL TOMORROW!

{a NEW start}

Well, I've started a new blog. It's funny really. I love writing, and therefore have found a love for blogging...but, for those of you who faithfully follow my other blog, you will note that I fail to be consistant (primarily because I've been without internet, but that's besides the point). Don't get me wrong. I have much to say...but, though I love the other blog - it's purpose is for things revolving around the kitchen. And, though most of one's life revolves around the kitchen, I wanted to be able to express more day-to-day things with my friends, family and anyone who was just bored and looking for something to read.

THEREFORE, I commenced this new blog. I really do see life as an adventure. The adventure can be seen in the season or more simply in one tiny moment of a larger season.

What season am I in? Good question. It's a season of "new" and dare I say change. I'm a new wife, in a new city, starting (hopefully soon) a new job, looking for a new church, while finding parking on a new street. (Which might not seem that big of deal, but in Seattle...parking is a whole "thing" in and of itself.) Shall I go on? I'm decorating a new home and cooking in a new kitchen...I believe the point is taken.

I'm not complaining...it's all quite fun and yes, adventurous. So, to connect this crazy life with you, this blog has been started. Yes, I have facebook, myspace and even plain old email, and now this!

What am I facing today?

Exactly! So...on with the task at hand.

à la prochaine! (Till next time!)