Cookin' up a Storm

I got hit with a huge cooking stick today. I knew it was coming...I could feel it. Sometimes I have really dry seasons in the kitchen. The counters stay clean, the oven off, and the shelves are stocked full of easy food: Organic Roasted Red Pepper Soup, precooked Chicken sausages, mixed greens by the pound with complementing vegetables. All these and more take no more than 4 minutes to assemble a quick meal...perfect for late night dinners after biking or quick lunches. There is a threshold of how long this can go...my dry spell ended today.
At first I thought I would bake a few blueberry muffins for a dear friend. Then remembered that I have 7 million onions begging to be used, freshly picked from a luscious garden this past weekend. That was all I needed to get the mind spinning of what I can make with onions. Oh, I love a challenge! Driving home from hours of errands, I started menu planning: Curried Carrot and Apple Soup (we also picked 5 tons of carrots from said garden), Caramelized Onion with Bacon and Goat Cheese Quiche, Cheese Straws (made with the frozen puff pastry I learned to make earlier in the month) Classic Marinara sauce with Meat Balls, Teriyaki Marinated Chicken Thighs and finally, Blueberry Muffins. It may seem like a bit of food, but like I said, I go through dry spells so having some frozen homemade goodness is nice to have around. Plus my parents are coming into town this weekend and I would much rather be swimming in Padden with the fam, than cooking in the kitchen.
I get home and begin the chaos. Turn on some music for prep: Pull out the onions, carrots, garlic, blender, pots, cutting boards, butcher knife...crank on the oven and put on the apron. On the Cooking Continuum of Accuracy, my cooking tends to lean towards the end of "not so much." I chop, dice, sprinkle, pour, whip, saute and steam until it "feels right". I also tend to start more than one recipe at a time...after all, I may feel like cooking RIGHT NOW, but I don't know how long it will really last once I get going, so I would rather get after it with everything. Soon enough I have the apples and carrots sauteing, the bacon frying, the puff pastry thawing and the onions chopping (me that is, they don't chop themselves). As I am pureeing the carrot concoction, I rush back to the stove to mix the meat for the meatballs, then layer the quiche, sprinkle the cheese straws and bake. Back to batches of pureeing...back to stirring...check the quiche...watch the chicken...back to pureeing. Yes, I walked 4 miles in a 10 foot radius in my kitchen today...not bad. The amazing thing about the constant back and forth shuffle is it relaxes me. All that stuff going on gives me a huge sense of control and peace. Now don't get me wrong, I am sure each and every one of my recipes would come out a bit better if I were to give it my fullest attention. I would probably walk away with a few less burns too, but hey, when the mood hits you...USE it. The only issue...my filthy kitchen. I have a sink full of dishes, marinara sauce on the wall, floor and oven knobs, 2 cutting boards on the counter with more scraps on the counter than the cutting board, dirty tomato cans, and more cooked food than I have room for in my fridge. It's not pretty, believe me, I am looking at it right now. This is where my sister comes in handy. We are a great team...I cook, she comes in right behind me and cleans. By the end of the meal prep, the kitchen is sparkling clean and dinner is served! Perhaps we should seriously consider moving to the same town sooner than later...I need her (for more reasons that just cleaning of course!).
Ah well, life goes on. Praise the Lord for music...just crank it up a bit and get 'a cleanin'!

Whistler - A biker's dream...unless you're me

It's funny how easy things look sometimes. Like watching pizza dough being tossed into a 20" perfect saucer or seeing a Cirque De Soliel performer bend her heel to touch her forehead while balancing herself on a palm size disk with one hand. No problem I tell myself...I bet I could do that. That is, until I get home and watch my pizza dough flop itself to the floor or pull my back muscle just trying to touch my toes. Suddenly my appreciation for people's skills skyrockets and praise the Lord that He gave us all unique talents so I don't have to try those things again, if I don't want to. I was tainted yet again this weekend by foolishly thinking I could attain what was held before my eyes: Downhill biking at Whistler.

For my loving husband's 34th birthday celebration, a weekend trip to Whistler was on the agenda. We booked a hotel (that's right...a hotel...we left the tent at home this time) and headed North. Naturally, I had a few butterflies in my stomach on the trip up, after all Nick is what a few of us like to call a "Manimal" on his bike, while little ol' me just tries to keep him in eye's sight on the trail. The butterflies only grew as we got geared up: Shin pads, elbow pads, torso armor, gloves, glasses and a full face helmet. I was walking around like a pro football player by the end of it all. Standing in line to take our first lift up, I began to calm down a bit. I oohed and awed at the bikers working their way down the mountain: Hitting huge jumps and fatty drops...I couldn't believe how EASY they made it look...smooth as butter! Soooo naturally, I was convinced by the end of the day, that too would be me...hitting 5' air like it ain't no thang. WRONG! I will skip the drama and sum it up numerically, after: 1 sprained ankle, 5 slow and pathetic runs, 20 good crashes, 1,000 tear drops, and countless prayers, we called it a day. Nick attempted to head back up so he could actually get a few hard and fast rides in, but due to lightning, the chairlifts were shut down...done for the day. Oh my. We decided to chalk it up as "God wanting us to be together, just not biking" weekend and ventured out for the other things Whistler has to offer...enjoy the beautiful gondola ride to the top (ignoring the fact that it stopped running for 10 minutes in mid-ascend), touring the Village, eating out, swimming in the lake, farmers market and a lot of laughing to heal the soul.



Disclaimer: Though I do consider my husband a manimal, he turned his crazy biking skills down about 1,000 notches to coach and support me as I eased my way down the mountain. Nothing but encouraging words stemmed from his mouth...allowing me to fall all the more in love with him AND not want to retire my bike for a lifetime. He's a smart one.

A Place to Call Home

That's right...we're finally home! Bellingham has been calling our names for quite some time and after a few minor details (ie: quitting our jobs, packing up our stuff, selling the condo, finding new jobs, crashing with friends, buying a house and unpacking) we are feeling settled and easing into a routine. It was an easy decision to move...when God says "Go" you go. Nonetheless, it was a bit difficult to leave friends and a great church community behind, but knowing we were in good hands and merging into a community and lifestyle that fit us more appropriately than the hustle and bustle that the Eastside brought. Throughout the transition time the first few weeks we realized that we may just be a wee bit crazy; after all, in 5 months we had: Gotten married, moved in together, quit our jobs, moved to a different city and got a new job (Nick). I recently heard that those five things were on the top 20 list of most stressful things people do. But again when it's right, it's right...so we persevere and continue to be supported by friends and family.

Now we are re merging into what it is like to have a stable routine in our own house: Wake up, quick review of daily events, prayer and kiss goodbye as Nick rides his bike to work and I set off for my tasks for the day. I am quickly learning that managing a house with a huge yard sucks up a lot more time than expected (read: 24/7), but am enjoying it for the time being until my employment begins (more on that a bit later).

Most importantly, Nick and I have been getting our outdoor recreation fix since day 1 of living here. Nothing but biking at Galbraith, volley ball at Boulevard, Frisbee in any park, long walks, trips to Lariabee, hiking off Mt. Baker Highway, plus a few weekend adventures with the Lopez clan outside the city limits. We moved here for the recreating, so that is what we are doing dang it! We have recently implemented a early morning Monday and Wednesday ride at Galbraith to get the legs going and to open up our evenings for weekly BBQs with the crew or time to tool around in the garage (read: I sit on the hammock and chat Nick's ear off as he works on bikes).

All and all, we know that we are so very blessed to have had such a smooth transition to our new home. We have loved having the majority of our friends at an arms reach and the unpredictable activities that stem from it when we get together. I no longer have to commute to participate in book club, or spend time with "the girls", or indulge in a beautiful run around Padden. Nick now has the space and some time to pursue his passion in using elements of the earth to build unique creations. He is currently taking a creative welding class at BTC and plans to continue the series in the fall. We are still on the church hunt and are confident that the Lord will lead us to the right one in His time. I thank God daily for being in control of my life, so I don't have to take on that burden.

Nick working hard on our bikes...prepping for Galbraith
The yard...baccie ball, horseballs, tag...it all happens here!
Dinning/Living room area...
My favorite place in the house...the kitchen!