Ginger Beef

This was a quick, easy, cheap, and delicious adaptation of a recipe found on Pinterest (originally from lizzy writes). I made it when I had three boys' bellies to fill, and I had a hankering for ginger, which isn't always a favorite of the males in my household. This cooked up FAST and was super delicious with steamed white rice (or brown!) and lots of sriracha, because that makes everything better. The beef itself is nice and sweet, so the littlest boy didn't complain about the ginger being spicy or anything. Getting a preschooler to eat anything besides chicken, noodles, or cereal can sometimes be a challenge!

THE RECIPE:

1 pound (or so) ground beef (you'll be draining it, so don't feel bad using a higher fat content...save yourself some money!)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 T toasted sesame oil
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c shoyu (soy sauce...we use low sodium Aloha brand!)
3 cloves or 3 t minced garlic
1/2-1 t fresh ginger, grated (I used more than half, because I LOVE ginger)
1/2-1 t crushed red pepper, depending on tastes
salt and pepper to season beef while browning
bunch of green onions, sliced

Brown the ground beef, seasoning with salt and pepper. I did this in a wok. Once the beef is about half-cooked (use your judgement) add the onion and garlic and cook with the beef. Once the beef is cooked thoroughly, drain and get as much fat out as you can. You'll be adding plenty of liquid to the meat, so it's okay to go crazy when draining.

Return the meat to the pan if you removed it for draining, or just add the rest of the ingredients, except the green onion. Let simmer for a few minutes (I'd say at least 10 so the flavors can incorporate) then serve over rice, garnishing with green onions. We spice ours up with sriracha, but the kids can't handle that!

Enjoy!

Oops!

I'm incredibly embarrassed, because more than 6 months ago I indicated that I would be adding more posts/recipes, and I have FAILED to do so! I got all wrapped up in my internship and finishing grad school, but I am officially DONE. Since I graduated (the day before Thanksgiving), I traveled back to Alaska for 6 weeks, came back to Hawaii, and have been sitting around getting my ducks in order for my HI Teaching License and looking for a job. It's awkward to be a teacher looking for a job in the middle of the school year, for the record. I may have to substitute until schools are hiring for next fall. Time will tell.

That being said, I planned on adding to my blog today while I'm unemployed, and I looked at my photos and realized I haven't really taken any pictures of the food I've been cooking lately! OH MY! I plan on remedying that today. Tonight I'm making Korean beef, so I'll add that tomorrow, and I'll work on taking photos of the dinners I cook so I can dazzle you all with my skills ASAP.

Until then...

If you're reading this...

I just wanted to let the world of cyberspace know that I'm working on adding to my blog (for real) finally. I have been busy with school, but have a break right now until the end of the month, then I'm hoping I can be in the habit of posting and continue to do so while student teaching. I love to share what I do, and hope I can get a mini-following! That'd be awesome.

Cream of Chicken Soup SUBSTITUTE

In case you didn't know, canned cream of whatever soup is full of nasty things. Yes, that is me being judgmental. Also, in case you didn't know, SO MANY recipes call for this soup! Many of the meals I ate growing up involved such an ingredient (my parents are from Minnesota) and I have an affinity for such creamy meals. I'll post about some of the creamy meals later, but for now I want you to have the recipe for the substitute I use now instead of buying canned! Here are some of the reasons I make my own:

• I know exactly what is going into the mix.
• The mix is fat-free! AND gluten free if you make sure your bouillon is GF (which doesn't matter for me, but does for some of my friends)
• I recycle, and have you ever tried rinsing a can of cream of whatever soup? Gross.
• Cans are expensive. And heavy. And take up room. This mix fits in a container that I can reuse and takes up considerably less room.
• It's DELICIOUS.

I adapted this recipe from One Orange Giraffe, after finding the link on Pinterest. I use my adaptation of the recipe a lot! I only make cream of chicken because it's what I use the most. If I wanted I could add celery or mushrooms or whatever once it's cooking. This is very versatile.

THE RECIPE:

1 c non-fat dried milk

3/4 c cornstarch

1/4 c bouillon (if you have cubes you have to smash them up...I have powdered Knorr bouillon)

4 T freeze dried minced onions (those are the dried minced onions that you find in the spice aisle)

2 t Italian seasoning

1 t pepper

For the equivalent of one can of condensed cream soup, mix 1/3 cup dry mix with 1 1/4 cup water. Cook until thick then add to whatever recipe you're making.

As you see, I make a container that is more than one recipe worth. The container I use holds about 3x the recipe, but I usually double it so I have room to shake it up. Also, you can see that I wrote the recipe and the ratio for cooking it on the sides of the container! I keep this in the cupboard.

Pizza, Pizza, Pizza

 
Friday is pizza night in our house. I'm kind of picky about my pizza, and haven't been satisfied with the pizza options near our house, PLUS I cannot justify spending the amount of money charged for crappy pizza when I can make DELICIOUS pizza myself.

Since I make our own pizza, we have different toppings all the time, depending on what we feel like. Sometimes we have buffalo chicken (using ranch as the sauce) or regular pepperoni/cheese for the kids. Sometimes we make pesto chicken pizzas. Once I made bulgogi pizza with leftover Korean! The possibilities are seriously endless and I'm not bragging when I say I've never made a bad pizza. Imagination and experimentation are perfect for this family-pleasing meal! I adapted my pizza dough recipe from Annie's Eats, a really great blog.

It's really important when you're making your own pizza that you have a pizza stone, parchment paper, and cornmeal, in my opinion. The parchment paper makes transferring the pizza much easier and helps with clean up. A pizza peel is a good investment as well if you plan on making pizza a lot, like we do! A pizza peel is that wooden paddle-looking tool that helps you get the pizza in and out of the oven.

Lastly, sometimes I add things to my dough like Italian seasoning or garlic powder. It's not necessary and I don't do it all the time, but it tastes good, and makes for really good cheesy breadsticks!


Basic Pizza Dough
Yield: enough dough for 2 medium pizzas or 4 calzones

Ingredients:
½ cup warm water
2¼ tsp. instant yeast
4 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting (lately I've switched to whole wheat flour)
1½ tsp. sea salt
1¼ cup water, at room temperature
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:
Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup.  Sprinkle the yeast over the top and set aside.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour and salt, mixing briefly to blend.

If the yeast has bloomed in the warm water (the mixture will be cloudy and smell like beer or bread, and not have individual grains of yeast visible anymore) measure the room temperature water into the measuring cup with the yeast-water mixture.  With the mixer on low speed, pour in the yeast-water mixture and the olive oil (I use two hands: olive oil in one, yeast-water in the other).  Mix until a cohesive dough is formed (only about 30 seconds or so).

Switch to the dough hook.  Knead on low speed until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.  Transfer to a large, oiled bowl, turning once to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and let rise until doubled in size, 1½-2 hours.

Preheat the oven and pizza stone to 500˚ F for at least 30 minutes!! I start the oven about 10 minutes before I plan on punching down the dough for the next step.

Press down the dough to deflate it.  Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface.  Divide the dough into two equal pieces.  Form each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball. Cover with a damp cloth or damp paper towel.  Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no longer than 30 minutes.

To bake, transfer the dough to your shaping surface (large cutting board or pizza peel) covered in parchment paper and lightly sprinkled with cornmeal.  I shape my dough with lightly oiled hands.


Top as desired.  Bake until the crust is golden brown, and cheese is bubbling, 8-12 minutes.

Quinoa Jambalaya

This quinoa jambalaya was somewhat of a throw-together I made a couple of months ago (I'm REALLY behind, I know!!) but the boys LOVED it. It made so much we ate it as leftovers for a couple of days (this was back in the glorious days of being able to send my husband with leftovers because he was working in one spot) and I even froze an individual container as well. Using quinoa in place of rice makes it a protein-packed Cajun-ish pot of delicious. That's right.


THE QUINOA:

2 c quinoa
4 c chicken broth (I use "Better Than Bouillon" or Knorrs if I don't have leftover homemade on hand)
1 t minced garlic (or more if you'd like)
1 1/2 t cumin

THE REST:

1 length of sausage, sliced (we had kielbasa on hand, but Andouille would be delicious too...or linguica)
4 boneless skinless chicken thighs or 2 breasts, chopped
1 sm/med onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
28ish oz canned diced tomatoes (a big can is 28 oz, two small equal 29 oz. Use what you have!)
2 T olive oil
2-3 t minced garlic
2 T Cajun spice
salt to taste if your Cajun isn't salty (mine is not salty--it's from my favorite website: www.mountainroseherbs.com)

Now, you'll want to make the quinoa in a separate pot. Quinoa cooks similarly to rice, where you bring your liquid to a boil, add the quinoa, reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and cook it for about 20 minutes. Then if you have liquid leftover you drain it out. This made enough quinoa that I actually kept a little aside for another meal, so I guess you could get away with making 1 1/2 c of quinoa if you didn't want leftovers, but now it's up to you to rearrange proportions.

While the quinoa is cooking, in a heavy-bottom pot or dutch oven on medium, heat oil, then add the onions, pepper, and celery. When they're turning translucent, add the garlic (if you add it early it cooks out a lot of the flavor...I read that somewhere so it must be true). Then add the chicken and saute until the chicken is cooked through (no pink!). Once the chicken is cooked, add the sausage and let that heat through...since it's precooked it doesn't take long. Then add your tomatoes and Cajun spice. At this point, your pot should look like the picture above, near the ingredients.

Let the meat/veggie mix simmer until your quinoa is done cooking. If your quinoa is already done, give your mix a few minutes anyway to blend the flavors some. Taste it! See if you need salt like I did.

When you're satisfied with your pot of sausage, chicken, and veggies, add in the quinoa and stir to combine. Now eat it! If you want to be fancy, you could put some fresh parsley on each serving. I'm not fancy, however. You may want to pepper it, or taste to see if you want hot sauce. We add hot sauce to almost everything...it's a wonder we can taste our food still!

Enjoy!

Cilantro Lime Steak Tacos with Hilo Avocado and Fresh Salsa

     

     Each Thursday from 3-6:30 the high school parking lot near our house is populated by Makeke Kapolei (the Kapolei farmer's market). The market is small. One parking lot row of vendors as diverse at the town: several farmers; Thai, taco, cupcake, cajun shrimp, brick oven pizza (we had one with Kalua pork, Maui onions, and spicy BBQ sauce once), and Hawaiian food trucks; food stands selling Korean BBQ, Filipino food, ice cream fried in lumpia wrappers, poi and haupia, more Hawaiian, etc etc; a random guy selling jewelry, a random group selling plants, another selling various macadamia nut butters and sauces. There's also a small local dairy farmer selling butter (we bought jalapeno pineapple butter), yogurt cheese, and yogurt. Another man sells organic, grain-fed beef from Molokai.

     A couple of weeks ago we bought a 1.5ish pound piece of london broil (it was the smallest piece he had, and I didn't have the cash to buy a bigger flank steak) from the Molokai meat guy, and a giant Hilo avocado. As you can see, these avocados are HUGE. That's a sandwich bag, and I don't have small hands. The pits of these suckers are the size of my toddler's fist. They are not only huge, but so delicious and smooth. I am in love. I also bought a small bag of cherry tomatoes from the farmer (I am growing my own now, so we'll see how that goes!).

     I decided to make tacos from the beautiful piece of beef. It really was lovely compared to what beef often looks like from the store. Since I knew it was going to be tough, I decided to marinate it all day. I put the meat in a 9x13 Pyrex and salt and peppered both sides and sprinkled it with cumin and chili powder. I then added the following:

1/2 cup or so of lime juice (I have Key lime juice)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 T minced garlic
some chopped fresh cilantro

I'm totally guessing on my measurements, because I just made it right into the pan. I guess the most important thing would be that the meat is either covered or at least half covered. If only half covered it'll be important to shake the container or flip the beef at least once during the marinating process.

I marinated the steak from about 10 am until 5 pm, when my darling husband was home and fired up our charcoal grill. We then grilled that sucker up (it was kind of thick, so it took a little while) and grilled our corn tortillas for a few minutes as well to make them more pliant and delicious.

While my husband was out tending the grill, I threw some cherry tomatoes, garlic, a fresh sliced jalapeno, lime juice, cilantro (I also would have thrown in about 1/4 of an onion, but I was out to be honest) and salt and pepper into my Magic Bullet blender and blended that up for some salsa. I cut the avocado into chunks (albeit HUGE chunks), removed it from the skin, and salted it to let it sweat and become even more delicious for a minute.

When the steak was done I sliced it up and we made the tacos using a corn tortilla, the meat, a little shredded cheddar cheese, avocado, and salsa. I would have used Greek yogurt (my constant replacement for sour cream) but it had been growing something oddly reddish in the fridge, so I had to pitch it. The tacos were AMAZING. I probably ate 5 or 6, and I don't feel bad at all, because they were so fresh and delicious. We'll likely repeat this or something similar. I'll bring more cash for a more tender cut of meat and maybe we'll grill some onions and peppers too.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!

Again I've been neglecting my beloved bastard blog. I will begin again. Here is why:

• I love to write about things that aren't required for my graduate degree program (of which I'm almost done!!! One more class after the one I'm in now, and my internship. Yahoo!)

• I moved to Hawaii, and it is ripe with new culinary opportunities (Asian explosion, anyone?!)

• I like thinking that more than 3 of you will read and enjoy what I am posting!

• I want to be a star! (Not really, but I do what to share myself and the things I enjoy!)

• I JUST WANT TO.

So there. I'm going to begin again. Let's pretend it's not the middle of February, or instead that the year begins in the middle of February. Sound like a plan? I'm so glad you're with me on this!

Gone Too Soon

This might be sad, and it's definitely not about food (though I did have some amazing red salmon...and wine).

Today I attended with my family and many other people a memorial for an AMAZING woman who was taken by the universe before any of us were ready. Our friend, Krista, was tragically killed by a horrible infection after a relatively routine outpatient procedure last week. She went into the hospital on Friday morning, and they were able to keep her body alive until somewhere around midnight that night, when her mother and siblings were able to make it up to Alaska from California. Krista leaves behind a son who is the same age as my own daughter and a partner who has been like a member of our family for over a decade.

I tried to be brave and speak at her memorial, and was able to get out part of what I wanted to say before I was rendered incapable by my tears. Here's basically what I wanted to say:

I met Krista about four years ago, when we were introduced to her as our long-time family friend's new girlfriend. I immediately thought she was fantastic. She had a lot of tattoos, curly red hair, and a constant smile and super gregarious personality. I have never known anyone so positive and supportive with no malice or negativity. She was always the light in the room and the life of the party. She made sure everyone was always happy and their glass was full. She even bought all the kids presents for the Christmas party and provided Ana with her first (and only) Zhu Zhu pet, which I had never got around to buying.

Krista is the type of person that changes your perspective when you meet her. If you meet her once, you are happier that day. If you meet her more than once, you're lucky enough to realize that life is certainly better than you originally saw it. I saw our friend she was with change from a somewhat lost soul to an incredibly vibrant man who was really in his element. She was his element. Together, they were unstoppable. They threw the best parties, were raising an amazing kid, and were always there for a friend in need.

Krista could sing praises like she was breathing air. She especially loved Randy, telling me every time we were together how fantastic he was, how happy I look, and how he treats me the way I deserve to be treated. I would tell her in turn that I've never seen her partner happier (and I've known him since I was nine) and I thought she was fantastic. I loved her in the way that I could be sure to have an amazing hug and conversation, even if we only saw each other once in a while. She was an extremely happy person.

She was taken before any of us were ready. Certainly not her seven-year-old son, or her boyfriend. It was so sudden it's been hard to comprehend, even for me, who is more detached than they are. It is a horrible reality-check to realize that you can be the most fantastic person in the world, and the next day you are gone, no matter how many people love you or what you have planned or already on your plate. Life will not be the same without Krista. I realize more each hour that passes, as life goes on and her vacancy sucks like a vacuum. It will stop sucking, for sure. Even for her two important men, but it will never be completely gone.

For Krista, I will strive to tell those I love EACH DAY that I love them. I will be quick to forgive and quicker to express gratitude. She has served as a beacon, showing those who knew her that life must be lived in a way that when we die, our presence should have been so positive, so powerful, that a houseful of people can gather, share happy stories and sorrowful tears, and take something from the experience. This is truly an opportunity for paying it forward. Krista was a gift to everyone. We all have a happy story or the memory of her positive presence to cling to forever.

Krista, above all, we love you, and we always will.

The BEST Banana Bread

This is some of the best banana bread I have ever had. It is SO moist, and always has a perfect amount of crust to compliment the delicious inside.

1/2 c butter, melted
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla extract (you should only ever use pure)
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 c Greek yogurt (plain or vanilla work)
1/2 c chopped walnuts (optional...I usually substitute for chocolate chips)
2 very ripe bananas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the butter in a glass dish then add the sugar. Once those are combined, add the eggs and the vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter/sugar/egg mixture.

Mash the bananas and mix with the yogurt, then fold that mixture and the chocolate chips (or nuts) into the batter.

Pour into a lightly greased loaf pan, and bake at 350 for about 50 minutes.

An Explanation of My Absence

So, obviously my last post was in AUGUST of last year, which is abhorrent. I've been ridiculously busy since deciding to go back to school, and am currently pursuing my graduate degree in education, which is both exciting and exhausting. I'm 3 classes into a 9 class program, then I have my student teaching, so all will be settled down (maybe) by Summer 2012--that is, if the Mayans were just lazy and didn't finish their calendar instead of the purported apocalypse--and onto my next adventure.

Needless to say I haven't been neglecting my kitchen, just my posts. I'll try and do better, and will likely start adding in some more random posts, because I feel like it, and may need a break!

Until then, carry on, and I will do my best to pick up my slack!

Shoyu Chicken

Yesterday I was laid up and in need of some comfort food. R and I decided this was just what we needed. We made this delicious chicken while watching SciFi's "Tin Man," which was a super awesome rendition of "The Wizard of Oz." Especially enjoyable if you have a girl crush on Zooey Deschanel like yours truly.

This recipe is courtesy of my love's mother. She is a very good cook. Her mom is Chinese and her dad is Hawaiian, and people in Hawaii LOVE shoyu chicken. This recipe is fantastic! I could have drank the extra marinade. Please enjoy!!

Shoyu Chicken

1/2 c shoyu (which is soy sauce, you sillies!!)
1/2 c water
3 T brown sugar
1 star anise
1 slice ginger, crushed
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 t thick soy (optional)
1 cinnamon stick (also optional)
sm strip orange zest (also optional)
3 whole cloves (again, optional)
3-4 # chicken

Marinate chicken (whole or pieces...we ended up using much less chicken, and used breast tenders, because that's what we had in the freezer) in all ingredients.

Bring everything to a boil in a pan then simmer, covered, 25-30 minutes. Turn the chicken over once while cooking to brown evenly.

Cool, then chop into small pieces and arrange on platter. Top with chopped green onions if desired.

Here's what we did differently, besides the chicken amount: I used candied ginger, since my ginger went bad, so I reduced the amount of sugar to 2 1/2 T and used turbinado instead of brown since we are out of brown. We included the cinnamon stick, but left out the other optional ingredients, mostly because we don't have them right now.

Next time I want to be sure to have ALL ingredients (optional included) and I want to use boneless skin-on thighs because I think it will taste much more fantastic, and R informed me that he likes to eat the skin. Weirdo.

Thai Red (Chicken) Curry

I love Thai food. I didn't get into it until I lived in Portland, and now it's an almost insatiable love. I love all types of Thai food. The noodle dishes AND the curries. I haven't delved into the making of noodle dishes yet (Thai Kitchen still gets a fair amount of my money...especially for the jungle noodles...fantastic) but this curry recipe is easy!!

I make this recipe about monthly, when the mood strikes. It's much cheaper than going out, and with the Fresh Rolls, which I'll post soon, it's a perfect Thai meal AT HOME! You can eat in your pajamas!

I modified this recipe from one I found online. I'll just write how I made it, and you can make your own adjustments!

2 tbsp butter

2 tsp red curry paste (Thai Kitchen brand is def GF)

1 cup chopped peppers (I've used mini peppers and bell peppers--both are good!)

1 can bamboo shoots

1 can coconut milk

1 lb chicken breast, cubed

10ish basil leaves

1/2 lime (juice and zest)

salt to taste

1. Heat a wok or pan on medium heat.

2. Melt butter (sometimes I do half butter, half olive oil), mix in curry paste, brown a bit. Add peppers and a little bit of salt, cook until softened.

3. Stir in coconut milk and bamboo shoots, bring to a boil, then add chicken and basil leaves.

4. Reduce heat and simmer (I let it cook about 35 minutes, while the rice cooked) until chicken is cooked through.

5. Add lime juice and zest. I added a bunch of Sriracha sauce because we like spicy food.

I served it with brown rice.

It was DELICIOUS!

You can also use shrimp. And of course you can always use white rice as well. 

Alaska's Red Gold...

One of the greatest thing about living in Alaska is the access to fresh and fantastic salmon. There is nothing better than grilling salmon the same day you catch it--except, perhaps using the leftovers to make Salmon Melts.

My Favorite Uncle (a self-chosen name...though he is fantastic) went dipnetting last week on the Kenai River. Their trip was relatively unsuccessful, since they only caught 7 red salmon between 5 people. Favorite Uncle caught 4 of them, I believe, and since my Grandma was in town, he cooked some up the next night (the plan was to have them the same day, but my Aunt already had moose sausage spaghetti sauce in the crockpot, and we were concerned it would clash--plus Favorite Uncle needed to rest and not fillet fish). Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling well, and didn't eat any of the fish at dinner, so I brought some home with me. Thanks, Mom.

It sat in my refrigerator until today. I walked with Jared, my 30-lb 16 month old, 4 miles, carrying him in a fantastic REI baby backpack. I was exhausted and sweaty when I got home, and since I had only eaten some multigrain Wheat Thins, a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese, some chocolate Silk and some Knudson Morning Blend juice for breakfast, I knew I needed something fantastic.

Enter Salmon Melts.

I make mine like I make my tuna, usually. I am not a fan of mayo, so I use ranch dressing instead. Today was a little different, though.

Salmon Melts

2 slices wheat bread, buttered
1 cup cooked salmon
1 1/2 T ranch dressing
1 1/2 T dijon or stoneground mustard
a dash or two of cumin, one of my favorites spices (thank you, Turkey)
a dash of garlic powder
2 thick slices of Tillamook medium cheddar cheese

1. Heat oven (I use our countertop oven a LOT) to 350 F

2. Combine salmon, ranch, mustard and spices in a bowl.

3. Spread the salmon mixture onto the two slices of buttered bread, lay a thick piece of cheddar on top for good measure.

4. I baked them for about 8 minutes then broiled for a couple minutes to get the cheese nice and bubbly.

I cut up a tomato and sprinkled each slice with salt and pepper (the best way to eat a fresh tomato, bar none) and filled a shot glass with dry roasted almonds for a delicious accompaniment.

It was nothing fancy, but it was fantastic after a long, hard walk!

Peanut Butter Dip

I love apple slices with peanut butter. If I'm too lazy to slice my apple, I'll cut it into sequentially smaller fourths, leaving the core, and spread peanut butter on each piece. Today, however, I came across an idea for something so marvelous I could scarce contain my excitement. Instead of plain old apples and peanut butter, which is alone delicious, I discovered that mixing peanut butter with yogurt makes an equally--if not more--fantastic dip, which adds calcium and live cultures to an already healthy snack! It's easy:

Peanut Butter Dip

1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 small container or about 6-8 oz yogurt

Mix together in a bowl, and serve with apple slices or whatever else you want to dip into it! Strawberries, grapes, graham crackers, etc. I used Natural peanut butter, as that's what I had on hand, as well as a cup of custard-style vanilla yogurt. It was fantastic.

The picture is what was left after I consumed it with an apple.

Introduction

I maintained a blog for a while, but it has fallen by the wayside, and many undesirables know and likely visit the url. I've decided to begin a new and improved blog, focusing a bit more on food and family, and less on whatever else. This will be a food blog of sorts, though at times I'm sure I'll deviate and digress.

Briefly, I am a mother of two children at the moment. I live in beautiful Eagle River, Alaska with a fantastic man. I work in the education field, with children who have special needs, specifically autism. I love Alaska, and all its ups and downs. We have overpriced groceries and a challenging supply of produce, but we make do. I hope you find something worthwhile here, so welcome!!