Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Batman!

I realized I haven't done an entry on the little guy since starting this blog. Sure he's popped up in a few pictures where I just could not, for the life of me, get him out of the frame, but no official introduction. So here we go, World meet Batman the French 

Bulldog, my little superhero. He recently turned 1, though he still acts like the biggest puppy ever! He's super silly, LOVES to eat, enjoys walks at the blueberry & blackberry parks just for the sole reason of eating off the bushes, crazy about car rides, loves to sleep, and just about the biggest cuddler you will ever meet. 

Did someone say 'cheeeeeeeeeseeeeee'??

If you’re ever in the presence of a Beecher’s, here is what you do: you walk in & buy them out on their Flagship cheese. There aren’t words for how amazing their cheese is. But when you use said cheese to make Mac & Cheese….Oh. My. Word.  Down by Pike Place Market there is always a line a million miles long of people anxiously waiting to buy their mac & cheese. I mean, they've only won the vote for Seattle's best Mac & Cheese for countless numbers of years! So obviously I had to find the recipe, (and I did). Below is just that, along with my favorite recipe for garlic mashies. Because obvious you can’t have one without the other!

Beecher’s Incredibly Famous Mac & Cheese

Sauce

2 tbsp unsalted butter 


3.5 tbsp all-purpose flour 


1.5 C whole milk 


7 ounces Flagship cheese, grated (about 1 3/4 c) 


1 ounce Just Jack cheese, grated (1/4 c) 


½ tsp coarse salt 


¼ to ½ tsp chipotle chili powder 


1/8 tsp garlic powder

Pasta

6 ounces penne pasta (about 3 ¼ C) 


1 ounce Flagship cheese, grated 
(1/4 C)

1 ounce Just Jack cheese, grated 
(1/4 C)

¼ to ½ tsp chipotle chili powder

Instructions 
 

To prepare sauce, melt butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat and whisk in the flour.

Continue whisking and cook for 2 minutes.

Slowly add milk, whisking constantly.

Cook until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Remove from heat.

Add cheeses, salt, chili powder and garlic powder.

Stir until cheese is melted and all ingredients are incorporated, about 3 minutes. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Butter or oil an 8-inch baking dish.

Cook penne 2 minutes less than package directions. (It will finish cooking in the oven.) 

Rinse pasta in cold water and drain well.

Combine pasta and sauce in a medium bowl; mix carefully but thoroughly.

Scrape the pasta into the prepared baking dish.

Sprinkle top with cheeses and then the chili powder.

Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

3.5 pounds russet potatoes

2 tbsps kosher salt

2 C half-and-half

6 cloves garlic, crushed

6 oz grated Parmesan

Directions

Peel and dice potatoes, making sure all are relatively the same size.

Place in a large saucepan, add the salt, and cover with water.

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce heat to maintain a rolling boil.

Cook until potatoes fall apart when poked with a fork.

Heat the half-and-half and the garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering.

Remove from heat and set aside.

Remove the potatoes from the heat and drain off the water.

Mash and add the garlic-cream mixture and Parmesan; stir to combine.

Let stand for 5 minutes so that mixture thickens.

These two are my go-to comfort dishes. Carb loaded, but hey, they’re comfort dishes for a reason! ;)

-N.

Choose your battles wisely, people.

"A wise man once said you can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it. What he meant is nothing comes without a price. So before you go into battle, you better decide how much you're willing to lose. Too often, going after what feels good means letting go of what you know is right, and letting someone in means abandoning the walls you've spent a lifetime building. Of course, the toughest sacrifices are the ones we don't see coming, when we don't have time to come up with a strategy to pick a side or to measure the potential loss. When that happens, when the battle chooses us and not the other way around, that's when the sacrifice can turn out to be more than we can bear."

-N.

Why, hello there Spring..

Spring is officially here!!!! And with that means that those wonderful beautiful breezy nights are upon us as well. This called for a balcony makeover & I was only happy to obliged.

Handmade wreath by me! 

 Beautiful fragrant Lavandula angustifolia 

or 

more commonly known as French lavender

Can't wait to cut & dry them! It already smells amazing everything I open my back door! 

New patio ottoman & matching pillows! (& a thriving basil plant to boot!)

 The little man curiously watching me on his Porch Potty. (That thing is a Godsend!) 

 I love that smush face!

Not bad for a mini weekend project, huh? I need a few more plants..."Me" proof plants. Any suggestions?

-N.

It's Wok Time Baby!

I woke up this morning craving PF Chang’s lettuce wraps. I’d like to thank my friend J for that. The nearest PF Chang’s is a good 30 minutes away and if you don’t already know me…the kitchen is about the farthest I’ll go for food. Yes, I am that lazy. So I did a quick Pinterest search & came up with this copycat recipe. The recipe is pretty easy & super tasty.  Despite the long ingredient list, you can throw this together in about 30-45 minutes. 

Ingredients

- 8 dried shiitake mushrooms

- 1 tsp cornstarch

- 2 tsp dry sherry

- 2 tsp soy sauce

- 2 tsp water

- salt and pepper to taste

- 1½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken, chicken breasts, chopped into bite size pieces

- 5 tbsp vegetable oil

- 1 tsp fresh minced ginger

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 2 green onions, minced

- 1 x 8 oz can bamboo shoots, minced

- 1 x 8 oz can water chestnuts, minced

- Chinese crunchy lomein noodles

Sauté Sauce

- 2 tbsp oyster sauce

- 1.5 tbsp water

- 1 tbsp cooking sherry

- 1 tbsp soy sauce

- 1 tbps hoisin sauce

- 2 tps cornstarch

- 1 tsp sugar

- 1 tsp sesame oil

- Butter lettuce leaves, or any preferred lettuce 

Instructions

-Cover mushrooms with boiling water, let stand 30 minutes then drain. Cut and discard woody stems. Mince mushrooms. Set aside.

-Mix all ingredients for cooking sauce in bowl, and set aside.

-In medium bowl, combine cornstarch, sherry, soy sauce, water, salt, pepper and chicken.

Stir to coat chicken thoroughly. Stir in 1 tspn oil and let sit 15 minutes to marinate.

-Heat wok (or large skillet) over medium high heat. Add 3 tbsp oil, then add chicken and stir fry for about 3-4 minutes. Set aside.

-Add 2 tbsp oil to pan. Add ginger, garlic, and onion; stir fry about a minute or so.

-Add mushrooms, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts; stir fry an additional 2 minutes.

-Return chicken to pan. Add sauté sauce to pan. Cook until sauce thickens.

-Spoon chicken mixture into lettuce leaf and roll.

Maybe this will save you a trip next time you have a ridiculous craving! 

-N. 

Lang Leav

Absolutely adore her work. 

-N.

Angels

It happens like this. One day you meet someone and for some inexplicable reason, you feel more connected to this stranger than anyone else- closer to them than your closet family. Perhaps this person carries within them an angel- one sent to you for some higher purpose; to teach you an important lesson or to keep you safe during a perilous time. What you must do is trust in them- even if they come hand in hand with pain or suffering- the reason for their presence will become clear in due time.

Though here is a word of warning- you may grow to love this person but remember they are not yours to keep. Their purpose isn’t to save you but to show you how to save yourself. And once this is fulfilled; the halo lifts and the angel leaves their body as the person exits your life. They will be a stranger to you once more.

“It’s so dark right now, I can’t see any light around me. “

“That’s because the light is coming from you. You can’t see it but everyone else can.”

-Lang Leav