My husband Duane and I met in Iraq in 2006. It took us a long time to get where we are and after three long years of miscarriage and fertility treatments, we welcomed a daughter in 2011. We switched to organic food, began learning how to garden, and are becoming debt free. It's my hope with this blog we can pass on some knowledge, understanding and compassion for how we got here and where we are going. Because after all, wherever you go, there you are. Embrace it.
When I started this blog, I envisioned it would be more than just words on a page telling you what the Kings are doing; I wanted it to be something those of you thousands of miles away could experience as well. With all five senses, this is my promise to you: (angels are singing right now)--my cheese and macaroni. In this house, it's called, "Cheese and Ronis."
Here is the recipe for the cheese and macaroni we make--dig it! Warning--this is not a diet dish and it's more addictive than crack.
6 TBSP butter (plus extra for the baking dish)
1 pound elbow macaroni (or spirals or corkscrew pasta--whatever is your favorite)
3 12-oz cans evaporated milk
4 c grated cheddar cheese
1/2 pound velveeta cut into cubes
1/2 c heavy cream
1 egg, lightly beating
1 c panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
Preheat the oven to 350. Spray or lightly butter a 9x13 baking dish. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the macaroni noodles until al dente. Drain and toss with 4 TBSP of butter. In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the evaporated milk to a scald and add it to the macaroni. Add the cheddar--it will start to melt. Then add the velveeta and the cream and stir well. The macaroni should be swimming in sauce and chunks of velveeta. Stir in the beaten egg and mix well. Season mixture with salt and pepper to taste and stir again. Pour into the prepared baking dish, which should be placed on a sheet pan to catch spills since the dish will be full. Sprinkle with the panko and dot with remaining butter. Bake until golden and bubbly--about 25-30 minutes.
Since we've moved to Seattle, people ask me what I love most about living here. It's hard to choose just one defining thing. When people think of Seattle, many things come to mind: granola, the Space Needle, grunge, Nirvana, Starbucks, a miserably bad baseball team, a bunch of tree-hugging barefoot hippies who want to save whales...
But it's not really like that, mostly. Though Duane and I were shocked when we first moved here (as our fried-catfish-fed bodies heaved up the San Francisco-like hills and skinny no-body-fat runners clad in REI spandex jogged passed us while sipping lattes) to learn Seattle is actually a choose-your-own-adventure novel, if you can drown out chants from the Occupy movement, the high profile murders, people wanting to criminalize the use of disposable shopping bags and those wanting to decriminalize marijuana use.
Break. More to follow.
I began this blog post months ago. It was the last blog post I wrote after getting terribly frustrated with my computer because I couldn't post photos. I've since found a workaround and am willing to tentatively see if I can blog again without losing my mind and wanting to go Office Space on my 2006 Dell dinosaur of the 2011 computer nightmare I have at work--as if I need more computer frustration in my life. If it's one year for every seven in dog years, it's like one for every 100 in computer years. My computer should be parting the Red Sea by now, but it's not. It's just collecting dust and reminding me how badly I need a new computer.
I wanted to begin blogging again months ago and I was all set to, until I realized it was counterproductive. With so little time to spare, blogging got the boot, thanks to my Dell, but maybe partly thanks to Pinterest as well. Since I have found a workaround and I might be able to merge my Pinterest addiction with blogging, I figured now would be a good time to pick up where I left off.
The other problem I had with picking up blogging again is that I didn't know where to start; it's a little like working out in that you want to try and make up for lost time in just one workout session. I know I can't do that. So I will just fill you in on why I haven't blogged and let the rest come naturally. I figure I'll get better with time.
I've been intrigued and somewhat pressured, albeit by myself, to blog again because the farm to which we subscribe, Whistling Train Farms, and other friends of mine have such great blogs that I love reading. I'm always a bit insecure (and I don't know why) that when I write something it is just a bunch of words floating out there and that my suggesting people read my blog is a bit like those ladies at Sam's Club on a Saturday, "no I really don't want the toaster-oven-baked-chicken-cordon-blue, but I would love to take one from you because if I don't, it might hurt your feelings." Maybe that is totally me being sensitive, but find me a writer that doesn't have thin skin. We all profess to take criticism well, but deep down inside, we are all just hoping you are hanging by a thread, waiting to read the next thing we type.
If you are, pray it isn't months until I write again. Each day I think of so many things I could just hammer out if it was just a bit more user friendly. Every day is an adventure for us; let's see if it ends up in a blog. By the way, July 1st is the day Seattle bans plastic shopping bags for good and legalizing marijuana is on the ballot for the November election. Just thought you might like to know.
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