Tasty Thursday

I have a slight obsession with Where's Waldo.  Every time I see a Where's Waldo book, my face lights up.  I've loved Waldo since childhood.  It's something about finding a man in a striped sweater and his friends that get me all excited...

For Christmas yesterday, the BF got me a compilation book of all the Where's Waldo puzzles.

Best. Christmas. Ever.

I've only had the chance to complete one puzzle and I've come to this conclusion.  There's no way a nine year old can do them.  Ain't no way.  After a couple of minutes, my brain was hurting and it felt like I was growing cataracts or something on my eyes, they were so sore.

Anyway, this Christmas I tried out two recipes that are definite keepers.  One's an appetizer type and the other's a boozy type.

I made Killer Artichoke Bread from The Girl Who Ate Everything.  Let me start off by saying that it really was killer.  You can't go wrong with bread, cheese and butter.  And artichokes are vegetables.  Right?  So it can't be THAT bad for you.

Killer Artichoke Bread
adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything

-1/4 c butter
-big spoonful of minced garlic
-14 oz jar of marinated artichoke hearts, well drained and chopped
-about a cup of shredded Mozzarella
-about half a cup of shredded pepper jack
-about half a cup of grated Parmesan
-1/2 c sour cream
-1 loaf of Italian bread, sliced lengthwise
-salt and pepper, to taste

Melt the butter over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.  Add the chopped artichoke, cheeses and sour cream.  Stir until everything is combined and remove from heat.

Spoon the artichoke/cheese mixture onto the bread.  Broil for about 4-7 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starts to brown.

Slice into pieces and you got yourself some cheesy artichokey goodness.

And since you've wrecked your diet by eating this bread, you might as well make yourself a boozy milkshake later.

This peppermint milkshake requires three must have ingredients:  peppermint schnapps, vanilla ice cream and whole milk.  Whole milk!  What!?  I know.  But the thick milk helps it have that creamy thickness that alot of milkshakes have.  And it's still thin enough you can drink through a straw without having a brain aneurysm.  And besides, at this point you've already gone past the point of no return with your calorie intake, so what the heck.  Indulge.

Peppermint Cocktail Milkshake
-1 c whole milk
-2 c vanilla ice cream
-3 oz peppermint schnapps

Blend everything together.  If you have some candy canes laying around, crush 'em up and add those too!  I don't want to say this makes two servings because, honestly, I could drink the whole darn thing, so enough for two glasses it makes instead.  And if you're feeling really fancy, add whipped cream on the top.

Truth

The proper way to eat pumpkin pie.

A Cat's Life

Thanksgiving in Seattle Recap

In September, my grandmother passed away.  It was a sad time for the whole family, but there was a silver lining to such a loss.  My grandmother wanted the whole family, her kids, the grand kids (and now a great grand kid) and spouses to get together.

Now we're not a big family (there's only 16 of us), but we all live in different parts of the country.  San Diego.  Arizona.  Texas.  New York City. Kentucky.  And Maryland.  This makes it kinda hard to plan and meet in a unified location.  It's been maybe a decade since a majority of the whole family has been in the same place.  Well, in memory of my grandmother, Aileen, and thanks to the planning of my aunt Bonnie, we were able to make it happen.

Aileen grew up in Seattle and that's where her family is peacefully at rest.  So, a Seattle Thanksgiving it was.

We had a memorial and reunited her with her parents, sister and husband and later spread some of her ashes in a lake from the neighborhood she grew up in.  As somber as it was, it was also comforting to know that Aileen got her wish.  The whole family came together to see her home.

The rest of the trip was spent catching up and just enjoying being in the presence of each other.

So here's a recap:
-We had a gorgeous house on Lake Washington that fit all sixteen family members.
-Each family contributed to a meal every day.
-Thanksgivakkuh.  Thanksgiving and the first day of Hanukkah were the same day this year, which won't happen again in our lifetime.  I learned about the history of the menorah, more Jewish traditions and ate latkes.  Thanksgivakkuh for the win.
-My cousin Daniel.  The last time I saw him, he was in elementary school.  Now, he's almost done with college.  My goodness, he's a man now.  I.Feel.Old.
-I tried beef tongue for the first time.  It tasted just like salty roast beef.  Not too bad.  Points for trying new things.
-How happy my mom was to have all her kids together at the Korean grocery store, even though we were running around all over the place and brought random things to the cart.  Some things never change.
-Korean food.  Nuff said.
-Fried turkey.  Delicious.  Definitely the route to go if you want a turkey cooked in 30 minutes.
-Rounds of Catchphrase.  Nuff said.
-Having fish tacos from fish that were thrown at the world famous Pike's Place Fish Market.
-Hearing childhood stories from the adults.  Let's just say minors weren't allowed in the room.
-My family can throw down on some alcohol.
-The feeling of regret that we never did such a get together before, but energy to do something like this every couple of years.
-And Lola.  But Lola gets her own section.  Keep reading for more on her.
-I was a little bummed out that the BF didn't have his beard grown out.  All the Seattle men had beards, he would've fit in just fine.
-Came home to cat that hasn't had human interactions for a week and was needy and very talkative.

The BF and I stayed longer in order to enjoy Seattle more since we've never been.  We didn't go up in the Space Needle, but up in the Columbia Center building instead.  It's cheaper and it's taller and they have a Starbucks on the 40th floor with killer views.  It was the one day the sky was clear and we could see Mt. Rainier.  Awesome views of the whole place.  Speaking of Mt. Rainier, we tried venturing out there.  We drove 2 hours, just to get turned around because a snow storm closed the roads.  Bummer.  And also speaking of Starbucks, we found the oldest one at Pike's Place.  It's not the original location (that one is no longer standing), but again, it is the oldest.  And it was PACKED.  Waiting out in a line curving into the street is not for me.  I ain't got time for that.  But I did have time for a less busy Tully's Coffee, which is actually owned by Dr. Dreamy (Grey's Anatomy reference).  We discovered the Fremont neighborhood and the troll.  It was a neighborhood that I could see myself fitting right in. We caught up with a friend that just moved into the area a couple of weeks before we arrived.  And the BF and I also discovered two places that would totally validate moving to Seattle, if the need ever came up:  Taco Time and Taco Del Mar.

But something I will not miss, that traffic!  Well, not really the traffic, but the layout of the roads.  The city planners really love their 5 point intersections.

And Lola.  My dear Lola.  This almost one year old has captured my heart.  She is the calmest baby ever and it helps that she's adorably cute.  I'm just sorry, but I have to take a minute to gush over her.

...
...
...
...

Okay.  I'm back

Picture time!

Our home for the week.

Saying goodbye to my grandmother one last time.

Beef tongue...and my brother's silly face.

Latkes.  Anything fried is always good.

Searching for gold.

In case it got cold, I got this for my brother.

The kids...and Lola.

 And now, for your undivided attention, my Lola collage.

Oh and did I tell you she won in a battle with a T-Rex.  No big deal.