My Must-Have for Washington State

It is completely ironic to post about my North Face rain jacket today because there isn't a single cloud in the sky.  However, it has rained at some point during 11 out of the past 14 days here in the Pacific Northwest, so I feel this post is deserved, nonetheless.

This jacket is really perfection as far as rain jackets/wind breakers go. It is super lightweight (which makes it wearable during the drizzly days) and fits well, and most importantly, it is very waterproof.  The hood is adjustable so that it won't blow off during squalls (we've had some of those, too), and the color selection is fabulous.  

Mine is a really dark teal/forest green with mint green lining, but this jacket comes in a million colors. 

Side note: I did not pay retail for this jacket thanks to Navy Exchange, but I think its probably worth the $90 price tag if you get as much use out of it as I have!

Rainier Inn

I've already mentioned various reasons why I like it here at Fort Lewis, but here are some specifics about our fabulous living conditions at Rainier Inn.

 My husband has a desk! This is where he spends most of his time if he isn't at the hospital or sleeping, so it's a luxury to have an actual desk (rather than a really grody armchair or nothing at all).

Do you see that blinding light?! Its natural because we have two windows (even if they don't open... what a fake out)! I won't speak about the situations in which we did not/barely had windows...

The kitchen!! Doesn't it look fancy?! There may or may not be a non-stick All Clad pan hiding in one of those cupboards... 

These two things are just icing on the cake of living on Fort Lewis.  1) The view (even though seldom because of the clouds and rain) of Mt. Rainier is spectacular! 2) The sweet black kitty living in one of the rooms on the first floor of Rainier Inn.  I talk to him when I see him sleeping in the window in the mornings and afternoons. You would too!

Washington Things: Part 2

As far as I can tell, the Northwest takes beer pretty seriously.  For example, this was just part of the beer section at Whole Foods:

Holy cow, right??

Now, we've had the discussion (read- I talked, y'all listened) before about my thoughts on beer versus wine. We've also chatted (see above) about my husband's desire to explore local beers.  Given the fact that my husband would never see the sun shine except through hospital windows in the Pacific Northwest if it weren't for these freakishly long days (sun up at 5 am and down at 10 pm), I have made it one of my goals to find cool local beers for him.  I bring them back to our little abode, and he takes a few sips before passing out from exhaustion.  Sounds fun, right?! As fun as fun can be during inpatient internal medicine!

The Mens Room is a beer made by Elysian Brewing in Seattle, WA.  I bought it for two reasons: I generally like red beers (oh yeah, my husband does too :) and a portion of the sales from this particular beer is donated to the Fisher House on Fort Lewis (where we are located).

We both thought it was a pretty great beer.  Not too heavy (my criteria) and still really flavorful (his criteria). Sorry I don't have very much to say in the way of beer evaluation... I am far more versed in wine tasting adjectives! As we try more brews from WA, I'll try to hone my palate a bit more.

Curry Corner

Last night I had the best meal that I've had in a very long time (minus anything my mom fixed me while we were in Portsmouth... Thanks mom!). Curry Corner in Lacey/Olympia was absolutely spectacular. Even though we got take-out and ate on paper plates using the bed as our dining table, I don't think I've ever had better Indian food... except for when my friend Liz makes it from scratch, but that's another story!

Such sweet people working there... this little restaurant in a gas station strip mall.

We got the typical fare: butter chicken, chicken tikka masala, basmati rice, and naan, but nothing tasted typical. I've never been to India, so I can't officially say that this was authentic, however, I'm sure that this was the most authentic Indian food I've ever had. Holy cow... we will be eating here again!

Washington Things: Part 1

Ok, y'all. By now you've probably started to see some patterns of things I like to do in a new place. Find good restaurants, do yoga, cook (if possible), and try almost anything and everything considered to be local. After being in Washington for a few days, I've realized that there are WAY too many great local things to just write one post about them, so I'm going to have a little series.

This first one is all about cherries!

When I went to Whole Foods yesterday (I happily ended up at Westlake, the one in downtown Seattle), I was on the hunt for local foods.  As commercialized as Whole Foods has become, I really like how every store tries to carry a unique selection of local items and labels them as such.

My husband loves cherry anything, especially the fresh ones, so when I saw local fresh cherries I had to pick some up.

Holy cow... these are the best cherries I've ever tasted! Like candy, but better! Stemilt gets four thumbs up from us!

Geez... all the exclamation points... you would think I'm trying to rub it in or something.  Basically, if y'all are going to visit Washington State, come during cherry season. Trust me.

I've had to stop myself from eating too many of these while my husband is at the hospital today... they were 'for him' after all!  On second thought....

Raspberry Pie

Yet another dessert I made last week! This is the last recipe, but one of the most special.  It's my husband's Grandma's recipe for raspberry pie.  I've taken a few liberties with her original recipe, though.  I hope she'd approve!

First of all, I start with a pastry crust instead of a graham cracker crust.  Just a matter of preference... I think pastry crusts hold up better to make pretty slices :)

Here are the other two ingredients I've changed.  Truwhip is a 'healthier' (everything is relative), gluten-free version of CoolWhip. Michael's Grandma had raspberry bushes from which she (or Michael) would pick fresh berries for her pies.  I don't have the same luxury, so I use frozen.  Just make sure to thaw them before folding them into the filling. The best part of using the frozen raspberries is that they make the pie a pretty pink color... my husband doesn't appreciate this marvel as much as I do...

Here is my/her recipe:

Ingredients:

1 prepared pie crust (pastry or graham cracker)

1 bag of small marshmallows (her recipe calls for 30 large ones, but I think the little ones melt easier)

1/2 Cup milk 

2+ Cups fresh (or frozen and thawed) raspberries

1 tub of Truwhip (or Cool Whip if you must) thawed

Melt the marshmallows with the milk over a double boiler....

This can take a little time, but again, the process is helped along by using the little marshmallows.

Keep stirring....

Oh thank goodness, my arm was cramping (just kidding... maybe)... 

Allow the melted marshmallows to cool.

Fold the Truwhip and marshmallows together. 

Fold in the thawed (if a lot of liquid comes from the berries, drain them a little) raspberries.

Pour the filling mixture into the baked pie crust.  Refrigerate for a few hours before serving cold.

Yummy!!

We Made It: Seattle Edition

We arrived on the west coast this past Sunday.  I realize that this means a major event occurred two whole days ago, and I am just now getting around to blogging about it.  I realize that this makes me a bad blogger.  I'm trying to live with myself.

Now that that's settled, I can tell you all the things I love about this area so far. 

This:

This is everything.  Beautiful, tall, dark green trees everywhere. It makes me want to go hiking. 

Again with the big gorgeous foliage! Good gracious!

So basically, I can confirm that the Northwest is as picturesque as the Twilight movies, Grey's Anatomy and Sleepless in Seattle led you to believe.  Oh, and the temperature has been hovering around 60-70 degrees.  In June.  This southern girl is having a tough time comprehending that part.

Onto other things I love about being at Fort Lewis!

Our rental car:

Long story short, the Enterprise rental place was running really low on compact cars, so they upgraded us to this 

Volvo XC60. It is super easy to drive and comfortable and has AWD just in case I decide to do something outdoorsy (unlikely, but you never know... I'm in the northwest now!).

The gym, Jensen Family Health and Fitness Center, has free yoga classes 4 days a week! They also have TRX at another gym on post that I am looking forward to trying out!

Einstein Brothers Bagels has two locations on post... this is a major upgrade from the usual restaurant options on military installations (read: McDonalds and Burger King).

Our hotel room at the Rainier Inn is the best we've had thus far, for several reasons.

          - The building was built in 2007

          - There is a kitchenette with two burners, which means I can cook! And I did:

We had seared U10 scallops, risotto, and peas for dinner tonight.  A little fancy for paper plates and no dinner table, but that almost made it taste better... almost :)  Last night we had this pasta dish.

            - The shower maintains a reliable, appropriate temperature.

          - There is free WIFI

          - There is free breakfast downstairs every morning

I am sure there are more things that I love about this area, but right now, I am falling asleep.  Either due to jet lag or the early mornings. Probably both... I can't decide right now.

Key Lime Pie

Last week I also made a key lime pie. Y'all are probably wondering who ate all of the desserts (Rum Cake, Peach Cake, and Raspberry Pie) I made within the past few days.  Actually, you probably don't really care, but I'll tell you anyhow :)

Last weekend was the family reunion of my mother's paternal side, The Peeples. No family reunion would be complete without tons of southern food, so I happily handled most of the desserts. Others brought things like pimento cheese, boiled peanuts, and South Carolina BBQ. I was in food heaven... or maybe a food coma... what I'm trying to say is that I should probably be juicing more! Oh wait, I live in a hotel room... more on that later!

Getting back on track- This was the only dessert I made that didn't come from my own recipe or a family recipe, simply because I don't think it gets any better than Emeril's Recipe.  Its the perfect balance of creamy and sweet and tart and crunchy.  Here are a few photos from when I made this yummy pie!

Graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter mixed together

The crust before baking

The ingredients for the filling (it really doesn't get any easier than this!)

Sour cream mixed with powdered sugar

The finished pie! MMMMM!

Enjoy!

Ok y'all, I'm going to keep this post short and sweet... I think!  I just took a shower, and now I feel this burning desire to tell you all about the shampoo I use.  Strange? Probably, yes.

Oh well... I'm still going to tell you all about it. Lucky you!

About a year ago my MIL gifted me with a little kit of 5 different travel size Enjoy products: the hydrating shampoo and conditioner, the luxury shampoo and conditioner, and some kind of spray that I used as a de-tangler (idk what I was supposed to do with it, but it worked well for that!).  My MIL had built-up Enjoy products to be hair care superpowers, so when I tried the shampoo and conditioners, they had a lot to live up to.  They were even BETTER than I expected! I love it when that happens...

For me, the biggest merits of these products are as follows:

1) You can use less product for better results.  A little goes a long way (even with my long, dried out hair).  I used to buy the JUMBO sized bottles of other shampoos and conditioners because I went through them so quickly... definitely not the case here. I've been working on these bottles for over two months, and there is plenty of product left for another month or so.  Note: it took me awhile to get the hang of how little product I needed to get the job done... practice makes perfect!

2) My soft, smooth, healthy hair. Enough said.

3) The scents. I don't like an overpowering fragrance to my shampoo or conditioner.  All of the scents are nice and mild, but I am nuts over the Hydrating scent. So relaxing and lovely... not too floral or fruity. Perfection.

The price is slightly discouraging (around $25 a bottle, I think), but well worth the money. 

*Warning: It is pretty typical that as soon as I declare my loyalty to a product, it becomes impossible to find or completely discontinued.  I sincerely hope that won't be the case for Enjoy.  It's a tough life being a product junkie ;) 

Rum Cake

This is the other cake that I made today (my mother and I are trying to get a head start on cooking for our family reunion that is coming up this weekend). It's much simpler to make than the Peach Cake, but has even more nostalgia associated with it.

This is one of many original recipe cards written by my great-grandmother, ReRe. She became known for making this cake, and therefore transcribed the recipe (complete with the note about instant vanilla pudding mix: "the kind you don't cook") for many friends and family members.  I love this recipe so much that I baked about 100 miniature cakes to give away in the gift bags at our wedding last summer.  So, thanks ReRe for your awesome Rum Cake recipe.  I miss you!

Ingredients:

1 Box Yellow Cake Mix*

1 Box Vanilla Pudding Mix

1/2 Cup Rum

1/2 Cup Water

1/2 Cup Oil

3 Eggs

*the quantity in boxes of cake mix has decreased since ReRe first wrote this recipe, so I added an additional 1/3 Cup or so from another box of yellow cake mix I had on hand.  However, I think the cake would turn out just fine as is... I was just being cautious.

Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees.

Mix the cake mix and pudding mix together in a bowl with a whisk.  Stir in the rum, water, and oil.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, stirring well after each addition.

Pour the batter into a oiled (or buttered) and floured tube or bundt pan.  Bake for 50 minutes to an hour or when a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, make the rum glaze.

Ingredients:

1 stick (1/2 Cup) butter

2/3 Cup Rum

1/3 Cup Water

1 Cup Sugar

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a bubble over medium heat. Remove from heat.

After allowing the cake to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, turn it out onto a sheet pan with raised edges.

Poke small holes all over the top of the cake using a toothpick.  Slowly spoon the glaze over the top of the cake.  Allow to cool completely before serving.

*Note: This cake only gets better with time.  I always make it at least one or two days ahead of when I want to serve it.

Peach Cake

Two things:
1) This was my most successful attempt thus far at remembering to take process photos throughout a recipe... enjoy!
2) This cake is so incredible... enjoy!

Peel about 10 peaches, savoring the scent as you go... this reminds me of summers at my maternal grandparents' home in Greer, SC.  There are many peach orchards nearby, so nearly every morning when I would walk into the kitchen the sweet scent of freshly cut peaches would welcome me.  Basically, if you have yet to experience the fragrance of fresh peaches, y'all are missing out big time! 

Anyways, cut the fruit off of the pits.  Reserve 1/2 Cup of the peaches.

Dice up the rest of the peaches (should yield about 2 cups, give or take a little).

Now you have all of your ingredients for this lovely cake!

3 Cups Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

2 Sticks (1 Cup) Butter

1 3/4 Cup Sugar

4 Eggs

2 Vanilla Beans (the caviar scraped out)

1 Cup Sour Cream

2 Cups Peaches

Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees.

Sift the flour, baking soda, and baking powder together in a bowl.

Set the bowl aside for the time being.

Action shot alert!  Cream the softened butter in a stand mixer.

Add the sugar to the butter and mix until its light and fluffy.

*not pictured* add the eggs one at a time, mixing well with each addition

Slice the vanilla beans in half, lengthwise, and scrape out the caviar with the back of your knife.  Add all of the vanilla caviar to the egg, butter and sugar mixture.

See all the little vanilla specks?! That means it's gonna taste super yummy...

Alternate adding the flour and sour cream to the batter in small increments, starting and ending with flour.

The batter should end up smooth and thick and creamy and speckled.

Pour half of the batter into an oiled (or buttered) and floured tube pan (or bundt pan).

Sprinkle the diced peaches evenly on top of the batter.

Cover the peaches with the remaining cake batter.

Place the cake in the oven and set the timer for an hour.

While the cake is baking, you make the glaze to pour over the cake.

Take the reserved 1/2 Cup of peaches, and blend them in a food processor or blender until completely smooth.

Stir the puree through a mesh strainer to remove any excess pulp.

Place the peach juice/puree into a small saucepan with 1/2 stick (1/4 Cup) of butter and 2/3 Cup of sugar. Stir all ingredients together on medium heat until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.  Remove the pan from the heat and add 1 Tbs of pure vanilla extract. 

After allowing the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, turn it out onto a rack set over a sheet pan with raised edges.

Take your time brushing or spooning the glaze over the entire cake, allowing the syrup to soak in a little before spreading more.

Once the cake has cooled, it is ready to serve! 

Fresh whipped cream (only slightly sweetened) would make this even more decadent and beautiful.