Delong's Deluxe

DeLong's Deluxe was a local burger place we visited during our last week at Fort Lewis.

All of the Yelp reviews would have discouraged me from going here, but after passing this cute walk-up, eat outside burger place when I was running errands, I thought it would be a fun place to go when my husband was craving a good cheeseburger. 

I was right. Fresh ingredients, not greasy, good service. Definitely not McDonald's prices (I think our meal was around $15 for two burgers, fries and a shake), but the quality and selection was far superior. Also, they offered a military discount (10%, I think), which I really appreciate.

It was a beautiful evening when we went to DeLong's, so sitting outside on their picnic benches was ideal.  We would definitely visit again if we go back to Fort Lewis!

Detox Tea

 I've mentioned a few times now that juicing has found its way back in to my life. Hallelujah! However, I felt as though I wasn't very 'clean' when I started drinking juices again (maybe the abundance of Lean Cuisine in my life has something to do with this...) and wanted to kick start my detox.  By detox I mean getting rid of the bad stuff accumulated in my body so it can absorb all of the awesome nutrients in these juices.

That's where this tea comes in:






















 At one point in time, I went to a detox workshop and learned how to make a homemade detox tea blend.  However, this tastes remarkably similar, and it is SO much easier to just grab a tea bag rather than grinding up your own. Its yummy and dandelion (among other ingredients) is supposed to be very cleansing. Combine that with the natural diuretics that come along with juicing and some yoga, and I feel well on my way to being in tip top shape! A glass of wine here or a chai latte there doesn't hurt, right?

Oh, for those of you not on the juicing train (you're missing out!) or if you're simply bored of reading about liquids, you're in luck! My next post will definitely not be about juice.  I think.

Breaking Promises

Ok, y'all. I have a confession to make. I know I said I would never do this, but I really wasn't given a choice (thanks mom!)! I am juicing in our little hotel room!

Obviously, I'm not actually upset at this new development... juicing is in my soul!!

The little juicer that showed up in the mail from my mom gets the job done, even if the cleaning process is slightly excruciating without access to a disposal.

So there you have it... never say never! New juicing recipes coming soon!

Side note- looking back, I used way too many exclamation points in this post... I guess you can tell that I'm excited!! ;) just a couple more for emphasis...

4th of July

 Just in case you were wondering, we had a perfect little 4th of July here in the northwest. Although my husband had to spend most of the day working at the hospital, we were able to spend a couple of hours together in the evening.

I spent most of the day in Silverdale, WA, with some family friends that I've known for over a decade. It was really lovely catching up with them, and we definitely had some good laughs. They were so thoughtful to pack up some of their cookout fare for me to bring back to Fort Lewis for Michael (whom they have yet to meet!) to enjoy.

Just as Michael and I were about to climb into bed, the base fireworks show began.  We watched the impressive half-hour show from our little hotel window. I can't remember a sweeter July 4th! Happy Birthday America!

Washington Things: Part 4

Last week I decided that I wanted to get something (food-wise) for my husband to take to the hospital for his 'team.'  People periodically bring things in for the group, and I think medical students should participate, too! Although, I was sort of using this as an excuse to check out cool local bakeries.  There was no way I was going to Taco Bell or Domino's Pizza to pick up my husband's contribution (although I'm sure they would've appreciated that, too).

After going online and researching cupcake bakeries and french pastry shops all around the Seattle/Tacoma area, I finally came across Top Pot.  Once I saw their tagline- "Hand-Forged Doughnuts", I knew this place was exactly what I was looking for.  What resident/intern/medical student/attending physician wouldn't want one of these bad boys at insert-ridiculous-time-of-day-here??

This was the top of the box... cute yet masculine. It felt like the packaging for a cool gift... and it was!

This was the precious cargo.  A dozen assorted 'hand-forged' doughnuts!  They have over 40 varieties that rotate through (I'm guessing they had about 20 different flavors available when I was there), so I spent quite a bit of time deciding on these. Aren't they pretty!?  Oh, and I heard they tasted amazing as well... the old fashioned salted caramel and the maple bar being two stand-outs. I think I'll pick some more up 'for the team' before we leave in two weeks!

This was the box of 'some more' that I picked up for my husband's last overnight call... I think they made the 27 hour shift a little more bearable!!

Washington Things: Part 3

In order to continue the theme of making our anniversary very true to our Seattle/Tacoma locale, I found some local 'champagne' (sparkling wine) to have with our cake.  In case you didn't notice from our first, first anniversary in February, cake and champagne together is one of my favorite things.

This 'champagne' comes from a division of Chateau Ste. Michelle, the quintessential Washington winery. It surprised me.  I paid $9 for the bottle at a local Trader Joe's, and at that price, I would definitely buy it again.  I am still partial towards Pommery (real Champagne), of course, but it is more than triple the price.

Also, I'm sure that our faux 'champagne' would've tasted better in actual crystal flutes. These are the glasses that are part of our kitchenette set-up. 

Anyhow, we really enjoyed having our cake and 'champagne' for breakfast!

Year Old Cake

In case you don't know, it is a tradition to save the top layer of wedding cake to eat on your first anniversary. It's supposed to be a sweet reminder of the wedding, and a chance to eat a full slice, rather than just a bite.

Usually, the cake is wrapped, frozen in the back of a freezer, and forgotten until the one year anniversary comes around.  Our poor top tier was not so fortunate.  Because of our transient lifestyle this year, our cake lived with my parents until this past week. Here is a little timeline of what this cake endured:

June 30, 2012- Cake sat out in a 90ish degree room for at least 5 hours (I'll do a throwback post about our      wedding day sometime soon) before being stored in my parent's freezer in Arlington, VA.

July 28, 2012- Cake moves from freezer in Arlington four hours away to my parent's new freezer in Norfolk, VA.

Novermber 2012- Cake moves 25 yards away to yet another new home/freezer at my parent's new home.

June 25, 2013- Cake arrives, semi-thawed in Seattle, WA. Box marked "fragile" is crushed in two places.

This is the end result of such trauma:

Big dent on the left, smooshed in various places across the top...

I had to explain all of that before I could talk about how it tasted because for having gone through all of that, it tasted pretty darn good.  However, it did not taste as good as it did in 2012 when it was one of the best cakes I've ever had in my life.  Almond cake with fresh raspberry buttercream gets a little soggy over time.  Who knew?

We shared a big slice and a bottle of 'champagne' for breakfast... it was the start of the perfect first anniversary!

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!