To Washington and back: An executive summary

As promised, here is my recap of a quick trip to Washington for Nanny's 90th birthday! I'm thankful I got to go, even though I had to leave Justin behind.


After panicked phone calls to both Travelocity and United to make sure I could get through security and onto the plane with a boarding pass that said my name was Christineken, I boarded the plane at San Fran Friday night...it was a small plane, but it was packed.

All them there Washingtonians are good about goin' to see the mothers for Mother's Day, it seems.

I couldn't stop chuckling though once the stewardess started the greeting by saying, "Welcome aboard flight blah blah blah to...um...[longer than acceptable pause to anyone from eastern WA area]..."

"Pasco!" chimed the entire flight with great enthusiasm followed by happy laughs and a round of good-natured high-fives. Maggie summed it up well when I told her the story. She said, "if you're going direct from San Fran to Pasco, that's probably your final destination!" It's true...I think everyone on that plane headed to Pasco was happy to get their country mouse patooties out of the big city.

Mom and Dad met me at the airport - I just love getting picked up by loved ones at the airport...all the giddiness and big hugs make me feel so cared for and missed...no matter how long it's been since we saw each other last.

Saturday was the big day. All aunts, uncles and cousins were on site at 11:15 a.m. to help with set up at the Prosser museum. We had a posters up with pictures from Nanny's childhood, teenage years, adulthood, empty nesthood, grandparenthood and great-grandparenthood. We decorated with all things pink and brought in a beautiful birthday cake, plentiful veggie trays, marinated meatballs, ribbon sandwiches, a tiered cheese tray, assorted fruits, nuts, wine, punch and more. If this wasn't a 90th birthday party, I don't know what is.

The party started at 2 p.m. and while we all had moments of panic where we thought maybe no one saw the ad in the newspaper (Prosser is small, people...we put birthday party invites in the paper), we soon found ourselves directing people to overflow rooms so everyone had a place to enjoy the party. Lots of friends and family came by and Joe even brought his new lady friend and introduced her to the whole family!

Maggie, Kimberly and I were assigned to cake cutting duties. Courtney helped, too. Maggie and I get assigned to a lot of two-person tasks...gift taking, punch pouring, cake cutting. It's our fault though. We once made business cards for our gift-taking business and handed them out at our cousin Carrie's wedding reception. We were hot stuff until the dot-com bust.

It also works out nicely that Maggie is a lefty and I'm a righty...she cuts, I plate. Full disclosure: we only just realized this at Nanny's 90th.

To close out the party we all sang Nanny a song composed by Aunt Barbara. It's written to the tune of the WSU fight song, which I'm sure all of you know. Sing along now, don't be shy:

Cheer - cheer - cheer for Nanny so dear,
She's the birthday girl.
Come on and raise your glass
In toasting this lass,
Best in the west, you know
She gives us her best.
So cheer - cheer - cheer for Nanny so dear,
Hug her and tell her that you care.
Yes, cheer - cheer - cheer - for Nanny so dear,
'Cause she's NINE - TY!

Joe and his girlfriend, Brianna, arrive at the party.Nanny and her birthday cake. Nanny wore a fancy dress ensemble she once wore to the governor's ball as well as one of her kiddo's weddings. Isn't it great! "Brown is a good color on us redheads," she says.
Mom's tiered cheese display.Cousin Kimberly and Aunt Carol setting out pink napkins.

Nanny and Uncle Robert

Both my grandmothers are twins...that's Nanny on the right...she had twins herself. My uterus hurts. TMI...Sorry.

Nanny (middle, tallest) with her mother, Charlotte, and two sisters, Florence and Lois, aka Pat and Looie. I should use this as an opportunity to tell you Nanny's real name is Virginia.

Nanny as a young girl.

Nanny with her children and their spouses. Plus two museum mannequins...pretend they're not there.

Mom's cousins, minus Tom, in the famous cousin picture.

Maggie, me, Carrie, Kimberly and Nanny. I think the arrangement of the four of us and our hairdos is a fun coincidence.

Nanny and me. Maggie said she has a better picture. Ha!

Saturday night my dear old friend Erin came to visit so Maggie, Drew, Erin and I went to the Blues & Brews festival in Tri-Cities. Overall we had a nice time, but it was a low blow to get there and find out it'd been open all day, the taps were closing in 45 minutes, there was a $30 admission fee AND you had to pay for scrip once you made it to the beer garden. It's only slightly embarrassing when you're the one making sure all parties have enough cash only to find out you yourself don't have enough. Story of my life. Luckily I was in good company and taken care of at the Blues & Brews fest.

I saw a few familiar faces from high school and enjoyed catching up with them. None of them believe I actually have a husband, though, because I leave "him" in "California" when I come home to visit. I promise you'll meet this supposed husband of mine someday, folks! My favorite part though was getting in some face-to-face catch up time and laughs with Erin R. We'll be friends 'til the end of time.

Sunday was Mother's Day. I presented mom with new towels to match her new kitchen and we went on a walk to keep her 7 new bypasses in shape. Then we all went to Snipes for a fun brunch with the Olmsteads and the Rabes.

Mom and dad are redoing the kitchen...not all the tile is up on left in this picture, but you get the point. It looks great!

After brunch we went to Nanny's house to deliver Mother's Day gifts. I just love quick 1:1 moments with Nanny where she takes a deep breath, looks at you in the eye and says, "now, how are you doing." Sitting there with her at her kitchen table got me a little teary-eyed thinking of all the memories I have in that house and of her.

Back at home I helped mom and dad with a bit of yard work before everyone came for the BBQ.
Now, let's take a minute here to praise the genius who invented the leaf blower. I grew up in the same house where my parents currently live...they have a big yard full of deciduous trees which is surrounded by orchards with more trees...

Hand me a rake to this day and I'll automatically start spurting out excuses like, "I have a headache, I have a book report, I have a stomach ache, I have a blister on my hand, my brothers are annoying," just to see if you'll let me off the hook.

Hand me a leaf blower and I'll run right out to the yard and blow away every leaf, pine cone and stray branch until the cows come home. Those things...simply life changing.

Peeps came for the BBQ at 6 p.m., which we kicked off with a rousing set of the celebrity name game where one person names a celebrity and the next person names a celebrity whose first name starts with the first letter of the aforementioned celebrity's last name. I'm not one for knowing who sings what or who is who, so I had to skip around the circle early on in the game.

Momma and daddy grilled up some salmon and we all sat around chatting until it was time to get to bed. After saying my goodbyes to everyone and also to Joe who stuck around for a little while longer, the sad tears finally escaped. Only a few of them though.

Maggie and me on the patio Sunday night.

4 a.m. came early Monday as we met Team Chyterbok at Nanny's and carpooled to the Pasco airport :(

:(

:(

The super-strict lady at the security gate didn't bat an eye at my Christineken boarding pass, but she did make me take the chapstick out of my pocket.

I made it back to stupid California in time to stop at Starbucks on my way to work...and now, here we are at day 7 of my return.

As for the ribbon sandwiches...

They consist of layers of:

• white bread
• wheat bread
• chopped olives & cream cheese
• tuna and mayo
• egg salad
• Kraft pimento cheese mixed with cream cheese

Trust me...it's good. Choose three of the *fillings, I like the pimento, olive and tuna myself. Spread a filling on white, top it with wheat, spread the wheat with a filling, top it with white, spread white with the last filling and top it off with wheat. What you have is a cube. Set it aside and start over. Repeat as desired. Wrap the entire loaf(ves) tightly in saran wrap and refrigerate **overnight.

Once they're unwrapped, use an electric knife to slice off the crust. Sneakily take the crusts and go eat them in the other room with your dad and uncles Robert, Lou and Don. Then watch Uncle Lou skillfully carve the cubes in half and then carve the halves into fourths. Arrange on a fancy platter and watch them disappear.

*Be careful not to make the fillings too gooey as they'll make the bread soggy.
**Yes, overnight. The flavors meld and the sandwiches hold together better for cutting and serving.

Forever a Washingtonian,
Christineken

And many more!

Happy birthday to two of my favorite people! These are two people I do not often see, but was lucky enough to spend time with last weekend (post to follow).

Happy 90^th Birthday, Nanny!

I hope I'm in as good of shape and spirits at 90 as Nanny. I also hope my children throw me a 90th birthday party, make ribbon sandwiches and invite all my friends! As I said above...more on this party later.

Happy 27^th Birthday, Maggie!

With our powers combined, we can stop a mountain lion in its tracks. Maggie, though she is my cousin, is more like a sister (I don't actually have a sister...neither does she...we don't really know what having a sister is like...we hear it's nice and one of the best friendships two people can have, so we'll go with it). I love that no matter how long we go between phone calls or visits, we are able to pick up right where we left off.

All our fingers are crossed for another May 12^th birthday…we’re waiting on baby Rabe who is due any day!

Tarragon, Papaya and Jalapenos. Oh my!

I've been taking pictures of recipes, ingredients and dished up delights that have come into my kitchen over the past few months. Though I've finished a blog post about these pictures, I'm still not sure why I took them in the first place. As I went though my camera card tonight, I realized I'd taken A LOT of food prep pictures so I figured I would share them with you, my faithful 11 followers.

Hey, one more follower and I can call you the 12 disciples! Hold on...it seems we do have 12 followers. Wow! We're moving up in the world. I'm 99.9% positive that this morning we had 11 followers.

Anyway...a few things to remember: I'm not a food photographer, I'm by no means an expert chef (as you'll find out when you see the fish and bok choy) and sometimes the hubs and I eat the finished product before we take an "after" picture. Also, I'd like to note that I didn't call you "my disciples." Let's just get that out of the way now.

We'll start with the pictures I took back in January. I told you I've been doing this for a few months! One week in January I decided to flip through my spiral I wrote about earlier and I found a lot delicious treats.

Such as these Turkey Kebabs with Cabbage Slaw.
They were alright. We had a lot of slaw left over, but the turkey and a bit of slaw wrapped up in a tortilla made for a nice lunch the next day. Recipe here.

Then I made this fish dish:
Roasted Sweet & Sour Halibut with steamed Bok Choy. Justin wasn't too pumped about the bok choy, but he ate it anyway, even though I...
...very much over steamed the bok choy. It was a little slimy. Also...the end result does not look nearly as palate pleasing in my picture as it does in the magazine picture. It would seem that the magazine people cheated and removed the cilantro that was cooked with the fish and added new sprinkles before taking a picture. However, let me tell you, this fish dish is most certainly a palate pleaser. The fish exploded with flavor. Recipe here.

I had purchased some parsnips with the intention of trying a root vegetable puree, but thought they sounded better in this recipe:
Honey-Roasted Parsnips. These were so good we forgot to take a picture before we ate them all.

Same as with these two dishes:
Left: these ingredients, mango, cilantro, jalapeno and ginger, were put into a parchment paper pouch and baked all together over chicken. Fabulous. So fabulous, we ate it up quite quick.

Right: some sort of fruit salad featuring papaya. I'd read at work that papaya aids in digestion, and if you know Justin and I well...well, bring on the papaya. Again, this one disappeared before any "after" shots were taken.

This is the second time I've made this dish. The creaminess of the avocado lessens the punch of the cayenne while adding another layer of flavor all at once.
Cayenne-Rubbed Chicken with Avocado Salsa. Recipe here.

Now, moving on to the meal I prepared yesterday. The weather was definitely bbq weather on Sunday so Justin and I picked up a salmon and lots of fresh produce at the store after church. This is what I made with it all:
Appetizer: Giada's White Bean Dip, served with bagel chips. Recipe here.

"Extra-Special Tabbouleh with Avocado and Feta" salad.

And Grilled Salmon with Fresh Tarragon and Crushed Fennel [Butter].

The tabbouleh salad was so fresh and so flavorful. I sauteed some chicken tonight, diced it, piled it on top of left over tabbouleh and added a few chunks of avocado for our dinner. I'm definitely going to make this again, but I might skip the tarragon salmon and go straight for diced chicken.

The salmon was ok...I think I'll stick with just lemon and dill on my salmon though. I love me some salmon and the tarragon and fennel just didn't do it for me.

As a reminder, I never said I am a great food photographer. I'm sure there are rules about photographing such things as food (the lighting, placement, finished product layout, etc.), but I was more excited about eating the food than arranging it and letting it get cold.

If there is one thing that can make me upset, it's my dinner getting cold. And now you know.

The nerve!

My boss did the most horrible thing last week.
He booked a night for Justin and me, for free, at a bed & breakfast in Half Moon Bay.
Can you think of a more horrible thing for a boss to do? The nerve!

The weather was to be about 70-75 F and the bed & breakfast was said to deliver breakfast to your room. Fresh fruit, coffee, a banana orange smoothie, champagne (if you wish), a warm croissant and a “cheese delight” blintz.

It just keeps getting worse.

And they’ll bring you a cheese, cracker and fruit tray any time you want! Ugh!


The reason he booked us a room was so I could do a write up for our e-newsletter as we’re holding a contest for our customers. Whoever brings in a new customer is eligible. Bring in a new customer and that new customer will be entered to win a free one night stay for four, so two rooms total, at the bed & breakfast that they’re able to use at their leisure.

So, what I’m really saying is: you should move to California so I can introduce you to our store. That way you can win the contest and we can all go back to the B&B for free!

We had a fun little get away at the B&B. It’s right down town next to all the quirky shops, restaurants and coffee shops. We walked to Pasta Moon for dinner, it was about a 2 minute walk, where I chose the diver scallop spaghetti (five large scallops, melted green garlic, chives, grapefruit zest, fennel pollen, toasted pistachios) from the menu, while Justin enjoyed linguine manila clams (manila clams, pancetta, leeks, garlic, red pepper flakes, clam broth, Italian parsley). We later retired to the bar for a night cap where we discovered one of the crew was someone we knew.

“What? How,” you ask. “California is big and you guys stay in your apartment all the time!”

It’s true. We saw someone we knew who we didn’t know would be there. We were pretty excited about randomly choosing a place for dinner and running into someone we knew. We thought we were pretty cool at that point. Who wouldn’t want to know us?!

Justin nearly passed out in the hot tub after we got back to the B&B. He’d had a hard week and was exhausted. And the night cap didn’t help. I thought he was joking, but when he didn’t open his eyes for a good minute, I helped him out and tucked him in bed.
Breakfast was delivered, as promised, in the morning. It came complete with champagne and was free of bell peppers (I’m allergic). Then we walked through town, drove to the Half Moon Bay Brewery for lunch outside where my scalp got sunburned (but I’d do it again in a heart beat – the weather was perfect!) and then we headed home.
Once we were home we did what we always do on the weekend. Popped in Sopranos, ate dinner and sat on the couch until it was time for bed.

Now, I need to pull my head out of the weekend fog and start working on the B&B article for work. The whole reason we went in the first place. The boss…what a guy!

What I did last night...because I know you're all waiting with bated breath...

Last night I got home and parked in the area close to building so I would have a reason to go outside again…the intention was for me to change my clothes and go to the gym. I knew it’d be hard for me to do so after getting in the house.

Instead, when I went inside, I grabbed a bag of chips, stood in front of the heater, ate the chips and said out loud to myself, “Just go to the gym. But I don’t want to go to the gym. If you go to the gym you can have mac n’ cheese when you come home. Just go to the gym. I don’t want to go to the gym.”

Finally I changed and went to the gym.

When I got home I did the blasted dishes.

For dinner I reheated the last turkey patty and made another Winter White Burger…a spin at the gym always makes me feel better and less lazy so I was able to talk myself out of making and eating an entire box of mac n’ cheese.

Then I flopped on the couch, watched “Modern Family,” ate my turkey burger and then stared at the wall for a little bit. I told you that would happen.

Then I went in the kitchen to see if I could find a snack. I found the chocolate frosting and grabbed a spoon.

Then I flipped through the channels and discovered that “Steel Magnolias” was on Oxygen. It was half over, but I watched it anyway. I also cried, like I always do. It’s funny…I’ve watched this movie at least once a year since I was 14, when I first watched it at my friend Heather’s house, and every time I watch it I pick up on something new. I also feel more for M’Lynn even though I’m not a mom.

I also laughed like I always do, especially when Ouiser turned around after being presented as a punching bag for M’Lynn and yelled at Clariee, “You are a pig from hell!” I am not ashamed to admit I thought Ouiser was “Weezer” until just now when I looked it up out of curiosity. Her name is Louisa, or “Ouiser,” apparently. I didn’t grow up in the South, y’all.

When the last half of the movie was over I watched the first half because the movie aired back to back. Convenient, if I do say so myself

Then I thought about this as blog fodder, brushed & flushed (that’s for you, Lins) and got in bed to wait for my Justin to call.

Oh movies at Heather’s. It’s what filled my weekends as a tween. We watched a lot of movies at her house, on the floral couch, wrapped in blankets…when we weren’t eating turkey bagels with lots of pickles, painting our finger nails, naming the new kittens, prank calling boys or putting together different concoctions of food and herbs for in-home facials using ‘recipes’ from American Girl or Seventeen.

Heather, when come visit, make sure you bring “Little Women” and all the other movies I’m sure your mom still has in the basement. You’ll need to bring a VHS player, too :)

That was a mean trick to play, brain.

Justin is working out of town for a few days this week. I know he must have told me it would be more than one day, but in the week that passed from the time he told to the day he actually left, my mind let me believe he’d be back today. That was a mean trick to play, brain.

Justin will be gone for three days. Not one day.

Now…we’ve spent plenty of time apart before. He used to be gone all the time when we lived in Washington. He’d be gone for big chunks of time, too. However…since we moved to California he hasn’t been gone that much, and since he was the only other soul I knew in the San Jose area, I’ve come to rely on him to be everything from my best girl friend to my best guy friend, from my husband to my happy hour pal and from my errand partner to my silent couch potato buddy.

I’ve actually been the one gallivanting off to other states for surgeries, funerals and the like. Neither activity falls under the exciting trip/gallivanting category, but I wanted to use the word. It’s a word I remember my mom using a lot during talks she’d have with the three of us about not calling to let them know where we were. Not that we did that a lot, but I definitely associate the word “gallivanting” with mom lectures :)

But I digress…

I don’t like when Justin is gone for a few days because:

• My coffee doesn’t taste right (Justin puts it in my to go mug in the mornings with the right amount of creamer. Try as I might, I can’t duplicate it).
• My toothbrush looked lonely as the only one in the holder.
• I don’t have anyone to scare while they’re in the shower (I like to flicker the lights…though I’m sure he expects it now and it doesn’t startle him as much).
• I have to put an extra blanket on the bed (Justin is a heater in human form).
• I don’t get a goodbye hug/kiss in the morning or a welcome home hug/kiss at night.
• All the sudden I feel like I can’t go anywhere or do something by myself. Even something as simple as go grocery shopping. I don’t know why. I used to do things by myself all the time. I’ve come to discover that even mundane, menial tasks, like picking up dry cleaning or getting my beans ground at Starbucks, are more exciting when we’re together. And because California is full of dark, scary streets and questionable characters. Don’t believe me? This is why you won’t catch me in Oakland. Oh, and this, too.
• I start thinking about earthquakes and how, just because I’m alone, one is likely to strike any second.
• And because of that I panic and ask Justin to text me his hotel information just in case the earthquake strikes. And it probably will any second.
• I miss the smell of him getting ready in the morning, from his Truefitt & Hill 1805 shaving cream (a brand I got him while in London; it’s a bit of a splurge, but it’s worth it. The tubs last forever. And I like the smell), to his shampoo, to the smell of the steam from the iron as it works away the wrinkles on a clean dress shirt, to the scent of his cologne.
• Guitar Hero is much more exciting when two people play.
• Most of all, I don’t like the weird, lonely feeling I get in my tummy after we’ve been apart for more than 24 hours. I used to get that when we dated, too.

On the other hand…

• I can eat asparagus, artichokes, squash and Brussels sprouts to my heart’s content (yes, I like Brussels sprouts and, yes, there is an s at the end of Brussels. You should give them a second chance using this recipe. Or try them sautéed with bacon/pancetta. Bacon makes everything better.).
• I can watch "Twilight" and "New Moon" movies all night long if I want to.
• There are fewer dishes (hallelujah).
• I don’t have to listen to the stupid robot thing on Justin’s game (Borderlands??) yell out, “I’m over here!” and “Check me out, I’m dancin’, I’m dancin’!”

That’s really all the “on the other hand” things I can think of. None of which help build a good case for an argument about why it’s good to spend time apart. Maybe I’ll think of more as I sit tonight (with my artichoke) at home and stare at the wall, waiting for his phone call. I probably won't come up with any more.

Hurry home, Justin! I miss you!

Team Thompson Cooks

I subscribe to a few foodie magazines: Every Day with Rachael Ray, Martha Stewart's Everyday Food and Sunset...I've limited myself to three, well two and a half...I count Sunset as the half, because I like to keep the magazine around for ages, no matter if I've torn out all the recipes I want to try -- even if I've torn out so many that I'm left with only a front and back cover! I get the other, more hardcore, foodie publications, such as Bon Appetit, as bonuses at work. I rip those, too, to shreds.

Special thanks goes out to my MIL Karen for renewing my subscriptions for my birthday!

I tear out the recipes and then tape them in different spiral notebooks. The notebooks are then filed, according to different categories (main course, appetizer, drinks, party themes, desserts, etc.) in a fun filing box I got at Target last year while unemployed and living in an RV.

Slowly but surely we're making our way through the spirals. A few weeks ago we finally made Rachael Ray's Winter White Burger when I magically found all the necessary ingredients had made it to my kitchen. Unless you're one of my adult family members who have regular get-togethers where one of the entertaining staples is jalapeno jelly, cream cheese and crackers, jalapeno jelly isn't something you usually keep around. However, knowing it was featured in one of my spiral recipes, I picked some up at the store a few months back.

Justin and I LOVED this recipe. We loved it so much that I have "pear" written on the back of my left hand so I remember to pick one up before I head home tonight because we're having them again! I recommend you try them out, too!

Winter White Burger
From Every Day with Rachael Ray

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds ground turkey breast
• 4 scallions, white parts only, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• Grated peel and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 ripe Bartlett pear, cut lengthwise into 8 slices
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 2 cups shredded sharp white cheddar cheese (I used an Irish cheddar from Kerrygold)
  
• 4 tablespoons hot pepper jelly or jalapeño jelly
• 4 extra-large English muffins, split and toasted

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine the turkey, scallions, mustard, lemon peel and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Shape into four 3/4-inch-thick patties.

2. In a small nonstick skillet, add the pear slices, wine, lemon juice and enough water to just cover the pear. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the pear is softened, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pear slices to a plate.

3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the EVOO, 1 turn of the pan, over medium heat. Add the turkey patties and cook, turning once, for 12 minutes. Top with the cheese and pear slices, tent the pan with foil and cook until the cheese is melted, 2 minutes.

4. Spread 1 tablespoon hot pepper jelly on each English muffin bottom; top with a patty and an English muffin top.