Steep and Deep

After much talk about taking some kind of a ski lesson or camp, Alex and I finally took the plunge and signed up for a “Steep and Deep Ski Clinic” at our home resort, Crystal Mountain. We took the clinic last week and came away with some great tips to work on to improve our skiing technique.

Our instructor, Doug, has over 30 years of ski instructing experience under his belt and let me tell you, he is a phenomenal skier. It was so helpful to have someone with that experience be able to critique our style and tell us what we need to work on to accomplish some of the goals we have to take our skiing ability to the next level. Both of us had similar goals going into the clinic; we mainly wanted to be more fluid skiers on steeper terrain.

Doug’s suggestions for us included changing our hand position and pole plants, keeping our body position not so perpendicular to the fall line and to change our stance/weight placement and to do more carving instead of sliding. It’s a lot to work on and a lot of new styles and techniques to put together all at once, so we set out to practice putting the pieces together yesterday. We lapped one of our favorite steepish runs, Bear Pits, several times, and skied the bumpy blue bowl and a few runs in Green Valley to test our skills. We’re both to the point now that we can tell when we are reverting back into our old ways, so I’m hopeful that these new techniques will soon feel more natural.

Brown Butter Waffles with Cherry Sauce

It’s a gloomy, foggy Saturday morning in Seattle. Alex isn’t feeling well today so we’re not heading up to the mountains, so that gives me some time to whip up a nice Saturday breakfast for us. Butter is one of my favorite foods, but brown butter just turns up the flavor ever so much more. If you’ve never baked with brown butter before, here’s your chance.

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Brown Butter Waffles with Cherry Sauce

adapted from Williams-Sonoma / serves 2

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup cherries (I used dried)
  • 2T honey
  • 1/4 to 1/3 cup real maple syrup
  • 2T unsalted butter
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 large egg, separated
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 T sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat a waffle iron. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter and cook for approximately 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the butter turns a golden brown color. Transfer to a medium bowl and let it cool slightly. Add the milk, egg yolk and vanilla and whisk to combine.

In a large bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the milk mixture and whisk until it is just combined. In another medium size bowl, whip the egg white until soft peaks form, using a whisk or handheld mixer. Gently fold the egg white into the batter.

Depending on your waffle maker, pour approximately 1/2 cup of batter onto the grid. Close the lid and bake the waffle until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove waffle and serve immediately with cherry sauce or keep warm in a 200 degree oven while you repeat the baking process of the remaining waffle.

While the waffles are cooking, heat a small non-stick skillet over low heat. Add the cherries, honey and maple syrup and stir to coat the cherries with the mixture. Once warm, transfer to a serving dish and spoon over hot waffles.

Quick Trip to Minnesota

I’m not sure how I am filling up my time so well now that I have an excess, but it makes me wonder how I packed in so much before. Needless to say, the Allens have been quite busy lately!

Last week was full and fun! We went night skiing on Wednesday after Alex finished working, then Thursday we ate dinner at the chef’s table at one of our favorite spots, Restaurant Bea, with our friends, the Millers. This past weekend I flew out to Minnesota to spend a few days with my family and attend my grandmother’s memorial service, while Alex spent the entire weekend skiing with some friends.

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The funeral service for my grandmother was very nice. I really enjoyed the message and thought that the reverend did a wonderful job. After the service we toured the wing where my grandmother most recently stayed and got to meet one of her favorite nurses who cared for her. I am so thankful for the staff at Friendship Village, especially her nurses, and for the opportunity she had to live there, with her lifelong friends, and receive top-notch care.

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Saturday was a whirlwind with the funeral service and luncheon, followed by a quick trip to Southdale to splurge on a new pair of sales tax-free boots (!), then on to a family dinner. We ended the night at the Sofitel where we enjoyed an after dinner glass of wine and some profiteroles and read through the cards and notes we received at the funeral. It was lovely to get a chance to spend so much time with my extended family who I see so rarely. I enjoyed playing catch up.

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On Sunday, I hosted an informal brunch at my mom’s house with my high school girl friends. I got to meet little Adeline, Kailey’s one year-old, for the first time, as well as see Molly’s second baby bump for the first time. It was wonderful to have an afternoon of girl time, complete with a clothing exchange.

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I did get to spend some uninterrupted time with my parents and my brother. My mom and I split a perfect dinner at Rudy’s Red Eye Grill in White Bear on Sunday night, then came back and chatted with John a bit. I spent Monday morning with my dad and we hit two of my old go-to restaurants (4 Seasons for breakfast and Roman Market for lunch) and toured his new house before he dropped me back off at the airport to head back to Seattle.

It was a quick weekend trip, but it was so nice to see everyone!

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Weekly Recap

With heavy hearts full of memories, Alex and I laid our sweet Aspen to rest yesterday. One of our favorite things to do with Aspen was to take her up to the mountain where we ski and go for hikes in the snow with her. I never saw her happier than she was when she was bounding through fresh powder, catching snowballs in her mouth or just prancing along on the snowy path. We thought it would be a perfect place to spread her ashes. We walked up the trail where we usually took her on a little hike and we found a beautiful clearing where she now rests in peace. Now, every time we go up to Crystal Mountain, Aspen will be there with us, watching over us.

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We made the most of the rest of the day yesterday and had a great time skiing with Carrie and Patrick. There was a bizarre temperature inversion and it was foggy and 35 degrees in Seattle, but it was sunny and 45 degrees at the top of the mountain. It was such a treat to have a spring ski day in the middle of January! The snow was fun to ski in and we came across some new runs and new areas that we had never skied before. It always amazes us how much Crystal Mountain has to offer!

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Our week was much less exciting than the last one, which, given the circumstances, I am a-okay with. The main highlight is that we are doing a bit of decorating in our house. We have purchased/ordered several things for the walls to jazz up the rooms a bit, so once everything arrives and is hung, I will post some pictures now that we will finally have some completed spaces in our house. After this week, hopefully our music-themed media room will be decorated and done. Then… onto the dining room. Maybe by the time we sell our house it will be completed!

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Sunday Roasted Chicken

IMG_1282For my first food post I decided to highlight one of my favorite meals: roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy. On this very chilly January evening, Alex and I enjoyed this most delicious meal, accompanied by roasted vegetables and a big glass of vino.

In creating the photographs and staging for this post I really gained a lot of respect for food bloggers. Food photography is extremely difficult on its own, but photographing a piece of food I’d like to eat while it’s hot is another thing. It took quite a bit of time, creativity and re-positioning to get a few halfway decent photos, so bear with me while I get the hang of it.

Roasted Chicken

Ingredients:

  • 1 whole chicken – I used a 3 pound chicken
  • 1/4 cup onion, large chop
  • 1 stalk celery, quartered
  • 1 lemon, quartered
  • 1 sprig of thyme
  • 3-4 tablespoons butter, melted or room temperature
  • Salt – about 1 tablespoon
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425.IMG_1276

Remove chicken from packaging, discard giblets/neck packet/loose innards. Rinse the chicken thoroughly then dry the skin with a paper towel. Spray a roasting pan {or deep casserole dish} with cooking spray. Place the chicken in the roasting pan, breast side up. Drop about 1/2 tablespoon of butter into the cavity of the chicken, along with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Insert the onion, celery, lemon and thyme sprig into the cavity of the chicken.

To prepare the skin of the chicken, slather on the remaining butter – I find it’s easier to use melted butter because it sticks to the chicken better, but you can use  room temperature butter just the same. Be sure to cover all exposed skin areas with butter, then sprinkle on approximately 2 teaspoons of salt. Give the chicken a very light sprinkle of garlic powder and onion powder, about 1/2 teaspoon each.

Now you need to tie up the chicken legs – using kitchen string, make a figure 8 around the legs to pull them up over the breast to protect it from cooking too fast and drying out. Snip off any excess string. I like to make a very small aluminum tent over the tip of the wings to prevent them from burning. Just grab a very small piece of foil and fold it over the tips of the wings.

I find it extremely easy and accurate to use a digital probe thermometer as a way to know when my chicken is ready to come out of the oven. The probe thermometer gets stuck into the bird and then stays there for the duration that the chicken is in the oven – it’s attached to a digital thermometer which stays outside the oven and beeps when the chicken is ready to come out. I set my thermometer to 158 degrees, place the chicken into the oven and remove it promptly when it does reach 158, which will be around an hour if you have a 3 pound chicken. As the chicken cooks, be sure to check on it a couple times and drizzle the pan drippings on the chicken to keep it moist. Let the chicken sit on a cutting board for about 15 minutes before carving to let the juices re-distribute and give you enough time to make mashed potatoes and gravy.

Roasted Vegetables

IMG_1278I typically make roasted vegetables at least once a week using whatever veggies I’ve got on hand. I don’t have a “go-to” recipe or vegetable combination; for this meal, I used carrots, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and Brussels sprouts. Chop the desired veggies into relatively similar sizes to allow for even cooking, then place on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Drizzle on 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, sprinkle some salt and toss to coat the vegetables in oil.

Cook the veggies in a preheated 425 degree oven for 15-20 minutes (some thick/tough veggies, like potatoes, may take longer, and thin veggies, like asparagus, may cook quicker, so peek in the oven every now and then!). Watch for the veggies to get brown around the edges and be fork-tender, then remove and serve promptly.

Gravy

I feel like gravy is an intimidating thing to make from scratch, but quite honestly, it’s one of the easiest things I can think of to make.

Ingredients:

  • Pan drippings from chicken (or you can use butter)
  • Flour
  • Chicken stock
  • Salt

Directions:

In a saucepan or the roasting pan you cooked your chicken in (be sure it’s safe to use on the stove), heat the pan drippings from the chicken over medium-low and add the flour. Use equal parts pan drippings and flour – I’d suggest 2 tablespoons each. Whisk these together for a minute or two to make a roux. Slowly whisk in chicken stock. Start with 1 cup and whisk in more to thin out the gravy as necessary. For 2 tablespoons of flour/drippings, you should need 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock to yield a good gravy consistency. Let the gravy simmer on low while you finish the rest of the dinner. Taste it and add salt if/as necessary to enhance the flavor of the gravy.

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Mashed Potatoes

My mashed potato recipe is so good that I just can’t share it. Maybe another time after I figure out the ratios… It’s a bit unorthodox the amount of butter I use…

Weekend Fun, Sun, Laughs

We’ve had a great weekend filled with fun, sun and lots of laughs. We kicked off the weekend by seeing Book of Moron, a Broadway musical by the writers of South Park. It was well-done and kept us laughing the whole time!

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Saturday we relaxed at home in the morning and headed up to Alpental for some mid-day skiing. We met up with Patrick, Carrie and Emily and enjoyed a bluebird day. Alex brought his Contour camera (it’s a small, portable video camera that mounts to his helmet so he can record his ski day), so we’ll plug it in today and see if we got any good footage. The video always looks better when the skies are clear, which is a rarity for us here in Washington. Alex is becoming quite the speed demon on the mountain – Patrick better watch out!!

WP_20130112_005Today we’ll just get some stuff done around the house. With all that has happened in the last week or so we have put our to do list to the back burner, so we’ll just do some catching up today. It’s been a VERY chilly week here in Seattle – normally the temperature is 45 +/- about 3 degrees, but it’s gotten below freezing here most days in the last week. We aren’t used to scraping our cars, straying away from the usual fleece jacket, or cranking up the heat so much!

Check out the mountain reflection in Carrie’s goggles:

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What’s Next?

This has been a week of significant loss. We lost our puppy, my grandmother, and now, basically my job (my hours were significantly reduced, which means I am in the market for a new job). I am determined to move on from the difficult week and turn things around for the better. My roller coaster ride is on its way back up and I am focusing on the positive things I have going on in my life, along with the positive opportunities I can create for myself and others.

Now that I will have a lot more time in my days, I’d like to fill that time with productive and thoughtful tasks and activities. I’m sure I will spend a lot of time looking for a new job, but also doing things I enjoy most: writing, reading new books on my Kindle, cooking, planning our upcoming trip to Hawaii (!!!!!), pinning new recipes on Pinterest, working on projects around the house, going to the gym in the middle of the day, along with mentally preparing for our next puppy, and just enjoying time to myself while I’ve got the chance. I also plan to volunteer more and see what good deeds I can come up with.

My first good deed was calling Aspen’s doggie daycare and asking them to donate Aspen’s remaining pre-paid sessions to Aspen’s best doggie friends who she loved to play with. We gave away Aspen’s open bags of kibble to her puppy friend, Emma, and we will give the extra canned food to a local pet food drive.

We’ll see what’s next on the list!

Another Goodbye

Comb Family Photos 14This morning my grandmother, Mor Mor, crossed over the rainbow bridge after living a very long and full life. She is now peacefully resting, hopefully reunited with her loves in some capacity. For many years now she has told us all candidly that she has been ready to cross over the rainbow bridge. Now that the time has come, I am just left with many fond memories of our time together.

 

My Mor Mor was a wonderful part of my life. In my adult years, Sundays were our day to chat on the phone, that is, until she could no longer hear me at all. I will always remember our conversations – she made me laugh, told me a saucy story of her days as a Tri Delt, talked about memories of her marriage or first love, Ted Jones, and spoke about life’s greatest gifts.

 

Ali & Mor Mor 2003

We could all learn a thing or two from her. She was always there when you needed her, she was so thoughtful with her words and had so many lifelong friends. I am so thankful that my grandmother was able to live her last decade or so at Friendship Village. This facility is basically like a dorm for the retired. She was living among friends whom she was in 7th grade with at Ramsey Junior High. I know that living at Friendship Village kept her active and social and close to most of her children.

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One of my favorite recent memories of her was from the last time I saw her, which was over the summer at the cabin. She told me that the ring that she has worn for as long as I can remember was the engagement ring she was given by her first love, Ted Jones. I asked her why she wore that one instead of the one my grandfather gave me. Her response was matter-of-fact, “Well, the stone is bigger.” I think it’s safe to say I got my love of nice jewelry from her.

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As we say goodbye, my thoughts are with my father and his siblings, who were all so lucky to have her as their mother, along with my great aunt Janice and her family.

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My cousin, I believe, made a wonderful collection of family photos. Here are a few to remember:

Always a woman of style!

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Her beautiful family

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Sisters

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Gratitude

As we grieve the loss of our puppy I continue to be overwhelmed by the support and condolences offered by our friends, family and the community. I really just wanted to take a moment to thank you for being there for us in this difficult time.

A special thanks to:

My dad. My dad is dealing with the imminent loss of his mother and he is still saddened by the news of Aspen and supportive of us. He knows how important Aspen was to us and somehow with all that he’s got going on he has been so invested in knowing how we are faring. Thank you dad.

Alex’s parents. Donna and Stan just got to see one of Aspen’s best weeks while we were up in Whistler. They cared for Aspen the first week of her life away from the breeder and brought her out to us while Donna was experiencing the loss of her father. We so appreciate the love you had for our Aspen. We know you are sharing the grief we are experiencing.

My mom. My mom never got to meet Aspen and yet, still has gotten worked up over the situation. She always asked how our little furball was doing and continued to be there when things turned for the worse.

Rachel, our puppy class instructor. Rachel said some of the kindest, most heart-felt words about Aspen and the situation. We were currently enrolled in her puppy class and our next class was supposed to be tonight. She dedicated the class to Aspen. Thank you, Rachel, for your instruction and unbelievable kindness.

Ali. Thank you for crying on the phone with me. And thank you for all the toys and treats you have given Aspen over the last few months.

Sara. Thank you for the beautiful flowers, the visit and the continued calls and emails. You are so thoughtful! We are going to miss our play dates with Emma.

Our vet, the techs, and the staff at the emergency vet. We were provided with amazing care to the end. Our vet, Dr. Jones, and his tech were crying with us as we said goodbye. A special thank you to the emergency vet for the lovely card.

Dr. Ruhland at St. Paul Pet Hospital. Thank you for your consultation and support of our decision. You really helped us feel secure about the decision by providing a second opinion. I will always be grateful.

Sarah. Thank you for always listening and for your empathy. I’m sad that you won’t get to meet Aspen in March.

Carrie. Thank you for coming to visit me and bringing such a special bottle of wine. I appreciated the company in my ultra-quiet house.

Our extended family. Thank you for the calls and emails. We so appreciate your concern and thoughts.

To everyone else who called, emailed, sent us a card in the mail, texted, commented on our blog, or sent us a facebook message, thank you so much. It is so comforting to know we have such an incredible network of family and friends. While things have been tough, we have so much to be grateful for. Thank you.

Goodbye Aspen

Last night we said goodbye to our sweet puppy, Aspen. It all came so fast, but watching her condition progress so quickly and see her as we did yesterday, we knew that we couldn’t allow her to continue on with her life and experience severe kidney failure, which was imminent. It was the most difficult decision I have ever been faced with, but we wanted Aspen to go peacefully and without enduring any unnecessary pain.

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Aspen and I got off to a pretty rocky start. The first six weeks of our co-existence together were really tough. I had never had a dog before, let alone a puppy, and was completely unprepared for what having a puppy means. Both of us were trying to figure out each other and we were competing for Alex’s #1 girl. Thankfully I won. Once I got to know Aspen a bit better and understand her personality and her quirks things only went up from there. This challenging time in our relationship taught me patience, among other things. I learned so much from Aspen and we shared so many good times and wonderful memories together.

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We know that it is rare to lose a puppy at such an early age, but we are devastated at the loss of her and of our investment in her lives with us. Our days really revolved around Aspen, we planned our Saturday ski days around her, our weekends at home were organized around her schedule, and our free time was consumed in spending time with her. Before we got Aspen we talked about how we wanted to train her. We decided that her training would be positive reinforcement. We ultimately put her through one and a half puppy classes and hours upon hours of training at home and at the park to cement that training. We wanted Aspen to have a safe place to run around outside, so we spent the better half of the summer completely renovating our backyard and building a fence for her. We did our research on puppy food and ended up getting a top-of-the-line kibble and canned food for her that contained wholesome ingredients instead of chemicals and by-products. The last couple of months have given us a glimpse into what Aspen could have been as a mature dog. Now, we are dealing with the loss of our investment in her future. We will never get to see what could have been.

After we got home last night Alex said that he was glad that of all of the puppies in Aspen’s litter that we were the ones to get her, even though she was the first to go. Aspen has never really been completely healthy in her life with us, but we are confident that we did everything we could to provide the best care for her. We are so thankful that we were able to provide the necessary level of care for Aspen from start to finish.

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I will miss Aspen so much. I never thought I’d become so fond of her as I have over the last 4 months or so, and I never imagined that saying goodbye would be this agonizing. She will always be a part of our family. Every time I walk past the kitchen I still expect her to be sitting there wagging her tail with her Garfield toy in her mouth. It will take some time to deal with her loss, but I know it will get easier.

It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our sweet Aspen.

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