Adventures of the Amateur Culinary Genius

As most of you know, I love my job. I love my girls. Yes, I call them my girls. I love the moments when, despite their emotions and mistakes of the past, they smile and laugh like any other teenage girl. I love the moments when they see their behavior for what it is and realize they need to adjust. I love the moments of accomplishment when pride beams from their soul. I love the other women I work with. And most of all, I love when they feel like being lazy and ask me to cook dinner. 

I, like many of my girls, am beaming with pride this week having realized what I am capable of. And what is that? Cooking. I have always viewed myself as a so-so chef-in-training who can cook a step above buttered noodles, but this week I see myself for what I truly am: an amateur culinary genius.

On Monday I made honey mustard chicken. It was supposed to be a sandwich, but I improvised and made it into a casserole. And it was delicious. But tonight I succeeded in creating the most daunting dinner I have ever attempted: Spicy Asian Orange Chicken, completely from scratch! I thought it was going to be disastrous; the chicken took forever to thaw and the sauce wasn't thickening like it should and the rice cooked too quickly, but it all came together and no one was the wiser of my fears. And it got rave reviews. Just from looking at the recipe I would have never even given it a second glance. But because my job required me to cook that meal tonight, I had no choice. I had to try. It was stressful knowing that if I failed, 9 girls would have starved tonight. But I did it, and I did it well. And I will have delicious leftovers for lunch. Be jealous. 

For those of you looking for a culinary challenge, here's the recipe to try for yourselves (and for those of you who look at this and say, "Daunting? Ha! It's a piece of orange chicken cake!" I say to you, teach me your ways!)

Asian Orange Chicken

Sauce:

5-1/4 cups water

1/3 cup orange juice

3/4 cup lemon juice

1 cup 3 tbsp rice vinegar

1/2 cup soy sauce

3 tbsp grated orange zest

3-1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1-3/4 tsp minced ginger root

1-3/4 tsp minced garlic

1/3 cup chopped scallions

1 tsp crushed red pepper

~

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/4 water

Chicken:

7 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2" pieces

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

Pour 5 1/4 cups water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce into saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir in the orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, scallions, and crushed red pepper. Bring to boil. Remove from heat and cool 10 to 15 minutes. 

**Optional if time allows** Place chicken pieces in a large Ziplock bag with 2 cups of sauce. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Save remaining sauce. 

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Combine flour, salt, and pepper in another large Ziplock bag. Toss raw chicken in flour mixture until coated. Place chicken in skillet and brown. Set chicken aside.

Wipe out skillet and add remaining sauce. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Mix cornstarch and 1/4 cup water; stir into sauce. Reduce heat to medium-low, add chicken, and let simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve over steamed rice with vegetable of choice. 

My Favorite Places: Roadside Farm Stands

I have many favorite places. One of them I discovered yesterday. Roadside farm stands are amazing! I got a basket of apples and peaches and two ears of corn for 5 dollars. $5!! And they are amazing. So fresh. So delicious. So juicy. And the best part is they were so cheap! How have I never stopped at one before??

One of my favorite parts about being an adult is that I can eat whatever I want for dinner. So tonight I decided to eat freshly harvested corn on the cob and peaches. Best. Dinner. Ever.

I don't have a grill, but I discovered the magical secret to cooking magnificent corn in the microwave. It was the best piece of corn I have ever had. And I would love to share my secret with you.



Magical Microwave Corn on the Cob
-While in the husk, soak it in warm water for 5-7 minutes depending on the size of the ear
-Cook it in the husk in the microwave for 2-4 minutes depending on the size and the microwave (an average size ear in my microwave cooks to perfection in 2 minutes 15 seconds)
-Then husk the corn and cut off the leaves to hold the end (unless you have corn holders)
-Finally I spread butter around the cob and sprinkle lemon pepper on it as well. You can season it to taste as you please
-Then Enjoy!

And if you prefer to eat corn in different forms, maybe this informational video on how to cook popcorn will help you too ;)

The Mysterious Muffin Man Strikes Again!

The house was hushed in the early morning hours as dawn began to break, and the oven was set to 400 degrees. Flour and sugar dotted the counter as the faint scrape of the spoon against the glass bowl echoed through the kitchen. An hour and a half later, a variety of muffins were set on the table as they cooled. There could only be one explanation... THE MYSTERIOUS MUFFIN MAN STRUCK AGAIN!

For two of my roommates, today is the last first day of school. For one of my roommates, today is the first day of first grade (in case you're wondering, today is her first day as a student teacher). And because I am the bum in the basement who is unemployed and looking for a job, I wanted to serve my roommates and make them breakfast. But breakfast got a bit carried away and turned into three batches of mucho mouthwatering muffins! And the best part was that I uniquely invented each one. I loosely based the ingredients on my dad's muffin recipe that he stored in his head (until I asked him to write it down for me, and even that was pretty vague), and they came out pretty great! I used creative ingredients like packets of flavored instant oatmeal, Grape Nuts cereal, Craisins, and frozen berries. And they got rave reviews! If I still can't find a job that fits, maybe I can be a baker... Alas, if only I lived on Drury Lane...

Triple Berry Muffins, Apple Cinnamon Muffins, and Secret Muffins :)

Another Summary in Pictures

I have to give many heartfelt apologies for dropping off the face of the blogging world for so long. I have been in many transitions over the past few weeks, and things have been hectic. There has been lots of packing, unpacking, packing, driving, unpacking, driving, and packing, with quite a few fun adventures and "firsts" mixed in. So, per my style, I'll share what's been going on in pictures...

I had the opportunity to travel to Austin, TX to visit my mom for a few days. It was short, but so much fun to spend time with her!

My parents were in Joplin, MO when the massive tornado hit on May 22. I have a lot of family there, who are all thankfully safe, but this was where my cousin's house once stood. The destruction there is unreal. I was visiting my mom at the time, and so thankful my step-mom was able to get a line out to tell me they were okay!

When I got back from TX, I packed up my little Rav4 with everything I still owned and then left Portland to go to Seattle, where the big trek began. 

But while in the Seattle area, I was able to spend some great time with Josh's family and experienced first-hand the mad bball skills his 7 year-old brother has. Syals got it in the hoop just about every time from just about everywhere on the court! 

Then Josh and I left and began our big drive. But as we went over Snoqualmie Pass, we drove into a rainbow! It was a good way to start a 1700 mile road-trip over six states!

But on the way to Denver we stopped for a few days in SLC and the Three Musketeers had a chance to be together once again! And, as always, Josh and Jackie whispered to each other with their eyes in front of me. I never get to know their secrets...

Once we made it to Denver, we went up to Grand Lake, where my parents have a summer home. While there, Dad and Josh taught me how to shoot! It was so much fun and I even made perfect bulls-eye shots a few times! 

I also caught a fish! It was a pretty big Lake Trout. I hadn't been fishing since I was in middle school and never expected to catch anything. As soon as I reeled it in, I yelled at Josh to come take care of it for me ;)

My cheap dad has finally joined the ranks of Mountaineer members and finally bought a fishing boat! Okay, so maybe it's not quite sized for humans, but it trails a lure behind it and could potentially catch a fish! 

After dropping Josh off at the airport, I made my way up to Fort Collins where I will be spending the summer with Campus Crusade for Christ. As the details of our summer project start to come together, I am getting so excited to work with students here and for the staff conference at the end of the summer!

You can't go to Fort Collins without making a trip to Beau Jo's pizza. Just look at this crust... It's over 2 inches thick and drizzled with honey. Yummm... :)

And tonight, before we got rained and hailed out (golf balls started falling from the sky when we got home), I went to my FIRST drive-in movie! I highly recommend Kung-Fu Panda 2.

So, there's a brief summary about what's been going on in the world of Amie Lou. And now that I am starting to get settled, I should be blogging again regularly. But if it takes another week, please give me grace :)

7 Lessons Learned in the Sun

I did NOT want to leave San Diego. But now that I am back, let me share a bit of wisdom that I gleaned.

1. "If I could offer you one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it..." (Anyone remember that song??) Anyway, I did wear sunscreen, but still somehow burned that first day, and probably because my skin hadn't seen real sun in months. And it wouldn't have been so bad, but I burned my forehead, a V on my chest, and just the tip of my nose. I felt like a clown for a few days...

2. Everyone hypes-up In-N-Out. The hype is real. In-N-Out is amazing. This was my first time, and I was surprised to find that they have Bible verses on everything! When Nathaniel pointed that out, my burger somehow tasted even better... And the fries??? Don't even get me started on the fries. Yummm...

3. Cowboys are funny. One of the new staff who was there last week is a true cowboy. His name even reflects his true nature; his name is Cowboy Bob (no joke, that's what everyone calls him.). Well, one night a bunch of us were in his truck (a true, big, manly, red, cowboy pick-up truck) driving to dinner, someone commented that we were speeding past everyone else. He responded in his cowboy twang, "I'm going 75. I just happen to be doing it faster than everyone else..." I nearly died of laughter.

4. The beach is amazing. This may not be surprising, but having lived my whole life land-locked, I cherished every second in the sand. And learned that you can find amazing treasures washed up on the beach (like the "stylish" sunglasses pictured). One of the things that relaxes me the most is laying on the sand, in the sun, listening to the ocean. So amazing. I did it every afternoon and I feel so refreshed as a result. One afternoon a bunch of us went to La Jolla Beach and watched the sea lions and pelicans. It was amazing. And I got a tan. The Irish always say to not be fooled by a tan, because it is only rust. Well, Portlanders be fooled. This is really a tan :)

5. New friends are super-great. I made a new friend. Her name is Sarah. We went shopping and tried on beachy dresses and walked along the ocean and stayed up late talking about life. I enjoyed it so much. Kinda makes me wish I was still in Utah so we could hang out more. But I am so grateful we got that week to get to know each other.

6. God is good. This was a trip with new Campus Crusade staff, and our seminars every morning were edifying and really challenged me in my walk with God. I spent my mornings walking Pacific Beach with Starbucks and Jesus. It was so wonderful to spend that intimate time with Him and see how God used the whole experience to move me and shape me.

7. I could totally see myself as a California girl. I have grown up in the mountains my whole life in land-locked places, but the few times I have been to the beach and the ocean I love it. I immensely enjoyed my time wandering around Mission Beach this past week. If God called me to  move to So Cal for whatever reason, I know now that I wouldn't argue. I could definitely get used to this...

That VooDoo that TheyDoo so well...

Along with Professor Banjo, another staple of Portland culture is VooDoo Doughnuts. I completely agree that the best things "come in pink boxes." If you ever watch Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, this shop was featured on the Food Network for it's quirky charm and their devilishly delicious twist on the traditional raised-cake-round.

Last night we had a roomie dinner of Chinese take-out, and then Peter (Julia's boyfriend) came over with a big pink box... of VooDoo!! They are famous and known nation-wide for their VooDoo Doll Doughnut and their Maple Bacon Bars. Personally, I enjoy the Fruit Loop best. But they are delicious. And I had one for breakfast. I had the Maple Blazer Blunt and cheered the Blazers on as I ate.

If you have never had a VooDoo doughnut, skip-out on your diet for a day and go. They truly are amazing! And if you've never been to Portland, just come, even for no other reason than the VooDoo that TheyDoo, soooo well...