This is not a FOOD BLOG

This is not a food blog.  This is a blog about our first year of marriage.  But in this marriage, we love food.  We watch a lot of Food Network TV, so we often pretend that we are on a cooking show, Chopped or something, and we have to come up with a recipe using the random ingredients we have on hand.  So, I made this... and it was epic so I must share.  I didn't measure anything (because I was using leftovers) , so, if you decide to make this masterpiece yourself,  use your own judgement regarding the rationing of ingredients.  We found that this dish pairs famously with Chardonnay.  Un-Oaked Chard is my preference, and we try to drink organic or local wine, so I served this with Messina Hof (Texas grown and crafted) Un-Oaked Chardonnay.  Delicious. 

1.  Mix together!

Ground Turkey
1 egg
Crushed Walnuts
BBQ sauce
Grated Parmesan Cheese
3 cloves of minced garlic
salt and pepper

2. Sauce!

Melt some butter
Add crushed garlic
Cook for a minute or so
Add Heavy Cream
Add some blue cheese
Cook over low heat, melting the cheese, stirring and cooking to desired consistency.  Ours was kind of thick and creamy.

3.  Grill the burger, toast the bun, slather BBQ sauce and gorgonzola cheese sauce onto bun, add burger, a slice of avocado, and serve.

P.S.  We grew this tomato, and it was good.

Remember the Alamo

We often make pizzas at home.  Last night we were wanting to top off our lazy weekend with a pizza and wine night, but instead of the usual Mediterranean style that we go for, I wanted to try something new.  I have an obsession with The Alamo Drafthouse's Spicy Bleu Burger.  I crave it weekly and am often convinced  when I am feeling especially lethargic, blue or just simply ravenous, that the spicy bleu burger will cure what ails me.  So, when we were wandering aimlessly around the grocery store last night collecting mushrooms, pizza sauce, mozzerella... I felt bored by our selection and with very little convincing, got Kayla on board to make a pizza inspired by my favorite Alamo menu item.  It was a huge hit!  The act of putting the pizza together even inspired a new dinner party idea.  It will be a series of  parties where one or two other couples bring the ingredients to make their favorite menu item or dish into a pizza!  Kayla brilliantly termed the title of the series "Make it into a Pizza!"  And so it was.

First, I browned my hormone free, grass fed hamburger meat in some canola oil.  I seasoned the beef with some cayenne pepper, lemon pepper, ginger, turmeric and some fresh herbs from the garden (thyme and winter savory).  When it was almost browned, I put in large chunks of fresh garlic, about 3 cloves.  We like garlic around here.

Next I prepare my crust.  We eat gluten free around  so we used Udi's pre made pizza crust.  It comes in a package of two small crusts.  Udi's has a sweeter taste than average pizza crust, which pairs perfectly with the rich and spicy flavors we are about to throw down. 

Organic Barbeque Sauce!  No preservatives!

Next I drizzle extra virgin olive oil on the crusts before putting on the BBQ sauce.  After I took this photo of my pretty BBQ sauce design, I added more sauce and spread it pretty thick over the crust.

After the sauce, I sprinkle a little mozerella cheese, followed by a healthy sprinkle of the browned hamburger.  For this garlic loving household I added two more cloves of freshed minced garlic.  Top it off with BLUE CHEESE and you are ready to put it in the oven! I follow Udi's directions to bake for 7 minutes in a preheated 375 oven.  Afterwards, we slid the pizzas off the baking sheet and baked an additional 3 minutes to get a preferred crispy crust. 

We enjoyed it with a fresh garden salad that my honey made and a glass of Cab.

Ugly Ducklings

We have entered into the days of consecutive upper 90's and 100 degree days in Austin...which means we haven't finished our gravel patio. We will finish it soon, but I suppose we needed a break (and I need the use of my shoulder for work).

Meanwhile,we have been watching A LOT of HGTV, DIY and Food Network shows. Kayla is drawing a lot of inspiration from the food shows, so we have been snacking on some major deliciousness. How about a grilled peach dessert with greek yogurt,fresh mint,and crushed pistachios?









On the DIY furniture front, we acquired two new pieces of furniture that have become new projects (our ugly ducklings). About two weeks ago I found an old dresser on Craigslist that needed some love. We have had on our radar a piece that would complement the big 70s dresser that we refinished and purposed for our entertainment center in our living room. This one was a perfect match in size and style to the one that we already have. It will serve as a buffet for the dining room.

Here she is before (with the drawers pulled out).



Here she is after! The middle cabinet will eventually open up to hold a wine rack and wine glasses. Above the buffet, Kayla will build a hutch to display our white wedding pottery. More on that later.






A few days into the buffet refinishing project, a friend on Facebook posted this charmer and we had to pick it up, even though we don't have a real use for it! We don't want to mess with it's beauty too much, but my vision for it is kind of French/Old Hollywood. Replacing the legs with some heavy ornate brass ones,add new hardware, touch up the stain, fix and lid, and voila! It will be a modern piece without sacrificing it's integrity. I will post more when we get around to working on this baby.

Just a Cog

Historically I find myself with lightning bolts of positive, creative and/or inspiring ideas on the tail end of excrutiating bouts of depression. Here I record it publicly for the first time. Perhaps the admission will calm the nauseating nerve wracking state of existence the next time D for Depression and A for anxiety decides to take over my body, when I fear the worst...that it could be an indefinite state of being. I could record the last two weeks of social activity, showcasing my good time of a life that I spend with my beautiful wife and our adorable dog and cat children, aboding in our modest little house made gorgeous by the blood sweat and tears of our very own beings...surrounded by our friends...who are funny, intelligent, stylish, adorable, kind, thoughtful, sweet, loyal, incredible without a doubt. We spend Memorial Day with the gals. We share food and laughs and a lazy water fight. A dear friend comes to town and shacks up with us for a few days. We have date nights and we have dinners and birthday drinks and other various social interactions. All the while I feel exhausted, fatigued, burnt out, out of shape, unmotivated, uninspired and downright sad. I don't sleep and when I do I have nightmares. When I wake I fear the worst things happening, and by the end of the day I am ready for the sofa or the bed. I look at my wife, cooking cheerfully in the kitchen and I utter various combinations or a singular statement of any of the following... "I feel nauseous and I don't know why... I want to cry...My body aches, head hurts, I feel out of shape, I need to excercise but I feel perfectly incapable of lifting a finger...My body feels literally heavy, tired and sad, even my eyelids feel weighted, I can't breathe..." We have a healthy understanding of one another's patterns, weaknesses, strengths, and battles, which makes for what I find to be a healthy breeding ground of coping mechanisms. She won't wallow with me in my symptoms but she certainly won't bark at me to get the F over myself either. She nourishes the positive and asks me what I might be able to do to feel better. She leaves me to work it out but is available if I need to talk it out. All the while she makes healthy food for us to eat and continues to do her part to contribute health and happiness to the life that we have committed to living with each other. Fast forward to now. After work on Saturday we delivered a home cooked meal to a friend who had just come home from a 3 week hospital stay. We then spent the evening celebrating with our vast and colorful Austin community at the third annual Queerbomb. On Sunday we went to a free screening at the Alamo of a new movie called Hit and Run written and produced by Dax Shephard, starring himself and Kristen Bell, followed by a Q&A with Dax and Kristen, which was awesome! The weekend left me feeling invigorated and able to soak in all the light that I missed while I was "down." I am seeing the physical toll that my mental bout has bestowed. I feel a bit squishier. I haven't been to yoga in two weeks. But the cloud has lifted. My observation at this moment is that it might be quite possible to stockpile the wonder that is bogged down by the darkness and infuse it into a more lucid presence...creating something new. My process? Hence the proverb, "It is always darkest before the dawn." I am teeming with ideas for a new endeavor. Something that we have been tossing about for years may come to light in our near future. I don't want to share it all at once, but I have a gut feeling that now we are all just a cog in the momentum of it. I am smiling.