Who knew pot pies were their own industry?

My very serious Monday afternoon conversation with a co-worker about the career opportunities for members of the pot pie industry has been cracking me up for almost a full day now. And since I didn’t come up with anything better to share with you, here it is, in all it’s glory:

Me: Did you know pot pies are their own category at ConAgra Foods? As in, they have their own marketing manager, buy planner, etc.

Coworker: Pot pies are disgusting.

Me: Agreed, too many carrots. But I think it’s funny that someone could be the marketing manager for pot pies. Like, that’s your title. ‘Hi, my name is Shannon, and I represent pot pies.’

Coworker: Where does the pot pie guy go next in his career? Hot Pockets would be a step down. Or would they…?

Me: I say the pot pie guy next moves on into Lean Cuisine. Much hipper frozen food group.

Coworker: Good call.

What about you? What frozen food industry do you think the pot pie guy moves into next and why? Should Lean Cuisine really beat out Hot Pockets? Is there another frozen food contender you’d root for? Winner of the most creative comment gets a shout out on next week’s blog post!

Christmas is coming, and if your family is anything like mine, menu planning is in full swing. I often think food plays a bigger role in our holiday than gifts with booze coming in a close second. Needless to say, Christmas is a fat and  tipsy jolly affair. What’s most interesting about our menu planning is which dishes are open for interpretation, and which are bound by tradition to remain exactly the same OR ELSE. Over the years various dishes have earned permanent places on the menu including beef tenderloin in a red wine demi glace and blue cheese potatoes (scalloped or mashed). However, the one dish that always changes year after year is the vegetable dish. My family has yet to find a vegetable dish worthy of a repeat performance. Until this year, that is. I am pleased to announce that my 2011 Christmas Brussels Sprouts have been requested for the 2012 Christmas menu. Oh yeeeeaaaahhh. Winning! As mentioned, I made these brussels sprouts last year and they were a huge hit! My sister, who normally hates brussels sprouts, cleaned her plate. So if you’re looking for a solid veggie dish to accompany your beef, chicken, fish or veggie entree, I highly recommend giving these a go.

Dijon-Braised Brussels Sprouts

via the Smitten Kitchen

Serves four as a side dish

Photo via Smitten Kitchen

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Ichiro acknowledges Mariners fans before first at-bat as a Yankee. Photo by Robert Sorbo/Reuters

In sports news, the Seattle Mariners traded Ichiro Suzuki to the New York Yankees yesterday. I personally have neutral feelings about the trade, not being much of a baseball fan, but many of my friends are staunch Mariners fans (including the lovely Seattle Belle, Jeanine) and everyone seems to have a very different and very strong, opinion. My boyfriend literally said “Good riddance!” (I was unaware he was hiding a 70-year-old man inside of him. I’m now very excited for his next outburst. I hoping it will be either “Gee willikers” or “Dang nabbet.”) He thinks Ichiro has been under performing for quite a while, and that the team will be better off with some new talent. Another friend of mine thinks losing Ichiro is a huge blow to the Mariners because he was one of our only players who consistently performed well. I, again, have no opinion given that I don’t know the difference between an RBI and a double play, and continually refer to ‘runs’ as ‘points,’ but I do listen. And my listening has given me one thought. One thought that I will share with you and allow you to rip apart or commend. According to my sources, the Mariners are in a rebuilding phase, which I assume means bringing in lots of young talent to give us a fresh, less terrible team. But from the way people are yelling at the TV screen, our new talent (Smoak, Ackley) is really sucking. Given this current state of affairs, why would we trade one of our more experienced, consistent performers for two more new, young, potentially sucky players? Riddle me that, Batman!!

And… discuss.

Is anyone else tired of hearing about the Capitol Hill Block Party? Don’t get me wrong, I have a blast every time I go, but I swear it’s being talked about on every blog, Facebook profile and Twitter feed in existence. It’s coming, I know. Sheeesh. So anyway, here is one more post about the big event coming up this weekend. But don’t worry, I keep it short, sweet and strictly ‘factual.’

The Capitol Hill Block Party 2012

Fact: If you are over the age of 22, you will feel old.

July 20, 21 and 22

Fact: It will take you forever to use the bathroom at Quinn’s. Don’t even try.

Tickets: $85 for a three-day pass, $30 for single day passes. Buy them here.

Fact: There will be over a million dollars worth of Urban Outfitters clothing roaming the street.

100 bands that include this random sampling I pulled from the website:

Neko Case

Diplo

Father John Misty

The Lumineers

Fitz and the Tantrums

Grimes

And 94 others.

Fact: You will see someone passed out next to a dumpster.

Who knew watching babies eat limes and lemons for the first time could be so amusing? Certainly not me! So funny and cute with their little puckered faces. Trust me, little ones, you may not like the taste now, but when you discover tequila, that sour acidity will become your new best friend.

I am a big fan of the website BuzzFeed, and while cruising the site last night I came upon the photo essay titled “21 Pictures That Will Restore Your Faith In Humanity.” Talk about some warm fuzzies! I found it inspiring to see the genuinely kind, selfless and light-hearted exchanges occurring between strangers. I have shared one set of those photos below and encourage you to check out the whole essay for yourself. I promise it will brighten your day.

#3 of 21 pictures that will give you all kinds of warm fuzzies:

This exchange between a three-year-old girl and a shopping center.

Photo via BuzzFeed

Photo via BuzzFeed

Don’t the let the cloudy sky fool you. Grilling season is upon us. I am a fan of all things grilled. Especially corn. I love me some grilled corn. I could eat it plain, but dressing it up is also tasty. And the best thing about grilled corn is you can dress it up a million ways. Pretty much everything tastes good on corn. For Father’s Day (yes, we grilled in the rain like true PNWers), my family tested out a new grilled corn recipe with sesame and cilantro as the leading flavors. It was different, it was simple, it was delicious. I highly recommend you give it a go.

Grilled Sesame and Cilantro Corn

Ingredients: 

Corn, expertly grilled by yours truly

4 ears of corn, silk and husks removed

2 tablespoons sesame oil1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1/2 teaspoon fresh jalapeno, seeded and minced

2 teaspoons chopped cilantroSalt to taste

Pepper to taste

2 teaspoons sesame seeds

Instructions:

1. Mix sesame oil, ginger, jalapeno, cilantro, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Boil corn for 3 minutes

3. Grill corn, rotating often for approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Outside of corn should be slightly charred on all sides.

4. Brush sesame oil mixture over corn and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

5. Chow down.

Photo by Melanie Connor for The New York Times

I’m baaaaack. Did you miss me? I sure missed you! Sorry to have been away so long. I have been doing lots of traveling for work and fun, but now I’m back in Seattle and ready to write about stuff. First on the agenda: reasons why we should love Seattle weather. Now, hear me out. I know we’re in the middle of a pretty dreary seven-day forecast, but I’m about to show you the silver lining. Five silver linings, in fact. Much of traveling was spent in destinations known for their sunshine, and you know what? I decided I’ll take Seattle weather any day. Constant sunshine is overrated. And you can quote me on that. Here are five musings that will hopefully bring you over to the Dark Side. (Get it? Dark Side as opposed to Bright Side… Clouds instead of sun… Sigh. I know, it was a stretch. I’m a little rusty.)

5. Places where it’s sunny all the time are brown. Places where it rains a lot are green. Green is a prettier color than brown.

4. We appreciate our nice weather and we can tough it out in the not-so-nice weather. The entire west side of the state runs outside at the first sign of blue sky, but the recreation sports leagues, Greenlake walkers and bike riders are still rocking when it’s windy and drizzling. We’re all-weather, all-terrain people. The sun-spoiled pansies down in Southern California take the sunshine for granted and cower inside when a dark cloud rolls through. I like to think their conversations go something like this:

Sunny Day: “Hey man, what do you want to do today?” “I don’t know, dude, we could go to the beach.” “Eh, I don’t know, it’s not that nice out. Only 75 degrees. Let’s wait for a better day.” “Word.”

Yucky Day: “Hey man, what do you want to do today?” “Nothing, it’s raining and I don’t want to melt.” “Woooord.”

3. Can you imagine leaving a hot yoga studio and walking into the blazing Texas sun? Just think about that for a minute. From hot, sweaty studio to hot air, hot pavement, hot car, hot apartment… gggugghhh. I’ll take the refreshing Seattle mist, please and thank you.

2. The following is the 2012 list of the 10 fattest states in America in descending order. Michigan, Arkansas, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Louisiana, Tennessee, West Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi. Can anyone tell me what 8ish of these 10 states have in common? The answer is hot and humid weather. And I’m no scientist, but I think this evidence ‘proves’ that if a state has hot and humid weather, the people that live there are fat. Ergo, we the people of Seattle, have the rain and fog to thank for our flat abs and tight asses. Take a minute, look up and thank a cloud for how fabulous you look.

1. This might be a selfish reason, but the number one reason I love Seattle weather is its compatibility with pale people. Pale people thrive in Seattle. Often prone to sun burn, heat stroke and glow-in-the-dark-legs syndrome, those of us with alabaster-like complexions seek the shelter of clouds, shade and mist. Seattle is our safe playground. And while the golden brown Summer Sun Babies get depressed come October as their tans begin to fade, we stay chipper because you can’t miss what you never had!

Can you think of any more reasons to love Seattle weather? If so, share them in the comments and if they’re extra good I’ll add them to this post!

This Sunday, May 6th, Fremont will be overrun by mobile food trucks and wandering buskers (street musicians). Great food, great beer, great music – I can’t wait to get a side ache from dancing on a full stomach!

The Mobile Food Rodeo is Seattle’s largest mobile food truck rally featuring over 35 food trucks and plenty of Pike Place’s best buskers. The festival offers the chance for attendees to sample food from some of the most creative and refreshing menus around, and celebrates the star chefs of the street food scene. Admission is free, a charity beer garden will quench your thirst, and a large  seating area awaits to sooth your tired feet. How can you possibly say no to all of that? Come on down and join the fun!

Photo via Mobile Food Rodeo

Spring is here, which means bathing suit season is just around the corner, which means dessert is off limits. Unless of course there is something to celebrate. Or if I need something to sweeten up a sour day. Or if I’m having a dinner party. Or if it’s Tuesday and dessert sounds good. Do you now understand why attending exercise boot camp is a Must for me? I need it to counteract my sweet tooth and feeble will power. However, dessert can be a Must for all the reasons I listed above and more. So for the health conscious, time-strapped dessert lovers out there, I give you the yummiest, easiest, almost healthy-est dessert ever.

Roasted Pineapple with Honey and Pistachios

Photo via Bon Appetit

I know. It looks a little weird. Sounds a little weird too. But I’m telling you. This dessert is finger-licking, can-I-have-thirds good. And with 5 minutes of prep time, it’s the perfect dinner party dessert. Toss them in the brown sugar and orange juice marinade before guests arrive, marinate in the fridge until dinner is done, pop them in the oven for 30 minutes, once roasted sprinkle some goodies on top and voila! Dessert is served. To top it all off, the recipe is flour-free and relatively low in sugar. That’s what I call a win-win! Check out the recipe from Bon Appetit magazine below.

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