Hide Anything Embarassing... My Parents are Coming for Dinner

It was already 6:15 by the time we got home from work and I had to make make dinner, uncork wine and clean myself up. This meant delegating cleaning and primping the house to Ali, convincing him to turn off football and entrusting him with incredibly important tasks like throwing the throw blanket over the sofa arm just right and making sure that incriminating wrappers were not left on night stands. It's Monday and I've finally decided to invite my parents over to see our new apartment after spending 3 months getting it to a place that I'm proud to show off. I'm not freaking out, per se... I love cooking and entertaining. But with my parents' visit to the first apartment I've shared with a boy(!), I felt a whole sense of homemakerness I haven't experienced yet. I almost donned an apron and heels, almost.

I talk a lot in these posts about the strangeness of the quarter life crisis, second coming of age, teetering on the edge of feeling like an adult. I have a bowl of decorative balls on my coffee table. Why? Because its fucking classy, that's why. I'd prefer to have game night with my coupled friends while we drink $15 bottles wine and listen to records. Why? Because I don't want to have to shave my legs and wait in line with a bunch of drunk 22 year olds so I can pay $8 cover and have drinks spilled on me. Shots of Cuervo have lost their allure.

My parents are the ultimate role models of adulthood for me. To them, they were coming to hang out with their kiddo and congratulate me on the new digs. To me, they were standing at my door step to take stock of how me and the man friend are making it. So you better believe I had matching towels in the bathroom and flowers on the table. I almost murdered Ali when he asked if we had actual napkins instead of paper towels. There's always something... anyway. I knew I didn't want to prepare anything too involved so I could pay attention to my family. I adapted a recipe I found for a Spanish orange chicken. The initial recipe called for orange zest, Spanish chorizo, potatoes and onions. Since I had a load of clementines on hand I made a swap and added some seasonal vegetables. It was tasty - bright from the citrus zest and roasting everything together in the oven made for a cohesive, family-style dish that just felt warm and filling on a cold Fall night.

We also started with a tuna tartare tower scooped with tarro chips that was inspired by a recent trip to Hawaii. I was on a business trip in Honolulu, conducting focus groups for a client. As a planner/strategist I moderate focus groups during our research and discovery phase. This trip was my first double header - doing back to back two-hour focus groups in one evening. After 4 hours of talking, no food and lots of intense conversation, I was exhausted and in need of a drink more than anything. We hit up the hotel bar at The Modern Hotel and snacked on a tuna tartare layered with avocado and served with beet chips. It was all I needed to go with a goblet of wine and a great night cap with my favorite boss lady. So it inspired me to make my own version when I got home. My parents are Midwest born. When we first moved to Seattle and my parents discovered the seafood-focused food culture, we stumbled our way through overcooking salmon and figuring out how to steam mussels. But the idea of raw fish seemed like an invitation for salmonella. We used to go to restaurants and order tuna steaks well-done. Somewhere a chef was crying or spitting in our food. Either way, I still can't get my mom to trust sushi completely but both parents have taken a surprising turn in trusting raw seafood mostly because they've seen how unbelievably delicious it is. We have an amazing asian market in Seattle called Uwajimaya - where you can get sushi-grade fish that is not only trustworthy but soooo goooood.

The night was a success. My parents loved the apartment and the food, but I think the more important thing is that Ali and I love it. And we love sharing it with our friends and family as we've blended out style and belongings and made it all come together as a home.

Starter

Tuna Tartare Tower with Mango, Cucumber Salsa:

3-4 oz. Sushi Grade Maguro Tuna, diced
2 tsp. Mirin
1 Avocado, diced
Medium Pyrex Bowl (or the like) 4-5 inches in diameter OR a round ring mold if you own one.
Tarro Chips

For Salsa:
1 Tbs Roma Tomato, diced
1 Tbs Englich Cucumber, diced
1 Tbs Mango, diced
Squeeze of Lime Juice

 Dice Tuna and Avocado into small cubes, place in separate bowls. Add a pinch of salt to avocado and stir in. Add 2 tsp. Mirin to Tuna and mix. Now here's where I get a little creative in retrofitting objects into kitchen utensils I don't have. I don't have a round mold for cooking. As much as I'd love to own every kitchen device and tool that I can gather from Williams & Sonoma, I don't. But to form the Tartare into a round tower I decided to test out a small Pyrex bowl and it worked perfectly.

Stack the Tuna in the bottom of the bowl and lightly pack down with a spoon. Next add the Avocado and pack down again. The layers should fill bowl as close to the top of the bowl as possible. Flip your serving plate upside down and place over the bowl in the desired position. Grab both bowl and plate and flip! Gently remove the bowl and revel in your masterpiece.

Mince Tomato, Cucumber and Mango into fine cubes (even smaller than Tartare!). Squeeze a quarter of lime over the chopped ingredients and mix together. Top the Tartare tower with 2 Tbs. of salsa mixture.

Pile Tarro Chips next to Tartare and serve to your party guests!

Serves: 4-6

Entree

Roasted Spanish Clementine Chicken:

3 large Chicken Breasts, bone-in and skin on
4 Chicken Thighs, bone-in and skin on 
3 Links Spanish Chorizo, chopped
10 Clementines, zested
1 Lemon, zested
1 Red Onion, large chop
1/2 Delicata Squash, quartered and chopped
1/2 lb Red Potatoes, halved
1/2 lb Brussels Sprouts, halved
Cloves from 1 head of Garlic, peeled
2 Tbs Dried Oregano
Salt & Pepper

Sauce:
1 C Chicken Stock
Juice from Clementines and 1/2 Lemon
1 Tbs Garlic, Minced
1 Tbs Butter
Salt & Pepper

Place oven racks on upper 1/3 and bottom of oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Zest all of your citrus and set remaining fruit aside. Chop all of your vegetables and Chorizo and layer into two sheet pans. Add whole cloves of Garlic across baking sheets. Coat with Olive Oil and sprinkle with Salt and Pepper.

Take your Chicken Breasts and cut in half. Coat with Olive Oil and sprinkle with Salt and Pepper. Take your zest mixture and run underneath skin of each chicken piece and sprinkle on top. Spread chicken pieces evenly across banking sheets on top of vegetables, skin-side up. Sprinkle Oregano across vegetables and chicken.

Place one baking sheet on top rack and one on bottom rack. Bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes switch baking sheets onto opposite racks and cook for an additional 20 minutes.

With 10 minutes to go heat Chicken Stock and citrus juice in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add Garlic and Salt and Pepper. Let sauce reduce to half and add 1 Tbs of Butter to finish. Makes the sauce glossy and unctuous.

Remove pans from oven and set Chicken aside for juices to redistribute. Layer vegetables onto a large serving platter and top with chicken pieces. Spoon sauce over dish so that it is coated but sauce is not pooling on the plate.

Serves: 4-6

 

No Mean Girling in Advertising

It's really easy to be tempted into making digs at competitors in ads. I'm not talking slander on par with political campaigns. But with the growing role of agencies in clients' digital media management and content development, an agency can be searching for post fodder.

That happened to me today when we heard about a competitor dealing with a PR faux pas. In the end, it really came down to overly cranky customers and there was nothing inherently unethical or "wrong" with the brand's actions. But it would have been sooo easy to allude to the topic in a snarky Facebook post.

But it's too easy. We joked about it and toyed with it before we quickly settled that it just isn't worth it. Picking on a competitor never actually make consumers trust your brand more. The finger pointing only wastes our efforts on publicizing another brand while saying nothing of real substance about our actual client.

Sympathizing with what mess our competitor's PR team and creative agency must be dealing with, it got me thinking on creative responses to negative press or feedback. I tucked this example in my back pocket back in June when Smart Car came up with an awesome response to a Twitter comment. 

A lot of brands, big or small, deal with social media trolls who aim to incite reactions out of fans or spout off negative comments about a company and its products just to be sensational. Smart Car came across one such tweet from some a-hole who has an entire website dedicated to inventing trash-talking quips about advertising.

Clayton Hove tweeted, "Saw a bird had crapped on a Smart Car. Totaled it." Rather than lash back or let it slide, Smart Car decided to respond in a much more interesting and playful way – creating some serious buzz and even changing the mind of said hater. They calculated just how much bird shit it would take to indeed total a car. Read the full story here.

All I'm saying is to take the negative feedback, the easy digs, the "mean girling" mentality and turn it into an actual creative opportunity that says something about your brand and their personal touch on taking the high road.

Officially Shacking Up

My lower back currently has a spastic nerve shooting daggers down through my butt cheek. My head hurts from sore shoulder muscles and my shins and knees haven't been this bruised since romping around the playground. I couldn't be happier. This is moving week.

Ali (the boyfriend) and I officially moved in together this past week. After two months of scouring Craigslist for an apartment and finding nothing worthwhile I was ready to give up. He's already lived with me at my place for close to a year (unofficially). But the 600 sq. ft wasn't cutting it for two. Not to mention that he always felt like somewhat of a guest despite the comfort and familiarity of my apartment. So when we found a place a little over a week ago, we sprung at it. All of a sudden it became a regimented routine of packing our belongings and discarding what we didn't need at Goodwill. We said goodbye to the little apartment with the amazing view of downtown Seattle and the sound, the place where he first kissed me, the small apartment with cracks and creaks but lots of charm. We're moving on to the next step.

With packing comes sore muscles, sleep deprivation, agitation (WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE TABLE WON'T FIT IN THE TRUNK! *Fight back unnecessary tears)  and an overall upheaval of your routine. After finally hauling the boxed-up goods and furniture we've each accumulated into corners of rooms, we fled to my parents house to find some normalcy amidst the chaos. The obnoxious part about moving is that when you've juuuust about reached your breaking point of sanity upon moving everything in, you realize the fun has all but just begun as you consider the mountains of cardboard boxes you now need to unpack and find new places for keeping. Not to mention the whole decorating thing.

Getting away to the burbs where I could take a shower, watch TV and decompress in a borrowed robe and a goblet of wine actually inspired me to cook again after weeks of eating out. Moving in with a boyfriend is exciting. I've never done it before. My Catholic grandmothers would be rolling over in their graves. What would Jesus do? NOT engage in premarital shenanigans, that's what. But I'm in love, and this is right. Ali is teaching me practical grown up knowledge like the difference between screwdriver heads and how I'm not allowed to use my collection of hangers from dry cleaners. NO WIRE HANGERS!  Get out of here Joan Crawford, they work.

So to save our sanity, last weekend we cooked a meal. It was not our best effort, Our steak and potatoes masterpiece had its flaws, but it was our best we could do with foggy heads and sore bodies. I put so much pepper in the mashed potatoes they looked gray. Awesome. I think maybe I'll start a post called the "Failure of the Month." Recognize shortcomings, laugh at them and move on. Ali ate those peppery potatoes like a champ! That's love. The one saving grace from that meal was the sauteed mushrooms we unapologetically spooned over our steaks. Hot damn. They were silky with butter and deep with herbs and earthy goodness that only mushrooms give off. One thing in your day will always go right, these were mine this past weekend.

Sauteed Mushroom 
8 oz. of sliced Mushrooms - your choice but fancier is tastier (duh). I used button mushrooms
1/2 stick Butter
2 tsp crushed Rosemary
1 tsp Tarragon
3 Tbs minced Shallot
5 cloves minced Garlic
 1/4 C dry White Wine
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp ground Black Pepper

Melt butter in a saute pan and add Shallots and Garlic. Saute for 2 minutes until Shallots are translucent and add mushrooms and herbs. Cook for 5 minutes until mushrooms are soft and add White Wine. Reduce to a simmer and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Pour over steak or grab a spoon and ladle directly into mouth.

The Perfect Hash Brown

There's been an ongoing debate between a group of us. A line has been drawn, and each involved has chosen a side where they have remained headstrong and steadfast in their convictions. The debate is of course whether bacon is better crunchy or soft. Ali and I maintain that crispy bacon is the only way to go. I don't want a flaccid, chewy fat piece of bacon on my plate or in my mouth. Our two good friends both maintain that crispy bacon dries out all the flavor and desired texture. Obviously you can go to the extreme on either side - bacon can be too underdone and too overcooked. We've realized neither of us will ever win, its a matter of preference and hopefully you can reach a happy medium. But what can I say, I'm a peace-keeper. Eat your soggy bacon, but I will silently judge you.

There is another brunch favorite that I've never heard anyone argue the texture of however - and that is hash browns. Hash browns are supposed to showcase a layer of crisp matchsticks browned in butter and then give in to a fluffy core. I don't care if you like breakfast potatoes, shredded or scalloped - a crisp outer layer should always give way to fluffy goodness. The problem is, potatoes can be hard to finagle. Sometimes they refuse to brown and crisp up - leaving you with steamed potato mash. Or worse, they do brown but then the brown goodness sticks to the pan and never reaches your plate. Sometimes the potatoes wind up absorbing the oil or butter and all you taste is mushy grease - mmmm no. So I've studied up on how to achieve the best hash browns that will give you the desired crunch and hopefully avoid the mess of spilled oil and wayward flung potatoes.

The keys: a cold water bath, bacon grease and an uncrowded pan on high heat.

 

Perfect Hash Browns:

1/2 - 1 lb Russet or Yukon Gold Potatoes (will serve 2-4 people)

1/3 C Onion, diced

1/4 C Red or Yellow Pepper, diced

2 Cloves Garlic, minced

1-2 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Salt and Pepper to taste 

3 Tbs Bacon Grease and/or Butter

Whether you're grating your own potatoes, finely slicing them into matchsticks (painstaking but great) or pulling them from a freezer bag you must submerge in cold water for 5-10 minutes. This releases extra starch in the potatoes that prevents them from browning nicely. Continue to change water every 3-5 minutes until water remains clear rather than cloudy. Place a few layers of paper towels on top of a clean dish rag. Strain potatoes and place on top of towels, wrapping them tightly up into a bundle. Squeeze as much excess water out of potatoes as possible and pat dry. The dryer you get your potatoes the crispier they will be in the pan.

Bacon grease adds a ton of flavor, so I suggest cooking your bacon first and saving the grease in a measuring cup. No bacon (blasphemy)? Just use melted butter instead. Place dry potatoes into a bowl and toss with onion, peppers, cayenne and S&P. Now you get to choose your own adventure in hash brown making...

Oven Hash Browns - Set oven to 450 degrees. Pour bacon grease or melted butter onto hash browns and toss to coat. You want the hash browns to be coated but not sopping with grease. So if you need to add more or less just keep a watchful eye. Spread hash browns evenly onto baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, stirring and shaking up the pan ever so often. For extra crispness, turn oven to broil after 20 minutes and allow hash browns to continue cooking on the middle rack for up to 5 minutes. This cooking method will yield more loose and overall crisp hash browns. 

Pan or Griddle Hash Browns - Set heat on high and add bacon grease or butter to pan. Allow to simmer for a minute and add your hash browns in an even layer. Try not to crowd the pan. Allow to cook on one side for 5-7 minutes, don't fuss with the hash browns except to check on the browning with a spatula. When browned on one side divide browns into manageable halves or fourths so you can scoop and flip without losing too many potatoes to the stove top or floor. Don't be a hero and try to flip the hash browns with a flick of your wrist. It sounds fun and impressive but more likely than not you will lose half the batch and maybe wind up with a hash brown burn on your forearm. Maaaybe that's happened to me, whatever. Save yourself and your hash browns and use the spatula.

Pork Shoulder & Crock Pot: A 9 Hour Love Story

I haven't had a long lazy weekend day at home in a long while. Every weekend in February I was off in a new place - doing research in Salt Lake City and Portland, visiting friends in San Francisco and celebrating the 1 year anniversary with my boyfriend on Whidbey Island. I've had a lot of amazing food (epic 7 course meal at The Inn at Langley (I should really post about that)). I've had some delicious but not-so-good-for-me food like the A Bomb of a sandwich from Giordano's, whose french fry and cured meat fillings soaked up every ounce of my hangover. Furthermore, I've had some afterthought food - the fill that keeps you moving as your go from hotel to meeting or keeps your fingers typing on the keyboard as you finish up a deadline. 

I've been craving conscious eating cooked by my own hand. It's therapeutic and gratifying to make, dish up and savor the goofy satisfied grin from your companion as he takes a bite and you dig in as well. So before boy and I headed to Pike Place for a rare sunny Sunday, I made a dry rub for a pork shoulder, seared it in a cast iron skillet and put it to work in a crock pot with onions, broth, mustard seeds and apple juice. As the day went on, I lost my fleet in a game of battle ship that accompanied a Northwest wine tasting flight. We looked for the honey lady we know but found graffiti art around the market when couldn't find her. And I spent much too long  oggling pickled vegetables to serve with dinner at DeLaurenti's, landing on pickled watermelon rind, apricots, cornichons and cipolline.

 

By the time we got home the hallways of my apartment building were fragrant with simmering meat. The pork shoulder easily shredded with a fork into luscious ribbons that I drowned with barbecue sauce. We served our lot with corn bread and pan fried broccoli. Each of the pickles I brought home added a different sweetness or vinegary acid that cut the richness of the pork. Pickled watermelon bites like a firm gelatin and tastes like candy. The apricots were speckled with peppercorns and made each fork-full of meat more tangy and sweet. It was a perfect way to cap a long few weeks in the shortest month of the year.

Pork Shoulder Rub:
1/4 C Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Cinnamon
3 Tbs Cumin
1 tsp. Cayenne
2 Tbs Garlic Salt
3 tsp Black pepper
1 Tbs Oregano

Bathtub:
1 C Beef Broth
2 Tbs Mustard Seeds
1/3 C Apple Juice
1/2 Onion, sliced

4-5 lb. Pork Shoulder

Take a 4-5 lb. natural Pork Shoulder and trim excess caps of fat. Massage in dry rub with unabashed amounts of the mix. Get it dirty. Pour 2 Tbs of olive oil in a caste iron or heavy based skillet and sear meat on all sides in the screaming hot pan. Place meat in crock pot and add the bathtub ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours, shred meat and serve by itself or with your favorite barbecue sauce... you should probably have some hot sauce on hand too, but that's a given.

Thanksgiving Recap

Still getting rid of the Thanksgiving weekend hangover. My family not only celebrated the most epic day of feasting all year this past weekend, but my Mom's 60th Birthday as well... which called for another feast in itself. When Underhill's celebrate we head to my parents' place in on Camano Island. It calls for game time, punctual 5:00 cocktail hour with Dad's Manhattans, and ridiculous "snack" spreads that start at 3:00 and wind down with enough food at dinner to last us through the week. Its also the one time of year I'll let myself cheat on being gluten free to stuff myself full of stuffing. Has to be Marie Callendar's cornbread stuffing. Has to be the same way we've made it since I can remember - celery, onion, walnuts and mushrooms. No more. Everyone has a favorite Thanksgiving food that they've deemed untouchable. Sometimes less fuss makes it better. Thanksgiving is an interesting combination of lavish dishes paired with simple favorites you've loved since you can remember Thanksgivings. Mine is the stuffing, so don't mess. Rather than recap recipes, I captured the wine, indulgence and smiles of my family. Happy post Thanksgiving, I'm prepping to detox just in time to redo it all at Christmas time :).

Giving in to Autumn with Brussels Sprouts

I just got back from a vacation to Mexico with my boyfriend, best friend and her man, and their two amazing friends whom I'd never met until we landed in Puerto Vallarta. The couples retreat was timed just right, I had my fill of drinking homemade pina coladas from a canteen, cooking or ordering tacos every night - made simply and un-fussed with like they should be. We soaked up as much sun as we did tequila and at the end of the trip I came home to discover that the bone-chilling cold of late Fall had finally set in while we were away.

Even though it's always a sad day when you pull out the winter coats and put away your flip flops, I don't mind too terribly. It's the turning point where massive maple leaves burst from green, to red, to yellow and orange - always most vibrant before they die. I like the crisp, cold walks in the sun on weekends with a scarf and hat and my hand shoved in my boyfriend's coat pocket. And I really like the Autumn vegetables that have started to wander into my CSA box and onto my plate. Tonight I made a healthy dinner that feels hearty but gave me a break from the beef stews and and potatoes that can prepare you for winter. Raw Brussels Sprout salad with pomegranate seeds and roasted root vegetables on the side. Favorite things about this food - you can easily find new ways to adjust the recipe with what you have on hand, and it tastes just as good an hour later as it does when served immediately.

Brussels Sprout Salad with Pomegranate Seeds
1/2 lb. Brussels Sprouts, shredded
1/2 C Tofu, cubed
1/4 Yellow Onion, finely sliced
1/3 C Pomegranate Seeds
1/4 C Toasted Almond Slivers
Handful of shaved Parmesan

Vinaigrette
1/4 C Olive Oil
1/2 C Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Tbs Dijon Mustard
2 tsp Honey
Salt and Pepper

 Dice tofu into cubes and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper and brown in a saute pan and set aside. Peel off outer leaves of Brussels sprouts and shred. Slice onion and place in a bowl of cold water - this will take away some of the bite! Whisk vinaigrette in a separate bowl and combine with all ingredients. Serve and top with Parmesan cheese.

Last of the Summer: Arepas & Sangria

Summer in Seattle never really began this year, so it's slightly odd to say it's ending. But as the sunset creeps earlier in the day and the air feels crisper - I know I'm headed down a path of pulling out the sweaters from the back of my closet and turning on the furnace for the first time in months.

I looked through the refrigerator at the last of the fresh white corn from my CSA box, the plums and blackberries that were beginning to over ripen and soften. I had to accept the inevitable, that I probably am not going to see these fruits and veggies at their prime for much longer. So I had to make the most of this last haul I had on hand. This recipe for sangria is amazing because it relies more on the natural sweetness of the fruit rather than a sugary juice that left us all with the crazy hangovers of college parties past. You can use a simple red table wine, any fresh citrus and fruit you have on hand, it only gets better as the fruit marinates in the drink.

Arepas are made with a fine corn flour called Masa Harina. Traditionally used in Mexico to make tortillas and tamales, it's easy to find at any grocery store. You have the freedom to use it as a canvas for any toppings you wish - just like pizza. The texture is dense yet soft and tastes like a thick, doughy corn tortilla. Mixing in mozzarella to the dough before grilling in a cast iron skillet lends more flavor and richness to the mix. Enjoy your food with friends, sip sangria with the last of a summer sunset, and make sure you soak up the last of the season.

Sangria:
2 bottles Red Table Wine
1 bottle natural fruit juice blend - I love Trader Joe's Mango Passion fruit Juice Blend
A splash of Orange Liquor
Sliced or chopped fruit - orange, lime, apple, stone fruit and berries

There's no right or wrong fruit you can use, but I like to have a mix which includes some citrus and variation in texture. Mix all ingredients together in a pitcher or mason jar and allow the sangria to chill in the refrigerator for an hour so fruit can soak up the flavors of the liquid.

Vegetarian Arepas:
Makes 2 servings

1 Cup Masa Harina
1 Cup warm Water
6 oz fresh mozzarella, chopped
1 can black beans
1 ear of corn, kernels
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
4 asparagus stalks, chopped
2 small yellow zucchini squash, sliced
1 Tbs Cumin
1 Tbs dry Oregano
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper

To make Arepa dough combine Masa Harina, Water, chopped mozzarella and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl and mix with wooden spoon. Form into a ball and leave to rest for a few minutes. Divide dough into two balls and flatten into an 1/8th inch thick disk using your hands. Add 1 Tbs vegetable oil to a cast iron skillet and heat on high. Add Arepas to pan and lower heat to medium. Cook for 5-7 minutes on each side.

While Arepas are cooking, combine all vegetables in a large bowl and lightly coat with vegetable oil. Mix seasoning blend together and sprinkle over vegetables, mixing to coat well. Saute vegetables in a separate pan on medium-high heat until roasted and tender. Drain and rinse black beans and place in a small sauce pan on a third stove burner. Add a dash of salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Cover and cook through for 5 minutes.

Remove Arepas from pan and place on a plate. Lay down a layer of black beans and top with sauteed vegetables. Add hot sauce or salsa if you like.

The Cold Coast

Having lived near the beach in LA for 4 years, I'm accustomed to ocean waters bordering on warm temperatures, or at least tolerably cold. I've never been to the coast of Washington, beyond the Puget Sound channels of water where Seattle rests. So when a friend recommended we head to Westport - 2 1/2 hours West - where he could teach me to surf the Northwest Pacific waves, I was all kinds of about it.

What we did not anticipate was that surf shops close early and even in August, the ocean water this far North along the West Coast is absolutely frigid. I felt the chill all the way in my hips after standing in the small wake for :30 seconds. I will save learning to surf for a tropical location where sharks are more of a concern than hypothermia. But this left us a long afternoon to explore Westport, which happens to be the cutest damn beach town I've been to. Its a place where restaurants need names like "The One-Eyed Crab" or "Granny Hazel's Candy & Gifts."  The boardwalk wreaks of saltwater spray and oyster shells discarded by seagulls. You have multiple opportunities to purchase a windsock or a handmade lawn ornament. And you can see the mountains from the beach made of pulverized gray stones and white clam shells. It was a whole part of Washington I haven't seen before, and is a nod to part of our maritime culture that seeps Eastward into the city. There isn't much to do in this fisherman's town beyond listen to boat ropes creak and sea lions complain, fly a kite and watch the local color. But spending the day here had a funny way of putting a smile on my face that I didn't even know was there.

Brilliant

And she didn't even know she was a billboard.

An Astounding Campaign Case Study

St. John Agency just released a case study on one of their most successful projects. It's inspiring really. What's more fantastic is that they call all us ad kids out on our grand representations of how successful and earth-shattering we like to portray our projects as being.

I lol-ed anyway...

Apartment Hunting

I’m apartment hunting. The best friend and roommate is leaving to San Francisco in a few short weeks and I am left on the prowl for my next digs. She’s done a lot for me, inspired me to get tattoos that I’m still too afraid to commit to, educated me on the art of how cutting big pieces of sushi in half with chopsticks – this is something I believe she picked up in her home state of Colorado. Be wary of seafood practices created in a landlocked state. She’s shared her precious pup, Kaiyuh, which is great because I get all the love and none of the responsibility. It’s like being an aunt or uncle. You can love on her and play to your heart’s content, but then pass the buck on “taking care of her” just like you’d pass the baby when the diaper needs changing. By now we communicate more in our own high pitched language of moans, squeaks and little kid speak that resembles the characters on Rugrats. I’m sure it’s annoying to the rest of the world, but we’ve long surpassed the point of recognition or consideration for others' ears. My gal Nichole is leaving on a jet plane, thus leaving me with the task of finding a new apartment. House hunting is one of those actions that’s like an emotional oxymoron of sorts. It evokes the seemingly opposite or unrelated feelings of excitement as well as dread and panic all at once.

And since I’ve begun the task of scouring for vacancies I can’t help but be dumbfounded at how lazy, non-existent or downright unappealing landlords make their apartment listings appear. Let’s take this gem for example:

The description tells me little more than the price and general area of my search. Upon viewing the full listing, it tells me the address and when I can move in. Contact Ray for more details – I’d love to! (I think to myself) but Ray has chosen to not leave a phone number or email to reach him by! I also have no idea what the place will look like, as there are no pictures. Though it is commendable that his psychic powers knew that my major priority was how close the apartment is to food resources and busses to get there.

At least Ray was smart enough to list his space on Craigslist. After only returning a few hits a day for my criteria, I abandoned the internet and spent two hours driving around the neighborhood I’m looking to live to find droves of vacancy signs posted outside apartment buildings. This was a fun test in multi-tasking as I drove up and down streets with a pen clenched in my teeth, pulling over every few feet to use my x-ray vision on deciphering the size 12 font of vacancy listings that hung on placards above building entryways. After an afternoon of pulling over, writing down phone numbers and checking my rearview mirror periodically to make sure I wasn’t blocking traffic, I realized just how inefficient and archaic this all seemed for the poor apartment seeker.

It would seem commonsense enough that providing basic details and a little incentive would get renters more apartment seekers knocking on their door. Tell me the basic information, give me a visual of what I’m in for, and tell me why it’s worth my while. I’m going to make a chart. Because charts are legit.  It's a funnel.

The fact that most renters neglect these basic steps only implies that they don’t care enough about their product, which sends up red flags on the character and quality of the apartment and its management. I think this last point can be true for a lot of product advertisers. I won’t be calling Ray and his apartment shrouded in secrecy. Guess who I did call? The lovely couple who listed their apartment on Craigslist replete with details and images, have a flyer with images, renter benefits and contact information in front of the house, and a lovely answering message that tells me all about the apartment I’m interested in before clicking over to the beep. What’s more, I’m actually excited about it rather than filled with dread and panic.

Bourbon Maple Pumpkin Butter... oh, oh yes

The few days before a holiday like Thanksgiving are the worst. That's of course an exaggeration, but follow along with me. The weekend is over, the lingering work week before the break are upon us. Somehow, the anticipation of having a free pass on vacation days makes the last few days to get there seem even longer. It's like the opening scene of every other teen romcom (romantic comedy) where the kids anxiously stare down the clock until the final bell rings and suddenly horny, clueless, angst-filled teenagers burst out of the high school's double doors to greet summer vacation with cheers and papers flying. Yes, that is how I feel about the last few days before we all get to take some time off for the holidays.

It may be filled with more planning and responsibility than when we were kids - booking the flights home, taking the 2nd trip to the grocery store for a forgotten ingredient and wondering when the little red button in the Jenny-O turkey will pop up and let us know the bird is done - but the added ownership in piecing the day together brings a greater sense of reward and appreciation for the day.

Thanksgiving is still four days away and the last minute planning panic and countdown to T-Time has begun. I'll be spending the day with my family on Camano Island in Puget Sound, thus forcing me to chillax with homemade Manhattans, beach combing and crackling fires. As a take-ahead snack starter, I made Pumpkin Butter with a maple bourbon twist. Pumpkin butter is really a misleading name because it tastes more like a pumpkin candy spread and has no butter whatsoever. It's also delicious on anything from a cracker to a stack of pancakes. Make some for yourself or a Thanksgiving hostess gift.

Maple Bourbon Pumpkin Butter
Ingredients:
29 oz. can Pumpkin Puree
3/4 C Maple Syrup
1/4 C Sugar
1/2 C Apple Cider
1/4 C Bourbon
4 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir constantly to incorporate ingredients and avoid bubbles from splattering. Reduce to low heat and cover with a lid. Simmer for 30 minutes and then pour into an air tight jar.

Can You Draw the Internet?

I grew up with dial-up. In 1998 at 12-years old I really only used the Internet to chat with friends on AIM. I may have researched a book report or two on AOL.com, but the Internet wasn't totally clear to me beyond being a communication tool. The Internet connection regularly failed, mom would pick up the phone or it would just flat out crash, resulting in exaggerated pre-teen meltdowns because I'd be mid-instant message to the hottest boy in the 7th grade and get logged off. So I would sit, staring at the little yellow AOL man as he attempted to log me back on with the digital screeches of modems reconnecting. It was the dark ages. And nowadays the Internet is somewhat of an inconceivable abstraction. Creative agency Saint took this notion and wanted to expand upon it by posing a simple question - can you draw the Inernet? In a culture of grown ups who have seen the the role of the Internet rapidly evolve and creep into every cranny of our lives, business and socialization, we are overrun with the necessity and capacity of the Internet. Yet we can still recall times when the Internet played only a small role, if any at all - smart phones, for example, were first introduced in the mid 90's, and we didn't see our beloved iPhone appear until 2007.

But now, we've reached a place in time where there are young generations who have never experienced life without the Internet at their immediate disposal. Kids have an astonishing innate agility and affinity with technology. While I am still teaching my mother the concept of right-clicking, my boss tells a story of how his 4-year old daughter picked up an iPad during a trip to Best Buy and began to easily navigate the applications using a natural technology common sense.

Saint directed their creative challenge to members of the advertising and design community, and then, to a group of kids in primary school. The results were posted on November 12, 2010 and viewers can vote for their favorite representations. Not only is it interesting to compare the artistic thoughts of professional creative talents and those of some awesome kids, I also find it interesting to examine trends and interpret what makes the highest-ranking drawings "the best" in the minds of the public.

It appears that the front running designs all convey a simple, pointed emotion through analogies and visual representations that pertain to the role the Internet plays in human life. Even in the adult entries, the drawings that communicate a single-minded thought with emotional resonance, rather than convoluted social commentary or complex subtexts to wade through, were chosen as favorites. At the end of the day, there is no real winner because there is no single answer to what the Internet is and what significance it has. What we can tell, is that the saturation and reach of the Internet is becoming more of a second nature rather than an application we control.

Time for Treats, Not Turning Tricks

Halloween is an opportunity to pull out the best of your creative skill and craftiness to make your favorite characters and fantasies come to life. I think every young girl, or sometimes not so young girl, goes through the slutty costume phase. It's really quite amazing how us chicks can wear little more than lingerie, don a pair of fake ears or wings, and call our porny excuse of a costume a cat, an angel, a fairy etc. I wore out of that phase after one Risky Business episode back in college. It's just boring. Halloween is fright and whimsy the personification of puns.

This year I didn't know what to be until my roommate announced she was dressing up as Finn from our favorite cartoon, Adventure Time. You need to watch this show, it's like a television writer wrote down the verbal diatribe of a 7 year old boy playing make believe on a sugar high, found an animator, and made magic. Inspired by the novelty of my smoking roommate dressing up as a little boy cartoon, I started to think of my own favorite cartoons as a child. I landed on Chuckie Finster from Rugrats, and thence came one of the best costumes I've ever created. There are two criteria: 1. how cheaply can you make an awesome costume, and 2. how accurate can you make it. It all came down the hair, I teased and sprayed and teased and sprayed, and I had an orange fro that I never knew was just dying to come out. Enjoy your Halloween everyone, and as a last minute throw in - enjoy these tasty pumpkin flavored pumpkin crisped rice treats :).

Pumpkin Rice Crispies Treats
Ingredients:
8 Tbs. Butter
24 Oz. Marshmallows
2 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
12 C Crisped rice cereal
Food Coloring
Black Icing

Melt 6 Tbs butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add 22 ounces of marshmallows (about 1 1/2 packages) until meted down, stirring continuously. Add red and yellow food coloring to create an orange hue. Add pumpkin pie spice and stir until combined. Add crisped rice cereal and stir until well combined. Set aside and let cool until able to handle.

In a separate saucepan heat an additional 2 table spoons of butter until melted and add 2-4 ounces of marshmallows. Incorporate green food coloring (this will be your stem!). Add 1 Cup crisped rice cereal and combine with marshmallow.

Form your pumpkins into baseball sized balls and set on wax paper to cool completely. Take your green mixture and form small stems atop each pumpkin. Once all your pumpkins are made take your icing and draw spooky faces on your treats. Makes 12-15 Pumpkins.

Have I Told You About My Pumpkin Obsession?

Oh it's big. I love pumpkin everything. Once Fall hits, I will buy the mega cans of pumpkin pie filling and absent mindedly scour the internet for pumpkin recipes in my free time. It's even lead to an exploration in other gourds and squashes. I take my cues from marketing on when the actual season begins (I know I should be able to avoid the advertising influence, seeing as I am in the industry, but it hooks me every time). It seems like once the pumpkin spice lattes hit Starbucks or the pumpkin pie flavor is being scooped at 21 Choices, my furor is unleashed and I toy with ways that I could subsist solely of variations of pumpkin.

When I moved in to my new house my mom bought me a mini deep fryer as a housewarming gift…I’m still not sure why. I had big dreams of locking my doors, closing my curtains and having a sinfully gluttonous day of deep frying anything I could get my hands on. It’s yet to happen but I haven’t let go of the dream of turning my kitchen into a county fair and creating deep fried Snickers, macaroni & cheese balls and corn dogs. A friend told me he actually took a piece of ham, wrapped it around cheese and tossed it gingerly into a deep fryer once, “It was like a ham wonton!” he exclaimed. It makes you both cringe and secretly salivate at the same time, admit it!

But I digress, I first christened my mini fryer over last Thanksgiving when I made a pumpkin doughnut hole recipe for dessert. The resulting little flavor bombs were sweet and spicy without being too greasy. The dough was dense and moist, remnants of sugar and cinnamon clung to my lips. The leftovers were good for days and I nibbled my way through the rest of the batch by the end of the weekend. It just so happens that this recipe is Vegan as well – a fact I tend to slip in quietly as I find many assume that vegan cooking will taste like pasty lentils or vegetable pulp. Not the case! Anyway, I thought this recipe would be perfect for a Sunday morning Halloween breakfast – something to stave off the oncoming work week and assuage the Monday blues. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Doughnut Holes
Ingredients:
1 Tbs flaxseed meal
2 Tbs warm water
1/4 C soy milk
1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 3/4 C all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tps baking soda
1/2 tps salt
2 Tbs pumpkin pie spice
1/2 C sugar
2 Tbs margarine
2 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 C canned pumpkin (not pie filling!)

In a small bowl mix together flaxseed meal with the water, soy milk and vinegar. Set aside.
In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice.
In a third bowl, combine ginger, vanilla and pumpkin.

Beat sugar and margarine together until well combined. Add the flaxseed liquid until creamy and then add the pumpkin mixture. Mix in dry ingredients gradually in shifts until dough is just combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Heat several inches of oil to 365-370 degrees Fahrenheit. You want the oil to just cover your doughnut holes. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Dust your cutting board with flour and form 1/2-1 inch doughnut holes, they will expand upon frying. Fry 4-5 doughnut holes at a time, dropping them as close to the surface of the oil as possible to avoid splattering. If hot oil scares you, use a slotted spoon to gently place the holes in the oil.  Use the same slotted spoon or wire strainer to roll the doughnuts and ensure even cooking. Remove from oil after 2 minutes or a dark golden brown color. Place holes onto a wire rack or paper towels. Once they have cooled enough to handle, roll the holes in the sugar and cinnamon.

Excuse Me, Mr President.

Times, they are achanging.

Audrey II

  It's Halloween Month. Yes, Halloween is in fact a celebration I make last a month. I love whimsy, the fright fests, the communal celebration of being someone who you are not, just for an evening. But more than anything, I love the gaudy excess. We stuff ourselves with bagfuls of candy and smother our homes in faux cobwebs and ghoulish horrors, and it delights us. When I was a wee one at Christmas time I always begged my folks to decorate our house with the colorful lights and tacky lawn ornaments. No such luck. We had the wholesome and holy white lights with red ribbons on the lamp posts. It looks good in retrospect, but I'd still love me a plug-in glowing baby Jesus.

Halloween was the only time I got away with cheap kitsch and flair. So I spend the whole month of October drinking pumpkin spice lattes, filling my Netflix queue with scary movies and turning my house into a display. It is a fact all my roommates have come to accept, and I think secretly adore. In October, my spidey senses are heightened, unconsciously attuned to the next craft or decoration I can discover. So naturally, when I happen to spy a Venus Fly Trap out of the corner of my eye in the floral department at the grocery store, I pause. This plant is is a man eating inanimate organism. See "Little Shop of Horrors" for a more accurate description of how this plant is a badass. So I bought him. And in tribute to the Broadway sensation, I named him (or her, I guess) Audrey II.

This evening, I happened to kill a mosquito whizzing around my apartment. I was going to throw it away, and then a devious sensation crept in as I remembered my little leafy friend. Experiment: Will Audry II actually eat a bug if I feed it to him? The result, a resounding yes. It's kind of a sick satisfaction to see your carnivorous plant feed on a hapless little bug. Kind of like the satisfaction Freddy Krueger may have gotten from slaying teenagers. Muahahaha!