My Six Seconds with The Pioneer Woman

While in Sequim working in the West Coast Sea Glass studio, I discovered that Ree Drumond (The Pioneer Woman) would be signing books in Seattle. If your not familiar with her work then you probably aren't a FoodNetwork addict. Ree Drumond lives on a cattle ranch. She began blogging six years about food, photography, and life in the middle of nowhere country. She has won awards for her blogs, where she demonstrates recipes through step-by-step photos.

I have a mild interest in her work, but my dad was quick to point out this event and his undying love. So, Jack and I decided to trek to Third Place Books... along with over 700 of our closest, foodie friends.

Jack enjoys his first ferry ride.

 

P.W. is to the right of slideshow screen.

After wandering the book store for an hour and a half, Jack was ready to terrorize the place. We did less listening to her talk and more throwing books off the shelves. I was able to overhear bits and pieces... There were lots of pictures, especially of Charlie. She sang... sorta. There was even the mention of a possible move to Seattle? Despite his lack of interest, Jack made sure to clap at appropriate times with the rest of the audience.

Jack threw these water bottles all over the store.

Jack was fairly well behaved thanks to the large bookstore's food court and toddler play area. However at the 6 hour mark, we both started to melt.

Jack mostly watched the other kids in the play area.

 
I think Jack was wondering why we waited so long to see a lady color in books when his Mama is always saying not to do that.

In need of naps, new diapers and a better photographer...

"Love to Jim!"

P.W.'s newest cookbook.

Happy Birthday, Dad! ...a couple months early. I expect some damn Peach Whiskey Chicken next week. And, Jack wants Coffee Cream Cake. He told me so.

Stupid Pinterest

I attempted to make some fun desserts for Kylie's birthday. It's hard to make gluten-free desserts. This is what you're supposed to get....

Cute, right?

This is what I got....

You can't even tell how bad it was from this picture...

When balloons covered in chocolate explode, you can end up with chocolate on the floor. On the ceiling. On yourself. Pretty much anywhere within 10 feet.

Favorite Furber Things [From the Kitchen}

Bacon Soda

Bacon. It just might be the one thing my family can agree on. One of their favorite meals I've made was sausage-stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon, and one of the few ways I can get my kids to eat their veggies is to cook it in bacon. I never would have imagined convincing them to eat kale, but bacon did the convincing for me. Bacon is definitely a Favorite Furber Thing [From the Kitchen].

More recently I made a leek & potato soup with bacon, which also went over quite well. Here's the recipe, as I remember it. I think. Mostly. I'm sure it's pretty close.

Potato Soup:
2 Leeks
1 clove of garlic diced
1/2 pkg of Bacon
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
5 Potatoes, chopped
2 cups Chicken stock
2 cups milk
salt to taste
pepper to taste
thyme to taste
Finely chopped chives for garnish

Cook bacon in soup pot and set aside. Then remove most of the bacon grease, but leave enough to cook your aromatics. Add celery, carrots, and herbs. Sautee until tender.

In another pot make a roux. Add chicken stock and milk. Most recipes suggest whipping cream or half & half, but I didn't want the calories. This liquid will be added to the veggies and used to cook potatoes. At the last, add the chopped bacon. Hope you enjoy!

Favorite Furber Things [From the Kitchen}

Juanita's.
Have you tried these chips?! My favorite thing about going to a Mexican restaurant is the chips and salsa. Juanita's chips taste exactly like you would expect at a Mexican restaurant. Plus, they are usually the cheapest chips, and as I've said before, I love a good deal.

Favorite Furber Things [From the Kitchen}

Today's Furber favorite thing from the kitchen is sweet potatoes. A couple years ago we learned that sweet potatoes are better for you than regular potatoes (they contain beta carotene, vitamin B6, vitamin C and a good source of dietary fiber) so we tried to incorporate them into our diet more often. We love sweet potato fries (Alexia makes a gluten-free version), baked sweet potatoes, and mashed sweet potatoes. Check out the recipe below for a little Southwestern twist.

Southwest Sweet Potato Mash:
1/2 Sweet Potatoes
1/2 Baked Potatoes
Diced Green Chiles
Honey

I like cooking because it's not an exact science so forgive the lack of recipe. Fix the potatoes like you normally would make mashed potatoes (sour cream, milk, whatever...). Then add green chiles and honey to taste. Super delicious. Everyone who has tried it has asked for the recipe.

Favorite Furber Things [From the Kitchen}

For the next week I'm going to share a few of the Furbers' favorite things from the kitchen. Tonight we begin with Sweet Baby Rays. I originally bought this BBQ sauce because it happened to be the cheapest, and we all know that I love a good deal. But, this great deal ended up making for some delicious grub. Even better, Sweet Baby Ray's is a gluten-free sauce (it lists "modified starch" in the ingredients, but I called the company because that's how much we love Sweet Baby Ray's). Plus, there are several flavors as you can see (below). If you've not tried it, go out and buy a bottle!

No, Baby Ray is not paying me for this post.

Coca-Cola Chicken

The other night we had one of our favorite meals, which includes beer coke can chicken. Now that Kylie has been diagnosed with Celiac disease, we are using only gluten free options.

Remove giblets from chicken and rub with your favorite poultry seasoning. Include the chicken cavity with rub. Pour some coke (gluten-free option) or beer into cooking device, place chicken onto cooking device (see below).

Poultry Device by Weber

Heat grill to between 350 and 450 degrees, and cook chicken for about 1 & 1/4 hours until internal temperature reaches 180 degrees. Super easy. Super delicious.

Furber Family Fourth!

Daddy & Jack walking on the tidelands

We woke early for my family which meant we finally hit the road after 10am on The Fourth for a Furber Family day of fun and headed to Sequim where the sun's always shining! We immediately headed to my dear friend, Mary Beth's, house. She graciously let my family use her beach house as our home base while we crabbed, cooked up our snappy crustaceans, kayaked and setup the Furber Family Firework display. In Kylie's words, this year will be hard to beat! It was the best July 4th ever.

Therin is ready to catch crab... bare handed!

Adventurous siblings

Kylie is trying tons of new things these past few weeks.

Our yummy, patriotic dish

Sweet Jack fell asleep before the fireworks

Stuffed Jalapeno

1 pkg cream cheese
1 cup shredded mozarella
1/2 package of bacon
8 jalapenos

Mix two cheeses together while oven preheats to 400 degrees. I cut the top out of the jalapenos, which allowed me to pull out the stem, membrane and most of the seeds. I used the hole to stuff the jalapenos, but next time would slice the whoppers in half to make them a bit more manageable. Next, I wrapped the the jalapenos in bacon and bake for about 45 minutes or until bacon is crispy & cream cheese is goo-ing. Yah, that's a new word.

Cake Box Cookies

1 box yellow cake mix
1 large egg
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 can vanilla frosting
Colored Sprinkles
Food Coloring

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray pan with Pam.
2. Combine cake mix, egg, oil, and buttermilk in large bowl. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Shape 1-inch mounds of batter into balls and flatten slightly. Place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet and top with sprinkles.
3. Bake until cookies are golden & firm, 8-10 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
4. Divide frosting  among three bowl, add food coloring to tint and sandwich cookies together with frosting.

For my second attempt, I wouldn't make sandwiches. Instead I'd top each cookie with the frosting & sprinkles so people could still eat a couple, rather than filling up on just one. Also, I substituted rainbow chip frosting because it's my favorite more festive.

*Recipe in Parents April 2011 issue.