Gluten-Free, Veggie Etouffee

This is my most precious recipe.

There once was this amazing restaurant in Parkland, WA called From the Bayou. They had amazing, spicy dishes. My favorite was their crawfish etouffee (back when I was a carnivore). It was creamy, flavorful, and just perfect. It was served over rice and with their jalapeno cornbread.

Then one day, something happened. From the Bayou was gone. The owners fled from debtors, at least that is what I heard. But...they left a special treat. On their website, they posted the recipes for some of their best dishes. It almost seemed like they were trying to "shove it" to people who wanted to buy the place or something. This was about 8 years ago. Luckily, I was smart enough to print them off (and the new restaurant did fail after it was sold). I still I have the recipes and I don't really want to give them out without making you pay. They are that good!

However, I have changed the etouffee recipe a bit to make it vegetarian and gluten-free so I feel that it is worth sharing. It still is creamy and mouth watering. Otherwise, I wouldn't even bother, I would just cry that it is gone forever!

INGREDIENTS
5T butter
3 chopped onions
2 chopped green peppers
1 1/2t chopped garlic
3-4c slice mushrooms
1 1/2t arrowroot powder (flour for you glutens)
3/4T cayenne pepper
4 dashes hot sauce
1T garlic powder
1c whipping cream
1 1/2c milk
1/2c half and half
1 3/4c (or one 16oz can) tomato sauce

METHOD
1. Melt the butter in a large heavy pot.
2. Add onions, peppers, garlic, and all seasonings and saute, stirring occasionally until onions are translucent. About 15 minutes.

3. Add mushrooms and saute for about 5 min.
4. Mix arrowroot powder in a small bowl with 1T water and mix well until incorporated. Add mix to pot and stir for 1 minute.

5. Add whipping cream, milk, and half and half.
6. Cook until liquid thickens, but not boiling, stirring often.
7. Add tomato sauce and cook for 15 minutes.
8. Continue to stir and cook. The longer you cook the etouffee, the better it tastes! I like to cook mine for at least 30 minutes.

Serve over rice!

29.

I have been a really bad blogger lately. I know. I feel like I am just not in the mood for writing down my thoughts. Maybe it is because I have my thoughts towards other things such as: food, weeding, running, facilitating meetings, my to-do list, something I forgot, laundry, and so on and so forth.  Some of those things I think about and then do. Some of those things I think about and then feel bad about not doing. My life isn't going badly, I just think about other things I suppose and I don't really feel that they are worthy literature for a post.

However, while I have been contemplating life and all it's activities, I turned 29. Last week was my birthday. I went on a Ikea shopping spree with Mah and Mr Pepperworth. It was very nice and I even got through the whole store without dragging my feet and asking someone to carry me (I have a short shopping span.) Fil and Mil took us to dinner and then I went on a 3 day xcountry skiing excursion with my parents and the hubs. Getting to ski, lounge, snowshoe, and sit in a pool-sized hot tub was the best. I thoroughly enjoyed being active during the day and feeling tired and sore in the evening.

So yes, I am almost out of my twenties. Honestly, I feel like I already should be there. I don't know, maybe owning a home makes me feel older. Or maybe it is the fact that my face finally looks older to me, I don't have that girlish sweet-faced charm anymore. (Or at least the charm that I am pretty sure I had.) But, then, on the other hand, I can't drag myself out of bed earlier than 7:30am and that makes me feel like a lazy 13 year old. No one wants to be 13 again though. I've never done well is odd numbers (fun/odd/embarrassing fact: I don't get out of bed when the clock ends in an odd number. Some sort of intelligent superstition).

What will 29 bring me? I don't know right now but it better be good! Maybe I should start running again, I think I have been saying that for a month now. Come on 29, inspire me.

January Gone

Wow, next week is the end of January (and Justin Timberlake's birthday in case you write that on your calendar). I gotta say, January 2012 has been a pretty interesting year beginning.

I am now the chair of the local Public Market (not sure how I feel about that still).
We had over a foot of snow for almost a week (which I totally loved but thought the schools should have been in session).
We went to visit Sissy and Lil' Bear is California (had a great time even though it rained...at least it wasn't snow).
I discovered Pinterest (what I do instead of updating this here blog, whoopsie daisy).
I haven't worked a full 5 day week for probably a month because of holidays and vacations (but I still didn't find time to get all my other "to-dos" done).

But alas, next week I will be working a full 5 days but then....it's my birthday and I am taking a day off (or two). I think Washington should put a 4 day work week on the ballot soon.

My first pinterest DIY project "snow sticks"

Bright New Day

Sometimes I wake up (when I am not cozy under the covers and talking myself out of waking up) and I look outside and the sky is beautiful. Our front windows have a great view of the islands and sky. The clear sky and pink shadowy clouds are amazing. This morning I decided to take Buk for a walk (because I didn't want to run). When I walk just a quarter of a mile up the road, Mt Baker is fully visible. This just makes me smile every single time. If I walk even further, about half a mile, I can see the Canadian mountain range and that too is spectacular.

I get such joy seeing nature in all its splendor. Every time I see the mountain or the green San Juans, it makes me remember why I love my home. You know, sometimes I wished I lived in Hawaii because it too is so perfect but on mornings like this, I am reminded why I love Washington.

I know, this is total hippy bullshit but lordy, my day is a little brighter now because of the chilly, beautiful morning walk!

Garlic Carrots (Raw)

I love garlic. If you don't like garlic then you probably won't like this recipe. Which means you probably are a vampire. Just sayin'.

But, if you do in fact like garlic and you also happen to like carrots, then you should make this. It is super easy to make and it is a healthy snack. I make this when I find myself wanting a snack and about to open some chips. For me, this recipe replaces those easy to eat snacks that I really shouldn't eat all the live long day.

INGREDIENTS
6 larger-sized carrots
3 cloves of garlic
1T Mirin (an asian sweet rice vinegar) or regular rice vinegar
2t agave (or 2t simple sugar)
1/2t (or to taste) salt

METHOD
1. Grate carrots and put into a medium sized bowl.

2. Mince the garlic and put in same bowl.

3. Pour Mirin, agave, and salt into bowl.
4. Mix together.

5. You could eat it now or stick it in a jar and put in the fridge to let the flavors mix together a bit more and enjoy some later.

I am going to go eat some of mine right now!

Twenty Hundred And Twelve

Happy 2012 everybody! I have spent the last few days doing nothing! Great way to start a year, if I do say so myself! However, I have to go to work tomorrow and that isn't so happy. I mean I like work and all but I like eating food, taking naps, looking at pinterest, and doing what I want a lot more. I even did some DIY projects: homemade kahlua and some sticks in jars with salt snow decorations. Sissy was in town too; therefore, I got my fashion and decorating senses kicked into high gear. Thank god, I need that from time to time. Those sweat pants were really starting to stink.

All in all, I really enjoyed my family time (immediate, inlaws, and extended). Although, we were supposed to go x-country skiing with Ma and Pah and that didn't happen due to 20mph winds, we still had a great time entertaining each other.

Cousins

Now, for 2012, I need to do some working out. I know that is what everyone says and that is why the gym is going to be like the Walmart parking lot (which I have never actually been to, just heard about) but this inner tube I am beginning to get isn't really going to help me in any winter floods. Time to strap up my Nike's and get serious. Who's with me?! No one? Shit, this is going to make getting out of my cozy bed pretty difficult.

Buky's Xmas Hat

White Russians Are Sooo Good

These last few days have been quite busy for me at home and at work.

At work, we have kids all day so it is non-stop and I feel like I don't have much time to get my "to-do" list done. With work busy, I am reminded why I never became a teacher because dealing with children all day really makes a couple drinks after work hit the spot. However, I would rather not need 4.5 white russians to stop hearing the children in my head. Not to mention my office is a hell hole! I leave work everyday either in a rush to get home because we have plans or I have just told a kid to "stop saying shut up", "say please", and/or "get the hell off the mother f-ing pool table please" for the three thousandth time and I only have enough energy to grab my bags, planner and book it out the doors. Sometimes I remember my keys, sometimes I don't.

But...it is only a 4 day work week this week and next (and the week after) and I am SO happy for that. I need some down time. This year for the holidays we are going to spend full days with both of our families and Sissy and Lil Bear are coming home for a visit and I am so excited! I will even get to spend time skiing with my family AND we get to welcome the new year with Sissy. I couldn't think of a better way to finish off the year!

At home, I have been wrapping and re-wrapping presents. Our dear Buk took to unwrapping presents one day because he is bored. Yes, he is bored because his mommy and daddy don't love him and didn't take him to exercise for like 3 or 4 days but comeon!

I also finished our Holiday letter this weekend and I got most of them mailed out Monday. The letter explains what all of the Pepperworths have been up to this year and how we all fared with 2011. If you would like your own recap, you can see it here, here, here, here, here and here. Don't worry, you don't have to read them all, there will not be a test.

Here is our picture this year. After a week of trying to get Mr Pepperworth in a new photo, it never happened because he was too busy saving us thousands of dollars by fixing up the van. So this is our way of still sending a silly picture but not actually having to take one.

 I hope you all are looking forward to your holidays!

Love The Pepperworths