We're a good mix

Intro please....

Aaron: OK, so I love to eat and I love to cook. I really love hole-in-the-wall restaurants and take pride in researching and knowing the best places to eat. Places where the quality is good and where the food is original and not "pre-fab." It is always more satisfying to go somewhere that is not a chain, or where the "ambiance" is not more important than the taste.

My mission is to share a little piece of my culinary persona. I love to find new and exciting ingredients, try to re-create dishes I have eaten in restaurants and perfect recipes from cook books. I love the idea of perfecting a dish or at least working towards that.

I grew up in the South and we never called it "soul food", we just called it good food (although the food has become a part of my soul). I am a 1/4 Italian and remember the taste of my Grandma's(Mom-Mom's) meatballs and spaghetti when I was growing up and have spent a lifetime trying to recreate that taste. I love Asian, Polynesian, Mexican (because of my time in Southern CA) and most ethnic foods.

Carrie is the baker; I don't bake. Let me say though, Carrie can bake and that is just one of the many things I love about her. I think that while in PA, she secretly became Amish so she could learn their baking secrets. She inspires me and indulges me on our culinary journey.


Carrie: I'm a wife, mother, business woman and photographer. My life is full, which means there is nothing better than coming home after a hard days work to shrimp spring rolls and Japanese fried rice made by Rowdy.

I love my husband's food. I love that he can cook well. I love that he spends 3 hours in the meat aisle at the grocery store. I love that to him, the best DATE night is going to the grocery store; the Asian markets, the Indian store we drove by last week, the produce stands that bring fresh fruits and vegetables from local farms. These experiences, the searching for the best ingredients make us excited to cook, and we hope that everyone does or will feel the same way.

Weekends for us are a time to experiment. It's a time when we can look at our favorite cookbooks and make those recipes our own. We plan ahead. We grocery shop only 1x a week. We don't buy hamburger helper. We never limit ourselves to trying new things and new flavors. Our conversation is never "What should we have? Meatloaf or macaroni and cheese?" Instead it's, "Are we going for Thai or Italian?"

I'll be the first to admit that my husband is a bit more excited about food than I am sometimes. However, once I have savored that bite of perfectly marinated steak topped with sauteed chanterelle mushrooms, I am grateful for the God-given gift of taste buds, and for this inspiring food journey of ours.


What to expect: We'll have different kinds of posts on here. Just to name a few... restaurant reviews all around the Seattle area with meal recommendations, tips and tricks in our own kitchen, recipes, and must-have ingredients to keep in your pantry to make that gourmet (or just plain good) meal at home.