On My Radar: Salt + Pepper + Oil

Thanks to the Downtown Bellingham Partnership's Morning Jam, I was made aware of an exciting new service in town. The Morning Jam brings in people from Bellingham and the surrounding areas to talk about their passions and how they have lined them up with what they do and who they are. 

Oleg Vetkov

Oleg Vetkov is the man behind Salt + Pepper + Oil, a Fresh Ready-to-Cook Meal service. What he shared is that he has a passion for food, and a passion for a well balanced life. He is working to have that for himself and offer it to others in his business! He knows that we are all short on time, but have a love for meals that are nutritious, fresh, and made from ingredients that are sourced responsibly. And that if you aren't burdened with all the prep, there is room to have a little bit more fun in the kitchen!

Sam at the Salt+Pepper+Oil Storefront

Oleg was gracious enough to give my family a couple of meals to take home and try to see how they would go over for a typical family. We are a crew of three, a full time worker, part-time worker, and one 16 year old that is preparing to go back to school soon. The adults in the picture are fairly adventurous, while the 16 year old is working on it! 

Triple Zested Chicken Breast with Caprese Peach Salad (plus utensils)

The first of the two meals we tried was Triple Zested Chicken Breast with Caprese Peach Salad. The ingredients are all labeled to coordinate with instructions on the packaging and in a  really helpful manner, the list of needed utensils is also included. The crew all gathered around to get started! 

Samantha getting busy with the cherry tomatoes!

Though she says she doesn't love them, our daughter Sam was happy to cut the gorgeous cherry tomatoes! The colors were beautiful, and the taste even better! But this was just the beginning of the side salad. Once cut there were ready prepped peaches, fresh mozzarella,  some mint and basil to quickly dice up and a lovely basalmic glaze ready to drizzle over the whole works. Along with the chicken that was ready with an easy coating of the packet of zest and a quick cook we were ready to go. 

Happy Steve with the finished product!

That face you see above? That's a happy guy! This meal was perfect for a summer evening…and the salad was so beautiful. It was like having a restaurant meal…at home. And the cleanup was minimal. What a sweet deal! 

Capicola and Garlic Sauce Flatbreads

Meal two was much like the first! All the ingredients are packaged together and well marked. And this one had us all drooling before we even cut into it…Capicola and Garlic Sauce Flatbreads! We figured it was a great Friday evening meal, because well, pizza! But this…well this was elevated to another level! 

Flatbread ingredients

The flatbreads were incredibly easy to put together. Everything was ready to go and it was a matter of cutting open the packages, and putting everything on the flatbreads based on preferences. We all decided we were game for everything, and just went for it! 

Flatbread with side salad

And we were so glad we did! We made a side salad on our own to go with this meal, but all we could talk about was the flatbread. In our family lingo it tasted like "more" which meant we all wanted lots more of it! It was SO GOOD. The serving of sliced capicola that came with it was so generous that there was enough for Steve to make himself a small cheese plate the next day and include it. But all he could talk about was the flatbread. The heat, the cheese, it was a perfect combo. 

So, needless to say we are all converts to Salt+Pepper+Oil and have already put an order in for a couple of items on his next menu. The ordering is so flexible and having the option to either go by and say hi and pick it up, or have it delivered is really cool. We think being able to eat well, have it be easy, have your family help (bonus!), and feel like you are trying innovative, locally made items is worth our dollar. I hope you decide to give it a try! Let me know if you do and what you think! 

Cookies & Coffee

When my ahem, 50th birthday started staring me in the face I contemplated throwing myself a party. I had done it for my 40th, and it was one of the funnest things ever. The planning was part of the fun for this girl! Planning just what things would surprise, excite and help bring my different friend groups together. So, with some encouragement from my husband (who is so much happier to have the pressure off him!) it was decided to go for it!

When I start party planning there is usually something that I feel will be the "thing." The thing that all other ideas will play off of, and will bring the "kapow!" This year I decided it would be having the party catered by Jenna Kincaid of The Sweet Petite. First because her cookies are amazing, second she is hysterical! Getting to have what she calls "the Whip" here was an extra show stopper! 

Next it was a general theme. My favorite thing besides cookies right now is of course coffee. So it was set. Boozy coffees, cookies, some lovely fragrant Tattly tattoos as party favors and an instax camera ready to capture the fun. 

Jenna asked if there was flavor that I would like to have in a cookie and what came to mind was chocolate chip mint. She made it happen and it was a hit! All that was left was to cut into the cake! 

And socialize and eat lots of cookies. One big, lovely difference that I noticed between this year and my 40th was that everyone mixed this year. Having friends from all the different areas of your life mingling is something really special. I really just wanted an excuse to have a bunch of women get together and have a chance to have some really wonderful conversations and that happened. 

Steve was the only guy there and it was the best having him by my side. And he tolerated the conversation and the turns they took well!  So, this turning another year old wasn't the worst thing ever! 

Food Magic: Beecher's Mac & Cheese

Hey guys…I have no idea what I did to this photo, but I had to share it anyway. We are experiencing our first snowfall of the season and it's given me a hankering for Beecher's Mac & Cheese from the cool little shop in Pike Place Market in Seattle. We were hugely excited to find their outpost in Seattle-Tacoma airport on one of travels and needless to say it's become a must stop, along with Caffe Vita for some delicious coffee art. 

Now you may not have heard of this dish, but after it was featured on Oprah's favorite things and touting itself as "Worlds Best Mac & Cheese" it became a hit in Seattle and beyond. My husband is a major cheese freak and I am someone that would never turn it down. And I am all for comfort food. When he found the recipe online it was a win-win for us both. Beecher's cheese can be found in our local grocery store and he had built up quite a collection of it. So we were able to whip this up in an afternoon. 

I won't put up the recipe here…I'm honestly afraid I will bungle it since I am suffering from a sinus/headcold thing and I really shouldn't be near electronics at all. But I will leave you with the link for the Mac & Cheese. It's worth a try. Trust me on this. 

Food Magic: Scary Drinks & Snacks

When Friday hit last week I was ready. As in really ready. We had had a pretty emotional week at work, which is saying a lot in a workplace of all women and one High School guy when he isn't in school. Was it a full moon? I am prepared to blame it on that.

Whatever it was, Friday afternoon called for some spooky snacks and drinks. So, we pulled out Elysian The Great Pumpkin for the parents, and some Flying Cauldron Butterscotch Beer (non-alcoholic of course!) for the girls. Let's just say I pretended to LOVE beer when my husband and I were dating, so me being into beer again is a win in his mind. And a relaxing evening is a win in mine!

We had these funny little chips with our drinks and they made us laugh! Pumpkins, ghosts & bats, oh my! Do you do anything to celebrate the weekend? I think something like this may become a weekend occurrence. Wouldn't that make my husband happy?