Fork and The Cork

"Football is not a game but a religion, a metaphysical island of fundamental truth in a highly verbalized, disguised society, a throwback of 30,000 generations of anthropological time."

- Arnold Mandel


When I watch a sporting event, more often than not, I feel bad for the losing team. My heart goes out to them. There is a good reason for this: I'm a Seattle Sports Fan, and we are usually that team. It's a small price to pay for living in the beautiful northwest!

The good news about being a fan of a losing team, is that there is everything to hope for, nothing to fear, and the victories are so much sweeter. It also means that if you invest a good portion of a Saturday and/or Sunday being a superstar spectator, and your team loses, you feel a little cheated out of your weekend. But you know what?  It still beats raking leaves and cleaning the gutters!

Football season offers me a great opportunity to get some exciting cooking done. I've got a tv in the kitchen, the gam…

Last week I spent an evening with my family, including my little nieces, age 4 and 6. When we arrived at my parents house, Brooke, the 4 year old, grabbed my hand, led me into the kitchen and said
"Auntie Laurie, you HAVE to TRY this".
 (picture my hand in her left hand, and her right hand, palm open, waving in downward conviction while saying this) What could it be?  She led me to a pumpkin bowl full of candy corn! I thought it was so great that:


A) she was "introducing" me to candy corn, and


B) it's confirmation that the "foodie" gene has made it to the next generation!


It was like the first time I ever had Creme Brulee at Anthony's Homeport, or the butternut squash and goat cheese enchilada at The Cactus. I wanted to tell everyone, you HAVE to TRY this.


Brooke may have also revealed in the same time frame that she would like to be a garbage woman when she grows up, but HEY, so did I when I was four! This really is a kid after my own heart.... Now…

We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons. ~Alfred E. Newman>



Recently, I was made aware of a term used to describe a person such as myself:  A Food Nut Job. Ha! I actually laughed out loud when bestowed with this title, and I will wear it proudly!


Of course the people I am surrounded with should not find this quite as amusing, as I am sure they have muttered under their breath at any given event "that Laurie, she's a real food nut job"..... But then they'll sample my scrumptious butternut squash gratin, or my velvety tuscan white bean and garlic soup, or a batch of Grandma's recipe scotch shortbread cookies, and no longer am I a Food Nut Job, I am a Kitchen Goddess. And they are inevitably asking for the recipe, WHICH, I have no problem sharing.

So something very exciting has developed in the world of Fork and the Cork! I was contacted via a collegue, by Janet Garraty, publisher of the website: www.gojanenews.com to write a column.
This is a fabulous site dedicated to enriching the lives of busy women. She just launched a food page, titled "It's all about the food", becuase with women, IT'S ALL ABOUT THE FOOD! I hope you enjoy what I have submitted:

When you think of Seattle natives, you probably think of: Granola-eating, sandal-wearing, long-haired, tree hugging freaks who drink fair trade coffee and eat organic foods while wearing flannel.

There may be some truth to this, but as a lifelong Seattle-ite, I have been able to buck the trend. Ok, so I drink a lot of coffee, I do like granola (but seriously, who doesn't?), and flannel comes in quite handy on those very few rainy days we get every year, or week....

But I prefer to think of myself as June Cleaver meets 2009 in a nice, seaside suburb, just n…

You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have....



A) A hilarious t.v. series that follows housemother Mrs. Edna Garrett and her mission to instill values in the wide eyed girls of Eastland School while they mature into young women.


B) Dinner.

Answer: Both A and B. But I think it's more important to focus on B), since this blog is not devoted to the exceptional writing and production of 80's television sitcoms, but THAT's not a bad idea EITHER. If you know me at all, this will not be the last reference...

Being the kitchen warrior that I am, I test many recipes. I spend hours going through my cookbooks, magazines, the internet, and family recipes that have been entrusted to me. I have achieved success, and I have ordered Pizza Hut after dinner went Buh-Bye down the drain. The perfectionist in me makes itself known only in the kitchen. I will not serve a meal, a drink, an appetizer, unless I am confident that I have lived up to it's standards, a…