Blondin Engagement Pics

So I work with a bunch of cool peeps if you didn't know. I was asked by one of them's future wifes to take their engagement pictures and of course I said yes. When someone asks me to take their pictures I get really excited. I hear all these stories of families and couples who get their pictures taken and they are really unhappy about the results. That's where I fit in. I do my darndest to make sure that they get something they like and when they see their results and I hear their feedback I get all smitten inside.



The location they picked was Pike Place and I was stoked because I haven't shot that location with people yet. The weather sucked but we were able to pull it off and the results were awesome if I say so myself. They were troopers and did a fantastic job. If you get the time take a look at the pics and let me know what you think.



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I got a motorcycle

I have always wanted to get a motorcycle even though I have never ridden before in my life. I mean I know there are significant risks involved but that doesn't really freak me out and in all actuality it kind of made me want to get one more. Now I know that if I was to get a bike it has to be a cruiser because if I were to get a sport bike I would want to go 150 mph all the time. A cruiser is cool because you just kind of lay out and chill and that sounds like a good fit for me. However before I bought a bike it was time to take the safety course.



I found this company called The Evergreen Safety Council and they offer motorcycle training courses. Being that I have never ridden before I decided to to take the Novice or Total Noob class. It consisted of 3 classes the first on a Thursday from 6 - 9 which was all class work. The second was on Saturday which was from 8 - 1 which was all riding then from 2 - 5 and this was all class work again and also included the written part of the test which was crazy easy. I missed 2 questions out of 50. The final day was from 8 - 12 and the last part was the driving test. I got a 99/100 which was awesome the highest score in the class.



For the record I HIGHLY recommend this class. They teach you all kinds of stuff and they do a great job of getting your mind in the right place. It's usually not the rider who creates accidents it's the other retards on the road who don't know how to drive.



So the next day I got my new license from the DOL with the motorcycle endorsement on the back. The wife had a great idea of going down and checking out bikes in Redmond and Bellevue and you know I was all over that. The first place we went to was closed on Mondays which sucks for them because I was ready to buy a bike. We then went to Eastside Harley in Bellevue and didn't leave until we had a bike.



I ended up getting a 2008 Harley Davison 1200 XL Custom Sportster. Now I know this is a smaller bike but the XL Custom fits me pretty good. Not to mention it isn't crazy fast which is good for my first bike. Not to mention it has all the modifications done to it already so I don't have to get that stuff. Honestly the only thing I would do to it would be to get a solo seat.



So I got it delivered to my house on Friday afternoon and spent 2 hours riding it around my neighborhood. Why was it delivered you ask? For the fact that my wife is smart and beautiful and made me realize that I have no idea how to ride a bike like that and it probably wasn't a good idea for me to ride it home 20 miles away on the freeway during rush hour. She was right.



I'm really looking forward to riding it a ton and getting super comfortable on it. I just need to ride and ride and I should be good to go. I honestly made a million new friends in like an hour because I'm a Harley owner now. It's nuts and fun at the same time. Hope to see you all out there.



See you on the road!!!

Oregon Trip

So here's the skinny. A couple of months ago the wife and I decided we should go down to visit my dad who lives just outside of Portland. We do this a couple of times a year and we always have a good time. Portland is an awesome town with tons stuff to keep you busy especially for people like the wife and I who love to drink and eat and have a good time. I had a few days of extra vaca stored up so we decided to make it a 4 day weekend.



Me being me, I decided I should do something really special for the wife it being the weekend after valentines day and all. So I hopped on the internets and found out that the hotel we stayed at when we got married in Canon Beach was doing a 2fer (that's 2 for 1) on their rates if you stay between Sunday and Thursday. So I booked 2 nights in that hotel but I didn't tell Kishelle I really wanted it to be a surprise. I was going to tell her while we were in Portland sometime. She was basically under the impression that we were going to be in Portland for 4 days and that was that. The plan was working.



It was the week before we were planning on heading down and we found out there is a brewery tour that Saturday in Portland. It was called Zwicklemania and it was going to feature like 30 breweries and there was going to have shuttles and all kinds of cool stuff. Not to mention that a couple of our friends were going to be there as well. This is perfect because my Dad had to work all day and we really didn't have anything to do anyways.



Let me tell you it was AWESOME! Everyone was handing out free beer and tours. I got to go to some of my favorites like Rock Bottom, Deschutes, Rogue, Bridgeport, McMinimins and any others I am forgetting. The beer was good, the company was good, it really was a fun time. I have never had unfiltered beer before. I mean they were literally pouring beer from one of the fermenting tanks. It was so sweet. We were seriously tanked by 5 pm.



We were standing outside waiting for my Dad after parting ways with our friends and right about that time the wife was getting a little pushy about wanting to do things that night with our friends and brother who was close to town as well. I kept telling her not to plan everything because I had stuff lined up but she had some liquid courage in her and was not letting up. So I dropped the bomb. "Babe we're going to the beach." "What beach?" "Canon Beach for 2 night and we're leaving in the morning." This was taken very well and I was then smothered in praise and kisses.



The pops picked us up and we went to this killer restaurant called Pok Pok. This place was on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives and offers a unique kind of Thai food. This is kind of a big deal for my Dad who doesn't really eat out of his comfort zone too much. We shared something like 5 dishes between us all and they were absolutely amazing. The stand out were the wings though. They were candied and tasty and one of a kind.



The next morning we set out for Canon Beach which is about 1.5 hours from Portland. We made it there with no problems even though there was some snow on the ground going over the 2,000 foot pass. For those who don't know we were married on this beach. Our stay was full of food, beach time, drinking, bubble baths and relaxing. It was exactly what we needed as a couple. That place hold a special place in our hearts and will always.



We stayed 2 wonderful night then made our way back to Portland to see my Dad again and pick up a new BBQ (it's a Weber Genesis in case you were wondering). Heading over the pass it started snowing like crazy. We barely made it. Not to mention they detoured us about an hour out of the way. The 1.5 hour trip turned into 3 hours really fast. We made it though and saw my Dad and the trip home was a cinch too. It was one of my favorites trips to date.



Wow I've been rambling. Check out my pics and let me know what you think. Hope you all are doing well.

Portland Pics
Canon Beach Pics

Jeremy and Tiffanie's Pics

My friends ask me to take pictures of them all the time but these guys are really great people so I was exceptionally stoked to do it for them. So when the day approached we ironed out the clothing choices and the location which happened to be right next to this camp I used to spend time at when I was a kid. We went to the locale on Saturday and there was still snow on the ground not to mention it was probably 34 degrees with 20 mph wind gusts. IT WAS COLD! They pulled through though. They kept their chins up and put on big smiles and we pulled it off. By the time we were done all our hands and faces were frozen but I had about 300 pictures to work with. Not bad for 30 minutes of work. Then we went to the bar and warmed up with our friend Miller High Life and Buffalo Wings. When I was editing them I tried to bring out the coolness of the shirts and the snow into each picture keeping them light and bright. So check out the pics and let me know what you think.

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Grilled Pasta

Now I know what you are thinking, what is grilled pasta. I didn't actually grill the pasta but everything else that went with the pasta was grilled, thus the name. I didn't really have a recipe I was just winging it but it turned out really good. The sausage was tender, the veggies were sweet because of the grilling and it all went really awesomely with the pasta. I love the flavor you get from grilling and it accented this dish perfectly. I hope you all like it. If you have any questions please let me know.

Kitchen Notes
* You can use whatever kind of noodles you like. I used rotelle because that's what I had.
* You can use whatever kind of sausage you like as well just make sure they're the big ones not the little breakfast ones.
* For the veggies, you want them big enough so they don't fall through the grill, we will slice them after then come off the heat.
* Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients
- 5 to 6 sausages
- 1 large onion, sliced (think onion rings but don't take them apart)
- 1 red pepper, scored and seeded then cut into quarters
- 1 yellow pepper, scored and seeded then cut into quarters
- Olive oil
- 1 pound pasta
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1/4 cup half and half
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated
- Kosher salt and pepper

The Process
1. Heat your grill to high heat. Cover your veggies with the oil and when your grill is hot, add them to the grill along with the sausages. Cook until the sausages are done and the veggies have grill marks on both sides. Remove from heat.
2. While your veggies and sausages grill, cook the pasta. When they are done, slice the onion and peppers into strips and cut the sausages into bite sized pieces.
3. When the pasta is done, drain then return to the pan over medium high heat. Add the cut veggies and sausages then hit it with the wine. Cook until the wine evaporates then add the half and half and parmesan and stir until thickened. Turn off heat then season with salt and pepper.
4. Enjoy!

Caribbean Jerk Chicken with Coconut Rice

You all know me, you know that I love to try new things and hopefully come up with a recipe that I can share with you. This is a recipe that I am pretty happy with. The flavors are deep and rich and the rice is soft and delicious and does a fantastic job of complementing the chicken. I hope you all like it and thanks for looking.

Kitchen Notes
* Based loosely off this recipe.
* If you aren't a fan of spicey food, they I would suggest using a jalapeno or crushed red pepper flakes in lue of the habenero.
* It's best to start the rice when you preheat the grill.
* Makes 4 servings

Ingredients
- 1 bunch green onions
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 habenero, stem removed
- 1/2 onion, skin removed and roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon ground allspice
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 blood orange, juiced
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 4 bone in, skin on chicken breasts

The Process
1. Combine all the ingredients other than the chicken in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Put the chicken in a plastic bag with the pureed mixture and toss well to make sure the chicken is completely covered. Place in fridge over night.
2. Heat a grill to medium high heat (about 400 degrees). Remove the chicken from the marinade then cook skin side down for 5 minutes or until the skin has a nice crust on it. Then cook the other side of the chicken for 5 minutes as well or until it has some nice grill marks on it.
3. Put the chicken on a rack above the grill or on a non heated side of the grill and let cook for an additional 10 minutes. This is important because if you leave it over the heat for that long it will burn.
4. Remove from heat and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve with coconut rise and fresh lime wedges.
5. Enjoy!


** Coconut Rice **
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1 cup white rice (I used jasmine)
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 3/4 cup coconut milk (about half a can)
- 1 can black beans, drained
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

The Process
1. Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium high heat. Add the garlic and pepper flakes and cook for one minute.
2. Add the rice and toast until you start to notice it turning color stirring often. Add the white wine and deglaze the pan.
3. Stir in the chicken stock and coconut milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook covered for about 20 minutes or until the rice is done. Turn off heat.
4. Stir in beans then season with salt and pepper.
5. Enjoy!

Chicken Makhani (Indian Butter Chicken)

I have been experimenting with making Indian food as of late. If you didn't see a couple of weeks ago I make Chicken Tikki Masala and Naan bread with turned out really good. So I thought I would try something with boneless chicken chicken breast after I found this recipe for Butter Chicken. This was super easy to make and it tasted so good. I was really amazed as I was eating it just how tasty it was and not to mention how simple it was to create. This recipe is a mock up of this one from AllRecipes.com I just kind of changed some steps and added some marinading. I really hope you all like this and as always if you have questions, please let me know.

Kitchen Notes
* Garam Masala can be found in the specialty food section of your grocery store.
* Makes 4 servings
* To make the coconut rice just add a cup of coconut milk instead of water to your rice cooker with the 3 cups of rice and a little bit of salt.

Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch cubes
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 inch fresh ginger grated
- 1 shallot minced
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil
- cornstarch and cold water combined to make a slurry

The Process
1. Combine chicken, 1 teaspoon of the garam masala and the cayenne pepper and let marinade in the fridge for 1 hour.
2. In a large work heat 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil over hight heat. Add the chicken and cook for about 8 minutes or until none of it is pink anymore. Drain the chicken in a colander. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel.
3. Return the wok to the heat and heat up the oil. Add the garlic, ginger, shallots and onion to the pan and cook for about 4 minutes or until the onions are turning translucent.
4. Stir in the butter, lemon juice, chili powder, cumin, the last teaspoon of the garam masala and the bay leaf and cook for about a minute longer than it takes the butter to melt.
5. Stir in the tomato sauce and cook for another 2 minutes. Stir in the yogurt, half and half and bring to a simmer.
6. Return the chicken to the work then season with the salt and pepper then add the cayenne pepper to your heat preference.
7. Simmer for 3 minutes then stir in the slurry to make it thicker. Simmer for 1 minute then remove from the heat.
8. Serve over coconut rice.
9. Enjoy!