Katie Stew

A rich, simmering blend of my favorite things

And I’m Back

| 718 Comments

Hi there. Remember me? I know, it’s been awhile.

The last few months have been a whirlwind. There have been some lame things and some really wonderful things and a huge range of new experiences. And in the midst of all of that, I haven’t been in quite the right frame of mind to work on this blog.

But, I’m back and I have so much to show you.

JessicaYagerPhotography-2-1024x1024

At the beginning of winter, I was laid off from my job of the last 5 years. It was a very strange experience. A good friend of mine who was also let go and I decided it was like being dumped. It was sad, but mostly weird that I was no longer expected to go to work and take care of the same people that I had for so long.

On the plus side, I’ve been able to take some time for myself and do some wonderful things. I spend a lot of time at my kitchen table drinking tea. As it gets sunnier, I spend more time painting in my yard. I have visited my family for weeks at a time and was able to help with my brother’s wedding. And probably most excitingly, I had the amazing opportunity to travel abroad for nearly a month.

DSC01562

Ah, the Philippines.

What an amazing experience. I went to the Philippines with a group of wonderful friends and my darling man for three weeks. We went to many different islands and saw a wide spectrum of life in that beautiful place.

DSC01551It was the trip of a lifetime and I never would have been able to go for such a long time if I had still had my job, so here’s to small miracles. This picture above is the view from my hotel window on the first island.

DSC01536

The food was wonderful. Simple and delicious seasoning on amazingly fresh foods. This is a picture of one of the local markets. I tried new fruits and vegetables like calamansi fruit, which are like tiny key limes with a faint taste of cucumber, and kangkong, which is a spinach like vegetable. I could have eaten a mountain of pancit bihon and they made some of the best fried chicken in the world.

DSC01539-540x720

The fish markets blew my mind. So much seafood! All sitting in the open air! Buckets and trays of anything you could imagine. Vendors would hold up live, flopping fish and push them towards your face asking if “You want live fish?”. It was wonderful. For Christmas dinner, we went to the fish markets and bought fresh crabs and lobsters to cook. It was a feast of fresh caught deliciousness.

DSC01656

I even got to eat lechon for New Year’s. It is a whole roasted pig. Anthony Bourdain says it is the best pork in the world. Being from the South, I don’t know about all that, but it was an amazing thing.

DSC01688-540x720
I dipped my toes in the sands of a far away ocean.

DSC01729

And even got in and dug around for awhile.

DSC01519I traveled by boat, bus, plane, jeepney, and some contraptions that are hard to describe.

DSC01758-540x720And I climbed a mountain.

Even after returning to the states, I had a hard time returning here to my blog. It isn’t that I haven’t been cooking and crafting and such, but I have been unable to write. Unable to put my feelings and thoughts down into words. But, I feel like in the last few weeks or so, I’ve finally started to find myself again. (And I was waiting on this fun redesign of my blog to finish.) Luckily, while I was out, I had the wonderful opportunity to work with the amazing Jessica Yager, a local photographer. Be sure to check out her website. She takes the most beautiful photographs. She and I have worked on three food photo shoots and you will be able to reap those benefits in the next few weeks.

I plan on posting twice a week for the next month (Mondays and Thursdays), so be sure to check in! I have so much to show you.

And in the meantime, when the lingering winter is getting you down, just imagine a sunny beach somewhere. Dig your toes in the sand and enjoy. I know that is what I’ll be thinking about as I sit here and sip my tea in my sweater. Spring is fast approaching here in Seattle, but there are still too many sweater days for my liking. The sun is here for a day and then it hails. But fingers crossed, soon, we’ll all be running around in sundresses and shorts again.

DSC01523I can’t wait to share more with you. See you soon.

 

Oh! And notice how there are now buttons to “Share” on Facebook and “Pin” on Pinterest? Show your friends and check back often.

718 Comments

  1. Hello! Do you know if they make any plugins to safeguard against hackers? I’m kinda paranoid about losing everything I’ve worked hard on. Any suggestions?

  2. I was suggested this blog by my cousin. I’m not sure whether this post is written by him as nobody else know such detailed about my trouble. You’re wonderful! Thanks!

  3. I just could not depart your website before suggesting that I really enjoyed the standard info a person provide for your visitors? Is going to be back often to check up on new posts

  4. Very good blog. Want more.

  5. Of course, what a splendid blog and illuminating posts, I will bookmark your site.Have an awsome day!

  6. Muchos Gracias for your article.Really looking forward to read more. Awesome.

  7. It’s appropriate time to make some plans for the future and it is time to be happy. I’ve read this post and if I could I want to suggest you some interesting things or suggestions. Maybe you can write next articles referring to this article. I wish to read more things about it!

  8. Very informative blog post.Much thanks again. Want more.

  9. My spouse and I stumbled over here by a different page and thought I might as well check things out. I like what I see so now i’m following you. Look forward to exploring your web page again.

  10. Thanks so much for the article post.Really looking forward to read more. Really Great.

  11. I truly appreciate this post.Thanks Again. Really Cool.

  12. Hello, you used to write great, but the last several posts have been kinda boring¡K I miss your super writings. Past several posts are just a bit out of track! come on!

  13. Looking forward to reading more. Great article.Thanks Again. Want more.

  14. Great article and straight to the point. I am not sure if this is truly the best place to ask but do you folks have any thoughts on where to hire some professional writers? Thanks 🙂

  15. certainly like your website however you have to test the spelling on quite a few of your posts. A number of them are rife with spelling issues and I in finding it very bothersome to tell the reality then again I¡¦ll certainly come back again.

  16. Thanks for sharing, this is a fantastic blog.Much thanks again. Really Cool.

  17. Thanks for the post.Really thank you! Cool.

  18. Major thanks for the post. Great.

  19. Wow, incredible blog format! How lengthy have you ever been blogging for? you made running a blog glance easy. The overall look of your website is wonderful, as well as the content material!

  20. I do believe all of the ideas you’ve introduced for your post. They are very convincing and will definitely work. Nonetheless, the posts are too quick for beginners. Could you please extend them a little from subsequent time? Thank you for the post.

  21. Appreciate you sharing, great post.Really looking forward to read more. Cool.

  22. Im thankful for the post.Really looking forward to read more.

  23. A person necessarily assist to make severely articles I’d state. That is the very first time I frequented your website page and to this point? I amazed with the analysis you made to create this actual post extraordinary. Fantastic job!

  24. Muchos Gracias for your article post.Much thanks again. Want more.

  25. Thank you a lot for sharing this with all of us you actually understand what you’re speaking about! Bookmarked. Kindly additionally discuss with my site =). We could have a hyperlink alternate arrangement among us!

  26. I really enjoy the blog article.Much thanks again. Really Great.

  27. Thanks in support of sharing such a nice opinion, paragraph is pleasant, thats why i have read it fully|

  28. Great awesome issues here. I am very satisfied to look your post. Thank you a lot and i am looking forward to contact you. Will you please drop me a mail?

  29. I’m not that much of a online reader to be honest but your blogs really nice, keep
    it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your site to come back later.
    Cheers

  30. Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wished to say that I’ve truly enjoyed browsing your blog posts. In any case I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!

  31. Hello, Neat post. There is a problem together with your website in internet explorer,
    would test this? IE still is the marketplace leader and a large component to other people will omit your
    excellent writing due to this problem.

  32. I was just looking for this information for a while. After 6 hours of continuous Googleing, finally I got it in your site. I wonder what is the lack of Google strategy that don’t rank this type of informative sites in top of the list. Usually the top web sites are full of garbage.

  33. I wish to express some thanks to this writer for rescuing me from this dilemma. After looking through the internet and seeing notions which were not beneficial, I thought my entire life was done. Living without the answers to the difficulties you have fixed as a result of this website is a serious case, as well as the kind which could have negatively damaged my entire career if I hadn’t noticed the website. Your actual skills and kindness in dealing with the whole thing was very helpful. I am not sure what I would have done if I had not discovered such a solution like this. I can also now relish my future. Thanks very much for the specialized and result oriented help. I will not think twice to propose your web sites to anyone who requires guidelines on this issue.

  34. Wow! Thank you! I permanently wanted to write on my blog something like that. Can I implement a fragment of your post to my blog?

  35. Good write-up, I¡¦m regular visitor of one¡¦s site, maintain up the nice operate, and It is going to be a regular visitor for a long time.

  36. This is one awesome article post.Much thanks again. Really Cool.

  37. Heya i’m for the primary time here. I came across this board and I to find It truly helpful & it helped me out a lot. I’m hoping to offer one thing again and aid others such as you helped me.

  38. I really liked your article.Much thanks again. Want more.

  39. Thanks for sharing, this is a fantastic article post.Really looking forward to read more. Want more.

  40. Thank you for your post.Really looking forward to read more. Great.

  41. I was able to find good info from your blog articles.

  42. A round of applause for your blog post.Thanks Again. Really Cool.

  43. Thanks a lot for the blog article.Really looking forward to read more. Great.

  44. I really liked your post.Really thank you! Really Great.

  45. A round of applause for your article.Much thanks again. Much obliged.

  46. Thanks for the blog.Really thank you! Great.

  47. A big thank you for your post.Much thanks again. Cool.

  48. Hi there I am so delighted I found your web site, I really found you by accident, while I was browsing on Digg for something else, Nonetheless I am here now and would just like to say cheers for a fantastic post and a all round interesting blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to look over it all at the minute but I have book-marked it and also added your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read much more, Please do keep up the great jo.|

  49. This is one awesome blog. Will read on…

  50. I really like reading a post that will make men and women think. Also, thanks for allowing for me to comment!|

Leave a Reply