I get a little help from my mom... and Mark!

Hi!

I feel a little obligated to write a post thanks to Mark's expose photo of my return to the land of eating.  My mom was concerned I wasn't eating and cooking due to my aversion to smells, so she cooked some meals in her "dirty kitchen" (outdoor stove and prep area so smells won't stink up the house) and made a trip down with my dad.

We enjoyed a nice brunch where Mark prepared:
-- Crock pot egg and hash brown casserole with onions and peppers from the garden, with salsa and guacamole side options
-- Corner store bacon (it's the only time my mom eats bacon and she confesses she had 2.5 slices)
-- A lovely Kahlua French toast made with brioche from our local bakery, covered with strawberries, blackberries and mangos.

My mom taught Mark how to make Filipino chicken adobo (soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves and peppercorn with a pinch of salt and brown sugar) and left us with several tupperware that will feed us for lunch and dinner over the next month ...

Tupperware 1:  Chicken adobo with potatoes
Tupperware 2:  Peruvian beans to be served over rice or as soup.
Tupperware 3:  Tinola (chicken soup from chicken browned with garlic, onion, and ginger, combined with pepper leaves and green papaya) to be served with or without rice.
Tupperware 4:  Bistek:  Lean mean marinated in calamansi (tart, quarter sized Filipino lemon) and onions... to be served with (you guessed it) rice.
Tupperware 5:  Black/brown sticky rice to be eaten with mangoes or bananas ... Potassium and fiber.

I should also include-- Leftover box:  Korean BBQ and Bibimbap.

And:  Mark pickled his first quart of bread and butter pickles.  Boiling vinegar with seasoning and I still aren't friends.

I think Mark is very happy there will be some good eating this week.  I hope all is well with everyone.  We look forward to seeing everyone who can make it out to Virginia Beach next week.

Love,
Jennifer

PS:  Ann Marie Draper Tschanz-- Can I request a pepper jelly recipe from you?  Mark has fond memories of a jar you and Steve sent and our crop is overflowing since I have a wee aversion to most things garden green.