Kony 2012

   For all of those who do not know, the man named Joseph Kony has kidnapped and forced children to kill for nearly 26 years. He has forced over 30,000 children to kill others as well as torture and disfigure them. How would you feel if your child was kidnapped? Then think about how you would feel if they were forced to kill other people under the fear of torture and death themselves? How would you feel not knowing where they were and being completely powerless to find them? What about your neighbor's child? Would you rally with them to find their child and stop the person who was responsible?
   If a child in America was kidnapped and forced to hurt anyone, there would be a nationwide frenzy to stop the person. How is it any different for the thousands of children that this has happened to? Is it because they are in Africa? Do you feel as helpless as I did? I have a way that you can help!!!
   Spread the word. Make Joseph Kony famous. Share this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc watch the entire video and learn how you can make a difference. Make a status about it. Tell a friend or classmate. Hand out some fliers to coworkers or simply donate to https://www.stayclassy.org/checkout/donation?eid=14711 This is something that WILL make a difference. Not only are we showing Joseph Kony that he cannot hide, but that we support peace and safety for all. Children are our most precious resource and must be protected. We MUST act! Now. Not tomorrow or in a week from now. NOW!!
   Thank you for your support!! 
Sincerely,
Ashlee

So Good and So Simple

   Last night I decided to make myself something healthy for dinner. I looked through my fridge and saw tortillas. I instantly thought of having some sort of wrap. But what kind? What else did I have? Then I realized I could make something that we serve at the coffee shop that I work at called the Thai Chicken Wrap. I had tortillas, Asian veges, sauce, and rice. No chicken, but I could do without the extra calories that late at night. So I thawed a handful of veges, places them on the rice, nuked them for about 2 minutes then wrapped them up inside a tortilla with some of the sauce in the sauce packet provided with the Asian veges. Along with this delicious concoction, I added a grapefruit to the side, and a hot pot of Oolong green tea. So good and so simple.

Failure is always an option

   I woke up this morning really excited. The reason? I decided to make scones again. The first time I made cranberry scones and they were the perfect consistency and sweetness. The sad thing this time around is that I lost the recipe!! I originally found it on my news feed on my tablet and completely forgot to save the recipe. I frantically tried to find it but did not succeed. I decided to try and make them from memory. The dough looked the same and it had the same consistency, but I found out very quickly that they were not the same as the first ones I made. Not only did they taste terrible, but they were too dry for my taste. Gross.

   I then went and made a second batch by altering the measurements for the first batch. I cut the dough and put the scones in the oven. After waiting 15 minutes in anticipation, I found out again that they weren't anything like my first batch. The taste was like I wanted but the consistency was not nearly as fluffy and sweet as the original. Even though they didn't turn out how I imagined they would, I enjoyed being in the kitchen doing what I love the most, cooking. I was very humbled today because failure is always an option.

I do other stuff too

   I know the majority of the posts on this page will be about food because it is what makes me the happiest, but I do other things! I love to draw, knit, read(sometimes), play with clay in ceramics, go for walks, craft, and other stuff I can't think of right now. So I hope this page isn't just going to be about food, I do other stuff too.

Simple

   Food is a simple thing that can be very complicated. Food is not only sustenance for the body, but also for the soul. For our expression and togetherness. Think of your most precious memory and I can guarantee there will be food at the center of it. For me, it's Christmas mornings making monkey bread with my mom. The warm and sweet concoction is the very essence of who my mom is.
 Food was not always as important to me as it is now. I can't say that I grew up in a house that was obsessed with food, but food was something that I can always remember being one of the best things about my growing up. Whether it was my dad's "burned victim" BBQ chicken, or my mom's chicken salad I begged her to make every weekend for softball showcase tournaments. The recipes that I remember weren't fancy, or even photo-worthy, but they were the things that I remember more vividly than my senior prom.
   Now I see food in a completely new light than when I was younger. Now I don't only eat food because it tastes good, or because if I don't I become very cranky. I prepare and eat food for the pure enjoyment. The cloud 9 feeling I get when I take the first bite out of something I have never made and the instant criticism that follows before the bite gets to my stomach. There is a certain thrill that I get when I try something new. I can't even tell you how many times I stay awake at night thinking about what new technique or flavor combination I am going to create tomorrow for dinner. It's not hunger that drives me, but a sense to express myself to others that keeps my wide awake at the oddest hours.
   Most days I daydream about what I can make it my tiny kitchen with the limited ingredients I have. Should I make Na'an from scratch? Or possibly take a crack at making my own sourdough bread? What would bring out the best flavors in the rib eye steaks I just bought the other day? Even now I am smiling just thinking of making a batch of scones when I should be in bed with my man and our dog sleeping soundly.
   As I said above, food is very important to me and I love to cook. More specifically I love to cook for people more that anything else. Food is what sustains me, body and soul. Simple.