Best of Mommy and Daddy Oh: Mommy Oh and Cars

My mom has always had an interesting way of looking at things. And to be honest, it's hard to argue with her interpretations...

Click: Mommy Oh and Cars
Original posting date: September 13, 2008

Best of Mommy and Daddy Oh: In space...I mean, Spain.

Today's "Best of" is from a conversation I had with my mom. A totally classic Mommy Oh misunderstanding, yet acceptable line of reasoning on her part.

Click: In space...I mean, Spain.
From February 26, 2008

Best of Mommy and Daddy Oh

My parents are in the Missionary Training Center (MTC) getting ready to start an 18-month mission for the Church at the Seoul Korea Temple. They leave the MTC this Friday and I most likely won't see or talk with them for the entire time they are gone.

In the past, they have supplied me with some of the best material for my blog, back when I blogged on a regular basis. Now that they are leaving, I will have little material to share and to entertain, so I thought it only appropriate to reminisce and bring back some of the classic blog posts in which they have starred. Please enjoy!

This first one came about while I was in my second year of grad school. Might I add that my dad has always seemed to want to think that he was Cliff Huxtable from "The Cosby Show" and that his kids only wanted money and to do their laundry when they visited. Such was never really the case, but my dad liked to play the part for whatever reason. It always made me laugh.

There is a follow-up so be sure to click on the link as well. It's a goody.

Click: "What?! Cereal?!"
From April 17, 2009

Crab Boil

I have been craving this meal for over 10 years!

Ten years ago, I was sitting in a cold, poorly lit room in a church in Chung-Ju, South Korea talking to a fellow missionary. We were reminiscing about home (only briefly, of course...) and we were talking about family traditions. One tradition he talked about that I fell in love with and have never forgotten, was something he did with his family every summer in Idaho. They would get all of the family together and boil shrimp, crab, potatoes, corn and whatever else, in a big pot, then toss it all on a newspaper-covered picnic table and go to town. I can still see him talking about it and licking his fingers. Ever since then, I have wanted to do this but never have thinking it was overly complicated or required some kind of special skill! Yet, little did I know it was so simple!

A couple of weekends ago when Matt and I were visiting Lopez Island in the San Juan Islands for his birthday, we had planned to do a clam boil with the clams that we were going to catch. Unfortunately, the tides were uncooperative (or we misread the tide table...) and we missed our window to dig for any clams. Although, I will say that I am now legally licensed to fish for a year and we now have a handy folding shovel to dig for the clams that we never would have owned had we not prepared to dig for clams! Oh the silver lining...As the sad saying goes, I was all dressed up with nowhere to go...

Nonetheless, we were still determined to do the boil, clams or not. Ironically, on an island where one would think seafood would be readily available, we could find none! We scoured the island looking for a roadside stand selling fresh crab or shellfish, Google'd for local vendors, even contemplated roaming the docks for lone fisherman willing to part with their catch, but to no avail. Sadly, we just ended up at the local supermarket buying a cellophane-wrapped fresh salmon filet. Disappointing? Truly.

We barbequed instead and left the desire to Boil, to continue to fester.

But finally, today, we boiled! Matt was back in Seattle for a visit and we made it a point to finish what we started. It was my first go, but after talking to a friend about a Louisiana Boil she hosted earlier this week, I felt pretty confident.

I looked to the internet for ideas, but having not planned all too well, I just followed the general guidelines of the recipe I found here. I pretty much did what this recipe recommend. Although next time, I will be sure to buy a seasoning packet meant for this sort of food preparation.

And it was so easy! All I really did was boil stuff! I got a big pot, filled it with water, then threw in some cayenne pepper, garlic, and salt to make up for my lack of seasonings, and brought it to a boil. Then I threw stuff in it based on needed boiling time and let it cook! It was the easiest, and one of the tastiest meals I have ever had. We had hoped to make a field trip of the meal to Pike Place Market for some fresh seafood, but with time as a constraint, we settled for a lovely trip to Costco instead to purchase our crab. At $5.99 a pound for a 1.5-lb crab, it wasn't a bad deal at all. We even bought our shrimp there.

I would think this would be great for a camp out or just a backyard gathering. It was simple and the clean-up was minimal! Plus, it's always fun to eat with your hands!

The meal was delicious and the only missing component was an outdoor picnic table covered in newspaper to toss our bounty on before we grubbed. We used no utensils and went through a good amount of napkins before we wiped our mouths clean. It was delicious, fun and totally satisfying!

Until the next boil!