You Share Your Advice And I´ll Share Some Recipes

The other night I made some scallops with Hoisin sauce which were sooooooo yummy! I got my inspiration for this meal HERE. 

I will not proclaim to be an expert scallops maker. I know so much lies in the timing of these babies in order to get the crispy outside and juicy (yet cooked thoroughly) inside but I think I didn´t do too badly here. I served mine with broccoli and whole grain pasta...if you´re looking for a seafood meal (and it´s recommended to eat seafood three times a week) I highly recommend these scrumptious morsels from the sea....

This July the Captain and I will be married for 20 years. For those who follow my blog regularly you know that a couple years ago it wasn´t a given we would get to 20 years. We hit a bump...a very very big bump that nearly de-railed us. Thankfully though we made it through that horrible time together and while I would never wish anyone to go through what I went through during that time...when I look back on it, I see that I needed a wake up call. He needed one too. We were both existing...living day to day taking care of the necessities of life and being the best parents we could to our kids..but we had forgotten that we were a couple and needed to take care of each other. So while I wish we could have gotten the wake up call in some other way, I´m glad we got it and I´m glad we were able to work through things and talk and even more important- hear each other. 

So we´ve been talking about what we would do to celebrate our anniversary this year. When we first got married we said if we made it to 10 years we would re-marry each other again but in a big fancy wedding with white dress and all. You see we were young and it was I guess what you could call a "shot-gun" wedding. Sarah was already on her way and the Captain was an aupair at the time...we didn´t want him to have to leave and head back to Norway so we decided to get married. I know...not exactly the most romantic reason to get married, but it seemed right...and it was right. I´ve never doubted that the Captain was the right guy for me...even when we hit our bump. Which is why I fought so hard and I think I can safely say he has no regrets either...otherwise I don´t think we would have gotten back on track after almost being de-railed. When we hit the 10 year mark though we had young children and no money...so there was no new marriage ceremony. I can´t remember exactly but there is a strong chance the Captain was out at sea also. He isn´t always home on big special days...it´s ok though, I´ve gotten use to that. We celebrate when we can...no big deal! Now after 20 years of marriage I know that the big fancy wedding isn´t that important. It´s not what makes a marriage. What makes a marriage is everything afterwards..the good, the bad, the ugly, the amazing, the beautiful. The highs, the lows...the sickness and the health...it´s talking and listening, it´s giving and taking, it´s compromise. It´s loving someone at their worst and encouraging them to be their best. It´s not about white dresses and big parties...although those are fun...they don´t make a marriage. 

So...after much yaddy yaddy yadda...(It´s impossible for me to make a long story short...can you tell?) I´m turning to you my dear readers to ask for your advice. What can the Captain and I do to celebrate our 20th anniversary? Something romantic- preferably a trip somewhere. It doesn´t have to be a white beached tropical destination but romantic would be very nice. I´m thinking a long weekend to a week away with just him. Rome is hanging heavy in my thoughts...I absolutely adored that city...but something new could be fun too...maybe Barcelona? Let me know what your ideas are for a romantic 20th wedding anniversary ok? While you´re thinking about that I´ll share with you tonight´s dinner...Roasted pepper, garlic, and tomato soup Ala Amy :-)

This is such a great meal because it´s extremely flexible. I had some tomatoes and red, yellow, and green peppers I needed to use up. I threw in some yellow onion and garlic- all after how much you have and your own taste preferences. I love garlic so I always use LOTS of it. For this soup I used 4 red tomatoes, 1 green pepper, 1 yellow pepper, and 1 red pepper, 1.5 yellow onion, and 8 garlic cloves. Put this in a baking dish, drizzle olive oil over and roast in the oven for about 20 minutes or until it starts to get a little burnt on the edges. Stir every now and then. 

While these beautiful veggies are roasting in your oven, get about 2 liters of beef broth warmed up on your stove. Once your veggies are done roasting run them through a blender until everything is pulped into one big mash- pour into the beef broth and add two boxes of canned chopped tomatoes which have also been pulped in a blender..let all of this simmer together for as long as you can possibly wait...the longer the better as the flavors can marry for a long time and taste incredible. I always run my soup through a colander to get rid of the chunks that are left as my kids don´t like chunks in their soup. After you´ve gotten rid of the chunks you can add some smoked sausage pieces like I did..protein is important did you know that?? ;-) 

I´m hesitant to write this as sometimes my kids read my blog and sometimes they don´t...but they asked me tonight if I added something spicy to the soup and I said no....hehehehe.....but I did....hehehehe....I added a couple dashes of garlic chili sauce and a couple dashes of Sriracha Hot chili sauce. I can´t help it....I like it a little spicy and spices like chili increase your metabolism so you can burn calories faster...who wouldn´t want a couple dashes of that magic stuff??? Just don´t tell the kids will ya?? Finally a little garlic pepper and sea salt just to taste..(I didn´t need much)..voila...this is soooooooo I mean....SOOOOOOOO....SOOOOO good....and when you have some whole grain rolls that are getting slightly old...like I had you can butter those, splash a little garlic powder over them and top them with a little cheese, finally a dash or two of pizza seasonings and in the oven for a wonderful cheesy garlic bread you can dip in your soup! I´m telling you I can´t get enough garlic...EVER!!! 

Ok, don´t forget to leave your romantic 20th anniversary suggestions in the comment box below...I know there are romantic people out there who will be reading this and have some wonderful ideas to share with me! Put your thinking caps on, I´m counting on you to help me with some ideas that can make this a wonderful anniversary! And one more thing- our celebration doesn´t just have to take place on one day or a weekend or a week- we can celebrate in small ways all year long too!  However a trip could only be a long weekend to a week- otherwise let your creativity flow and fill that comment box below with all your amazing ideas ok?


Have a great evening everyone!


Until next time my friends......