My husband and I are always looking for new restaurants to try. We regularly drive by Big Sticky's BBQ in Marysville, and have been wanting to grub down on some tasty meats for awhile now. Sadly, it seems as though every time we think to go, it Sunday afternoon. Big Sticky's is not open on Sundays. There is nothing more frustrating than repeatedly trying to go to a restaurant, and continually getting shot down. This also happens to us every time we want to go to the Prohibition Gastropub in Everett. They open at 3pm, and we always want to go for lunch. You would think we'd learn.

This past weekend we actually planned and scheduled ourselves to sit down for some BBQ for our Saturday lunch out. I'm still confused as to whether this restaurant is currently called Big Sticky's or Sticky Fingers. It's gone through some name changes, and they do not have a current website that I can find. Upon arrival we were greeted with a warm welcome and invited to order at the register before finding the seat of our choice. My daughter ordered the kid's Macaroni and Cheese. She said there was too much "sauce" and not enough mac. I think she's crazy. It was awesome. My son ordered The World's Best BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich with a side of mac and cheese. My husband ordered the special, Rib-Tips with fries and baked beans. I can't resist food wrapped in a tortilla, so I order the Mucho Macho Monster Burrito. At least, I think that's what it was called.

I had my choice of meat, so I went with the beef brisket. It was the best BBQ I have ever had, and I could definitely taste the wood used to cook the brisket. I haven't had a lot of BBQ, so if you're a sticky finger yourself, this is my disclaimer. There was delicious meat, rice, baked beans, coleslaw, salsa, and ranch. It was an entire BBQ platter rolled into a tasty fat pellet. I did take a picture, but I refuse to share. As Gordon Ramsay would say, it looked like "a baby's nappy." I'm sorry, but it did. You should eat it with your eyes closed maybe.

I also enjoyed the bathroom décor...

but I wish they would have left Jared out of my lunch.

We have several family friends that are vegan, and I myself have dabbled, giving up animal products for Lent. I even went on a raw food diet with some coworkers for two weeks, but it was winter, and shocker, eating raw fruits and veg didn't turn out so well... I agree with our friends reasons (animal and environmental) for being vegan, and was an on-and-off vegetarian as a kid, because I wanted to be a veterinarian. Then again in college because I was studying religion and was really into ahimsa. Why do I continue to go back to dairy and meat? Well, I like trying things, and I have a fear of missing out. That's a thing right? FOMO. I've seen it on the internet.

For the past two years or more, our friends have gathered when able and had a vegan potluck. We've had various themes: Italian, Japanese, Mexican, Thai, etc., but we started running out of cuisines to pick from. So, this time we picked an ingredient. Cauliflower!

Our indoor thermostat read 84 degrees this evening. I made the obvious choice of using the oven...I chose Jamie Oliver's Whole Roasted Cauliflower recipe, because I'm daft.

While the cauliflower baked, and we tried not to, our friends arrived. First was Jamie, not to be confused with Oliver. She made a delicious Mac and Cheez with a cauliflower sauce (I confess, I did smother it with Sriracha). I did not get the recipe. I apologize. However, if enough people comment that they would like the recipe, I'm sure I can pry it out of her. Then came Michelle, who did not bring anything, but that's because she worked today, and has a 5-month-old. I had her covered with dessert, which you'll see later.

Next came Sarah and Makoto and their two kids. They were smart and didn't use any heating elements for their dish. They stopped at the wonderful Clay Pit found at the Mill Creek Town Center, and brought back Gobi Manchurian. Which I had surprising never had, given my love of Indian cuisine. It was awesome!

After dinner we had to have dessert. Jamie has made some amazing desserts before with a coconut whipped cream. I cannot get enough of it. So, I bought some berries, and looked up a recipe for the delicious concoction. It's simple, you use coconut cream and powdered sugar. However, the recipe I had said I could substitute full fat coconut milk. I figured if I whipped it enough it would work. It did not. Sarah and Jamie later informed me that if I had skimmed off the fat from the top of the can, that would have worked, excepted my can of milk didn't have a fatty cream top. My solution? Into the freezer! We had berries and coconut ice cream.

It's Summer! Although I'm incredibly sad for the many fires occurring in the PNW, I am grateful for the plentiful sun. Beyond beautiful weather, summer means the kids are out of school, and with my youngest visiting her grandparents, my boy-child is a tad lonely. So, when he asked to have his BFF, our neighbor-boy, spend the night tonight, I said yes. This means my TV room downstairs has been high-jacked by boys. I needed something to do other than veg-out, so I'm making cookies. They think I'm nice, but really I'm just bored, and I think I also want my son's friend to think I'm awesome. I didn't shop for any ingredients, so I figured sugar cookies would be a safe bet. I was wrong! I had already mixed the dry ingredients before I realize I only had a few tablespoons of butter left. Argh! I'm not a quitter, so I researched substitutes for butter, and saw that greek yogurt and sour cream are a few options. I had both of those! Here is my flexible/creative, last minute, sugar cookie recipe.

Ingredients:

·         2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

·         3/4 teaspoon baking soda

·         1 teaspoon baking powder

·         1 cup salted butter, softened 
                                      or
*I used one container of Tillamook Greek Yogurt - Oregon Strawberry and 1/3 cup of sour cream with 1/2 tsp salt

·         1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

·         3 egg yolks

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional - I added a 1/2 cup of peanut butter chips and 1/2 cup of Craisins


Directions:

PRE-STEP: Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

STEP 1: Mix the flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a medium size bowl. Set aside.

STEP 2: In a large bowl, using an electric or stand mixer, cream together the butter (or yogurt or sour cream), and granulated sugar until combined.

STEP 3: Add egg yolks and vanilla extract.

STEP 4: Add flour mixture and mix until just combined. 

Optional - Gently fold in peanut butter chips and Craisins

STEP 5: Using a cookie scoop or ice cream scoop, scoop dough into balls about 2 Tablespoons each and place onto prepared baking sheet.

STEP 6: Bake for 15-18 minutes or until tops of cookies start to crack (this won't happen if you use a butter substitute. Watch for a puffy, golden-brown). Let cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet before moving them to a wire rack. Let cool completely on wire rack.

Due to the lack of butter, these cookies were extra puffy, almost bread-like, but they were delicious, and perhaps healthier. I figure since I used peanut butter chips and Craisins they shall now be known as the "Peanut Butter & Jelly Sugar Cookie." See? Baking can be fun.