A Cook's Quest

I love orange chicken.  But not just any orange chicken, a delicious sweet and crispy orange chicken that I remember eating when my family lived in Washington.  The restaurant was an old pizza place that had been remodeled into a Chinese restaurant. My mom used to take us there and my memory of the orange chicken leaves me drooling.  Now, as a grown up nothing has quite matched up.  Oh, yes, I have found many an orange chicken dish to try but none left me wanting more.  They were too sweet, not orangey enough, too sour, too gooey/sticky/thickish or simply just not good. So, when I stumbled onto this recipe I was excited for a few reasons.  First, I had all the ingredients (WOOT!).  Second, it cooked in the slow cooker (WOOT! WOOT!) and third, it is much healthier than fried versions (Triple WOOT!).  While it may not be what others deem as the best ever,  I was pleasantly surprised how the flavors came together.  The ...

I didn't share with most of you that I have been in mourning the last few months.  My dear, faithful, and trusty Kitchen Aide died on me.  My husband, who is very handy and mechanically inclined, stepped in while the poor thing was sputtering away and tried to no avail to save my favorite kitchen appliance.  But, there was nothing that could be done.  The motor was fried in a fluke accident when an interior bolt came loose.   As a result of losing my cooking companion, and life in general which includes three hunting trips, computer issues, kids going back to school, and me finishing my degree, I haven't been cooking much.  But now, life is slowing down a little bit and for my birthday my mother in law gave to me Ruby, my new Kitchen Aide mixer (yes, I know it isn't really normal to name an appliance but I couldn't help it.  I justify my actions by arguing that people name cars and boats and all kids of things so why not my shiny, new mixer?) R...