The Basics Archives | Tasty Oasis

When your whole world, and car, flip upside down

October 10, 2018 By Karen

Karen grilling chicken on the deck (selfie) in blue hat and glasses

I wear glasses now, I chopped off all my hair on my birthday, and I never leave the house without my hat. And I grilled (and burned) chicken tonight!

Hi friends,

For a while now I’ve been wanting to come back and say hello, but the idea of catching you up on my last year-and-a-half has been daunting, for a lot of reasons. The quick story is, on February 17th, 2017, a car fell on my head. That’s the easiest way for me to come to terms with the fact that I’ve spent the last 19 months recovering from a severe concussion, and my whole world has been flipped upside down and back again just like my car when my tire blew out on the highway going 75 miles per hour early one Friday morning.

I have lots of stories to share with you. I do still cook and bake and it’s been part of my healing, so of course I would love to pass on those recipes to you when I can. But I’ve also spent an incredible amount of time on my own these last many months, with more time in my own head than most people ever get a chance to have. My busy is very different than other people’s busy these days, and that is something I’m learning to live with. It allows me time for reflection, time to be with my family, time to appreciate the beauty of my life. This isn’t where I thought I would be, but I am more grateful than I can ever tell you to be alive and to be surrounded by family and friends who continue to love and support me as I discover my new path.

While I do hope to post to this blog on a regular basis sometime soon, I would like to direct you over to Instagram where I have been hanging out for a while. Honestly, it’s just been easier for me. As some of you know, one of my challenges since my accident has been continued issues with my visual system. Because of it, and a whole host of other symptoms that are totally awesome and fun, I haven’t gone back to interpreting yet, I’m not driving on my own, and I’m not a big fan of being on the computer. Oddly enough though, the small screen of my phone is easier for me to navigate, and so Instagram has been more accessible. I also have found a community on there of other people dealing with concussions, post-concussion syndrome, and traumatic brain injury and the support I find there has been really important to me on a daily basis. While I used to scroll through and just see one gorgeous photo of cookies after another, my feed is now filled with motivational quotes related to healing and personal stories from people in similar situations as well as advice and guidance, which has led to conversations and connections. So what you will see over there in my posts very well might be the cookies I’ve made, or the conversation with my kids, or me pouring my heart out about how much it sucks when your brain doesn’t work and all of a sudden you’re the patient instead of the professional in the room, in the same damn room in the same damn hospital where you used to work. I’m not sure yet. Because I am not sure about a lot of things. And you’ll see me tagging my posts with all sorts of concussion hashtags, and it isn’t so that I’m constantly trying to remind you to “look at me! I have something to complain about!” but rather as a way to connect with a community I have found. There may be a new Instagram account that is just concussion related sometime in the near future, but for the moment I still feel like Tasty Oasis is a place I want to be. I still find comfort in my kitchen. It still gives me peace. It has helped me return to me.

Most importantly, I want to thank you. We want to thank you. Thank you for all of the cards, texts, calls, emails, meals, rides, prayers, good vibes, and love you have sent to me and my family over the last year and a half. I have been lousy at returning calls, emails, and writing thank you cards, but we are eternally grateful.

Brian in a blue sweatshirt and Karen in a Stanford red sweatshirt standing in front of a pink dogwood tree.

Mother’s Day, 2018. Trust that there is another photo with our two amazing boys, and they are my everything. But with Brian… I am the luckiest.

I do hope to connect or reconnect with you soon, here, through Instagram, or in real life. (Imagine! Real life!!!) I have tended to isolate at times during my recovery. Sometimes out of necessity because of feeling unwell, or my rehab schedule, or because I just want to save all my energy for my kids, and sometimes because I am mad and cranky and pissed at the world. And sometimes I am busy eating cookie dough and don’t want to explain myself. And then there’s the problem that sometimes phone calls make my headaches spike, my eyeballs can be jerks, and I can’t handle noisy or crowded environments so meeting for lunch just hasn’t been an option. Lately it’s been a combination of all of those things, so please know my lack of response is never personal, I’m just getting through my days.

I wish you all a healthy fall, with safe driving, tasty food on your table, and the clarity to see how good your life is because you have it,

-Karen

**And I do want to apologize to those of you who have been coming to the blog for recipes and have had to deal with a cumbersome printing situation, or any other technical difficulties. Since I have been gone there have been changes to some stuff behind the scenes that I haven’t had the abilities to handle. I’ll get there. Thanks for your patience.

I Went to the White House Holiday Party! (And the Food Was Amazing)

February 18, 2016 By Karen

So a few weeks ago I mentioned that I went to the White House holiday party, and promised I would share more. Admittedly, it’s two months later, and the holiday season has long passed, but this was a life highlight so I don’t want to let it slide any longer. You see, when one of your oldest, closest friends in the world is so super cool that she works at the White House, and she invites you as her plus one to hang out in the East Wing with the Obamas, it’s kind of hard not to burst and brag all about it. Okay, so the President and Mrs. Obama only made a ten minute appearance, and were across the room, but I’ll be honest- it was amazing.

Apparently there are 20 holiday parties in three weeks, with 25,000 cookies baked, and 62 trees and massive amounts of lamb chops and latkes….

Quick Tip: Freezing Ginger

March 26, 2015 By Karen

Just a quick tip for you all today, because my brain and time has been otherwise occupied, and lately my kitchen has been the scene of studying more than anything else. Which means I have been all about easy meals and shortcuts, and I thought some of my tricks might be worth sharing. And I realized that while this might seem obvious to some, maybe it hasn’t crossed your radar yet: You can freeze ginger!

I don’t know about you, but I always seem to buy fresh ginger for a recipe, or to throw into a stir-fry, and I tend to have more than I need. And it ends up shriveling in my crisper drawer into a freakish looking fuzzy mess, and I have to toss all the extra that I wasted. And of course, I then need it for something else, and I’m mad. So the solution is simple: when you buy your ginger, simply peel it all at once, chop it into different size pieces (some big, some small) and toss it in a Ziploc freezer bag and store it in the freezer. Obvious, right? (Except that for years it wasn’t obvious to me at all.)And you can then use that frozen ginger straight from the freezer. Just grate it using a microplane, or let it thaw for a bit in some room temperature water, or throw it in your Green Smoothie as is. (Which is what I did this morning in the picture below. My smoothie turned a bit darker because I added some blackberries and carrots to it, but the shining star was the cube of frozen ginger that got blended up with the spinach, banana and yogurt. It was ridiculously good. Trust me: add ginger to your smoothies.)

And when I take a break from studying, I’ll put together a post on how else to use your ginger. I’ve got a hot and sour mushroom soup recipe that I made for our cooking club a couple of weeks ago that is going to make you look at what you get from Chinese take-out in a whole new way. In the meantime, back to the books…..

Tasty Oasis Highlights and a Plea for Help: The Saveur Blog Awards!

March 10, 2015 By Karen

It’s hard to believe that I launched Tasty Oasis just a little over a year ago, and how far this blog has come. When I first started out I barely knew how to use my new camera, I didn’t know any of the technology, and I wasn’t sure what my voice would be. All I knew is that I loved being in the kitchen, and I had recipes to share and stories to tell. I thought it was just me and my computer in the basement for so long, but as the months roll by, I am astounded by the outpouring of support. I am amazed that hundreds of people come to this website every day, and it thrills me every time somebody tells me that they tried something they saw here. The comments, emails, text messages, and even the pins make me burst into smiles, and motivate me to keep going. Thank you so much for your encouragement!

Now I have a favor to ask you: The Saveur Blog Awards are currently accepting nominations for The Best Food Blogs of 2015, and I need your help to get nominated. The editors promise to look at each website that is submitted, and the more nominations you have the more likely you are to make it as a finalist. I would LOVE to be on their radar. Seriously, it would be huge. Could you please take just a minute to go to their website and nominate Tasty Oasis in the Best New Voice category? (It covers the writing, the photography, the recipes, the whole package.) If you feel it fits elsewhere too, that would be great, especially because you can choose more than one. The deadline for nominations is this Friday, March 13, 2015, and while I know that doesn’t leave a lot of time, it’s really quick to submit the form. And if you know friends or family who have been enjoying Tasty Oasis, I would be so grateful if you could pass this along to them as well.

And in case a reminder of favorite moments here on Tasty Oasis helps you to go click on the nominations page:

There have been a lot of sweets….

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Frosting

But there have also been healthy and practical recipes too…

Toasted Oatmeal with Flax and Chia Seeds

Spice-Crusted Roasted Salmon

Sweet and Spicy Chili Shrimp

Roasted Honeynut Squash with Za’atar and Pomegranate Molasses

And there have been stories… They haven’t always been easy stories, but they have been true. And they come with pretty pictures and delicious food, so I hope that they draw you in and add value to your day.

Red Lentil Barley Soup (and what happens behind the holiday cards)

Brown Butter Brownies and Dark Chocolate Chunks (and when kids ask questions you aren’t prepared to answer)

Pear and Cranberry Crisp, With Gingersnaps, Oats and Almonds (and memories of my father)

And at the end of the day, I’ve even got some cocktails for you too…

Apple Cider Rum Punch

Again, thank you so much for following along with Tasty Oasis, and for sharing this website with your family and friends! And thank you for taking the time to nominate Tasty Oasis for the Saveur Blog Awards!

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

August 27, 2014 By Karen

Growing up the only chocolate chip cookie recipe I knew came on the back of a bag of Toll House morsels. And let’s be honest: that recipe stands the test of time. Simple, no fuss, and tasty. As a kid I’d hang around the kitchen while my brother would stir together a batch with a friend, anxiously waiting to lick the spoon. Back then nobody feared raw egg (even Orange Julius threw it into their smoothies at the mall to get that amazing froth), and the only possible repercussions were sticky fingers or fewer cookies in the end.

Until I hit my 20’s, I was perfectly content with getting my cookie dough fix from a refrigerated tube of Pillsbury. Even though I knew better, salmonella never deterred me (and still doesn’t.) I’m certainly glad there’s no way to go back and count how many times girlfriends and I would devour the whole thing in a night. Never baking it, we would get down to the end and squeeze what remained out of the plastic like it was the dregs of the toothpaste, but so much more delicious. Admittedly, I feel a little ill looking back on that.

Jump ahead a few years, and my baking obsession kicked into gear full swing. Pre-made dough became a thing of my past, because I learned how quickly I could throw together a batch from ingredients I typically keep at home. I tried recipes from favorite cookbooks (the one in “Best Recipes” from America’s Test Kitchen was my go-to for years,) the classic Neiman Marcus one that went viral long before social media made “like” and “share” buttons, and whatever popped out from my online searches.

But when a friend brought hot from the oven chocolate chip cookies to our book club on a cold night back in 2011, I took one bite and knew there had to be a winning recipe behind it. (Okay, so it wasn’t one bite. It was more like 47 bites because I could not stop eating them!) Deb at Smitten Kitchen had done it again. Her “Chewy Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies” found its way into my binder of “keepers,” and I haven’t looked back….

Toasting and Grinding Whole Spices

July 19, 2014 By Karen

I don’t know about you, but I often get bored cooking the same dishes over and over again. When I run to the store, I tend to pick up a set list of staples, and then have the task of figuring out how to make them exciting once I’m home. I don’t always remember to buy specialty ingredients for a specific recipe, so I have to look to my pantry for some last minute flavor help. That’s where spices come in as a perfect kitchen save.

When I think back on the spices in my mom’s cupboards, I picture a bottle of poultry seasoning, a container of Mrs. Dash, an ancient Herbs de Provence, some cinnamon, garlic salt and onion powder. I’m pretty sure that was the extent of it, although there were probably some others tucked away in the dark recesses of her shelves for decades. I didn’t know that spices could come any other way than in a red and white McCormick bottle, and so as a kid I was perfectly content with the food she made. She was (and still is) a good cook, but not exactly an adventurous one. California cuisine in the 80’s meant everything was fresh, steamed or grilled, and lightly seasoned. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I had no idea that spices could be combined in different ways to turn your food into flavors that jump across the globe.