KITCHEN UPDATE: When we moved into this house about 2 years back, I refused to step foot into the kitchen for months.

The floor was a filthy faded black linoleum. Who has black linoleum?

The cabinets were god awful. Oak but awfully damaged.

The white tiled counter-tops were literally yellow until I bleached, ajax-ed, preformed an exorcism on it until it turned back to white (looking back I think the fumes put me in the hopsital).

The pantry looked like someone was locked in and was trying to dig themselves out.

Eventually, we replaced the floors with tiles and lined the cabinets but it was just still pretty fucking miserable looking. Getting your cabinets re-stained is not cheap. It may be cheaper to just re-face them but I knew oak would last longer than some faux wood. I waited until I had the time to do it myself. After I was done, yes, I’m done, my first words were, FUCK IT. Never again will I put so much work into something so epic.

In return, my kitchen makes me want to cry in joy, dance in circles and bake cookies for the neighborhood!

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My kitchen is in the middle of getting remodeled. Maybe in a week it’ll be completed. Maybe.

We were supposed to head to Portland for Easter weekend. I also started spring break so I thought at the last minute, “why not?” After lots of agreements and confirmation, I was pushed back down by the filled booking of my dog’s camp. My dog is a dinosaur and no one other than this camp will gladly accept to watch him. Was I bummed? Yes. Do I still love my little dinosaur. Of course!! Other than the fact that he ran out of the house yesterday with the mission of jumping in front of a moving car, I still love him with all my heart. Speaking of organs, I had some hungry folks in the house to feed, so I brought a little bit of Portland to us.

You can have it any way you want it but you can’t go wrong with 4 slices of thick-ass Texas toast. It’s one of those sandwiches where you have to open pretty wide for and it’s one of those sandwiches that are soooo worth it.

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So the last 9 months, a lot has happened:

• got promoted
• worked forever
• did not get pregnant
• slept never
• traveled everywhere
• went back to school
• spent months trying to figure out if I should leave my job (really it was years, but it was coming close)
• left my job
• smiled
• did lots of school work
• did lots of sleeping (you don’t even know)
• caught up
• smiled some more
• came back here

It was heart wrenching to the thought of anything having to do with my blog, because I had no time (especially during the day) to do any adventurous cooking. With spring break coming up and the recent of my life scheduling, I now have devoted time for The Sleepy Kitchen. There are still those ugly posts with the disappeared photographs in which I refuse to fix because it will take long, boring hours to do. Instead, I will just re-do the recipes as it’s more funner. For now, those entries will be private.

I want to thank my readers, the few of you, that showed love in the past and a thousand apologies for any disappointments.

-Auzeen

Once upon a time, I did not know what the fuck this was.

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I didn’t think this was as good as it looked but oh my gosh, this is so amazing. During my internship, we made something similar for a picnic order. This was like what, 3 years ago? And I finally came around to putting this together. It’s a hot sandwich topped with cold but it’s not too heavy, not too light. Just perfect for a summer lunch.

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I have a friend. Her name is Tania and she has an unnatural obsession with nutella.

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Hi guys, I’m back. So can I tell you? Can I tell you how unbelievable my trip was? I don’t know where to begin. Do I begin with how amazing the weather came about? Or do I begin with how fat I got? Or maybe I’ll begin with how charming Oregonners are? I don’t know. I guess all I can say is Portland is now my new get away place. The 12 hour drive to a land of passion for food tops anything I have ever experienced.

Before the last minute trip, I did my homework and picked out the best of the best restaurants I could find. Not only they were actually that good, but I am already planning on go back again and again and again. That good? Yes. That good.

Blueplate – A lot of “oh dear” went around the table. That’s a good thing

Cupcake Jones – We ran a marathon to catch this place before it closed

Pine State Biscuits – You’ll want to eat these biscuits but these biscuits will eat you

Little Big Burger – Lots of local freshness stacked into the most delicious brioche buns

Brunch Box – Greasy goodness lunch on the sidewalk

Habibi – Aside from Persian cooking, Lebanese proved me to be the best

Going to head out on a road trip to Portland to get fat on all the amazing food I hear about. Be back soon!!

Today my boss asked me why I was working retail. This was after he saw the bridal shower cake I made for my co worker. People ask me all the time why I don’t work for a bakery or a restaurant. Truth is, I don’t believe I am any good. We all have some insecurities in us.

The cake requested was red velvet and to be honest, I have never found a successful recipe. Last year, I bought a cake book in London from Urban Outfitters titled, “All Cakes Considered” by Melissa Gray. I figured why not give this one a try.

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