Yesterday, Tuesday, was the memorial for my Tony’s brother Kurt. He was a chef at the Tulalip Resort Casino for the last 17 years, and we had the gathering there. I was so touched by the tribe’s eagerness to host the get together, their sense of family, and their love for Kurt. The Canoe family sang some truly amazing spiritual songs and helped Kurt find his way to the light. Along with a beautiful ceremony, the other chefs all made a giant buffet from Kurt’s recipes, and we feasted on salmon, short ribs, clam chowder – all kinds of great food. I can’t thank the Tulalip nation enough for their help and support; now we can all start to heal.

As some of you may know, I lost a dear friend this week, my brother in law Kurt Hitchman. I won’t go on about what an incredible person he was; I just want to share with you some things about his passing. Kurt was my partner Tony’s older brother, and lived an amazingly rich and full life. I think I can say that everyone who knew Kurt – and there were a lot of them – truly loved him. He was a chef at the Tulalip Resort Casino, and to have his friends and co-workers around him when he passed  really showed me how much he was loved. Our kitchen will be emptier this year and from now on, and I don’t want to be trite, but I see him in the sunset every day….

Friends; I wanted to let you know that my darling Tony’s brother Kurt passed today, Monday, at 3:15. He was in the ICUat Harborview with a multitude of physical problems, and being able to let go was a blessing. We’re very sad as he was an amazing wonderful warm loving man. Kurt worked as a chef at the Tulalip Casino Resort, and as my Tony says, he’s in heaven now serving up something delicious and wearing fabulous shoes. Love life, and love your family – they are precious.

You know how in every neighborhood there’s that house on a dead end street with the street light burned out, the house lights turned off, and a couple of semi-rotten pumpkins on the porch? You know how the little darlings will ring the doorbell and knock and knock but no one will answer? And you know how whoever lives there is just plain weird and leaves a big bowl of candy on the porch, just hoping that they won’t have to deal? Well, I’m afraid that’s me. There’s only a few kids in the neighborhood anyway, and I never know when they’ll show up. So is it so wrong that I just want to be in my jammies and watch some DVR episodes of Sons of Anarchy while enjoying a nice Merlot? Well, fair warning, neighbor kids - knock and ring all you want – I’m not coming to the door. But honestly….. Happy Halloween!!!

Fans of make-up. You might have already discovered this, but I just did so I thought I’d let you know. There’s great new blush that changes color to match your skin. Smashbox has one, as does Almay, and it’s just cool – blendable, good color, never streaky or weird. It’s not exactly world peace, but it’s still pretty cool. Check it out when you get a chance!

I know, I know – I get on here on a regular basis and confess my food weaknesses, but this is serious. I whipped up home-made caramel over the weekend to dip crisp, fresh, crunchy, tangy apples into. It was a great dessert, but….there was left over caramel. You wouldn’t think a simple mixture of sugar, butter, and cream, (with a touch of maple and sea salt) would be Kryptonite, but it was in a big, big way. I even warmed it up yesterday and poured it over plain yogurt. Help!!!!

I’m not going to bore you guys with a whole treatise on meatballs. I sure you all have your very own favorite recipe, and I get that. However, I discovered a couple of really good tips over the weekend that you might want to know about. I found that a 1/2 and 1/2 mix of good ground beef and good quality ground pork, along with a cup of fresh ground Parmesan and a couple of beaten eggs, with pressed garlic and breadcrumbs, will give you amazing meatballs. Just mix ‘em up and let ‘em cook in your tomato sauce, and you’ll have delicious golf ball sized bits of goodness.  Pile ‘em on top of some linguine with the tomato sauce, and you’ll have great party food, great family food, and just plain great food.

Yup, GLAD it’s Friday. Things have been fun but intense here at The Wolf, so I’m totally ready to not think for a while. Probably the biggest event this weekend will be the family dinner Saturday – big fluffy meatballs, homegrown homemade tomato sauce, and of course lots o’ wine. I’m not even going to worry about the varietals, I think we’ll just start at the top of the wine rack and work our way down. Starting after lunch!!

I guess another thing about being a ‘grown up’ is the realization that you have to be comfortable in your skin and in your clothes. Now I’m not talking sweats by any means, but there’s a lot to be said for soft things….cashmere, of course, and merino wool, even some  nice fleece can make your day.  L.L. Bean has some really cool fleece blazers that are super comfy, affordable, and totally wearable. Check ‘em out!

If, like me, you sometimes need a high quality ice cream for medicinal purposes – if you’re hormonal, sad, whatever – try this handy trick. Take a pint of the good stuff, like Snoqualmie, preferably in a deep rich chocolate. Nuke it for about 20 seconds or till it’s soft, then swirl in a couple tablespoons chunky peanut butter – Adams is a great choice –  and if you’re feeling particularly down, add chopped nuts, coconut, or even chocolate chips. Refreeze it for about 1/2 hour, while putting on your sweats and getting the heating pad ready. By the time you’re all comfy and have picked a good romantic comedy to watch, your ridiculously fattening and delicious ice cream will be ready to eat. Trust me, this will work. Your jeans might be snug for a day or two, but it’ll be worth it. Mmmmmmmm.