Oregon 2011 - Day 3

After having the [new] house all to ourselves for a few days, it was nice to wake up to a full house. My parents and both my brothers had come up to spend the weekend with us (in actuality they came up to spend it in the big house and to see their friends). It was nice to just spend time with everyone and catch up.

After breakfast, I busted out a batch of my famous Oreo cupcakes. Only this time, I made them sans eggs. A friend of mine is allergic to eggs. I could not find egg-free substitute (egg beaters are 99% real egg), so in the end I just called uncle and went with applesauce. Hey, do not knock it, it works.

For lunch, the entire family gathered around and feasted on hot pot for a couple of hours. Let me back up and explain, hot pot is Chinese fondue. Instead of cheese or chocolate, soup is used as the base. Assorted meats, seafood, tofu, and veggies are thrown into the pot. Some of you may know it by it's Japanese name, Shabu-shabu.

Left column (top to bottom): Fish balls, veggies, sliced beef.
Middle column: Fish cakes, part of the spread.
Right column: Jake and Dad chowing down, the pot filled with with yum. 

After we hung out with the fam during the day, for dinner we took a long drive down to Corvallis to see some old friends that I had not seen in awhile. Unfortunately, one of them had to stay home with icky bronchitis. The rest of us chowed down on pizza and microbrews at American Dream Pizza, a local college hangout across the street from my alma mater. I've been dreaming about American Dream's jerk chicken for years. Years, I tell you. Oh and their chocolate chip cookie.

I'm such a dumbass. I had my cookie all wrapped up and was saving it for later. Well, guess what I did with it. Nope, I did not eat it. I. LEFT. IT. ON. THE. TABLE. I just about died when I realized what I had done. You do not understand. I have not had one in almost 5 years. These are the thickest, softest, tastiest cookies EVER. They are seriously THAT epically good. At least I took a bite of Jake's cookie before I let him have it.

Top: Jerk chicken salad with honey mustard dressing
Middle: Broccoli, cheese, and pineapple. Seriously, soooo good!
Bottom: E and A with their egg-free cupcakes

*All photos by me. Please excuse the crappy cell phone pics, I totally forgot to bring my camera with me.

Did you miss a day?
Oregon 2011 - Day 2
Oregon 2011 - Day 1