Two Storms. One Week.

I am becoming less and less of a fan of snow as I age. I used to relish the sound of snow crunching beneath my Sorel snow boots, the adrenaline rush of snowboarding, and the icy wind cutting through my jacket while riding a snowmobile. I may still partially enjoy those things, but having to shovel has severely diminished my love.

We are setting state records here in Iowa this week…not records that anyone is super pleased about. Iowa rarely sees snowfall events that are more than seven inches of snow, but in one week we will see two events piling up over ten inches each. Yuck. The amount of snow falling this week will meet the amount of snow that fell all of last year. Which was a down year, but still incredible numbers. The main problem is the wind though! Gusts of 50MPH?! This proves to be a huge issue when the snow is light and powdery, for it then creates massive snowdrifts that can reach upwards of 10ft. No thank you.

Let’s get into some facts that I have pulled from the National Weather Service. These are for Iowa.
The highest season total for snowfall is 69” in ‘09-‘10!
The lowest season total for snowfall is 0” in ‘30-‘31 and ‘32-‘33. Lucky.
The largest recorded daily snowfall total was the New Year’s Day storm in 1942 at two feet of heavy wet snow. (I wouldn’t even get out of bed.)
These numbers might not seem that crazy to someone from the mountain regions of the world, but to us in little ole Iowa, two feet is almost unfathomable. Throw in the wind and you just shut down the state for days.

Enough about snow. Let’s talk about something we all love…food!
Food is very important to me. There is the satiating effect of food, and the dopamine release when the meal just hits the flavor town highway. While I do love the act of eating, I do however also obtain immense joy from to social aspect of food. Sharing successes at a restaurant with friends, exploring new cooking techniques with my wife Sarah, and engaging in business discussions during lunch are all just as important as the food itself. I truly feel like we has humans love going out to eat so we can be social. For many it’s often not from laziness or lack of skill in the kitchen, but it stems from a desire to be with others.

In my past, I worked in the restaurant and service industry for about 8 years(not all full time) and in that time I really developed a passion for serving people. I love seeing the facial expressions of people biting into an expertly crafted meal. I love seeing people interact with others at their table, and occasionally, random other tables, haha, that’s me. My all-time favorite thing to do with regards to food is to get people out of their comfort zone a little, to get them to explore to different continents cuisines. I love love love peer pressuring someone into something new, knowing that they will absolutely demolish the dish, and then hearing them say “where has this been all my life?” Do you have any dishes that may seem off the wall? Any that you know if someone would just give it a chance that they may love it as much as you? I would love hearing/seeing these recipes, so please send them my way! If I receive any recipes, I will have to make them and report back on here. I promise I’ll get some photos before stuffing myself.

My favorite dish to make currently will have to be Thai Pork Basil. Man it’s insane! I learned it from my Hmong friends in Wisconsin. I miss them. The dish is a perfect blend of salty and savory and spicy and sweet and (need more alliteration!!!). If you are interested in getting the recipe, then you will either have to look it up, or wait a blog post or two for me to get my exact measurements down and get them out to ya’ll. I am interested in starting to talk about cookware and see what ya’ll use to cook different things. Come prepared with notes!

I hate shoveling.