One of those rich and heavenly dinners from a couple of weeks ago … the husband’s coq au vin has potatoes, onions, carrots and celery, with “meat falling off the bone” chicken, all simmering in a savory red-wine sauce. An herb roll to the side soaks up that amazing sauce. Topped with (what else) crumbled bacon. Mmmmm ….
I landed some fresh CSA veggies via a co-worker who went on vacay for the week. Score! In addition, the husband and I went to Rising Sun Farms (a little farmstand in Roosevelt/Ravenna), and picked up the first rainier cherries of the summer. I didn’t know about RCs until I moved out to Seattle. While Bings may be juicier and sweeter to some, I find Rainers to be refreshing because they are less sweet to me. Either way, I love cherries and have been enjoying the batch we got yesterday (for a far cheaper price than was at the local MM and a farmers markets. Woohoo.)
Some baby carrots from Oxbow farms:
Some kale, sauteed with garlic and green onions:
Some ginormous green onions:
I recently discovered that I like kale. I’m picking up the previously mentioned co-workers box of CSA goodies tomorrow as he’s roasting in Nevada, and may have to swipe the kale…
I talked to my pop on Father’s Day as we were driving home from the husband’s parents’ house on the Eastside. My dad was watching Game 5 of the Celtics/Lakers finals, so we cut the call sorta short. When I was growing up in Hartford Dad and I watched LOTS of Celtics games. Man, that was a good time to be a Celtics fan. I had a near life-sized poster of Kevin McHale hanging on my wall that freaked my mom out if it was sorta dark. Back in the day, it was all about Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, DJ, Chief, and my favorite (for some strange reason), Danny Ainge. The husband is puzzled as to why I liked Danny Ainge so much. Well, so am I, but he and DJ were my favorites.
Back in the day, the Celtics played 4 games in Hartford every season. One exhibition and three regular season games. I didn’t know it, but as I was watching an aging Larry Bird, I was also getting an opportunity to watch an up and coming Michael Jordan. Who knew? I loved going to those games! I’ll admit, I was much more eager to attend them when I was younger … middle school or maybe even younger. As I grew older, went to high school, and started doing high-school stuff, the games became less of a priority.
I left for college in the fall of ’93, and was heading to a new city with a fresh team. In Chicago, there was a bigger, better sheriff in town, and his name was Air. After growing up in the 80s with a string of Celtics championships, I was about to embark on another dynasty. 70-win seasons, three-peats, it was another great time to be a basketball fan!
I stopped watching basketball 10 years ago when I moved out here to Seattle. The Sonics are in a sorry state right now, with Clay Bennett trying to ship them to Oklahoma City. It’s a sad, sorry thing. While I don’t want them to leave, I certainly don’t feel like paying 100 bucks a ticket to see them play, either.
So, it’s with great pleasure that I can become a fan this time, of my old team, the Celtics. For real. Dad, thanks for taking me to those games. Those are days I won’t soon forget.
Go Celtics!
By the way, here’s a little sampling of what we had for dinner at the in-laws. At the in-laws it was all about Tiger and the U.S. Open. The husband’s father, at some point, deserted us in the dining room and pulled up a chair to the television in the kitchen to watch the last few holes. Then we all ran in to watch the replay of the 18th hole. Father’s Day was a good day for fathers all over.
The hors d’oeuvre: Melon wrapped in prosciutto; pearl onions with salami and cream cheese; a soft cheese with light crackers, and, my favorites, Cool ranch Doritos, Fritos, and guacamole. When has anyone ever called Doritos an hors d’oeuvre?
The Dinner: Grilled Salmon marinated in a ginger/sesame sauce with a pesto aioli; boiled potatoes and breaded zucchinni.
The dessert: Homemade apple pie (yes, as a matter of fact the mother-in-law and I did compare pie-crust experiences), with vanilla ice cream (not in the pic):
Way to go. A great meal.
BTW, that last quiche post was so long, I didn’t actually get a chance to show you what else we had at Saturday’s brunch. Remember, we get up at 5 a.m., so by 8:30 it really does seem like brunch. I guess that’s why we call it brunch …
oh yeah, let’s end with the classic Entenmann’s chocolate-frosted donut. Gooo donuts!
The rowing club had their second “meet & greet” brunch on Saturday. Since I did muffins last time, I decided this time I should bring a protein. Makes most sense, as we are a bunch of athletes coming in from practice, hungry for carbs & protein, not just carbs. So, the decision was made weeks ago to make a quiche.
No problem, I thought. A month earlier I purchased a frozen, ready-made pie crusts from Trader Joe’s. So Friday evening I stopped at the MM and up your standard quiche ingredients.
I took the pie crust out of the freezer and at that point realized, this wasn’t pie crust in a pie plate. It was the kind you have to thaw and then unfold and put into your own pie crust. Um. Okay. At least one hour to thaw. A bit of a damper but it won’t stop me from doing this. So, I just prepped all of the ingredients while the pie crust thaws. It’ll be baking a little bit later than I would have preferred, but it’s gotta happen.
An hour later, I unfold the pie crust and see that it is broken into 4 quarters. Um. Great. It’s 8:45 p.m. and I have no pie crust.
I’ve got the ingredients. I could make one from scatch. How long could that possibly take?
At this point in the story, I’d like to take a few seconds to remind everyone of my previous pie-crust making experience. Remember the New Year’s apple pie? Yeah. Haven’t attempted since, despite receiving this kick-ass pies and tarts cookbook from the MIL.
So, I start a pie crust from scratch. And it’s going unbelievably well. Until I blind bake the damn thing:
What the hell is that? That’s what happens when you blind bake a pie crust without a) weighting it down with beans and b) don’t prick the pastry shell. It’s also wise to make sure it’s chilled, but I think a) and b) are the important tips.
I had switched recipes, from Great Pies & Tarts to Better Homes & Gardens and let me tell you, big mistake. At this point, it’s is 9:30 in the evening. I’m supposed to be at practice at 6 the next morning. I tell the husband of my woes and he is so kind. He comes downstairs and cleans the kitchen. He tastes the disastrous pie crust and thinks it tastes great. He doesn’t make fun of me, too much.
The next morning, at 5:30, I go back to MM before practice and pick up an already made quiche, Spinach/Feta/Wild Mushroom. It does not go unnoticed that this whole quiche is exactly seven dollars and one cent cheaper than the amount I spent on ingredients the evening before.
The quiche from MM was ok. Not delightful, but certainly served the purpose as a protein for a post-workout meal. It disappears quickly, especially since it’s the only protein on the table.
Later on in the day, I was still kicking myself for not getting that pie crust right. Since I still had all of the ingredients for an awesome Quiche Lorraine, at 2 PM I set out to do it again. Made-from-scratch crust and all.
Four hours later, success! I made the crust, chilled it for over an hour (recipe suggests 30 minutes minimum). I blind-baked it, covered in tin foil with beans weighting it down. And I pricked the shell. And I let it chill (again) beforehand.
As for taste … I’ve gotta say, the quiche was frikkin good. The crust was buttery, flaky and baked to a T. Very impressed with the recipe that the MIL recommended. Not something I could make on a regular basis (2 sticks of butter. That’s right. Two), but at least now the pie crust no longer owns me.
As for the quiche … tons o’ swiss cheese. I added some provolone to give it a different twang as well. Lightly seasoned with nutmeg, and even used 2% milk instead of the standard whole. I also used a nice thick alderwood-smoked bacon. And everyone knows, bacon makes everything taste good. This quiche was far superior than the ready-made one I had purchased earlier (if you don’t mind me saying).
It also passed the “morning-after” test. Tasted just as good the next day, cold right out of the fridge.
Ta-da!
I’ve been wearing my flannel pajama bottoms to bed for the past few nights. The heat actually kicked on the other night while we were sleeping. I dug out my fleece hat for Max’s walk this morning.
Welcome to June-uary.
The weather was much nicer when the husband and I decided to sign up for this year’s Furry 5K. However, closer to the date I was fearing rain and wind and plain old cold weather (seriously, 48 degrees? In JUNE?).
Fortunately the weather stayed just cloudy, with no rain. We drove to Seward Park, with Max whining in the back the entire way. We were among maybe 7000 humans with their dogs, all in support of the Seattle Animal Shelter.
We didn’t actually know how Max would handle a 3-mile walk surrounded by other dogs. Would he go crazy and run from dog to dog, barking and whining and causing all sorts of trouble? Max was actually very well-behaved. A few sniffs of some dog bottoms, and there was definitely some jerking of the pinch collar, but for the most part it was just a long walk for him. I wondered to myself if Max was looking at us, accusingly, thinking, “Is this what you humans do when you leave me home alone? Unfair!”
We got home, had some snacks, and then Max and I conked out in front of the TV watching Food Network. The 3.1 mile walk just knocked us out, I guess.
The husband requested that the next walk we do be during summer.
(the husband & Max crossing the finish line, with tons of volunteers cheering them on. hooray! woof!!)
Last week I joined the gym that is down the street from me (maybe a 2-minute bike ride on the Burke Gilman trail or so). It’s their summer special … 3 months for $100. I don’t join the thing full time because I already belong to a gym. That gym is free thanks to the perks from The Firm, but that gym just happens to be about 13 miles away.
It’s been nice to roll out of bed in the morning and work out, and in fact has jumpstarted my NROL4W status as well. Here’s the update:
Stage 2, Workout A. Each exercise is 2 sets of 10 reps. The (*) represent alternating sets:
Stage 2, Workout B. Again, 2 sets of 10 reps:
If I have extra time (read, not lifting in the morning), I’ve added a Body Weight Matrix or Intervals. Body Weight Matrix: 24 squats; 12 lunges (ea leg); 12 lunge jumps; 24 squat jumps. Rest for 2x the amount of time it takes to do the matrix, then repeat. Dang, I can feel the burn just thinking about it.
This week went well schedule-wise:
I’ve liked mixing it up. Just new surroundings alone has been helpful in keeping me motivated and moving. Hope to be this consistent for the rest of the summer (and beyond, of course).
The other day MSN.com had a link to this story about 12 Food Additives to Avoid, and pictured a tasty chocolate snack cake next to the headline. So, while some people may have clicked on that story to see “what additives to avoid”, all I wanted was a Ho-Ho.
I’ve been thinking about Ho-Hos all week now. And actually, many of us at work have been thinking the same (Perhaps I made it worse because I added a nice Ho-Ho pic as my IM display picture). I was all set to walk over to the 7-11 to see if they had some. Only thing is, it’s raining out, it’s been raining ALL DAY, and I just can’t fathom walking the quarter-mile or so in the rain for a Ho-Ho that may or may not be as appetizing as the thought of a Ho-Ho is.
I’ve settled on a vending machine classic, the Ruger Chocolate Wafer Cookies, but it’s just not the same.
BTW, one must be sure to distinguish a Ho-Ho from a Yodel. A Yodel is from Drake’s. A Ho-Ho is Hostess. Pick your side.
To end my seven-day stretch of Indian-food cravings, the husband and I went to India Bistro last night for dinner. The fine owners recently added a Roosevelt location (in addition to their popular Ballard establishment). I’m a bit nervous for them, as I’ve seen at least three different restaurants open and close at that location (in a small plaza on 65th, but sort of hidden on the ‘bottom’ floor). However, if any restaurant can stay open there, it’s got to be something like India Bistro, that already has found success in another pocket of the city.
I forgot the camera, of course, so I swiped these photos from the IB Web site.
First of all, we were dressed quite casually, and although this is Seattle and EVERYONE dresses casually, all the time, even to the Opera, it was a little bit unsettling at first because the restaurant really gave the impression that it was fine-dining. We were the only guests in the place when we arrived, so it was hard to gauge what it’s really like by the other customer’s dress. Rest assured, it’s as comfortable and relaxed as the Ballard restaurant and we should leave those silly concerns to rest.
BTW, we are early eaters. We’re like senior-citizens early. We eat early for a number of reasons. In fact, we really try to avoid eating after 7PM. Gives you time to digest, gives us time to walk our pooch, and often times you’re actually able to get a seat pretty easily at nice (and even not as nice) places because you’re willing to eat out when it’s still light out. One of the interesting things I learned from a friend is that early eaters like us are always seated by a window, so that passersby will see the window seats filled with diners and hopefully this will encourage them to dine there as well.
Anyway. We started with vegetable samosas (just like Bina used to make!), then settled on the Seafood Trio, one of their “signature dishes”; Saag Paneer (a favorite of mine which I nearly always order … I should branch out more but it’s hard); rice and Keema Naan on the side; and two Mango Lassis.
The waitress asked how sweet we wanted our Mango Lassis. I looked at her quizzically.
-Well, some guests asked that they not be so sweet. So now I try to cater to your preferences.”
-Oh, I want mine sweet, all right.
-Yeah, me too, says the husband. He normally gets the King Fisher but settled and enjoyed the lassi alongside me. Mmmm. Mango…
The samosas were also presented to us almost immediately, filled with spicy potatoes and peas. A crispy outer shell and a warm, mushy filling was the type of samosa I really craved (not the puff pastry turnover I made last week). Terrific.
The Seafood Trio included King salmon; scallops and nice, big prawns, grilled tandoori style, and (heavily) dressed in a rich and tangy citrus sauce. At times, a little too tangy for my taste. The prawns were quite impressive, the salmon and scallops perhaps had too much dressing for me to enjoy it entirely.
The Saag Paneer was as expected, creamy pureed spinach and that lovely paneer cheese, full of those familiar Indian spices. Sprinkled atop was some fresh cilantro, much to the husband’s dismay. I don’t remember cilantro being part of this dish before, however it put a damper on things for the husband, a bonafide cilantro-hater. Well… more leftovers for me.
I know there are a dozen Indian restaurants closer to us. Just walk down the Ave. in the U-District and I’m bound to bump into one without even trying. But it’s so much easier to go just a little bit farther and know what you’re going to get (ok, the cilantro was a surprise but now we know). We grabbed the to-go menu on the way out … I’m sure we’ll be back.
If you’re like me, and not a fan of Kathie Lee, you may want to put it on mute. But get a load of these amazing cupcakes. The officemate and I both agree that, seriously, these aren’t really cupcakes that anyone can make. I mean, really. Have you seen my cupcakes? Oh, right. You have.