After posting about the Seattle primary caucuses, Ray tipped me off to this project by The New York Times. They’ve added me to the project. Find my pics here.
What, with the brouhaha of the Dr. Jarvik controversy (is he or isn’t he a rower), that’s two times in one month that I’m distantly linked to this journalistic masterpiece.
The Brooks owed us (rowers) a home-cooked meal, and today we cashed in. JB made French Toast using thick slices of artisan bread and a hint of orange zest. Warm maple syrup (the real stuff) on top. Eggs combined with oven-roasted mushrooms, ricotta cheese, thyme and lemon. The french toast was cooked to perfection and served just right. The eggs were light and fluffy with a nice complement of flavors. Empty plates from everyone.
I was made fun of because I took pictures of the pets (Raisin and Tenzig), and the food (as described above), but not the people at this gathering. Ha! I’ve gotten so accustomed of taking pics of the same thing (food and Max), that I didn’t even think to take photos of the guests. Whoops. My bad.
(Above Left: Tenzig checking the place out before pouncing. Above Right: Raisin, close-up).
Thanks to the Brooks. Yum.
UPDATE: Here is a link to my legislative district’s results (apparently I am in the Fightin’ 46th). Note how close my estimate is of attendance at Bryant Elementary. I estimated 1,000 and there were 1,110 of us. Not bad.
Today was my first experience at a Democratic Primary Caucus. Nevermind that I’ve lived in Seattle long enough to have attended 2 other caucuses, should I have chosen. I suppose the 2000 election it wouldn’t have mattered as much as we (thought we) had our man. Then by the ’04 election, well, hell I didn’t know what the hell a caucus was so I didn’t go. I don’t like to talk to neighbors much, so it seemed a bit too much for me. I’m from Connecticut. In Connecticut there is no caucus, just a primary. In Connecticut, specifically West Hartford, and specifically 12 years ago (OMG 12ish years ago) you walk into a voting booth, with one of those cool old-school machinery, the curtains close, choose your man (or woman), push down the lever, which automatically opens the curtains so you can exit and the next person enters in. Old-school.
Here in Seattle, it’s sheer chaos, one of the reasons I went permanent absentee ballot years ago.
But this is THE year to attend the caucuses. They are expecting record crowds, perhaps 75% more people than at the last election, which was also a record. Over at Bryant Elementary, I estimated the crowd to be at least 1,000 (maybe more like 1,200). Our precinct (46-2098) was one of about 10+ meeting in the gym. Couldn’t hear anything. The Democrats (bless them) couldn’t quite figure out the speaker system at first. Our precinct officer (bless her) did not exactly have a voice that could project. So this is how the caucus worked.
Our first tally: 128 voters. 5 delegates to Obama, 2 to Hillary, 6 voters undecided
Our second tally: 129 voters (because if you did not make it for the first tally, your vote only counts in the second), 99 to Obama and 30 to Hillary. All of our undecideds chose a side. Still, 5 delegates went to Obama and 2 to Hillary.
So, there I thought we were done. But actually next you have to choose delegates. Delegates who will represent your precinct at some county caucus on April 5. If there are no delegate volunteers (and alternates for those delegates) then your delegate could be taken away from your precinct. So once it was decided that there were 10 volunteers for those Obama delegates, we left.
If you were wondering who I was caucusing for, well that last sentence should have given you the answer.
We are still waiting for final results. Which I imagine will be posted on the Election site at The Seattle Times. You can read more about what happened at various caucus sites from this “Citizen Report” from the Times. I’ll see if I can scrounge up our individual caucuses results (since we left before it was completely over.)
Some more pics:
At top: Caucusing at Bryant Elementary.
Middle: Tally officers tallying up the 128 votes in our precinct.
Left: Dorothy, our precinct officer, giving us instruction on what to do.
Happy New Year! I asked the husband how we should bring in the year of the rat. He suggested chinese food. Brilliant! Rather than order take out or delivery, we actually walked over to our local chinese restaurant, Yummy Cafe, and ate there. It is a special occasion.
Enjoy!
Potstickers for an appetizer, Eight Jewels Hot Pot, Seafood Chow Fun. With lots of leftovers to take home.
Happy New Year!
Shortly after our Super Bowl feast (which, let me say, was much more satisfying than the game itself), the husband asked me, “What shall we have for dinner on Super Tuesday?” The expectation, of course, was that we would enjoy a comfort-food type dinner while watching the results trickle through on the telly. Then, the husband could yell at Tim Russert and Wolf Blitzer in between bites.
We settled on open-faced toasted cheese (as opposed to grilled cheese) and tomato bisque (courtesty of Amy’s Organics). The cheese is Tillamook, with thin chunks of Beecher’s Flagship placed on top. The breaded shrimp on the left was leftover from the SBF (Super Bowl feast). Didn’t get cooked on Sunday, and good thing, because it would have only added to the indigestion I felt after that game.
It sounds like I’m not over the Pats’ loss. But I am. Quite seriously, I am.
Anyhow. The results weren’t as fascinating as I thought so eventually we gave up and caught some “Two and a Half Men” reruns. In the meantime, many of my co-workers spent the entire night (and thensome) working to keep this site updated throughout the event that was Super Duper Phat Tuesday.
Ugh. What a drag when the team you root for loses. One consolation prize. The can of San Pellegrino Aranciata I enjoyed in this fun tiki glass we picked up from Archie McPhee a few months ago. And the chocolate eclair I’m about to share with the husband. Sigh.
A lot of you (okay, a few) have asked me, not who I’m rooting for in the Super Bowl, but what I’ll be eating. Nothing special, actually. I woke up one morning last week and declared to the husband that I wanted Jimmy John’s. He was expecting this after getting a JJ’s flyer in the paper. So the sandwich in the photo is a Turkey Tom from Jimmy John’s. To the upper right, Triscuits with clam dip and a habanero smoked salmon spread. And some Maui potato chips. Of course, it’s balanced out by the celery and carrots (upper left). Hopefully loaded with clam dip and habanero smoked salmon spread.
And, if anyone cares, I’m rooting for the Patriots. Yay Tom Brady.
Just a day or two following New Year’s everything in the local grocery store turns red for Valentine’s Day. You could moan and groan and curse Hallmark for the commercialization of love, or you could just go with the flow and pick up some heart-shaped cookies. I chose the latter.
Last week, I tried a berry jam-filled cookie from Ambrosetti. It wasn’t actually filled as much as it was spread. Delicious:
Then, last night, the husband and I shared this indulgent treat (always tastes better when you can share it with someone you love), also from Ambrosetti:
Why wait for February 14? Enjoy one tonight.
I love Chicago deep-dish pizza, but only when I’m in Chicago. I’ve had it only a handful of times when I’m not in Chicago. It’s just a staple when you live there, I guess.
This post from Slice describes the regional pizza styles across the country (via Fimoculous). The husband always reflects on the NY-style. Fold and eat. Plus, back on the East Coast I’ll never forget my hometown favorites, Pizza West (near “the Center”) and Jimmy’s on Farmington Ave. Cut into squares, not slices.
Seattle favorites:
PS. There are 280,668 results on flickr when you search “pizza“. Four of those results are mine.
Belinda asked me to give her a shout out. So here it is. One of the greatest things I remember from Bel & Nick’s wedding back in 2003 (besides the amazing reception site, tears … oh and the fun ‘bachelorette’ party…) was the reception food! Two amazing buffets. One, to be honest, I can’t remember what it was. Maybe prime rib? But the other one was filled with southern goodness: chicken, mac and cheese, those comfort foods that are every bit a part of Bel and her southern upbringing.
She also presented Nick with a super-fun groom’s cake, shaped like a golf bag, clubs and all. It was very impressive, and the surprise and amazement Nick showed was precious. Bel, if you’re out there, send me a photo of the groom’s cake. I’d love to post it.