WAIT FOR IT...

right now feeling ...
There is blog coming from this past weekend, really. I'm picking up the picture cd in a couple of hours and might be able to blog the stuff tonight. If not, for sure I will get to it tomorrow. I've gone outside the photo processing box and took the waterproof disposable camera to Bartell's. Double matte, 4x6 prints and photo cd costs alot less than the same at Camera's West. Because these shots are potentially very iffy in quality, I used them as the experiment. Wait for it a little longer...

FIT B4 40...

...will no longer be referenced here. If you are interested, just go to just keep driving for the updates.

...LIKE AFRICA HOT...

It's hot. I've just returned from a walk up to Broadway and back with Sally. We were really hoofing it too. We stopped briefly at Starbucks for an iced latee for Sally. But then headed right back to work. It was a good walk and I'm relaxed. Just biding my time until I leave here today and walk home with Erin.

FIT B4 40 AND CHEESE MAKING

Please see today's entry at just keep driving.

WEEKENDS ARE THE BEST!!

Friday we went for drinks at The Rosebud with Sian. She bought us a couple cocktails for our birthdays. I also received a fabulous Kiss CD containing 40 rock and roll classics. Growing up my fave bands were Kiss and the BeeGees. I can't explain it, just believe it. Julie received a cool book of poker games. Oddly, strip poker was not included. We'll have to improvise.

For a bite to eat after drinks we heaeded to The Moonlight Cafe. For years I've been driving past this place thinking it was some seedy karaoke lounge. They do have karaoke some nights but I had no idea the food was so fabulous and the place was so completely inviting. Julie recently read the article in the Evergreen Monthly (click on Moonlight Café link) so we were intrigued. Two full menus, one for meat eaters and one vegan, leave one's mouth watering. We ordered three vegan dishes and shared. Everything was great. the eggplant hotpot with tofu and onions, the chicken curry, and a beef dish with broccoli and carrots. All vegan and all delicious. We can't wait to go back.

Saturday we rose early. Sally came over and we all piled in the Geicomobile for a ride out to Olallie State Park, about 40 miles from our place. We trekked almost four miles along the Iron Horse Trail and ate some thimbleberries. The weather was perfect and the trail pretty quiet until we headed back to the car. We then headed to Big John's PFI. Sally was on the hunt for a sun-dried tomato sauce from Sacla, an Italian brand of pasta sauce. She didn't find it but I found it on the web. Sorry, Sally, no Sacla products in Washington. But you can purchase them online at My Brands Inc.

Julie and I brought home a whole bunch of goodies for a Mediterranean feast, a belated birthday dinner of sorts. For Julie's birthday we went out to eat. For my birthday I wanted a Mediterranean finger food feast. Our feast included cappacolla, soprasotta, white asparagus spears, stuffed grape leaves, bread, dry salami, roasted red peppers, dried figs, Trader Joe’s Pinjur sauce, smoked mussels, smoked trout, olive mix, artichoke hearts, chevre, a gorgonzola cdheddar mix, and a guyere cheese. It's my favorite way to eat and I didn't want to go to a restaurant. I prefer eating on our deck in shorts, barefoot if I like, listening to the radio. It was delicious. There is plenty left over and we had a scaled down version for supper tonight. Still remaining items will be made into whole wheat pita pizzas this week.

For cheese making update please see today's date's entry and two pics at just keep driving.

Outta my way... 

Sunday morning we got a late start. By the time we ate breakfast and left the house it was 10 o'clock. That's pretty late for us. Walked to Fuel way down on 19th for coffee. It opened in March and we kind of forgot about it. We have recently rediscovered it and really like it. While sipping the blissful lattes, we scribbled our game plan for the remainder of the day. Always so much to do.

In the garden we lament the loss of a tub of potatoes. We lost the plant to blight but I found plenty of small potatoes in the depths of the dirt. The remaining two potato plants are doing ok, but do have the blight to a ceratin degree. The potatoes I managed to salvage from the dead plant range in size from as big as an extra large egg to as samll as a pea. All sizes will taste delicious once tossed with olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper and roasted in the oven.

We ate the first green beans of the year. The plants have grown up the side of the house about 9 feet. Also enjoyed more broiled zucchini. Planted some various green and red lettuce starts that I've been growing inside. Actually have three tomatoes ripening. Things kind of got off to a slow start with our crazy weather. I have no idea if things will catch up. But I'm looking forward to planting plenty of fall harvest goodies and growing some things year rowund in the cold frame.

The eyes have it...(you know, you try to come up with captions for all these pictures) 

Spuds not duds 

Yard work included Julie trimming the snot out of the foliage in front of the house. She really gave it the once over (and the twice and thrice over). Her legs are scraped up from the blackberry and wild rose thorns. I painted the compost bin door with a bright, funky sun. Wonder what the neighbors will think. I hope they think it looks better than an old piece of naked plywood. Cuz that’s what I think.

Snip, snip, snip... 

FIT B4 40

Please see just keep driving.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Originally uploaded by sissalice.

Birthdays should last at least a week.

Birthdays are the best. Even though we can't deny that we are officially older, birthdays are often a day on which we can expect to be spoiled. And that's fun regardless of your age. When I arrived at work my cube was decorated and there were chocolate covered espresso beans and gummy worms waiting for me. After I returned from getting coffee with Erin and Andrea, there was a cake at my desk. I knew it was going to be a good day.

Sally visited and brought with her a homemade gift certificate for bubble tea, complete with bubbles cut out of construction paper. Ingenious. For lunch, Andrea and Erin and I got our grub on at Todai. I tried to photograph the birthday sushi but realized that I had failed to replace the memory card in the camera. No matter.

After work Julie picked me up and we went for a bubble tea at Chatterbox, a friendly place not too far from our house. While waiting at the counter for the drinks to be made, the lady asked if I liked the flowers sitting there. I hadn't noticed them at all which is pretty strange. I usually notice everything, especially great smelling flowers. I remarked how pretty they were and she suggested that I smell them too. OK. Yep, they smelled great. "Smells like someone's birthday," she indicated with a coy look. I looked at her, then looked at Julie. Julie looked like she was in on something with the bubble tea lady. Huh? Wait a minute, what's going on here? Why do you two look so guilty of something? Sure enough, the flowers were for me. I had been lured to the bubble tea place in order to receive my birthday flowers!

Once home and relaxing on the deck, I opened my presents: A Lucinda WIlliams CD - World Without Tears, three great books right up my alley - Falling Off The Map: Some Lonely Places of the World by Pico Iyer; Turkish Reflections: Biography of a Place by Mary Lee Settle; and 1968: The Year That Rocked the World by Mark Kurlansky, one of my favorite authors. He is also the author of Salt: A World History, Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World, and The Basque History of the World: The Story of a Nation. I loved all of them. So I am very excited about reading all of these books. Between these and the last batch I picked up from Half Price Books, I am set for the next few months. Oh, I can't forget the other present from Julie, the Sharpie Mini markers. I should explain that I have an unnatural affection for Sharpie Markers. I don't sniff them, relax. But I love the fine points that come in all the great colors. I don't use them all that much but I love having them. So when the mini versions came out I had to really control myself. But Julie knew it was one of the few things I wanted just because so she got them. I'm going to hang them from my backpack or something. But I will use them!

I received separate serenades from Sally and Donna at work, my mom and Stephanie, and Nana and Papa Guy. I received voice mail from my dad, twice. An email from Diane and one from Val who is currently somewhere in the Ionian Sea. I spoke with Mary and with Iva. And I am told that I have packages coming from Mary, my mom and Steph, and Diane. The celebration continues!

FIT B4 40

See just keep driving.

FIT B4 40

See just keep driving.

Another fun but busy weekend in the 'hood. Friday night we treated ourselves to dinner at Tutta Bella. We shared the Tutta Bella Mista salad and then finished off a Campania and a Quattro Stagioni pizza. The nice thing about Neopolitan pizza is that it's smaller and thinner than the average pizza. You can still indulge without feeling like a blimp when you walk out of the place. But we were plenty full. No room for dessert.

Saturday morning we met Sally at the University District Farmer's Market and bought plenty of good stuff. Orange and golden carrots, purple heirloom tomatoes, blueberries, Rainier cherries, tiny purple and white striped eggplants and more. The blueberries lasted about two hours after we got them home. The weather was good. Is Summer finally here? I'm afraid to ask. After the market we walked down to Cafe Allegro where Sally treated us to delicious lattes.

Art at Cafe Allegro 

LOBSTER MOBSTER

Once home I attacked the yard and the alley with the weed whacker and resowed some seeds. J did the standard grocery shopping. For dinner she prepared a lobster atop a bed of mango and cucumber salsa, roasted sweet potatoes and a tossed salad. She picked up the lobster at Mutual Fish Company, practically a Seattle fish institution. We often buy fish here. She asked the fishmonger dude to kill the thing. But a few hours later when she removed the creature from the fridge, it was very much alive. Shame on Mutual Fish. But J did the deed herself for the first time. I had trouble watching so I walked away. She cut it in half, basted it in an herb butter and grilled it. It was certainly tasty enough but we both agreed that it was too much trouble to eat and you really pay for alot of crap you can't use. We're glad we did it but next time would prefer crab.

Ingredients for grub 

Julie's first kill 

BETTER VEGGIE GARDENER

Update to just keep driving. Good, clean fun.

For grub J made a pork roast. Damn tasty. Earlier in the day I experimented with a whole wheat bread recipe I found at Bob's Red Mill. I followed the directions but it came out a little heavy. No matter. It smelled and tasted very good. I'm going to try again next weekend but alter a couple of things.

GO ELSEWHERE

New update to just keep driving.

DAY OF REST?

Sunday we accomplished quite a number of projects. I worked in the yard resowing seeds and scheming up ways to keep Henry out of the garden. Often after I resow seeds, he's in there christening the area. He likes the newly moistened, dark, smelly compost. I noticed he had done this to a new carrot patch when the seeds sprouted all in the same area, as if they had been pushed into a little carrot seed hill. A dead give away. I resowed the seeds again and then used string and thin green garden stakes to make a carrot patch cage. So far so good. Did the same with an area in which I am experimenting with carrots, beets, radishes and beans.

Meanwhile, Julie tackled our toilet. It's guts were old and in need of replacement. She went back to Greenwood Hardware because the folks are friendly and knowledgeable. She came home with all the right pieces and set to work. She's amazing. Within an hour and a half we had a new flusher.

First you spread out all the pieces parts and read some stuff...

Originally uploaded by sissalice.

...and tighten the doo-hicky in here...

Originally uploaded by sissalice.

...then you just twist something back here and...

Originally uploaded by sissalice.

...it's finished and flushable!

Originally uploaded by sissalice.

SHRIMP SOUP IS GOOD FOOD

To feed our hard-working souls I made a huge batch of cold shrimp soup. This is a gazpacho-like dish introduced to us by Martin, an ex-boyfriend of neighbor Gary. Martin (pronounced Mar-teen but I don't have a way to add an accent mark) is a Mexican heavy metal musician who is also a Thai food chef. To look at him, you instantly see the heavy metal part, what with his long hair, tatoos, and mostly black wardrobe. The chef talents we delightfully discovered bit by bit.

The original recipe calls for Clamato, a V-8 type juice that has a slight clam taste. I opted to substitute and here's why: Clamato is pretty expensive, ringing in at over five bucks for less than a gallon. But the primary reason was that the third ingredient listed on the label is high fructose corn syrup! The absolute worst form of sugar - unfortunately found in way too many products. So I moved on to V-8. V-8 was slightly cheaper for the same sized bottle since it was currently on sale. "Sugar" was listed as an ingredient but much further down the list. Then I went to Trader Joe's and inspected their Garden Patch vegetable juice. Not only is the most economical, at only $2.49 for a whole gallon, it doesn't contain any sugar! The label indicates all sorts of vegetable products and by products but no syrups, sugar, or "oses." Available in regular and low sodium, it was the obvious healthy choice of the three contenders. It also tastes very good.

So here is how I throw together the cold shrimp soup. First, there are no measured amounts of anything. I took a big pot and added ingredients until the pot looked full, looked inviting, looked like each ladle dip would pull up a good variety of ingredients. It's definitely a make as you go dish.

* 2 64 oz. bottles of Trader Joe's Garden Patch (1 regular, 1 low sodium)
* Ketchup. This is where you get your sugar. But I used only about 1/2 cup for the whole pot. I happened to use Trader Joe's Organic Ketchup.
* About 4 avacados, on the small side, diced.
* 3 tomatoes, diced. I removed most of the seeds and guts.
* 1 red onion, diced but not too small
* 1 hot pepper of your choice minced. I had a jalapeno that had ripened to red. I seeded and de-veined it.
* Fresh cilantro, chopped.
* Hot sauce of your choice.
* Coarse salt to taste.
* Fish sauce to taste. I added this for saltiness and for a slight fish flavor since I didn't use Clamato and I didn't cook my own shrimp.
* Shrimp. Like I said, I didn't cook my own. I was trying to save time and see if I could also save money. I definitely saved both and, frankly, Julie and I felt the soup was no worse for it. Maybe next time on a less busy day, I'll boil my own shrimp as I have in the past. Then I'll toss in some of the water for flavor.
* Lastly, I added corn this time. Next time, I'll add roasted corn! Even better.
It's best when it chills overnight.

Mmmmmm, bread.

I also whipped up a small, flat rosemary and sage bread. Just 2 cups all purpose flour and 2 cups whole wheat flour. We are gradually eliminating the white flour from the abode and this was a very tasty way to do it. I ground course sea salt, dried sage and dried rosemary with the mortar and pestle and added it to the dough and on top before baking. Very aromatic. Not necessarily the perfect compliment to the shrimp soup but I had a taste for it.

Rosemary and sage bread

Originally uploaded by sissalice.

BEANS, GREENS, AND SCENES

Today we were out and about on an urban adventure that evolved as the day passed. The original plan was simply to drive to the Greenwood Post Office and from there walk to do a couple of errands. This turned into trying a new coffee place about which we recently read, walking to the errands and then walking way over to another neighborhood to try a new place for lunch. All of this was accomplished except for the new lunch place. We learned while walking that the place no longer serves lunch. No matter, we were not that far from a tried and true Thai joint and the lunch was absolutely delicious PLUS we used our Entertainment Book coupon. So we got a long walk, sunshine on our faces, and cheap eats. And found some new scenes to share with you.

Our first stop was the Green Bean Coffee House located at 85th and Greenwood. This is a recently opened non-profit organization that encourages community and giving to charities. Every month half of whatever has accumulated in the tip jar is donated to a local organization. In May, they donated $800 to a group I can't recall. In June $700 went to the Boys and Girls Club. This month's tips will go to Mary's Place, a shelter for women and children. The Green Bean also wants to support and encourage the surrounding community to be a part of the scene by offering a Greenwood Neighbors Discount for folks living in the Greewood/Phinney area. Get a discount every visit with proof of address in either of these two neighborhoods. Although we do not live in this area, we each received a buy-one-get-one coupon for a future visit because we were brand new customers. Following are a few shots of our visit. We liked it. We'll be back.There are also open mic events, live music dates and story times for kids. The Green Bean also sells fair trade art and crafts from around the world.

Originally uploaded by sissalice.

Originally uploaded by sissalice.

Originally uploaded by sissalice.

Originally uploaded by sissalice.

Another neighborhood cat.

DSCF0799
Originally uploaded by sissalice.

BUILDING ART

BUILDING ART
Originally uploaded by sissalice.

I've passed this store dozens of times on Greenwood Ave. and finally today there was sun on it to make for a decent photo. Can't remember the name of the store. More interested in the mural.

Originally uploaded by sissalice.

Originally uploaded by sissalice.

ALWAYS FINDING URBAN GROWTH

We discovered the Greenwood P-Patch by accident. It's a great garden space that is obviously well tended by its gardeners. There is a considerable difference between my photo taken today and the 1997 photo on the website of the front of the P-Patch. Much growth has taken place.

GREENWOOD P-PATCH

GREENWOOD P-PATCH
Originally uploaded by sissalice.

Originally uploaded by sissalice.

Originally uploaded by sissalice.

SAKYA MONASTERY OF TIBETAN BUDDHISM

I wonder if many folks know that there is a Tibetan Buddhist Temple in the heart of greenwood. The Sakya Monastery of Tibetan Buddhism is located on the conrer lot of a residential street. The monastery is open to the public for a wide variety of meditation sessions, education, spiritual blessings and prayer. Outside the monastery is a circle of prayer wheels and a large stupa. It's the white bell-shaped figure with the golden pillar on it. From this stupa information website I learned that the Tibetan word for a stupa is "Chorten," which means "the basis of offering." This word I am familiar with but was unaware of what one actually looked like. The website goes on to explain that the stupa, or "Spiritual Monument," represents the "Buddha's body, his speech and his mind, but most especially his mind and every part shows the path to Enlightenment."

Sakya Monastery

BUDDIST TEMPLE
Originally uploaded by sissalice.

Originally uploaded by sissalice.

Tibetan Buddhists believe that these prayer wheels, when turned clockwise, "radiate an incalculable amount of peace, kindness, and relief from misery for all beings." 

Originally uploaded by sissalice.

CATS MAKE BAD DRUNKS

CATS MAKE BAD DRUNKS
Originally uploaded by sissalice.

Cats make bad laptops.  

HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN

We are finally back from our vacation! On the one hand, it's good to be home. On the other, it was fun to be on vacation. The stories and photos from the trip are in the works. I've got to have some film developed and do some research on identifying some things I photographed. Give me two weeks. It's a large amount of info. But the July special edition of BO-BUTT BEACON will be released before my birthday on July 20.

We returned yestreday at around 5:30. Today we worked on the house and I opened up a can of whoop-ass on the yard. Nothing perished thanks to Dianna's watering. But it's amazing how fast things grow when you aren't looking. When you're home every day watching the garden grow is like watching water boil. But leave for 10 days and all hell breaks loose. I harvested zucchini, carrots, beets, onions, garlic, a cucumber, arugula, red and green lettuce, and spinach. Tonight we are enjoying carrots, onions, and zucchini along with our sole and pasta. I also ran the weed whacker, raked, weeded, staked, watered, and resowed various vegetables. Julie did laundry, dishes, ran to the store and made a delicious lunch of tuna on ciabatta with a side of baked beans.

It's hot here today and I'm just back from shower number 2. And I smell delicious thanks to some of the products I picked up at Lush in Portland. More on that later. And I will work this week on getting the vacation blog together.

Today's harvest

Today's harvest
Originally uploaded by sissalice.

FIRST DAY OF SUMMER - NOT

The first day of summer (and the longest day of the year) is a lesson in patience. It's raining, it's dark, there's lightning and thunder. Cleveland, can you hear me? On a day that can potentially display sunlight until after 10 pm, it already looks like 10 pm at 4:30. I'm relatively wet from my walk from the bus and the yardwork I did harvesting stuff for a stir fry. Rain doesn't bother me like it used to. I can do yardwork in the rain here but never back home. The rain is different here. The rain seems more comfortable with itslef here. And I don't feel as if I'm invading its space by letting it fall around me.

When it rains the bus is very crowded and very loud. 14 different conversations and none of them interesting. Again, if I ruled, there would be no talking on the bus. I sank into my latest book, Tibet, Tibet: A Personal History of a Lost Land, by Patrick French. It's history, travel writing and memoir all in one. I dig it. I'm learning a great deal about Tibet from the people who live it.

Back to the kitchen. Dishes to be done from last night, bok choi to wash for tonight, rice to cook, and still more vacation work to do. Two days! By this time Thursday we will be solidly stuck in traffic on I-5 South but we will be ON VACATION.

THE EAGLE HAS FLOWN

Well, it was just last week I was wondering if the day would come when I would see a bald eagle fly over the house. It's not that bald eagles aren't common around here. Just toodle a mile down to Lake Washington or 22 blocks to Puget Sound and you might see one, sure. But there isn't much water in the Central District. Then again, he was probably just going from one water source to another. We were sitting here having after dinner conversation with Dianna and I suddenly saw one, flying low and slow and coming right at us. My arm automatically went up and I blurted out, "Eagle!" We all stopped and watched it fly over and away. He wasn't in a hurry but there wasn't any time to grab a camera. First a dragonfly, now an eagle. What's next? Anyway, it was exciting and it's always fun to see an eagle.

FLY DRAGON, FLY

I saw Henry take a jump towards something. I also had heard a slight buzz and a bit of a splat noise right before he jumped. He's always chasing bugs. Occasionally he can take down a moth but that's the extent of his hunting skills. J and I both looked to see what he might have found and were surprised to find a giant dragonfly. First time one has ever come to our yard. Because I'm a huge goober when it comes to this stuff, I ran and got not one but two cameras. I first started clicking right away with the digital because I was sure the dragonfly wouldn't stick around - it's not in his nature. But I think he was a bit stunned, either from hitting the Rubbermaid container or from a paw swat from the cat. Either way, he was easy to pick up for a closer look. Where his shoulder blades would be was vibrating. The fuzzy little hairs were moving really fast. J set him on the flowers so he could recover from whatever was ailing him. I was snapping away with a Nikon (better macro capabilities) when he took off. There are too many pictures of this dragonfly but we might never see one again in our yard.

It's the biggest bug Henry's seen

It's the biggest bug Henry's seen
Originally uploaded by sissalice.

Henry gives a love tap to see if it's real

Originally uploaded by sissalice.

Originally uploaded by sissalice.

J sets him on the nasturtiums in the hopes that he would snap out of it.

J sets him on the nasturtiums in the hopes that he would snap out of it.
Originally uploaded by sissalice.

Originally uploaded by sissalice.

Originally uploaded by sissalice.

WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

Last night's Urban Hike can be found at just keep driving.

A PASSAGE TO INDIA - OR, HOW TO MAKE AUTHENTIC INDIAN FOOD IN JUST 137 EASY STEPS

So we wanted to cook authentic Indian food. It is a cuisine we have been eager to conquer. Right before he left for 6 weeks in India, our neighbor, Chandan, lent us his two favorite Indian cook-books for inspiration. Plus, I had made the homemade paneer with an Indian dish in mind, though I hadn't decided which one. Check out how I made the paneer on the new blog just keep driving on the June 12th entry. We decided to tackle two recipes this weekend -Eggplant Rasavangy from one of the cookbooks and Spinach and Paneer Kofta, a recipe I found online. Lots of good paneer recipes on this woman's site.

We were ready for an adventure and we got one. We were not aware of the number of ingredients and steps involved in Indian cooking. It's like no other cuisine we've tackled. The first dish, Eggplant Rasavangy, has 12 ingredients for the main part. One of these 12 ingredients is 1/2 teaspoon of Sambar Powder which on its own has 13 ingredients. Then there is a paste which has 7 ingredients. And right as you begin to cook it all together, there are four extra little ingredients to toss in the hot oil. We set out to Madison Market's bulk spice section for things like asafoetida powder. Asafoetida is widely used in Indian cooking, often for an onion and/or garlic substitute. It's included in almost every recipe in the cookbook in very small amounts. The smell is strong. It's hard to describe but it isn't pleasant. It's made by mixing the asafoetida sap (resin) with gum arabic, wheat, rice flower and tumeric. Don'tworry, you just buy the powder. The label on the jar at the store indicated that it is such a good remedy for flatulence that it can cure a horse from indigestion. Encouraging. Other ingredients we needed, like tamarind pods, were easily found in the International District.

Once the bags of spices were home, we both set to work on the sambar powder since we knew we couldn't get the rest of the dish made without that crucial 1/2 teaspoon. Julie measured, ground, and toasted seeds and spices. I seeded and de-veined two cups of chili peppers. The book didn't call for this action but there is no way we could have eaten this powder with two cups of whole chillies and their full fire power. As it turns out the powder still has plenty of punch. Even though I washed my hands three times after working with the peppers, I managed to burn my nostrils and lips by touching them. It was painful but it wasn't the first time I suffered from hot pepper burns on my face. But the worst part came when I had to sautee all of these peppers. That's when they give off all the fire straight into the air we breathe. There was choking, tearing, coughing, sneezing. We had to go outside and catch our breath and then come back in for another round. The peppers only cooked for two minutes but the aftermath lasted a couple of hours. The whole kitchen was so full of spices and oils in the air that when I wiped my face later with a facial cleansing cloth there was yellow residue on it. In fact, my food processor turned yellow almost instantly when we ground up everything. But the recipe did yield quite a bit. We filled a pasta sauce jar to the top. It will last for three years and we'll still have to sell some. Then I had to make the paste. This involved more chillies and more asafoetida. And the taste of the finished product was not entirely pleasant. However, once it was included in the final product all was well.

As it happened, by the time all of this was accomplished it was almost 8 pm and we were still an hour and a half away from having the red gram dal (pigeon peas) completely cooked. We admitted to each other and to ourselves that we had had enough for one day. With parched throats, burning eyes, and stuffy noses, we ordered Indian food from a place on Capitol Hill - you know, just to get us in the mood for the real thing we would make the next day. First time we've ever ordered Indian food to be delivered and probably only the third time we've ever ordered food to be delivered at all. But we decided to treat ourselves. So we had Indian leftovers for lunch yesterday but were still looking forward to our own Indian creations for dinner.

Creating the actual dishes was pretty easy. The paneer dish was very easy, had a normal amount of ingredients and tasted fabulous. You basically crumble the paneer into steamed spinach, mixed with a little oil, bread crumbs, and spices, and make into "meatballs" and then simmer in a tomato paste based sauce with onions, garlic, cinnamon, ground corriander seeds and nutmeg. I tossed in some garam masala cuz I felt like it. The eggplant dish did turn out to be quite tasty. All of the flavors blended nicely and we cooled the spiciness by having some goat's milk yogurt on the table for a condiment. I am looking forward to trying more dishes out of these books. Next weekend a poriyal. This is a dish in which vegetables are allowed to sweat and cook in their own moisture. Ingredients are usually chopped small and mustard seeds are often added. There are so many to choose from and they are easy to make. Stay tuned.

If anyone would like any sambar powder, let me know.

The simple beginnings of sambar powder.  

GREEN IS GOOD

GREEN IS GOOD
Originally uploaded by sissalice.

Yesterday I picked the first strawberries of the season. We haven't yet tried them but I suspect they are pretty good. The slugs have gotten many already. It was hard to leave the ones behind that were almost done. So close. But I want them to be ripe. There is a small window between ripe and lost to bugs.

We enjoyed a salad of merlot lettuce, frisee, spinach, and arugula. I brought in the bok choi and the icicle radishes for a co-worker. I also shared some of the green goodness with our new and temporary neighbors, Risa and Eric (forgive me if I've misspelled the names). They are subletting Chandan's place while he is in India. Welcome!

43 THINGS

My long-time written word (and sometimes phone calls) pal J.P. has introduced me to the site 43 Things. This is a place to write and track your goals and ideas. You can see what the rest of the world is tracking too. You can do any number of things on this site in the way of maintaining your list. I've created a separate blog, just keep driving, to track my progress on some of the goals on my list. I don't have 43 things yet but I'm in no hurry. It's not a race to create a list. The list is in no particular order and is subject to change. Blogging in regard to list specific goals will be done on just keep driving. Please bookmark it and visit often. In fact, I encourage others with like goals or any goals to add commentary. You can send me info, photos, links, ideas and I would be happy to post them in order for everyone to cheer on your progress or help you tackle the hurdles. Don't be left out!

FLOWER SALAD

FLOWER SALAD
Originally uploaded by sissalice.

Last night we enjoyed a big salad with romaine and red lettuces and arugula from the garden. We threw in some nasturtium petals for color.

TO MARKET TO MARKET AGAIN

Sunday morning we picked up our friend Linda in West Seattle and head to the Farmer's Market. Peggy the bread lady wasn't there but her son was so we again sampled the goods but without the pressure to buy and be converted. Picked up two tarragon starts. The market was the only place I have seen tarragon plant starts so far this year. Also grabbed a parsley start. Plenty of fresh produce to be had and we bought our share. We then walked over to Uptown Espresso "Home of The Velvet Foam." Well, not much foam on a rice milk latte but it was delicious. I was envious of J's and Linda's foam. I could tell it was velvet just by looking.

My car desparately needed to be washed so we took care of that. Once clean we discovered the many scratches on the driver's side door left by the dogs at Black River Canoe from our recent camping trip. There should be a sign on the property that reads A. The dogs are friendly so feel free to leave your car before you B. pull up far enough to search for signs of life and my dogs jump on your car. If I took my car to a body shop, this would cost some serious green to make like new. Such is life with a car even if you do only drive it once a week.

CULTURAL EXCHANGE

Saturday morning I participated in a three hour class to learn how to make cheese at home. The class was held at Cook's World in the U District. The instructor was Linda Conroy, an herbalist, soap-maker, cheese maker, etc. She demonstrated how easy it is to make several cheeses right in your own home with just a few extra tools and a little bit of planning and patience. First she made paneer, a product similar to extra firm tofu in texture and used throughout southern Asia. It was extremely easy to make and required only milk and lemon juice (to curdle the milk). It took less than an hour.

During the class she also made feta. Again, this was not difficult to make and required only the milk (she used 1 gallon cow's milk and 1 gallon goat's milk), rennet (she uses a liquid vegetable rennet), and a "starter" or culture, in this case, Mesophilic-A. We also whipped up some cultured butter by adding some Piima culture to some heavy cream in a mason jar and shaking. Piima is a starter culture like (but not the same as) buttermilk, acidophilus and kefir. With it you can culture fresh milk at room temperature to make a delicious custard similar to yogurt. Shaking to a certain point gave us whipped cultured cream basically. Tasted pretty yummy. More shaking and suddenly this blob of butter spontaneously appeared along with buttermilk to slosh in. Both the butter and the buttermilk tasted really good. The butter was light, extrememly smooth, and didn't have that awful stick to the roof of your mouth, wax feeling of regular butter that I hate. In addition to health reasons, this is why I don't eat butter. But I think that once in a while I wouldn't mind having some of this cultured butter mixed with fresh herbs on some homemade bread. It would be a treat.

After class I went to Andrea's house in Lake City and prepared the food for her sister's baby shower. The menu included turkey and non-turkey and herbed cream cheese roll ups, hummus, spicy eggplant dip, greek pasta salad, cheesy cresent rolls with cheddar and scallions, meatballs in sweet and sour sauce, and a huge cheese tray. The food prepared, Andrea and I raced to Fremont to collect Evan from a basketball game. Then raced back up to Montlake Terrace to drop off Evan with his grandma who was picking up cousin David from a pool party to take both boys to see the Lipizzaner Stallions. Andrea and I then headed to the Edmunds Waterfront Festival. We strolled along and visited the vendor booths and then had a beer in the beer garden (we both got carded?) before heading to Arnie's for a drink. I had my first ever Mai Thai. Pretty powerful and not nearly as sweet as I expected but that was a good thing. For dinner we walked over to Thai Park. The food was really good and we were the only ones in the place - it was pretty late. Then it was over to Andrea's mom's to pick up Evan, then back to Andrea's place where I could pick up my car to go home. I haven't been out that late in a long time. Made it home around 11:15 pm. I'm old.

WINE AND SOUP

Friday night we tasted big Zinfandels at Tarragona and picked up a nice bottle of Paso Robles Zinfandel by Rosenblum Cellars in California. Paula and Michael at Tarragona slipped us passes to see the movie Mondovino. That was swell of them and hopefully we will catch that flick this week.

We went from the Zinfandels of California to the soups of Vietnam when we left the car at one end of Broadway and walked to other to Than Brothers for dinner. You can't beat a steaming bowl of pho the size of wash basin, plus a homemade cream puff for $4.25. It's always best to walk to and from the car to get Than Brothers because the soup is very filling and you need to be standing in order to breathe. I've scaled down to the medium bowl but no more. From now on only the small bowl for me. It would be nice to leave Than Brothers without feeling like I need a stretcher.