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!
July 21, 2005
July 19, 2005
July 18, 2005
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.
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.
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.
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.
July 15, 2005
July 10, 2005
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.
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.
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.
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.
July 09, 2005
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.
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.
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