Camping, Cows and Creatures

A couple of weekends ago was spent camping with friends north of Seattle at Larrabee State Park. The park is located on the rocky coast of Bellingham Bay and we had easy access to the water, farmland to the south and the convenience of a city to the north. Since it's a state park there's not a lot of privacy but there are showers and flushing toilets, and trains...

I purposely picked our camping location due to its vicinity to the dairy we get our milk and cheese from at the grocery store, Golden Glen Creamery. They are an "all natural" farm instead of organic which means that they will treat their cows with antibiotics or penicillin when they are ill. But that is it and otherwise follow organic standards. They don't get inspected like an organic label, but the Jensen family who owns the farm and their 60+ cows treat their animals well, let them roam freely in pasture and create a sustainable, quality product that I enjoy supporting.

We dropped by the farm and their store on Saturday morning and picked up a few types of cheese, chocolate and strawberry milk and a honey butter that went so well with our corn at dinner. It was fun to bring my friends there who maybe don't think about where their milk comes from and learn about the options.

We also happened upon the tiny town of Edison where they have a couple cafes, bakeries, cheese, meat and wine shop and other specialty shops. We enjoyed coffee and pastries at a cafe called Tweets, particularly a rhubarb infused coffee cake. A couple of doors down we savored a glass of wine with cheese and and a sampling of Salumi salamis. And next door to that, we couldn't resist the smell of the bakery where we picked up a couple of rolls and cookies for later. Well we ate the cookies right away and they were yummy!

While I didn't take any pictures of our camping food (standard camping fare of hot dots, hamburgers and especially tender chicken and steak kebabs), I did capture a lot of creatures when we ventured down to the beach. We got to climb around rocks where purple starfish were basking in shallow pools, and tiny crabs and snails were sneaking around trying to stay away from all of the little kids.

 It was crabbing season but we didn't have a boat or gear and

this was the biggest guy we could find. Maybe next year :)

Delightful Dessert at Delancey

Reilly and I went to Delancey's in Ballard last night for dinner. It's one of the wood fired oven pizza places on our list for awhile now but when we tried to go before there was a 2 hour wait. We arrived Thursday night just a little after they opened at 5:00 p.m. and were able to have the table of our choosing. Since it's been so nice in Seattle finally we grabbed a sidewalk table and enjoyed the sunshine.

So we ordered their Crimini and Romano Pizzas and they were on opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of flavor. The crimini was very mild and earthy and I actually added a little salt to bring out the flavor of the cheese a little bit more. And the Romano was so salty and spicy with the anchovies and chili oil.

The crust of the pizza was perfect . Super light with a crunchy crust and not overly saturated or sloppy. Fairly easy to eat with fork or hands.

The toppings are done very lightly which I actually liked as well. They didn't have to overload it with cheese to make it yummy - though I could have used a couple more olives on the Romano. Overall, I think Delancey's crust with Via Tribunali's toppings would be perfect pizza!

We finished our dinner with dessert. They had strawberry rhubarb shortcake on the menu and when we see rhubarb we just can't refuse it. To our delight the shortcake was amazing! The rhubarb wasn't overly mush or sweet. The strawberries were added fresh so you could tell you were eating a strawberry. The marscapone was light and sweet but didn't overwhelm the other flavors. And the shortcake... oh the shortcake was like a snickerdoodle cookie made into a light and crunchy on the edges cake. Perfection!

I'm an Introvert - Don't Tell Me to Smile

So there was a cute slideshow on Huffington Post today about introverts called "7 things you thought you knew about introverts."

I'm an introvert - everyone who knows me knows I'm an introvert. I'm quiet until I know the people I'm with. If I'm not in a talkative mood I only speak up when I think it's worth actually making a comment (my husband may challenge that one). And I really have to push myself in group situations.

So anyways, I just loved this slide though from the post - "Don't tell us to Smile" - I get this all the time! I'm just deep in thought or seriously observing the world around me and complete strangers (and sometimes not) tell me to smile. Or worse they add on a comment like smile - it's not that bad!

Jeesh, do I look that miserable? Because I'm not - not always anyways :)

Shrimp Bisque Will Do the Trick

I've been in a bit of a slump. Just eating too much and feeling like I still have so much father to go to reach my health goals despite all the time and energy I've put in. I've done pretty good today and am looking forward to dinner tonight.

Last week I came up with a shrimp bisque recipe that ended up being one of the most delicious meals I've ever made. I've had lobster bisque at the Metropolitan here in Seattle and was literally licking the bowl clean and this little concoction is comparably yummy.

Shrimp Bisque Recipe

Makes 2 Servings

1 Tomato Diced

6 Tablespoons Heavy Cream

2 Ounces Mozzarella Cheese

4 Crimini Mushrooms

12 Ounces Cleaned and Cooked Small Shrimp

1 Teaspoon Garlic Salt

1 Teaspoon Black Pepper

1. In a saute pan saute mushrooms over medium hit until they start to sweat.
2. Add the heavy cream, diced tomato, garlic salt and pepper and stir occasionally for 1 minute (turn heat down so that cream does not boil over as needed)
3. Add the shrimp and continue stirring occasionally for another 5 minutes, cream should start to turn pink/orange from the tomato
4. Turn heat off and let sit for about a minute so cream starts to thicken a little.
5. Transfer to two serving bowls and top with mozzarella cheese and enjoy

This dish is about 450 calories per serving.

Homage to Omelettes

As part of my low-carb experiment I made omelettes all week for breakfast. It's been fun trying out different variations of flavors and I think the simpler cheese and hot dog one is my favorite so far. Check out the photos and different concoctions below.

Omelettes Recipe

1. Chop and put all the filling you're going to use except the cheese into an omelette sized frying pan (I use an eco friendly non-stick pan) on medium heat.
2. In a small bowl whisk 1 egg and 2 servings of egg whites together.
3. Once the filling starts to soften and cook pour the egg mixture over them in the frying pan.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Let cook until edges look done and center is still runny.
6. Using a spatula pull omelette gentle away from edges and tilt the pan so the runny center will run to the sides and under your omelette. Do this to all sides of your omelette slowly and gently until the center looks fairly done (it will probably always look a little runny still).
7. Add the cheese and fold omelette carefully in half while still in frying pan.
8. Let cook for another minute or so until cheese is melted and serve.

1 Egg, 2 Egg White Omelette

With Cheddar Cheese, Mushroom, Spinach and Uncured Beef Hot Dog Chunks

1 Egg, 2 Egg White Omelette

With Cheddar Cheese and Uncured Beef Hot Dog Chunks

1 Egg, 2 Egg White Omelette

With Spinach, Black Olives, Mushroom and Sun Dried Tomato Basil Sausage Chunks

1 Egg, 2 Egg White Omelette
With Spinach, Mushroom and Cheddar Cheese 

1 Egg, 2 Egg White Omelette

With Mushroom, Walla Walla Onion, Cheddar Cheese and Basil Seasoning

4th of July Weekend in Seattle

Half a year has come and gone as we just wrapped up celebrating 2010's 4th of July. Time flies!

I started Saturday with oatmeal that I topped off with the last of my husband's, Nature's Path Flax Plus Red Berry Crunch cereal, which added a nice crunch to the usual concoction. I just love the bunches of granola in this cereal too.

Instead of heading to my usual Zumba class, I went down to my apartment's gym and did 35 minutes on the elliptical while reading and then ran for 25 minutes on the treadmill. Should have just gone outside and ran but I got my hour in and felt better because of it.

I then spent the afternoon down at my best friend's and got to enjoy the fresh veggies from her garden. The peas were crisp, sweet and delicious, though unfortunately not a ton of them. And I ended up taking a whole bag of lettuce leaves homes, which will be part of my lunches all week. Everything is so fresh and yummy and great to know exactly where my produce is coming from and what's in it.

Saturday evening was spent at the Seattle International Beer Festival at the Seattle Center. I actually don't like beer much at all so I just went to be social. The festival was a little chaotic with lots of little dogs underfeet (and one that was tearing into a stuffed animal) and long lines. But surprisingly, I ended up sampling a few of my friend's beers that I wouldn't mind ordering. Though honestly, they weren't really beers but more like fruity ciders or lambics.

We then finished the evening off with sushi at Genki - while they don't serve only sustainable seafood - they use fresh and quality products and I only get fish like salmon, tuna and scallops that are local to this area and on the Monteray Bay's best or good alternative seafood watch list. And a suprisingly delicious sustainable (non-seafood) item is their grilled eggplant nigiri with a crazy smokiness that I couldn't get enough of.

Sunday morning, on the 4th of July, we visited the Lake Union Wooden Boat Show since my husband is totally into old sailing ships and it happens to be just a few blocks away from us. They had a ton of boats of all sizes and eras and here's our picture in front of the Hawaiian Chieftain. When we have kids it will be great to take them here so they can build a little mini wooden boat as a souvenir.

For fireworks, we were planning to head over to Gas Works park to watch the big show but at about 4:00 p.m. it just start raining - typical Seattle. So we decided to head to the other side of the lake to a friend's who has a rooftop deck to view the show from and played games and ate snacks. The weather did eventually clear up, though at one point it was so foggy you literally couldn't see to the other side of the lake. Seattle weather is just crazy! It's July for goodness sakes!

 

Recreating a Restaurant Dish

It's the Friday before the 4th of July and more importantly a three day weekend! After getting my shoulders kicked by my personal trainer and refueling with my standard oatmeal, I walked in to work for a busy day of meetings. For a new snack, I tried Horizon Organics Cottage Cheese, which was quite yummy and while it does have a few ingredients I'm unsure of it's still better than the Kroger brand. Still hunting for a version I like with just skim milk, cream and salt or maybe one day I'll just have to make my own so I'll definitely know what's in it!

Upon getting home, I broke into a beautiful watermelon I had bought earlier this week and was rewarded with a very juicy, sweet and refreshing treat. Perfectly in season - I can't wait to have more with my breakfast tomorrow.

For dinner tonight, I tried to recreate one of the appetizers we had at La Spiga - fried egg over asparagus with morel mushrooms. It turned out pretty good - though definitely not as good as the restaurants - and I would definitely make it again. Below is what I put together.

Fried Egg over Asparagus

Serves 2 People

20 Asparagus Spears

1/2 to 1 cup of Morel Mushrooms Chopped

2 Large Eggs

3 Garlic Cloves Minced

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1/4 Cup Water

Salt and Pepper to Taste

1. In a 5 Quart Sauce Pan fill 3/4 with water
2. Cut ends off asparagus, add to water and put burner on high
3. Cook asparagus 5 to 10 minutes (depends on how thick your spears are) until just tender, drain water and set aside
4. In an eco-friendly non-stick frying pan cook the two eggs sunny side up (without flipping or breaking the yolk) until egg white is cooked and yolk is still runny (if not using non-stick you'll need to factor in butter or oil you might use so the egg doesn't stick)
5. Plate asparagus onto two plates evenly and top each pile of asparagus with a fried egg
6. In the same frying pan add olive oil and let heat
7. Add minced garlic and morels and saute until tender, add the water to make it a little brothy
8. Pour morel and garlic broth evenly over each plate
9. Salt and pepper to taste and serve

This dish is pretty light in calories at only about 150 per plate. Add more eggs to make heartier or serve as a side or appetizer.

Salmon and Salsa

Wednesday evening we made salmon, oven baked on a cedar plank. We were hoping for more cedar flavor but the salmon did come out perfectly. The salmon is sockeye from our local PCC market and is sustainably caught. The vegetable for the night was bok choy again but I think I'm going to have to find a new favorite vegetable as I've had it too often lately and just over done it.

I've been sleeping like crap ever since getting only 2 hours on Friday night and this morning came way too soon. I was supposed to get a cardio workout in but I just felt too awful. And honestly, I over did it on Monday, Tuesday AND Wednesday and I am just sore and tuckered out so I decided to let Thursday be my rest day again.

To get moving, I had my regular oatmeal for breakfast followed by an apple pie Larabar which got me feeling a little bit better. But even after my yogurt snack I was still starving by 11 a.m. so I dove into my afternoon snack early of a black plum and hard boiled egg.

Check out the photo of these eggs. I just love the colors - browns, blues and whites. Apparently the color of the egg is based on the type of chicken. As mentioned before, these eggs come from a gal who works at the same place as me who has a collection of chickens that roam her property in Puyallup. Delicious! Lunch was the same as yesterday, though I had an Amy's American Veggie Burger which I have to say wasn't as good as the Boca Vegan Burger.

So, on to tonight's dinner - corn and black bean relish with tortilla chips - more of a nachos style for us. We're still working on this recipe as this is the second time we've done it. We made it last night because the salsa needs to marinate and absorb more flavors. And actually, it was yummier last night right after adding the lime on - so I would make one adjustment and just eat it right away or if you let it marinate then wait to put the lime on until right before you're going to eat.

Corn and Black Bean Relish

1 White or Yellow Medium Onion Chopped
2 Bell Peppers (Red, Yellow and/or Orange) Chopped
2 Vine Tomatoes Chopped
1 to 2 Ears of Fresh Corn (a can of corn will do too)
1 15oz Can Black Beans
1 Teaspoon Celery Seed
1 to 2 Tablespoons of Honey Dijon Mustard (or your favorite mustard)
4 Teaspoons of Sugar (or a tablespoon of honey)
1 to 2 Teaspoons of Salt
1 Teaspoon of Crushed Red Pepper
1 Teaspoon of Black Pepper
1 Lime
2 to 3 Servings Tortilla Chips

1. If using fresh corn, remove husk, clean, break in half, put in pan and cover with water. Bring to boil and let boil uncovered for 2 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and let sit uncovered for 10 minutes. Drain and let cool.
3. Cut corn off ear and add to a medium bowl.
4. Add chopped onion, tomato and bell peppers.
5. Open can of beans and rinse, then add to bowl.
6. Add celery seed, mustard, sugar, salt, red pepper, and black pepper and stir to mix all ingredients well.
7. Let marinate overnight or if serving immediately...
8. Cut lime in half and squeeze juice from both halves over relish and stir.
9. Serve with tortilla chips as an appetizer or over salmon or your favorite protein as a relish.

This recipe makes 4 very generous servings around 150 calories each. You can add olives, avocado or cheese for additional flavors and calories and of course tweak the seasoning to your liking.