Lunch with the Ruskies

Did you see that amazing sailing ship moored in downtown Seattle last week? The Pallada is the fastest sailing ship in the world and the Russian Navy has been taking it on a spin around the Pacific Ocean.

When I learned they were offering free tours, a co-worker and I took a gander during lunchtime last Friday.

Sadly no borscht or other Russian delicacies were served, but there was plenty of Russian spoken and crackling Russian folk music playing on the loud speakers. My photos are a bit shabby—I was unprepared for this impromptu outing with just my iPhone.

I can only assume this says "if sinking, break glass."

More Fourth Feasting

If there is one thing I do well, and only one thing, it's eat. And eat we did all weekend long. Here's a recap of the gourmet menu.

This corn.



Turned into Grilled Corn Pablano Salad with Chipotle Vinaigrette.
 

This steak.

And these onions.


Transformed into Grilled Carne Asada Tacos with Fresh Homemade Salsa.

These shish kabobs.

Created one of my favorite things to eat on the boat. Cous Cous, Yogurt and Cilantro, and grilled chicken shish kabobs.

And no Fourth of July would be complete without a real American picnic of hot dogs and coleslaw and corn on the cob.

And since boating is kind of like camping but better. We topped off the weekend with barbecued s'mores.



And now I'm off to do a thousand situps.

Seriously.

More fun on the Fourth

In addition to eating well. We did lots of fun stuff over the long weekend.

We kayaked.

 

 We saw these people having a private party on a private island, only available at low tide.

We joined more than a thousand of our closest boating friends for a fireworks display in Poulsbo.

We watched the sunset.

We braved the holiday weekend traffic to return to reality.

And we attended a Fourth of July parade on Bainbridge Island.

 No wonder I'm still exhausted. And it's almost time for the weekend again!

Fourth of July Feasting

I hope everyone had a great weekend and, if you're in the United States, a fabulous Fourth! I have lots of feasting and fun to share with you. We got out of town as fast as we could on Friday so we could start the weekend off right.

After cruising around for awhile in search of the perfect spot, we found ourselves in a quiet cove on Bainbridge Island. Guess we didn't have to go that far for peace and quiet, since we could still see downtown.

My extraordinary husband/chef spent all day prepping for two of our weekend feasts. The first night's menu? Mussels, Salmon, and an original recipe Potato Salad.

Mussels are good for you and good for the environment because they can be sustainably raised and help clean the sea floor. Eat up!

Then on to the Cedar-Planked Salmon. Tip: Make sure you soak the cedar plank for a looong time. Much longer than I soaked it, at least. (Soaking the plank was my one task in preparing this meal. Fail.) If not soaked long enough, you might emerge from the cabin to find your dad holding a flaming cedar plank in a pair of tongs over the edge of the boat. Crisis narrowly averted.

Sadly, I have no pictures of the flames because I was dashing for a fire extinguisher.

 

Fortunately, the fish made it through unscathed. The grill may never be the same.



And finally, on to the yummy potato salad for some essential carbs. Also featuring one of my favorite food groups: Bacon.



Fingerling Potato Salad with Asparagus, Blue Cheese, and Bacon
1-2 pounds fingerling potatoes
Small handful of asparagus
5-6 Strips of Bacon
Equal parts sour cream, blue cheese dressing, and mayonnaise, to taste
Chopped Green Onion
Minced Parsley
Generous Salt and Pepper to taste

Line a baking sheet with foil, evenly space bacon strips on sheet. Bake in preheated 425 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. The crispier the better for this recipe. When cool, chop or crumble into bite sized pieces.

Leave oven on (or cook at the same time as the potatoes). Place asparagus on foil lined cooking sheet. Mist very lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. When done and cool, slice into 1-2 inch pieces.

Chop potatoes into 1-inch chunks. Boil in salted water for 10-15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Mix cool ingredients in bowl and gently fold in dressing mixture and onions and parsley. Season generously to taste.

Enjoy! And stay tuned for more Fourth of July food and fun, coming soon!

Memorial Day Weekend + My Love's Birthday

I sure hope everyone had a fabulous Memorial Day Weekend! It may still be cool here in the Pacific Northwest, but if I've learned one thing since we've been back, it's you can't wait until the weather is nice to do something fun. It was hubs' birthday and we always try to go away and do something special to celebrate and this year was no different. A trip out on my parent's boat was just the relaxing celebration we needed.

And if there is one thing we do well on the boat, it's eat. And this weekend was no different.
Copper River Salmon, from-scratch Carrot Cake, and Mango Salsa are just a few of the treats we dined on this weekend.

The first night we barbequed. It was calm, sunny, and beautiful. Can you imagine a better barbequing spot? I can't.



 We made corn on the cob.


Copper River Salmon

Asparagus


Dined outside.


 And enjoyed the sunset.

The next day was my love's birthday. We played horseshoes, hiked, kayaked, and napped. We snacked on freshly-made mango salsa. This will be a staple recipe. Diced mango, tomato, red onion, pablano pepper, lime juice, salt and pepper. Mix together and enjoy with your favorite tortilla chip. So easy and so yummy!

It was windy and a little cloudy that evening, so the dinner barbequeing was a more solitary-get-it-done type event. We dined on pinwheel steaks, roasted potatoes, and broccoli. Followed by, drum-roll please, homemade carrot cake that my mom and I baked at the house before we left. I'll share this recipe with you later. It's a classic and so easy (if you have a food processor).

Even after we got back on dry land, our Memorial Day celebrations weren't through. The forecast said rain. But the view outside the window was sunny and mild. So we barbequed again and dined outside.

Mmmm, turkey burgers, corn, and chipotle sweet potato fries!

 



How did you celebrate Memorial Day?

Weekend Recap Part 1: Opening Day of Boating Season

What a great weekend. I hope you all had a wonderful one as well! We ate so much good food this weekend that I'm so excited to tell you about that I'm going to have to split this into two posts of deliciousness.

First, look at this amazing sandwich my husband brought me for dinner on Friday. It's from the Fifth Avenue Sandwich Shop in Olympia. This is one of my favorite sandwich flavors and something you don't see on menus very often. In fact, the last one I had, I think, was in graduate school at a really cool sandwich shop in Eugene.

I give you the Turkey + Cranberry + Cream Cheese on a sourdough and wheat swirl bread. Mmmmmm. The perfect start to Friday night:




After such a good food start to the weekend, we decided to start our celebration of Opening day of Boating Season with a scrumptious brunch at Portage Bay Cafe.

Wait time for a table inside = 45 minutes.
Wait time if we wanted to sit outside and wrap ourselves in colorful Mexican blankets and sip steaming hot coffee = 0 minutes. Yes please!

I enjoyed the Lemon Curd and Blueberry French Toast, complete with a trip to the world-reknowned toppings bar.

B ordered the Rancher's Breakfast which pretty much meant enough food for several farm hands.

 

After breakfast we immediately went down to Montlake Cut to watch the boat parade. We may have arrived too late to see the crew races, but it was still fun!

The Virginia V celebrates Opening Day.

Seeing this little car-boat kind of gave me anxiety.

  

Then we realized there was a track meet going on in Husky Stadium, so we stopped and watched for awhile and felt inspired to go for a run later that afternoon (that inspiration was soon lost).

Men's 800 Meter.

  

Women's 5k.

There was a softball game happening as well! Along with the boat parade in the background. So much to look at!

We walked back to the car along Montlake Cut and got to see the boat parade in reverse, this time in the sun, so we sat down and dangled our legs over the edge of the water and watched for awhile.

 

Next, let me tell you about the amazing brunch we made my mom for Mother's Day.