Spice of Life

For the 4th of July, my parents sent Justin and I a care package that included some savory spices from Penzey's--to create delicious fireworks of flavor on our tongues, I think. The only rule was that we had to take photos when we utilized those new spices.

Yesterday, I came home from a long day at the office (i.e. the great outdoors) and Justin had prepared a tasty meal: tempeh steaks with sauteed greens and rice. I'm not exactly sure how he seasoned and prepared the meal, but I hope he can recreate it because it was a whole lot of yum! I do know that the tempeh was marinated in apple cider vinegar and spices before it was sauteed with kale, chard, and garlic scapes from our garden, which made it a little easier to digest.

Justin, thanks for the belly pleaser.

Mom and Dad, thanks for the inspiration.

The Great (E)Scape

garlic scapes!

Happy Independence Day, Folks!

It actually feels like the 4th of July out here in Port Angeles--the sun is shining, the grill is fired up, potato salad is in the fridge, and I may be wearing cutoff jean shorts! Woot!

Justin and I started the day by taking our recently acquired mountain bikes to the Miller Peninsula (the chunk of land between Sequim Bay and Discovery Bay). Although the trail was a bit more technical than I am ready for (i.e. I had to get off and walk my bike 50% of the ride), we traversed through the forest to a beautiful edge of the Olympic Peninsula with a view of Protection Island and what we think was a playful whale.


After a quick trip to Port Townsend for some fiddle tunes festival and some Elevated Ice Cream, we are home with the grill ablaze.



Justin's cookin' up some spring Chinook salmon from Neah Bay and I attempted to recreate some of my mom's awesome potato salad to go with it. We were lacking some key ingredients like dill pickles and enough potatoes, so the end result is more of a kitchen sink version. I held true to her mustard dressing, but added a few extras from our garden--GARLIC SCAPES.

Yup, its time to trim off the scapes in order to refocus the garlic's final growth push towards its underground head. Personally, I love the taste of fresh scapes--garlick-y and crisp. My friend has pickled them with great success, but I have just been throwing them into salads, scrambles, stir-frys and such. Today, they went into the kitchen sink potato salad.

Happy 4th!

Kitchen Sink Potato Salad
adapted from Betty Lou's World Famous Potato Salad

salad:
7-8 soft (rotting) potatoes (boiled, sliced, and peeled)
1 large beet (boiled, sliced, and peeled)
2 carrots (sliced)
4 stalks of celery (chopped)
5 garlic scapes (chopped)
1/4 c. sunflower seeds
1/4 c. chopped parsley
3 hard-boiled egges (chopped)

dressing:
1/2 c. mayo
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 c. Dijon mustard
salt, pepper, and paprika to taste

1. Mix salad ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Mix dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
3. Combine the two with a spatula.
4. Refrigerate until cool.
5. Enjoy outdoors in the sunshine.

Summer, is that you?

While daytime temps are struggling to get to 60 degrees and people are walking around in fleece jackets, I'm still beginning to sense that summer is here for real. The sun is making regular appearances, but its the food showing up at potlucks and weeknight dinners that is really hinting at the summer season.

1. At a birthday bbq, I tasted three of the most delicious varieties of deviled eggs that I've ever tasted: classic, smoked, and curried--each with an ornament on top (olive, almond, apricot). I copied the curried version and topped it with a dried fig--sweet and spicy!



2. At home, dinner salads are back on the menu in our little yellow kitchen and dessert might just be a rhubarb crisp.



3. We are beginning to try to eat up all of the leftover strawberry jam from last summer's late night jam-0-rama in preparation for FRESH STRAWBERRIES!!!! After a failed batch of carrot muffins, I tried my hand at PB&J cupcakes--a perfect picnic treat to get through that delicious--but overly abundant--strawberry jam. I served them naked (sans frosting)--no one complained and they could technically be called muffins and eaten for breakfast.

Happy Summer!

Flashback...

Ever since I moved away to college in Boston, my mom has sent care packages for all of the major and minor holidays. 10 years later, they still bring a smile to my face and make me feel a little closer to home. Sometimes they have pecans from my grandparents; sometimes useful things like shampoo and gum; sometimes holiday treats like PEEPS; and sometimes they are totally random.

Probably 4 or 5 years ago, my mom started including things for Justin in the boxes of fun--what a lucky guy. We just rediscovered one of his first gifts ....Thanks, mom!

Meet Chia Homer!

...aka Scott's bedtime snack.

Love and War

Care for a cold one?

I love that the sun is warming the soil enough to get our garden growing....

...but I am declaring war on the invasive slugs that are munching the life out of many of our starts. After an bright and peaceful run the other morning, I found myself moving chaotically and hopelessly about the garden picking tiny slugs from our veggie seedlings. It nearly drove me bonkers--before 7am. That evening, I complained to my dad about our disappearing bean and squash leaves and he suggested offering them a cold one...in a lid. I'm sorry to say that I've been taking pleasure in watching the slimy guys take their final plunge into intoxicating pools of pale ale ever since. Thanks, dad!

POTATOES!

HERBS!

14-carrot potential...

Ski-to-Sea

Last weekend, Justin and I ventured to Bellingham for our second try at the Ski-to-Sea Relay. We join the other members of Team Roosevelt Ilk for almost 10 hours of skiing, snowboarding, running, biking, canoeing, and kayaking fun for the second year. We enjoyed some sunshine, delicious food, and a good group of people. Go team Ilk!

Erika got us off to a great start in the cross-country ski leg of the race.

The end of a long day.

Finally Spring.

Some of you might have noticed a lack of postings as of late...my apologies. This is what I've been working on:

Port Angeles Victory Gardens

Tomorrow, May 21st, we will be hosting a grand opening celebration at the
the new Fifth Street Community Garden in downtown Port Angeles.

Schedule
11:00 am – New gardener orientation w/presentation on weeds
11:45 am – Herbs class
12:15 pm - Lasagna gardening class
1:00 pm – Cold weather gardening class
3:00 pm – Formal Grand Opening ceremony
3:30 pm: BBQ with local Beef from Clark Farms and veggie dogs
3:30 pm: Live Bluegrass, Whidbey Street Review

Come celebrate! Garden plots are still available too!