Alki

2010-08-16T19:01:00.000-07:00

Two Salad Dinner

Southwestern quinoa salad atop of tomato wedges topped with feta and pepitas. And Asian kohlrabi slaw. Both cool and light and perfect for a hot night.

2010-08-08T15:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's Lunch

Kim and Denise came over for lunch yesterday.

Healthy and delicious Vietnamese salad:

Not-so-healthy Salted Caramel Peanut Butter ice cream. Homemade by moi (and my new ice cream maker). Extraordinarily tasty.

2010-05-30T21:35:00.000-07:00

Friday Dinner with Friends

Lovely dinner with C, B & P--thanks all!

2010-05-16T08:44:00.000-07:00

Thursday Morning

I knew it was going to be a nice day, and it's now light by the time I head to the bus stop...so I snapped a couple photos in between my house and the bus stop. Hooray for morning light (and my neighbors' gardening skills).

2010-04-08T19:16:00.000-07:00

Penne with Roasted Radicchio

I wedged up some radicchio, slivered some garlic, threw a few anchovy fillets and drizzled some olive oil over the whole mess. Stuck it in the oven at 425 degrees and roasted it until wilted--tossed it around a few times. Then I dumped some cooked and drained penne in and topped it with toasted breadcrumbs, pinenuts, pecorino and parsley. It's kind of homely, but it tasted pretty good.

2010-04-03T18:46:00.000-07:00

Easter Brunch

Fettucine, garlic, onion, leek, asparagus and pancetta in a light cream sauce, topped with a poached egg, parmesan and salt and pepper. (I personally think that pasta is highly underrated as an acceptable breakfast carb here in the good old U S of A.)

2010-04-03T16:40:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday's Spring Veggie Supper

Steamed asparagus and artichoke with roasted Yukon fingerlings and onion. There was a homemade lemon aioli for dipping, but somehow that didn't make it in the picture.

2010-03-21T14:56:00.000-07:00

Porter

2010-03-17T18:38:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Manny's:

Less Manny's:

Corned beef dinner:

2010-03-14T18:56:00.000-07:00

God Bless America

Such optimism.

2010-03-14T18:53:00.000-07:00

Where I Want To Live

I need a treehouse up here:

2010-03-14T18:47:00.000-07:00

The Finger

Perfectly fine finger on right hand:

Damaged finger on left hand:

2010-02-28T11:26:00.000-08:00

Roasted Pears

Core and slice pears into eighths. Toss with a tiny bit of vegetable oil, some cinnamon and a pinch of kosher salt. Roast at 325 for 30-40 minutes, stirring a couple of times while in the oven. This morning they just went on top of Fage plain, nonfat yogurt. Sometimes they end up on top of oatmeal. Sometimes on top of yogurt with granola on top of that. Anyway, I roasted a whole panful, so I've got plenty for a couple of more breakfasts.

2010-02-28T10:56:00.000-08:00

Higher Ground

Yesterday I woke up to news of the earthquake in Chile and a tsunami advisory all the way up here. Being a realist, I wasn't too concerned about anything of significance actually reaching the shores of Alki. But I did have a moment of doubt yesterday afternoon when I saw all these crows gathered (literally) in the tree tops. What did they know that I didn't? (Turns out: Nothing--or at least nothing tsunami related.)

2010-02-22T17:54:00.000-08:00

Spring Is Springing

From "on high" -- maple tree:

And "down low"--fallen cherry blossoms on bed of moss:

2010-02-21T07:17:00.000-08:00

Cantaloupe

Mmm...

2010-02-20T20:09:00.000-08:00

Roasted Romanesco Pecorino Pasta

Tonight's dinner (and tomorrow's leftovers). Whittled down some romanesco cauliflower, tossed it with some olive oil and salt and stuck it in a 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes, tossing it a couple times. Got the water boiling for the pasta. Chopped up some garlic and threw it in a pan with some olive oil, butter and salt, then added some breadcrumbs until everything got toasty. Then I took the crumbs out and set them aside. Put the pasta into boil. In the same pan I cooked the breadcrumbs in, I added about a tablespoon of olive oil, some more garlic and some red pepper flakes. As the pasta approached the end of its cooking time in the other pot, I added the roasted romanesco to skillet with the olive oil and garlic, tossing it around a little bit. Then I added a healthy coating of finely grated Pecorino Romano and then the drained (now finished) pasta. I also added about a quarter cup of pasta water and stirred everything around until it got creamy and melty. Dumped it in a bowl and then sprinkled the top with the breadcrumbs. (I saved and refrigerated the rest of the bread crumbs, because they're always delicious on top of these veggie pastas.)

2010-02-15T19:26:00.000-08:00

More Blossoms

2010-02-15T10:05:00.000-08:00

Vietnamese Squid Salad

I made this for the first time this weekend. It was really quite tasty, but seemed more like a summer thing to me. So, I'm pretty sure I'll be making it a lot this summer. Very healthy. No fat, no carbs.

This recipe is supposedly from Jacques Pepin. (Although I did no research to find out if that's true or not.)

Squid Salad a la Binh (as modified by me)

(Makes 4 small salads)

1 pound squid, cleaned

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 red chile pepper, minced

1 cup very thinly sliced onions

3 tablespoons lime juice

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

A few thinly sliced basil leaves

lettuce

Prepare dressing: mix garlic, chile, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and salt together. Slice onions. Mince a tablespoon or two's worth of cilantro stems and toss with the onions and dressing. (I use only the stems at this point because they have a lot of flavor and can stand up to the acidity of the dressing.)

Bring water to boil in a large pot. Cut the body of each squid crosswise into 1-inch slices and the tentacles into 1/2-inch pieces. Add the squid to the boiling water and cook for about three minutes, stirring occasionally, just until the water returns to a boil. Do not overcook. Drain immediately.

Add warm squid to the the dressing, onion and cilantro stem mixture. Toss, cover and refrigerate. (I made it the night before I planned to eat it.)

To serve, add chopped cilantro leaves and the slivered basil to the squid mixture. Toss. Spoon on top of lettuce leaves.

Eat!

2010-02-14T17:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day

Blossoms ten minutes before brief downpour...(I made it home in time to stay dry.)

2010-02-14T15:36:00.000-08:00

More Puget Island

This is the everchanging (lightwise) view from Joe and Andrea's living room. I don't know how they get anything done--I'd just sit and watch this all day long.

2010-02-14T15:32:00.000-08:00

From Joe and Andrea's Dock

2010-02-14T10:55:00.000-08:00

Puget Island Flora and Fauna

A quick walk down the road revealed llamas, cattails and a "herd" of dogs (they really did not act like a pack) that were very disappointed when Denise stopped petting them. "Please come back!"

2010-02-14T10:48:00.000-08:00

Saturday Sunrise Puget Island

View from Andrea and Joe's living room last Saturday morning.

2010-01-31T18:56:00.000-08:00

The Most Beautiful Salad Ever

In our beautiful new Heath Ceramics salad bowl...

2010-01-19T19:38:00.000-08:00

Made You Look

I love how both of these shots look like they could be satellite photos. They are not. The first one is a close up of part of the seawall at Alki and the second one is the moss covering someone's boulder in their Japanese garden.

2010-01-18T18:19:00.000-08:00

CookieFest 2010

I'm having my own bakesale tomorrow at the office. Our management will match any Haiti donations dollar for dollar, so I plan on selling these goodies and putting "the dough" to good use.

Snickerdoodles:

Peanut Butter:

Pecan Shortbread:

2010-01-04T19:05:00.000-08:00

Trees in Puddles

I took these a few weeks ago, when there was a break in the rain. There's even a patch of blue sky in the middle photo.

2010-01-04T18:58:00.000-08:00

My Cute Boyfriend with Juliet's Cute Sister

Dave and Ella downtown. Instead of calling him Uncle Cheese or Cheese, she called him "Cheesey."

2009-09-30T19:38:00.000-07:00

Good Lookin' Tomato(es)

I think I have eaten more tomatoes this summer than ever before. It's been a banner year. (For tomatoes in general and my tomato consumption in particular.)

2009-09-14T19:28:00.000-07:00

Blind Luck

Here are some shots I got around the house this weekend. So much sun. So many shadows. So much fun.

Bamboo shadows through dining room window blinds:

Living room window blind reflection on ceiling:

Shadows of "ornaments" and blinds on living room wall:

2009-09-14T19:20:00.000-07:00

Heirloom Tomato Salad (Or What I Eat For Dinner 2-3 Nights A Week This Time of Year)

Sliced heirloom tomatoes tossed with GOOD olive oil, minced garlic, sea salt and chiffonade of basil. So good. Honestly, one of my favorite "dishes."

2009-09-14T19:14:00.000-07:00

Thai Green Bean and Tomato Salad

This was surprisingly tasty for how easy it was to make. Dressing: lime juice, fish sauce, pinch of sugar, a few slices of chile. Salad: Blanched green beans, hunks of tomato, sliced scallion and cilantro. Toss with dressing, top with ground peanuts.

2009-07-22T20:29:00.000-07:00

Even Further Back In Time...

Here are some very belated pictures of Juliet's 5th grade graduation which was held on June 17th. It was quite a production. She looked beautiful (and too old, and too tall)!

Waiting her turn to enter the building before graduation:

Diploma in hand:

Proud Papa:

Ella loves her big sister:

2009-07-22T20:10:00.000-07:00

Porter James

Way late posting these, but here is Becky and Charles' baby. These were taken when he was a week old. He was born June 26th, weighed 8 pounds and 4 ounces, and (as you can see) is quite a handsome fellow. I'm hoping to get to spend some more time with him soon. (I know he feels the same about me...)

2009-07-06T19:41:00.000-07:00

Tonight's Dinner

Open faced lamb burger: Grilled bread topped with goat cheese, topped with lamb burger, topped with "salsa" with parsley, lemon thyme, basil, mint, garlic, sweet onion, heirloom tomato, sea salt, olive oil and red wine vinegar. Winner! This was delicious (if I do say so myself).

2009-06-16T18:27:00.000-07:00

Nautically Themed Closing

Even though I knew I should have been home doing all of the chores I'd neglected for the last two weeks at home, I'm so glad I went to Whidbey. It was nice to have some low-key time with Mike and Juliet and being at that beach brought back many fond (and sandy) memories of beach time well spent in PT, the San Juans and Oak Harbor. Thanks Dan and Linda and Mike!

2009-06-16T18:20:00.000-07:00

More from Danielle

I know these may not be technically the best shots, but this is what Sunday morning really felt like. Lots of light flooding in the house, everyone waiting on Mike to fix our breakfast...

2009-06-16T18:14:00.000-07:00

Sunday Morning Mug Shots

Danielle took the pictures of Mike and Juliet. Juliet took the picture of me.

2009-06-16T18:09:00.000-07:00

Goggle Girls

Danielle and Juliet wanted to go swimming on Sunday morning, and for some reason, thought they needed goggles.

2009-06-16T18:06:00.000-07:00

Poppies and Floats

2009-06-16T18:03:00.000-07:00

More Shots at the Beach

I forgot about one other fellow traveler: Penny (Mike and Juliet's dog) came with us too.

2009-06-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

Flag Day Useless Bay

Mike, Juliet, her friend Danielle and I went up to Whidbey for the weekend. It was great.

2009-06-09T20:45:00.000-07:00

Artichoke

I love this weather. Shirtsleeves at 5:30 in the morning at my beachside bus stop. Not too hot when I get home. I hope we get a lot more days like this.

I took this picture on the way to the bus stop this morning. It's so light so early now.

2009-06-08T14:33:00.000-07:00

Driftwood Horses

I just took these shots yesterday while I was walking around with my tiny camera. They're sculptures in the courtyard of an office building on Market Street in San Francisco. I had a great time on this trip, even if I was traveling solo. I met up with a bunch of new friends down in San Francisco and spent a lot of time with them, so that was fun. The only bad thing about not having an actual traveling companion was that when I was out walking around by myself, I didn't feel as comfortable taking pictures. I like to have someone with me when I do that. For safety purposes, mostly. I don't want to be so engrossed in taking a picture that I lose track of what else is going on around me, out of the frame. So I apologize for not having more pictures of my trip...but maybe next time I'll do a better job.

Thanks again to Mom and Dad and Ann--your birthday generosity partially funded this excursion and I'm very grateful!

2009-06-08T14:24:00.000-07:00

Looking Up in Chinatown

Street level is chaotic and crowded, but things are much calmer above.

2009-06-08T14:21:00.000-07:00

Aging Chinatown Signage

2009-06-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

Give San Francisco A Hand

Some hands I saw in and around Chinatown.

2009-06-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

Other North Beach Favorites

I didn't get to these places on this trip. Close, but no (Mario's Bohemian) cigar...

2009-06-08T14:12:00.000-07:00

San Francisco

North Beach goodness (and only a few doors down from each other). Il Pollaio was my first stop on Friday afternoon for lunch, and L'Osteria was my last stop on Sunday afternoon for lunch. So delicious.

2009-05-30T08:54:00.000-07:00

Barbarians At The Gate

Last Saturday morning, I poured myself a cup of coffee and looked out one of our kitchen doors, when I saw two raccoons in our side yard. I thought that once they saw me, they'd scamper off. Not so! Instead, the brave one came right up to the door and stood up as if "begging" like a dog for food. Not happy with only having his mugshot taken, they turned around and left...

2009-05-12T19:26:00.000-07:00

Belated Mother's Day

Sunday I went for a long walk with my camera and took tons of pictures of neighborhood flowers. It reminded me of the Mother's Day that Kim and I went through town with a brown paper bag and cut one flower out of each yard we passed and nonchalantly tossed it in the bag. (I remember justifying it to ourselves by saying it was just one flower. People probably wouldn't even notice.) We went home and (I think--made a cake) and arranged all of "our" flowers and waited for mom to get back home from sailing so we could give her her Mother's Day present--our beautiful bouquet of stolen blooms.

But now, I've given up my stem snipping ways and just take pictures of them instead. (Far less risk of angering the neighborhood gardeners.)

So Happy Mother's Day Mom.

This was my favorite shot of the day:

2009-05-12T19:14:00.000-07:00

In Mid-Air

This tuft got caught in a spider's web near our bbq. From a distance it really looked like it was just floating in mid air, suspended from nothing. I thought I'd better get a picture of it before the next bout of rain/wind hit and took the wonder right out of it.

2009-05-09T13:59:00.000-07:00

Leaves I Couldn't Leave Behind

These leaves were lying on the sidewalk on my way home the other day. I picked them up and brought them home so I could take some pictures of them:

2009-04-26T11:06:00.000-07:00

April 11th, 2009

Kim came over and we went to visit Granny. We took her some flowers from my yard (for her birthday), and two blue Peeps (for Easter).

We miss you, Gran. (We also decided that next time, we're bringing some lawn chairs and the fixin's for some cocktails so that we can have happy hour with you and Mick.)

2009-04-26T07:17:00.000-07:00

Olive Oil Almond Cake

(In harsh sunlight.) This was our Easter dessert--and it was delicious.

2009-03-14T09:43:00.000-07:00

Orange Cauliflower

Do not adjust your monitors. This really is orange cauliflower. I chopped up a head of it, tossed it with a smidge of vegetable oil, some curry powder and salt and roasted it in the oven. (As you can see, its color didn't change much during roasting.)

2009-03-14T09:20:00.000-07:00

Light and Shadow: Living Room

It was a cold and clear week. Sunny most afternoons. And with daylight savings time, the sun actually made an appearance in our living room. I had to snap a couple of pictures of this phenomenon.

2009-02-22T10:24:00.000-08:00

The Way Home

These are two shots of scenes I pass every day on my way home from the bus stop.

2009-02-22T10:19:00.000-08:00

Pike Place Market

Yesterday was a lovely day, relatively warm and sunny and I had planned on taking my camera and doing some serious picture-taking. However, I ended up getting a very late start and ended up at Pike Place in the afternoon. It was filled with tourists. Uggh. Slow-walking, super-gawking and my least favorite attribute of all, their insistence on walking three or four abreast. (Were you hoping to get around us, Seattleite who knows where you're going? Well, it's not going to happen. Just stand behind us until we figure out where those guys are who throw the fish.) Let me reiterate in the form of an equation: Sun + Weekend = Crowd at the market. Winter is over. The tourists are here.

On the bright side--since it was so crowded with people taking pictures of everything that anyone who's ever gone to the market takes pictures of (produce, flowers, Pike Place Market sign), I ended up taking shots of some of the utilitarian things that make the market work. I think I'm going to try do some more of these.

Lights near newsstand:

Gears over Mee Sum Pastry:

2009-02-22T09:50:00.000-08:00

Chart Quilt

This is a detail of a quilt hanging in the window of Undercover Quilts (a quilting store one block south of Pike Place). This is a quilt of a chart of the San Juan Islands. I, of course, focused in on the Port Townsend region of the quilt. I think this is such a cool idea, and the quilting itself is just fantastic. There was also another quilt that was a detail of a topographical map of Mount Rainier. Also very nice.

2009-02-14T09:07:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day

This is my latest addition to the flock: a 10cc moment by Amy Ruppel.

2009-02-14T09:03:00.000-08:00

Last Night's Dinner

Lemongrass beef Vietnamese noodle salad. Very tasty (and a wee bit spicy). I marinated some steak in lemongrass, garlic, fish sauce, brown sugar and soy sauce, then broiled and sliced it. Dumped it on top of a bowl of napa cabbage, carrot, red pepper, red onion, cilantro, thai basil, shiso and rice noodle. Dumped the nuoc cham "dressing" (fish sauce, lime juice, minced garlic, minced thai bird chile, water) on top of that and threw some chopped peanuts on top of the whole thing. Light and filling at the same time.

2009-02-13T08:07:00.000-08:00

Rainy Night in Seattle

Before going to dinner Tuesday night, Mike had to run into his office for a few minutes. Juliet and I waited in the car. She played with her DS in the backseat, and I had my camera in the front. So I took a couple shots through the rainy windshield.

2009-02-09T19:31:00.000-08:00

Just Another Day in the Neighborhood

So I took these shots a week ago. Space Needle, seagulls, ferry. Quintessential Seattle. And only a few blocks from home.

2009-02-09T19:23:00.000-08:00

Still Life with Citrus

Yum. Oranges, grapefruit, tangelos, etc.

2009-02-01T13:29:00.000-08:00

So Seventies

More from the thrift store. I remember all of these colors and motifs of the 70s so well. Harvest gold. We didn't have much of it at our house, but we were the proud owners of two avocado phones (rotary, of course) and an avocado refrigerator. We did have a harvest gold set of dishes though, procured from our local Safeway.

2009-01-20T16:39:00.000-08:00

My Brunch with Barack

Featuring:

ruby red grapefruit

creamed arugula with lemon and parmesan on Dahlia Bakery potato bread toast, topped with poached egg

Dahlia Bakery eclair

Roederer Estate sparkling wine

Accompaniments:

pride

hope

joy

Prez print by Erik Rewitzer

2009-01-06T18:14:00.000-08:00

Christmas Is Over

But our tree is still up. Oops. Oh well. My life isn't perfect, but I really enjoy it anyway.

2008-11-05T14:28:00.000-08:00

Dahlia

Maybe...maybe I have figured out a new way to post? This is a test...

2008-10-04T13:32:00.000-07:00

Look...It's Fall

I'm not sure when it happened, but apparently, it has arrived. See proof below:

2008-09-24T17:35:00.000-07:00

Slo-Mo Mariachi

Dave, Mike, Juliet and I had dinner at Mama's last night. Juliet was quite a fan of the band.

2008-09-24T17:31:00.000-07:00

Abundance

Apples, peaches, nectarine and plums ripening in the kitchen:

2008-09-14T18:56:00.000-07:00

Danger In The Skies

I have no idea what this is, or how it got up there, but having seen it, you can bet I will not be walking underneath it. This is actually hanging on some wires near Alki Elementary and the Community Center. Duck and cover, kids!

2008-09-14T18:51:00.000-07:00

Z Is For Zinnia

At least I think that's what these are. I love all the shades of orange.

2008-09-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

Latest Dinner Rut

Green salad, blue cheese dressing, croutons. (I'm not complaining.)

2008-08-24T18:35:00.000-07:00

Down and Out

This stalk was bent over, face down in someone's driveway. But I liked this view of it anyway--so I took this picture.

2008-08-24T18:30:00.000-07:00

Mission (Not) Accomplished

What fun is a water balloon that doesn't burst?

2008-08-22T19:52:00.000-07:00

The End/The Marrow of the Story

100% Alcohol NOT enough to hide disgusting roasted bone marrow.

Moral--JUST because you read several accounts "saying" how good it is--doesn't mean it's necessarily good.

I am actually tempted to have this framed. I'm guessing that this is one of those things that will always make me laugh.

2008-08-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

And More...

Grilled bread (so you don't spoon disgusting bone marrow directly to your mouth).

2008-08-22T19:44:00.000-07:00

Still More Detail

Gross disgusting cream colored gelatin looking globs of bone marrow.

Fancy salt (to hide disgusting-ness if possible)

2008-08-22T19:41:00.000-07:00

More Detail

Little chopped up chunks of something like chutney. Red--hides the inside of roasted bone.

Roasted bone (looks like a roasted bone)

2008-08-22T19:29:00.000-07:00

My Friend Kris' Description of Her Appetizer Last Night

Yesterday Kris told me she was going out to dinner at a restaurant with some other friends. This morning I asked her how it was. She referred to an "incident," and said words could not describe how awful it was. I went back to work but kept wondering what it was that was so bad. A few hours later she came back and presented me with this:

More detail:
"With spoon, dig into upright roasted bones, past red topping, scrape out, scoop out glob of marrow. Spread (if you get this far) on grilled bread. Sprinkle salt on top. Eat."

2008-08-17T20:31:00.000-07:00

My Favorite Shot of the Day

Q. How cool is this?
A. Very.

2008-08-17T20:28:00.000-07:00

Overcoming Adversity/Last Poppy Standing

Seriously, I walked past several poppies that were totally pooped out today. And this yard had the most of all, but then I noticed this lone bloom among the yard full of dead poppy stalks, and maybe it's all the Olympics I've been watching, but I thought, "Way to go!"

Even poppies who have seen better days still look interesting to me.

2008-08-17T20:17:00.000-07:00

Seaweed Laundry

I love walking along the beach and finding other people's "works" on display. Sometimes it's a drawing in the sand, sometimes a fort made of driftwood, sometimes a sculpture, but today, there was something I hadn't seen before: someone had carefully draped quite a variety of seaweed over this driftwood.

2008-08-17T17:46:00.000-07:00

Rebus

(ice cream + cones)

2008-08-17T17:38:00.000-07:00

I Have Seen The Future

And it looks like it's got a lot of tomatoes in it!

2008-08-09T12:23:00.000-07:00

Anne & Stanley

Here is my cousin Anne heading out to surf while her trusty companion Stanley looks on:

Anne hanging ten, while Stanley hangs out with the rest of us:

2008-08-09T12:13:00.000-07:00

La Familia at La Push

Ann and Joe rock collecting:

Todd and Kathy (and Lilly and Stanley) watching Anne surf:

2008-08-04T05:13:00.000-07:00

More Greys from La Push

(And no, I'm not referring to what's rapidly becoming my family's predominant hair color.)

2008-08-04T04:58:00.000-07:00

La Push

Kim and I drove up to La Push on Friday to meet up with the family for some reunioning/camping/beach combing action. I don't even know how long it's been since I was in that neck of the woods. It's even more beautiful than I remember. Let's hear it for the Pacific northwestiest part of the Pacific Northwest!

2008-07-21T18:06:00.000-07:00

More Purps

I did manage to take about a dozen pictures this weekend. Here are two of them:

2008-07-20T20:27:00.000-07:00

The Purps

I took these pictures a few weeks ago. I have been busy working and not shooting. Maybe this week I'll have enough time to do both.

2008-07-17T20:12:00.000-07:00

Sprinkler Saturation

I love these colors. And the water droplets.

2008-07-17T20:07:00.000-07:00

Hanging On By A Thread

I saw this leaf hanging from a spider's web when we were on "the boot shoot" down in Texas. It was moving around just enough to throw off my camera's autofocus, so it's a little blurry, but I think the blur tells the truth of the moment. This leaf had no business hanging all by itself from some invisible silk thread instead of being on the ground with its gravity-stricken brethren, and I was lucky to A) have noticed it at all, and B) have gotten any sort of picture of it.

2008-07-14T04:59:00.000-07:00

More From Texas

I mentioned before how most of what I saw of Texas was seen from the passenger seat of a car, speeding down the Texas highways around Whitney. Here are two classic examples of pictures taken while driving. They are blurry and not well-composed, but they do illustrate two things I saw a lot of--crops and sky. There is an unbelievable amount of sky in Texas.

Blurred corn crop:

Blurred maize crop:

2008-07-13T16:33:00.000-07:00

(Lemon) Thyme Collins

As promised, my summer drink of '08 has been perfected and properly named. I had been fooling around with muddling lemon thyme and sugar, etc. but hadn't been happy with the results (not thymey enough). Then I thought it was time to experiment with making a lemon thyme infused simple syrup. Home run on the first try! The simple syrup recipe is...well...simple: 2 cups of sugar, one and a half cups of water. Heat until sugar is dissolved and bring to a simmer/ barely boil. Then remove it from the heat and stick in an entire bunch of lemon thyme and swaths of lemon peel cut from one lemon with a vegetable peeler. Let everything steep until cool and then strain and chill. The drink itself is a pint glass of ice, lemon wedges, one ounce of lemon juice, one ounce of lemon thyme simple syrup, two ounces of gin and then the whole thing is topped off with club soda. (Decorative sprig of lemon thyme optional.)

This is tasty and refreshing, and would be equally good (I'm theorizing here) as a non-alcoholic herbal lemonade concoction.

2008-07-11T20:59:00.000-07:00

Two Way Hay

Newfangled, high falutin' rolls of hay:

Old fashioned American family values bales of hay:

2008-07-11T20:43:00.000-07:00

I Need More Cow...(boy Boots)!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dave and his mom for their patience while I coerced them into helping me scout locations around the house for Thursday morning's "boot shoot." I can't help it. I'm just crazy about these boots (and Dave and his mom).