Curried Pea Salad With Shrimp and Cashews
In spite of the fact that it was another 90+ degree day today, when I got home, I sprang into action and cooked/made several things so that I won't have to be bothered with grilling or cooking anything else the rest of the week.

I made this salad (it also has celery and red onion in it). Grilled some teriyaki salmon (my dinner tonight), chicken thighs (dinner tomorrow), green beans and asparagus (yes, I grilled them too) to add to the caesar salad I'll also make tomorrow. I also grilled up a package of smoked brats, because the grill was still hot, so why waste the heat?

An unexpected bonus for tending a grill that got up to over 500 degrees? It made my 83 degree kitchen seem oh-so-cool.

It's A Bird...It's A Plane...
It's both. More pictures from the beach this morning. A flock of geese, and a sharp looking red biplane.

A.M. Low Tide At Alki
I decided to get out for a walk this morning while it was still relatively cool (mid 70s). There was a very low tide and many people were taking advantage of the extra beach it provided. Later this afternoon, the beach will be packed, the tide will be high and it'll be way too hot for me. Another day in the 90s. Ughh. Thank goodness for my cool basement!


 

Bend Petunias
Here are some more (belated) pictures from Bend: Granny's petunias. Her green (or should I say pink?) thumb is still intact!


 

Roasted Tomato And Garlic Pasta
Step five: grab basil from yard, tear into the bottom of pasta bowl.











Step six: toast pinenuts.







Step seven: Cook and drain pappardelle.











Step eight: Toss pasta, roasted tomatoes and pine nuts together. Sprinkle with sea salt and grated parmesan.

Step nine: Eat. Yum.

Roasted Tomatoes And Garlic
Step one: Halve grape tomatoes.












Step two: Add slivered garlic and toss with a couple of teaspoons of olive oil.










Step three: Sprinkle with sea salt. Roast at 250 degrees for about an hour, stirring once halfway through...









Step four: Admire roasted tomatoes before tossing with pasta... 

Sunlight Through The Blinds...
I liked the pattern of the "sunspots" in the living room:

 

Al Salmonaccio At La Rustica
This is one of the best appetizers in the city. (Perhaps any city.) Chilled salmon, lemon, capers, garlic, olive oil, parsley, red pepper flakes and (supposedly, according to the menu) a touch of stone ground mustard served with chopped tomatoes and garlic bruschetta. Perfect on a summer's night at the beach.

A Monster I Call Chocodilla!

As the Toblerone began to melt, I folded the tortilla into thirds and let it cook for a little while longer.



After removing it from the pan, I sliced it into fourths and sprinkled the top ever-so-lightly with grey sea salt.




Look at all that shiny, melted Toblerone at the center of the Chocodilla! I am telling you, people, this is the best/worst dessert I've ever created. (Too good/too easy!)

I've Created A Monster...
First, I had a craving. For something chocolatey and salty at the same time. Then, I was inspired. I (very lightly) buttered one side of a flour tortilla and sprinkled it with turbinado sugar.



Close up of crystalline goodness:








Then I grabbed two triangles' worth of a dark chocolate Toblerone candy bar (black package) and chopped them up.


I put the tortilla (buttered side down) into a frying pan over medium heat. After about a minute, I added the chopped up Toblerone triangles.

Variations On A Theme:
I was just looking through my last few days' worth of photos and noticed that all of these seemed quite similar.



















(Detail of part of our latest, greatest Amy Ruppel piece, Aviary West.)

Sand Sculpture
We saw the sculptor start this yesterday afternoon during our walk along the beach. Surprisingly, this sculpture is NOT a mermaid (all of the previous pieces I've seen have been). Not surprisingly, she's a little worse for wear after spending over 24 hours at the beach. (Her right hand was apparently obliterated by foot traffic.)

Sunday Afternoon Sack Races
After brunch yesterday, Chuck, Becky, Spare Dave and I went for a walk along the beach and got to witness this action-packed sack race.