aileen, August 15th, 2010
 Enjoying the good weather and great food!  The perfect beach day, sunny, 90 degrees and a light breeze... 
My dear friend made the long trek from California to visit me this last week (actually she came to visit all her Seattle friends but I like to think she just came out to see me). It felt like old times going on Seattle adventures and hitting up the best happy hours and I took a Thursday and Friday off just to fit everything in. This visit to West Seattle and Alki beach was very memorable since I had never been to this amazing little corner of the city. It had a very California feel (or at least I think it did since I’ve never been to California; it’s the way I’d imagine California to be) and had a boardwalk lined with great open air shops and eaterys. A visit to Husky Deli provided some of the best homemade ice cream I’ve ever had, all nestled inside a fresh homemade waffle cone. The coconut, complete with real chunks of coconut, and the rum truffle ice creams make an especially delish combo. A BLT sandwich complemented the meal quite nicely. After sitting in the sun for hours and doing a little longboarding we faced the sad fact that we were sunburnt and dehydrated and had better head back home before we turned into human raisins.
 Bacon lettuce and tomato awesomeness!
 How many times have I heard that in my lifetime? I can’t even count them. Most recently was the other night as I was struggling to carry a rolled up full-size oriental rug down the street to my apartment. In the rain. By myself. The question came from a guy across the street who looked like he was on his way home from work. My automatic reaction, as I almost always do: a smile and a chipper “No thanks! I think I’ve got it!” From the way I felt (and must have looked) lugging the dead weight of the area rug I was not ok and definitely could have used the help. I realized this about two steps later when it was too late. I eventually did get the rug all the way up to my upstairs apartment, panting and weak (my upper-body strength is limited to about 2.5 push-ups after a bowl full of wheaties). And I did it all by myself. But what I missed out on was the chance to meet someone new and the opportunity to say and really really mean something that I say far too infrequently to God and to all the people in my life.
Thank you.
So next time I’m in that sort of situation I am going to try to remember to pause, realize that yes, I could use some help and that I don’t have to do it all myself. And it might just present an opportunity for real thankfulness on my part and a chance for someone else to be truly generous.
   
This delicious recipe comes from Cooking Light and I tried it the other night with great success! I could not find any fish except tilapia, and it worked just fine. Add some coronas and lime and voila! A perfect summer feast.
Fish Tacos with Lime-Cilantro Crema
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 tacos)
Ingredients
- CREMA:
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 3 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
- 1 teaspoon grated lime rind
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- TACOS:
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 1/2 pounds red snapper fillets
- Cooking spray
- 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
- 2 cups shredded cabbage
Preparation
Preheat oven to 425°.
To prepare crema, combine the first 8 ingredients in a small bowl; set aside.
To prepare tacos, combine cumin and next 5 ingredients (through garlic powder) in a small bowl; sprinkle spice mixture evenly over both sides of fish. Place fish on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 9 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Place fish in a bowl; break into pieces with a fork. Heat tortillas according to package directions. Divide fish evenly among tortillas; top each with 1/4 cup cabbage and 1 tablespoon crema.
I highly recommend serving with this salsa-guacamole hybrid that I was inspired to make after tasting one that Meghan made for Memorial day:
5-6 tomatoes cut into small pieces
3 avocados cut into small pieces
1 purple onion, diced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
juice of 1/2 a lime
salt and pepper to taste
Mix it all together and enjoy! I almost think it tastes better if you let it sit in the fridge for a while.
There are few foods that are as comforting to me as Italian food. Even though it seems so uninspired to serve Italian at a dinner party there is always a part of me that really wants a simple, rich, tomato-y dish accompanied by fresh baked bread. Last weekend I caved to this desire, deciding on manicotti. But to make it seem less like an act of uncreative laziness I decided to make the pasta myself, something that turned out to be amazingly simple and very delicious.
 Making manicotti shells is basically just like making crepes
 I'm not very good at the swirling motion to make the circular shells so mine ended up having "hair." It didn't end up mattering though
 A fresh spinach and chicken filling  Assembly line  The finished product! If you want to embark on a manicotti-making adventure of your own, here’s how:
For the shells (about 12 large ones), blend the following together in a blender until smooth:
4 eggs
1.5 cups water
1.5 cups flour
3/4 tsp salt
Heat a frying pan on medium high heat and sprinkle with olive oil. For larger shells use a little less than half a cup of batter, pouring it into the center of the pan and gently swirling it to make a very thin pancake (pretty much exactly like a crepe). Let cook on one side for about a minute or two, then flip and let cook about 45 seconds more. Stack the shells with wax paper between them until read to use.
Filling:
There are many different fillings that are excellent in manicotti, so feel free to get creative. I opted for a spinach chicken filling. All manicotti fillings I’ve seen have the basic ricotta/cottage cheese and egg base:
3 eggs
3.5 cups ricotta/cottage cheese
1.5 cup grated mozzarella
1 cup grated pecorino cheese (I bet Parmesan would work too)
2 cups chopped cooked chicken (I used a fresh rotisserie chicken, which was already nicely seasoned)
salt and pepper to taste
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
3 tsp finely minced fresh rosemary
3 Tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
Several generous handfuls fresh coarsely chopped spinach
Combine all the ingredients. Spoon a generous amount of filling into the center of a shell and fold over to form sort of a burrito. Lay in a bed of tomato sauce in a 13×9 pan. Cover with more tomato sauce and fresh grated mozzarella and pecorino. Bake at 350 until hot and bubbly and the cheese has browned, about 40-45 minutes. Serve with a fresh salad (I used fresh strawberries, toasted almonds and goat cheese with a honey mustard dressing), hot no-knead bread and plenty of red wine!
 Post-race, it's never felt so great to just be standing there drinking water! I have never considered myself to be much of a runner or much of an athlete at all so when I decided on a whim this January that I should run a 1/2 marathon I didn’t really expect to go through with it. But there’s nothing like putting some money down to motivate yourself… so I signed up and paid up early just to further motivate myself. My boyfriend’s parents also signed up and I was thrilled to not have to run it alone. After about 8 weeks of training and a lot of freaking out that I was not going to be able to do it (two of those weeks I was out with a knee injury!) I crossed the finish line 5th in my age group in the Wenatchee marathon! You can see my stats here, I was really just wanting to do it in under two hours and was able to, at 1hour, 50 min and 42 seconds! Running is pretty addictive, though; I’m already plotting my next 1/2 marathon and have a 5k and 10k lined up within the next two weeks. Who knows maybe I’ll even graduate to a full marathon some day!
 Pre-race, still waking up!
I have re-located! My long and arduous search for “the perfect apartment” was looking pretty grim but as we drove around after looking at yet another dirty, drab circa 1970 apartment we happened to see a sign hanging outside of a beautiful brick building advertising an apartment. Complete with hardwood floors, tall ceilings and plenty of windows, it is pretty much the perfect place! There’s even a great bar right beneath us on the first floor!
 We have a huge open cabinet, and thankfully my roomate buys dishes from Anthropologie
 I have to admit, the tub is kind of what sold me on this place, I have a weakness for big claw foot tubs
 I have absolutely no idea what this little fold out seat in the bathroom is for. Anyone know?
aileen, January 29th, 2010
aileen, January 24th, 2010
 
If you are looking for a good way to get outside during these long winter months, I would highly recommend snowshoeing, a sport whose glories I was just introduced to this weekend. I am more of a snowboarder when it comes to winter sports and the thought of trudging through the snow on over-sized metal shoes didn’t thrill me at first but I decided to give it a whirl anyways (mostly as an excuse to not have to run around Greenlake instead). I dragged myself out of bed at 6:20 on a Saturday morning (a miracle in and of itself…) and we made it to the trail head by 9:30. After spending some time fiddling with the snow shoes and figuring out how they work (I am still convinced I was wearing two right foot snow shoes) we headed out into the fresh snow. Imagine all the joys of hiking in a winter wonderland minus the sinking thigh-high into snow then floundering to get out again with every step. Instead you trot right across the surface and bravely forge up mountainsides all thanks to the snow shoes.
One of the most important parts of snow shoeing is picking a good trail. The MOST important part is bringing a good trail mix. But of course everyone knows that. We took on Skyline Lake trail up at Stevens pass and the views were well worth the initial uphill climb. But I understand that not everyone is blessed enough to live here in God’s country (that’s Washington state, by the way) so check out trails.com to find somewhere near you. Happy hiking!
aileen, November 19th, 2009
One of the many, small things that I have missed about Moscow is Bucer’s cuban style espresso. I miss all of it: I miss making it, and smelling it, and tasting it, and watching others do the same. I graduated in May, but even now I’m starting to forget many of my favorite little things (which helps me understand why Maria from “The Sound of Music” had to write a song just to remember her favorite things). I was, however, pleasantly reminded of this caffeinated comfort on Sunday when I discovered that a local coffee shop called, “El Diablo” (which is an ancient Spanish idiom for, “the fun-loving, coffee-making devil of the Northwest”) made cuban style espresso. The baristo making our drinks not only knew how to pull a shot, but he also specialized in milky, foamy, latte magic. Here are some pictures of his work.
 Look carefully to see if you can tell what the upper left one is... very clever.
 If you’ve ever wondered how to make cuban espresso, here’s a little how to, just for you, from me to you. The key to cuban espresso is full caramelization of the sugar. I’ve always said that a little bit of sugar in the right place, at the right time can make all the difference in the world, and it does. Put some sugar in the glass which the shot will first pour into. The first part of the shot that comes out of the filter is also the hottest part, but it will cool down very quickly. It is dark, and less foamy than the crema that comes out later, and this is the stuff that can be hot enough to caramelize the sugar. I say “can” because not all machines are hot enough. It’s worth a try on your home espresso maker though because it just might work, and if it doesn’t, then you’ll probably need a lot of sugar in that coffee anyways.
Good coffee is sort of like poetry, you may not like it at first but it grows on you each time you partake. With that in mind, here is a poem I discovered when I lived in Moscow:
Behind the Coffeehouse Counter
You stop seeing people after a while,
and everyone becomes a fragment,
or an enlarged detail obscuring
everything else about them.
She likes her coffee sweet because
nothing about her last divorce was.
He loves mocha frappacinos
but pretends they are for his pregnant wife.
She is a groggy shot in the dark every morning,
but blossoms into a latte with a milky flower for the afternoon.
He is a foaming pint of Guinness,
who tells me he would taste better in Ireland.
In the evening the pipe comes in with his books,
hoping to puff his way from freshman to Inkling.
He is the silhouette in the clouds of Black Cavendish,
studying only his books, and not the women.
My leggy, blue-eyed Americano sits at her table,
and I forget about pubs and coffeehouses.
She sips from her small paper cup as she turns the pages
of books about beakers and Bunsen burners.
These walls are home to a brewery of happiness.
It is a place where man does not live by bread alone,
But by every granule of every bean
Roasted for his happiness.
aileen, October 8th, 2009
A lovely lady I work with was nice enough to give me this Filipino recipe using a bean I had never run across before, mung beans. Apparently they are a great source of protein and eating them with rice provides all the essential amino acids, for those of you who care about that sort of thing. Finding these elusive little beans required an adventure to Uwajimaya, the Asian market in the International District, where I also was inspired to make fresh spring rolls as a side. This was a verbally relayed recipe (I had to ask her to repeat it to me about 5 times before I remembered it, and she patiently did) and so the amounts of ingredients are very much up to your imagination and tastes. But definitely be generous with the garlic and ginger.
- About a cup of Mung Beans, soaked in a bowl of water for 8 or so hours
- 3/4 cup brown rice
- Garlic (lots), roughly chopped
- Olive oil
- one large onion
- About a pound of prawns (or pork, but who wants pork instead of prawns?)
- Generous portion fresh ginger root
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh spinach
Boil the beans for about 20 min til tender. Cook the rice (per instruction, I always wing it with rice and generally get it somewhere close to right). Set aside. In a large pan heat the olive oil til the garlic sizzles when you put it in. brown the garlic lightly then throw in the onions and cook lightly, keeping the pan nice and hot. Throw in the prawns/pork and fry quickly at high heat until cooked through. While the protein is cooking, put in a lot of fresh grated ginger, salt and pepper. Throw in the cooked mung beans and rice and add a little water or chicken broth if it looks a little dry. Right before you are ready to eat throw in the spinach and let it cook just a little bit before serving. Serve alongside fresh spring rolls with a plum sauce and sweet chile sauce.
Oh, and for anyone who knows the answer to the title of this post, please let me know. It really doesn’t make sense.
aileen, September 24th, 2009
I have had this necklace for a couple years now but I never tire of it! It is one of my best antique store finds, discovered at one of the little shops in Union Town, WA.
I almost didn’t buy these boots when I was out on a recent shopping trip… I’m so glad I did now! The low heel makes them very useful and the width of the ankle and calf area make them easy to tuck a slim pair of jeans into without looking bulky.
Its bright colors really drew me to this scarf when I was perusing the streets of Paris this last May. I saw these square, tassel-fringed scarves on most European necks when I was there so I figured it would be a good piece to pick up.
My wish list for this fall include some brightly colored scarves, like the one below, and cardigans to brighten up the rainy months. Something else I have been bizarrely attracted to lately is jeans with low-set back pockets. I don’t really understand this fascination, and maybe once I buy a pair I will be disenchanted but right now I really like the look.
aileen, August 21st, 2009
One of my all time favorite go-to meals is piece of salmon simply done and combined with summery side dishes. Just drizzle the salmon with olive oil, a generous bit of crushed garlic, ground sea salt and pepper and some fresh finely chopped dil. You can either throw it on the grill, or just in the oven (I recommend using aluminum foil for ease of clean-up) at about 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. Served with rice and a cucumber or green salad this is a delicious and beautiful meal that can be made in under an hour!
aileen, August 13th, 2009
 Yvette the adventurer  Almost ready... blackberry picking is on the list for later this week!  Going under Montlake bridge is kind of a bizarre experience, you can see the underside of all the cars overhead!
Going from Moscow ID to Seattle was like being brought from a desert wasteland to a lush rainforest in terms of entertaining diversions. In Moscow, if you wanted to ‘do something’ it meant you were going to go to one of the movie theaters, the one in Moscow or, if you were feeling a little adventurous, you went all the way to Pullman. In Seattle, for the price of a movie ticket you can do any variety of things and one of my latest adventures was to Agua Verde, a great little paddle club and Mexican restaurant near the U district. It’s a low-key little place on Boat Street and for an hourly fee you can rent a kayak, double or single and paddle around Lake Union, Lake Washington or a couple out of the way spots nearby. I had had Agua Verde on my list for a while so this Monday, despite the drizzle, my boyfriend Jason (who had shown up for a surprise visit that morning!), my friend and partner on many of my Seattle adventures, Yvette and I headed down and rented some kayaks. They came complete with “skirts” to keep any rogue waves out of the kayak and undersized little vests that sort of swallow you if you don’t keep your eye on them. Safety first. We hit the open lake and opted for the arboretum tour, a great choice I must say. And all that paddling around definitely works up your appetite for some great Mexican food and a margarita… I recommend the mahi-mahi fish tacos!
http://www.aguaverde.com/
I recently discovered Macrina, a great little bakery and cafe up on Queen Anne. Running past it at 6am I would peer into the window at the bakers hard at work, the smell of fresh baked citrus oatmeal scones, challah bread, and lemon lavender coffee cake drifting from the doorway. Now that I know about it, and it is conveniently placed on the route I already take for running or walking I can drop by for a great breakfast and cup of espresso. The rocket muffin, a dark molasses-y bran muffin with fresh raspberry jam spilling out of the top, is definitely at the top of my list but I try to branch out and try different delectables and I haven’t been disappointed yet. With nice touches like funky artwork by local artists, and the fact that baked goods are made on site, Macrina has a small and personal feel that you don’t usually get from a chain bakery. If you are looking for creative new twists on scones, muffins and coffee cakes and can’t make it to one of Macrina’s locations you can make them the comfort of your own home with the aid of the Macrina Cookbook. Enjoy!  
 Caitlin and Frejya getting their morning excercise  Our amazing breakfast! 
My (ever-changing) work schedule has now landed me with all my mornings free and I’ve found it’s actually pretty amazing what you can get done in a morning if you get up early. Just the other morning Cait and I got up at the crack of dawn (ok, it was 8am) and scooted right out the door to Discovery Park, over in Magnolia. Being the domestic goddess she is, Caitlin had prepared some amazing whole wheat muffins and we packed those along with homemade strawberry jam, butter, honey and, of course, coffee!
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