Breakfast

like a Boss

Cod with Butter, Garlic, Saffron Sauce

An exciting evening of cooking with my fav girl resulted in her making us some tasty cod w/ butter, garlic and saffron sauce.  Paired with green beans from the garden of Country Girl's mom and her lights out rice pilaf made for a wonderful din din a la maison.

Chili Lime Chicken

KW doing KW things

Don't recall where I got the recipe but I definitely made it.  Country Girl has no recollection so it surely didn't turn out great :(

It turns out Country Girl does in fact recall enjoying it during her lunch one day at work and says it was delicious.  Incredibly kind, she is :)

El Ten Eleven - Showbox

Do yourself a favor and go see El Ten Eleven next time they're in your part of the world.  Even if you have to endure two (three?) crappy opening acts and a set start time of 11:30, you'll come out ahead.  We definitely did.  Mind blowing sounds, tremendous musicianship displayed and loads more energy than a two person band should have.  

C.I. Shenanigans - Tacoma

We were fortunate enough to visit with family a while back as one of Country Girl's brother in laws was in the area for training.  We went to C.I. Shenanigans in T-town as part of the hanging out festivities. 

While I don't recall the food specifically, the view was unforgettable.  It was a gorgeous day and we sat on their water front deck.  Stunning views of Puget Sound and Olympic Peninsula were all around as we enjoyed din din.  The views were wonderful and the conversation was even better.  Always fantastic seeing family and thanks for the visit!

Gaudi - Ravenna

Due to a longer than desired wait at a newish Italian place nearby, we stopped by Gaudi in Ravenna.  It worked out pretty well.  

Was possibly Country Girl's first time at a Spanish restaurant.  I've had tapas before in some fashion in the past and, coincidentally,  recently had paella for the first time earlier in the summer.  It's a smallish place with only a handful of tables.  Bright, cheery interior with lots of art setting an appropriate mood.  

We ordered a couple of tapas and the seafood paella.  Country Girl was a great sport and enjoyed just about everything.  She found the octopus a bit much though.  The sangria left a lot to be desired, surprisingly.  Thin, light in flavor and sadly, sweetened.  The dessert pleasantly knocked it out of the park. 

Hopefully won't be the last time there.

Beck - Marymoor Park

Lots of energy, loads of hits we knew and loved and very light on the mopey, newer material.  Mr. Hansen absolutely delivered the goods. 

Hate, hate, hate

Go Irish

Beverly Beach State Park, Oregon

Camp set-up complete

The fam took the show on the road and headed to Beverly Beach State Park on the Oregon coast.  While the weather wasn't ideal, it improved each day during our stay and certainly didn't prevent us from having a wonderful time. 

Country Girl was once again a whiz with the camp food.  Our delicious meals included philly cheese-steak sandwiches, braised short ribs and tin-foil dinners.  We also paid a visit to nearby Newport where we saw lots of loud sea lions lounging about looking silly.

Staying hydrated is key

Everyone brought their feet

KW checking out the camp cleanup up effort

Arcade Fire - The Gorge

Country Girl paid her inaugural visit to The Gorge Amphitheater in George, WA when we made the trip out to see one of her favorite bands, Arcade Fire.  She was duly impressed by the both the venue and the show.  If you've ever been to the Gorge, it's easy to see why.  It's an amazing venue both in terms of setting and acoustics.  Nestled in a hill side along the Colubmia River with canyons all around, it's visually stunning.  Combined with top shelf acoutics, there's not a bad seat in the house.  That's especially saying a lot when there are 25,000+ seats.  

While I'm not a particular fan of the band, I had read raves about their live shows. Raves well deserved as they lit up the place with sound and energy.  Very much a fantastic show. 

Tavern Law, Olympic Sculpture Park

A recent date night found us trying Tavern Law on Capitol Hill.  I'd been there once before during the season for drinks, I believe (circumstances were a bit hazy).  The food was new to us both and boy, was it good.  We had the spiced fried chicken and burger with red wine onion jam and provolone.  The chicken was lightly battered and very crispy.  I certainly wouldn't call it spicy and would definitely call it outstanding.  The burger was similarly fantabulous.  Brilliantly cooked and the relish added splendid flavor.

Isn't she gorgeous?  Super lucky, this guy.

After din din, we headed to the Olympic Sculpture Park to soak up the last of a beautiful day.  It was a great setting to snap pics of the bell of the ball.  

Kodiak's 1st Birthday

KW, union boss sans peer,  had his first birthday a couple of weeks ago, so of course we threw him a party.  He hated his hat and, surprisingly, wasn't terribly keen on his b-day cookie at first.  He eventually warmed up to it and scarfed if down posthaste once he decided it was to his liking.

Liam's - University Village

A number of new restaurant's opened in University Village over the last few months, Liam's is one of them.  Despite the name, it's not an Irish bar or otherwise Irish themed at all.  Suppose that's for the best, as the food is quite tasty.  

We enjoyed brunch on our visit.  Country Girl had the smoked salmon cake benedict  and I had the biscuits and chicken gravy.  Both were super delish.  The biscuits had great flavor and were a bit crispy in consistency.  The crispiness was both unusual and very welcome.  They held up in the gravy exceptionally well.  The hollandaise on the benedict was was rich and flavorful without being overwhelmingly so.

Adding to the great food was the very nice decor.  Despite an interior on the darker side, the place is quite bright thanks to loads of large windows and a covered patio area just off the main eating area.  I don't particularly recall the service one way or other, so it likely wasn't awful.  Chances are we may try Liam's again in the future. 

Chicken Kebab, Rice Pilaf and Grilled Pineapple

Sounds good, right?  Yeah, it was awesome.

Meatballs with Chianti Tomato Reduction

While discussing dinner plans with a friend one morning, mentioned my plan to make meatballs that evening and didn't know what to do for sauce.  I'm not terribly keen on tomato sauces generally nor heavy cream sauces.  My friend suggested making a reduction using red wine, stewed tomatoes and broth as a base.  I was duly intrigued as she described how she makes it and felt confident enough that it was something even my limited cooking skilz could handle. 

KW, union boss, checking out the supplies

Modified a recipe from Country Girl's Joy of Cooking for the meatballs using beef and turkey.  Knowing mostly nothing about wine, went with a Chianti for the base.  Included stewed tomatoes, chicken broth, onions, garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  

While I don't have photo evidence as much, the reduction turned out brilliantly.  The meatballs were my best effort to date as well.  Will certainly give this another go.

Seattle Works Day 2014

The whole fam was kind enough to join me for at the Kubota Garden for Seattle Works Day.  Kubota is an immaculate, multi-acre Japanese garden deep in the south end.  Country Girl and I had been once before, enjoying our tour of the grounds tremendously.  Seattle Works Day is a volunteer bonanza with several events set out around the city involving 1,000+ volunteers culminating with a party at Seattle Center with free food, drink and music for participants.  

During the event, we learned that there are several more undeveloped acres adjacent to the garden.  There, we removed non-native blackberry and ivy.  We finished off with a smile by planting some brand new native plants.

Grilled Lamb Burger

Topped with a fried egg and paired with grilled veggies.  Once again, Country Girl absolutely knocked it out of the park.

Mamma Melina - Ravenna (Redux)

We went again, this time for lunch, and it was awesome again. 

St. Martin, Anguilla

Best honeymoon yet!