Sweet 'n' Nutty Chicken

Country Girl made an excellent chicken dish from the Family Circle All Time Favorite Recipes cookbook.  Called "sweet 'n' nutty", the recipe called for a paste like crust of cashews or macadamias, bread crumbs, mustard and apricot jam along with seasoning.  Using the walnuts and strawberry jam we had on hand, not sure it could have turned out better.  The nutty texture and sweet, tangy flavor were fantastic.  Colossal failure on City Boy's part not to photograph this gem. 

Terminal 105 Park Cleanup - West Seatle

The whole fam made a trek over to West Seattle's Terminal 105 Park for a recent volunteer event put on by Earth Corps.

We cleared some non-native blackberry, picked up rubbish and placed mulch around recently planted trees.  There might have been some grumbles before, during and after.  Better believe it was all smiles for the photo op though, eh?

Kodiak's Kone

Kodiak went in for a snip and came home with an amusing cone.

Country Chicken Chowder, Moroccan Chicken Stew

Keeping it seasonal in the kitchen, Country Girl has hooked it up with the warm, liquid goodness recently to combat the cooler temperatures outside.

A few weeks back she made a stellar country chicken chowder from Best-Loved Slow Cooker Recipes.  Super hearty and silky smooth creamy texture.  Paired with dinner rolls, it was top shelf stuff.

More recently she made Moroccan chicken stew from The Essential EatingWell Cookbook.  Wonderfully spicy and rich flavors throughout.  Amazed it was her first time making it.

Assaggio, Serious Pie - Belltown

 We were the grateful recipients of a gift card to Tom Douglas' family of restaurants and decided to try Serious Pie in Belltown.  I'd been there a couple of time before for lunch and it was Country Girl's first visit.  As they had a 40 minute wait, we headed around the corner to Assaggio Ristorante for a drink and an appetizer while waiting.

I've had the pleasure to meet the owner of Assaggio several times as we practice at the same yoga studio and he's incredibly friendly.  We've been to his restaurant before as I won a free dinner he donated as a prize for a yoga challenge.  While somewhat intimate in size, it's nicely decorated and has beautiful, soaring painted ceilings.  Our bartender that night was prompt and the mussels were tasty.

 Back at Serious Pie, we were lucky enough to give a high top for two near the back of the restaurant.  Its space is even cozier than Assaggio and they have several long, communal style tables near the front.  Despite the small size and cozy dimensions (no high ceiling here), it was a very pleasant meal.  The kitchen is completely open air so you get to see the huge ovens hard at work.  Our sever was again prompt and very friendly.  The pizzas were delicious as were the bubbles.  Well worth the wait.
   

Lake Union Sailboat Cruise

A cool, drizzly night didn't take the shine off an evening sailboat cruise around Lake Union.  Saw lots and learned lots.  Our informative captain covered everything from houseboats to tugboats!