Snowpocalypse, Part III

Well, the snow stopped falling today. The sun came out and it actually felt like we might be done with this storm. Seattle's crack weather forecasters have changed their snowglobe predictions from snow through Friday to cloudy tomorrow to snowy and rainy on Wednesday. I don't believe them, especially after watching some ditz on TV with a bleach blonde farrah fawcett hair style.

Maybe I should mention that today is also the day that I've started to go completely stir crazy. I've been home since Wednesday, the day of 80% probability of a snowstorm and dry conditions all around, followed by my drive in a blizzard Thursday (can you tell I'm still sketched out by that experience?) and then, snow, snow, snow. Thank goodness for my stash of booze, a statement which I'm sure is causing all of you to say "yes, she's definitely, absolutely, an alcoholic." Whatever. Don't judge unless you're living my life.

Anyways.

Snowpocalypse notes:

- Trudging through the snow with elmendez and possiblyme to laugh at, and with, Dina Martina. Plus, finding out that all but one of the bartenders at Quinn's is straight. New Year's resolution: go to Quinn's even more in 2009.
- Watching snowboarder, basket borders and airbed borders sliding down the Denny Street hill. Snowballs, taunts and general good cheeredness made this a Seattle moment to remember, forever.
- Seeing others push cars up hills and around corners. Being one of those others to rescue a car, and a few minutes later, seeing the driver party with the at risk youth on Denny Hill.
- Coming upon a U-Haul truck that had wedged itself into an A8, which was haphazardly parked on Olive. Two hours later, the U-Haul truck was gone, and putting my CSI skills to work, I ascertained that the car has lost control, slammed into the power pole in the front, and later, got clocked by the moving truck. Sad, sad little Audi.
- Watching one of the Snowpaclypse new crews standing at the base of the Belmont Street hill, while talking about how "a Hummer had gotten stuck at the bottom and was abandoned." Laughing, because I've been up and down the hill enough times to know that the Hummer always parks in that spot. Ha.
- Walking in the quiet, quiet snow. I could walk in the middle of streets which were usually busy with cars. Fewer people were on the streets. I can't describe the quiet, it was just cool in a way that I may never experience again.

Snowpocalypse Part 2

By my reckoning, I've had to deal with too much snow in the past week. First, last weekend, when I ventured to Fremont in the snow. Then, the 24-hour delayed snowstorm, when I got caught and almost in some serious trouble. The latest, snow which started last night and has continued through the day, supposedly accompanied by a windstorm and probable loss of power. I stayed in last night, I just couldn't go out another night and tromp through the snow.

Some pictures, which may look a lot like where you are, or may not look at all like the Seattle that you know. First, my neighbors spin on a snowman (and no, I don't know exactly what it is supposed to be either):



Then, more views from my balcony when I woke up this morning (and during a break from the snow):







I did make my way through the masses at QFC, picking their way through all essential and non-essential foods. Items in baskets seemed to boil down to four categories: canned goods, nibbles that didn't require heat (smart people), ice cream (bizarre) and alcohol (I heard the liquor store was a mess too. Seattle knows how to prepare). I pick up a flashlight, and figured that if the power went out again - repeating the horror of two years ago - I could once again weather cold and darkness. A very excited little boy reminded me that Christmas was only 5 days away! telling me "Happy Christmas" and backwards counting the number of days.

For dinner, I breaded pork chops, sliced and broiled acorn squash and sauteed cabbage with garlic and white wine (one of my stand by side dishes which I have never written about). Plus, peppermint cupcakes, which I will tell all of you about later. Along with, a very excellent bottle of 2004 Milano Family Winery Hopland Cuvee, a blend of cab, syrah and merlot. It worked, nicely.



I'll reach my 3-year Seattle anniversary at the end of March. Considering that I've been on the 3 to 5 year plan since arriving, it's time to start making some decisions. I'll give you a sneak peek: I'm not going to stay in Seattle for the rest of my life. At this point, I'm wondering if I'll make it another winter. Kind of ironic that two of the three places on my list of where to live next also have cold winters, one with snow. But, both have underground public transport and snow is a fact, not a aberration. I'll keep you all posted.

PS - As I post, it's snowing, again. If you happened to catch the Seahawks-Jets game, that's Seattle.

A Fun Little & Delicious Link

Click here.

Yeah, cool, isn't it?

Cold weather continues in Seattle, it's now in the 20s and likely to drop lower tonight. The snow has stopped since last night, but supposedly, wind storms and more snow over the weekend.

My neighborhood is a bit eerie. People are out and about (Smith was crowded last night) and happy and fun-loving. The snow has definitely made spirits good, I think also because of the snow days. And, few, few cars are out on the roads, meaning quiet.

Walking on a combination of snow, ice and slush has its challenges, especially considering the hills in my neighborhood. Last night, we took a route that seemed less steep than the other three options. Things were fine, enough for me to finally say "wow, this isn't that bad". Sad to soon, I slipped as soon as I said it. I think the beer gave me better agility, definitely improving the situation.

Snowpocalypse 2008

After what I thought was the start of a mild winter, Mother Nature has reared her ugly head. Actually, the radio DJs joked that God was drunk and showing off his powers. Because really, how often does a snow storm start with a spurt of freaky snow pellets, calm down, suddenly produce lightning and thundersnow, and then in the space of minutes - yes minutes - dump a torrent of snow from the sky? It's the ways of a drunk man.

At 5AM, the ground was clear. No snow was falling from the skies. Huh, I thought. The weather guys were wrong again (they had predicted an 80% chance of snow the day before, which turned out to be wrong, all wrong). When I left at 5:30 (within a few minutes of thundersnow, which should have been a sign), snow was lightly falling. It picked up a bit as I approached the 520 bridge. Trouble really started when I made it to the end of the bridge - the snow started to pour down, visibility decreased and the roads were suddenly covered in snow.

Huh. This can't be good. And at 5:45AM decided to go home (for those familiar with the Seattle area, I cut over to 90 via 405, then Rainier S to 12th to my house, taking a non-hilly route).

The drive from the end of the 520 bridge to my driveway was the scariest and most dangerous drive I've ever been on as either a passenger or driver, and that statement includes some sketchy SF, NYC and 3rd-world country cab rides. My heart was pounding, I would have cried only tears would have been bad, bad, bad. Cars around me were fishtailing, obviously banged up vehicles were stuck on the side of the road, people were chaining up and more than a few idiotic SUVs whizzed past me as I chugged along very, very slowly. In a few cases, visibility was about 5 feet. It was all about survival: getting me and Lolita home in one piece.

I made it home - safe and in one piece, definitely worse for the wear. Hearing the news report and stories, my timing was just right, and I was incredibly lucky. It's still a bad, bad scene.

So a plug for my little car: my Mini Cooper held solid to the ground, with only two fishtails, once on the freeway and once stopped at a light (after that, I timed my pace to avoid stopping at lights, unfortunate at some point for the five cars behind me). I felt as safe as I could, considering the conditions. I just kept plugging along, past SUVs and trucks stuck on the side of the road and watched cars fishtail around me.

PS - Before you make fun of me, remember that I spent my life living in the Bay Area, where snow is a destination for fun and frolic, not a way of life. I am the first to admit that I don't like snow driving - during my formative driving years (15-18), I never had to deal with snow. And, Seattle is notoriously bad when it comes to snow. I passed a few snow plows sitting on the side of the road. Huh.

The Long Road Trip

For some reason, going on a two week business trip for the second half of October seemed like a good idea a month before I booked hotels and flights and vendors and a conference. The day before I left, well, it suddenly wasn't a good idea. Fourteen days, seven beds, three cities and two towns later, I arrived home. Despite the length, it was a good trip. A very interesting conference, time with family on both coasts (East Coast was already written about, at least the cake part), and after nearly a year, finally returning to San Francisco (the March trip doesn't count due to illness) and seeing friends whom I hadn't seen in about a year.

Culinary highlights, just for all of you:

Francine Bistro, Camden, Maine: Camden is a cute little town in Maine along some sort of body of water, where we attended a conference. I found Francine Bistro on Yelp, and we loved so much the first time, we returned a second night. Absolutely delicious, including the spinach soup, duck and multi-colored beet salad with grated apple and the most amazing lemon-based dressing I have ever tasted. My lemon salad dressings are always acidic - which I love - but I would LOVE to know how to make a non-acidic, lemony and sweet lemony dressing. The second part of Camden of note was the Blue Harbor House, a bed and breakfast with absolutely scrumptious breakfasts. Day one: poached pears with ginger and vanilla cream and blueberry pancakes with coconut butter and maple syrup. Day two: poached fruit with vanilla yogurt and egg and tomato omelet with Irish soda bread. Day three: poached fruit with vanilla yogurt and French toast brulee, cubes of French toast baked with a cinnamon syrup.





Grotto, Boston: Good, old-fashioned Italian food. My colleague ordered a heaping plate of delicious spaghetti and meatballs, and Tracy won the award for the prettiest plated dish, risotto in a pumpkin.



The Temple Bar, Boston: Delicious, delicious, delicious food. My ahi poke on a rice cake was delightful and just what I needed.



The Berkshire, Denver: A flight of bacon. I really have nothing else to say except for if you're in Denver, hit the Berkshire for the flight of bacon. I also found my new favorite line stenciled on the wall: "Temptation, libation...and a bacon station".



The Tamale Stand, Denver: Sadly, my favorite tamale vendor in Denver was sold out of tamales both mornings. Can you believe that someone came and bought all three dozen of his tamales at one time? Bitch, I say, bitch. Ahem. However, that did give me the perfect opportunity to try his burritos. At most taquerias, his would be considered "chico" sized, which gave me the perfect excuse for two samples at a time. Egg and chorizo, bean and beef and bean and chile - what else would you ever want for breakfast?

Pizzeria Delfina, San Francisco: Pizzeria Delfina moved in to Pac Heights, and Carrie and I went on Halloween. Slightly different atmosphere than the place I love in the Mission, but still just as delicious. We started with their radicchio salad, enjoyed a bite of our neighbors' fennel salad (hey, it pays to be friendly) and then enjoyed the clam pie and the margharita pie. The leftovers the next day were just as delicious.

Suppenkuche, San Francisco. Delicious German food, as always. After a German charcuterie platter, I feasted on sausages, spaetzle and purple sauerkraut. It was also a birthday celebration, back in my former hood.




Slanted Door, San Francisco: I met Mom and Dad at the Ferry Building, and we decided to try the Slanted Door for dinner. I have to say - I was pleasantly surprised, I had always heard mixed things about the upscale Vietnamese place. Before going for dinner, I had only had drinks and oysters, all delicious...and dinner was just as delicious. We started with oysters (like any Olhava would pass up oysters) and spring rolls, then scallops cooked in a clay pot in some sort of soy and oyster sauce and ginger deliciousness, a perfectly brined and grilled pork chop, saut/(c)ed spinach and delicious, delicious eggplant. I should note, the Manhattan was quite tasty. The only bad thing about our meal - the service. Not sure what was going on, but considering the price and reputation, I really expected better.

Bourbon & Branch, San Francisco: The San Francisco speakeasy, requiring either a reservation or a password, or both. We had the password, and "luckily", they had three bar seats for us. Little do they know that the bar is always my favorite seat, and in this case, it was fascinating watching the bartenders in action. Drinks were definitely worth the cost of admission: the autumn Manhattan (it tasted like fall, and let's leave it at that), and the Black Manhattan, made with bourbon and a shot of Averna (yeah Averna, my new favorite appertif).

Boot Camp

Note: This entry was written at the end of September, but for reasons that I can't quite explain, is only now being published.

Pete convinced me to sign up for August/September boot camp session at the Pro Club. He went the first week or two, then promptly dropped out, leaving me on my own. Sometimes, I wonder why I am friends with Pete, but that's for another blog entry. Ahem.

Boot camp. I thought that I was in pretty good shape - I'm a gym person, working out at least 3, usually 4 or 5 times a week. Or, if I'm not at the gym, I'll run at Green Lake or in a loop around my neighborhood. The point is - I'm not a slouch (despite appearances, and if you read this blog, you know why).

Boot camp, to put it nicely, kicked my ass. Two months of jumping jacks, the worlds' greatest stretch, versa climbers, weight training, endurance training, running and so much more. Wait, did I mention running? I mean, a lot of running. On average, I ran anywhere from 6-10 miles a week, with Tuesdays being "lighter" (i.e., shorter) runs and Thursday, the "heavier" (i.e., longer) runs. The military bent (someone told me our instructor was in the Marines, but I may be too scared to ask), meant that we were placed in groups, the alphas (the winners), the betas (the strong ones) and the charlies (the losers, which is where I went, and I should mention, I was the only charlie to make it to the end).

Did I also mention that class started at 6AM? Boot camp resulted in a major lifestyle change - no more play on Monday nights, because I had to get up at 5, no more play on Tuesday nights, because I wanted to keep the momentum going and hit the gym early Wednesday morning, no more play on Wednesday nights, because I had to get up at 5, and by the time Thursday hit, well, I was exhausted. Even Friday and Saturday nights were hard, because by the time Friday morning came, my body woke up on the
early end.

As a result of turning up the volume on exercise, I've experienced a few interesting changes:
--I had to curb my evening wine consumption - I just can't drink more than a glass and be able to function well at the gym the next morning.
--With the exception of two really bad days, my energy levels and increased. Really, I felt much better overall. My sleep also improved; I have suffered from insomnia for years, waking up at 2 in the morning about once every two weeks and tossing and turning until about 5. During boot camp, I had exactly two nights of insomnia. Huh.
--Eating habits changed too. I started to crave tons of protein and green vegetables. While I love bread and cheese, I ate those favorites a lot less, mainly because they simply just didn't t taste good. Eating overall focused much more on "whole" foods, the processed foods just didn't taste good or provide enough energy. When Pete and I took the train to Portland, I strategically packed a picnic lunch full of good food, primarily because I was concerned that there would be nothing for me to eat on the train, and then the lack of calories would lead to a bad, bad situation.
--Speaking of which, I found that when I had to eat, I had to eat. If no food, stupidity set in. This required some planning, and in hindsight, was actually quite humorous at work; Char - my office mate, also exercises a ton (of the Ironman/Triathlon/marathon) variety - and as a result, one of us was always eating.
--On the social front, I met some really cool people. Everyone was incredibly supportive and nice, and still seemed to respect me, even though I was in the loser, I mean Charlie group.
--And most importantly, my strength and endurance increased. A lot. At the end, I was able to run longer distances, I was getting better at keeping up with the class and the workout just didn't seem as daunting.

Boot camp ended for 2008. It's organized into two-month sessions, and will start again in April.

Addendum: I signed up for winter sports conditioning, which focuses on core conditioning. It's still a workout, all indoors and slightly different than boot camp, although just as challenging. Someone told me that they emerged much stronger from winter sports than from boot camp, so we'll see what happens in April when Boot Camp 2009 starts.

The Tour de Chocolate

The Chocolate Box offers the Tour de Chocolate, a whirlwind tour of Seattle's best and finest chocolate shops. And, like most foodie tours, samples are highly encouraged for on the go consumption or to enjoy later at home. My spoils are pictured below.



As for the tour, we started at the Chocolate Box, for a quick education in chocolate and flight of Fiori's dark chocolate. If you're a dark chocolate fan, I recommend Fiori's dark chocolate. Next, an airporter size van transported us to Theo Chocolate in Fremont, the only Seattle chocolatier to produce from start-to-finish, or in chocolate speak, from cacoa bean to consumable piece of chocolate. I'm now a big fan of their cocoa nibs and the Jane Goodall line. Fran's Chocolate in the University Village was our next stop, where we drank Fran's delicious hot chocolate, a few truffles and my favorite, the sea salt caramel. Plus a new sea salt caramel trick - upside down, allowing the salt to hit your tongue. This is also the point in the tour where I started to get a chocolated out, although I persevered. Another fun fact: Fran's production facility is in Cap Hill! From Fran's, we went to Oh! Chocolate, where we learned to temper chocolate, which is the process of cooling melted chocolate by spreading with your hands, then dipping various foodstuff in the chocolate. Licking your fingers at the end was highly encouraged and practiced all around. We ended up back at the Chocolate Box, for an amazing cup of European sipping hot chocolate. Imagine the best chocolate bar you've ever imagined melted, in a cup, with a dollop of heavy whipped cream. Yes.

My only advice for the chocolate tour: eat a good breakfast; the tour is morning only (something about having a cleaner palette) and if you're an early morning gym person like I am, the typical yogurt and granola breakfast isn't going to sustain you. Even though I stopped with the chocolate, I had some serious sugar issues - made worse by the bites of coconut cream pie and donuts at Dahlia - and my system went completely off kilter. It was still worth it.

November 4, 2008

I updated my Facebook status:

Schelley is proud to be an American for the first time in a long time. Sadly, not feeling the Cali love. 8:48pm

Things that are making me happy right now:
--No more George Bush.
--John McCain's graceful concession speech.
--Truly believing that our vote counts, regardless of where we live and how we voted.
--Knowing that the crowds in Chicago represent the America of today, while the crowds in Phoenix represent the America of yesterday.
--Believing, for the first time in 8 years, that the President is truly intelligent.
--Barack Obama's amazing, inspirational and hopeful acceptance speech.

I walked down Broadway, where a spontaneous celebration full of happy, happy people had formed. Yes!

It's a Backsplash!

For the most part, coming home to a house that has changed dramatically since you left is never a good thing. We have all heard tales of floods, fires, earthquakes, and thievery. Recently, a friends' house was completely ransacked, with antiques and valuables stolen.

But once in a while, goodness comes about. For example, look at the two pictures of my kitchen the day before I left for a business trip two weeks ago:





Pete and Paul then came in, and after several hours of hard sweat and labor and likely, a tears, left me an excellent treat. I came home to this!!





It is a thing of beauty, don't you agree? Thank you, boys.

More painting to come - while I love the blue, I think it needs to be tempered a bit.

3 and 6

It all started 36 years ago today, on a cold and drizzly day.

Enough said.

Time for Cake

I have two nephews in Boston, Alex, the 4-year old, and Pete, the 1 1/2 year old. As the cool aunt in their lives (i.e., the person who will encourage them to play videogames and likely buy them beer before they're 21), we bake together. Last spring, it was just Alex and I. Now, Pete has joined in for the fun.

We baked a chocolate peanut butter cake, an absolutely delicious triple-layer chocolate cake with peanut butter and cream cheese frosting and chocolate ganache topping. I found the recipe on Smitten Kitchen, a cooking blog that I absolutely adore (and have mentioned before). The recipes are great, the writing is humorous and truthful, and Deb regularly admits to her kitchen strengths, hilarity and foibles. And did I mention that her recipes are good? Good as in I haven't had a failure yet. All deliciousness.

Back to the cake. The recipe originally came from Sky High, a recently published cake cookbook that has already been added to my wish list. It's likely that if it doesn't enter my home through gift channels, I will break down and purchase on my own.

Ok, really, back to the cake. First, a sour cream chocolate cake. Alex liked it because he could pour all of the ingredients into the bowl. It was even easier because the cake required only one bowl - something that I always appreciate. Second, the frosting. Alex and Pete both helped here. Alex added the cream cheese and butter in to the mixing bowl, and then as we beat it, helped me count and add the five cups of confectioner's sugar. Pete helped with a constant stream of burbling 1 1/2 year old comments, and a few tastes along the way. Pete and Alex were also my cake frosting audience, a first for me in my history of cake baking. Third, the chocolate ganache, which I finished while Pete and Alex had a bath. And finally, the candles, because really, what is a birthday cake without candles?

Based on the picture above, it's obvious that Pete enjoyed the fruit of his labors. Below, the finished cake.

Oh - My

Oh my gosh. After apologizing twice for the state of my blog...I accidentally discovered that one of my attempts to fix it actually stuck. Yeah for me.

Keep checking back...and don't be surprised to see more improvement mistakes. Someday, I'll get this right.

A Sunday Dinner & the Blog

Richard and Melissa came over for dinner, mainly so that Richard could work on my blog (sorry, Richard, my lack of HTML skills did some damage) and Melissa and I could catch up. The food, was, well delicious, almost as good as the company.

I've been cooking from Smitten Kitchen lately, and made most of the meal from this site. Lamb and zucchini kebabs with keftas, rosemary crackers and marinated eggplant with capers and mint, plus a Greek-salad of my own making, fried squash blossoms and Richard and Melissa brought along some delicious cheese (of the truffle and blue cheese variety) and duck mousse pate. And a berry pie for dessert. I should note that most of the ingredients came from the Cap Hill farmer's market, which week after week, supplies me with delicious food.

This entry wouldn't be complete without mentioning the wine. We began with a 2005 Darious Merlot from Napa Valley, which Richard and Melissa found in Napa when she ran the marathon. I'm now wondering if she stopped halfway through the run for tasting. I'm not a merlot fan, but this was good enough to convince me that I wasn't drinking an ordinary merlot. Rather, it was something that the gods delivered from the heavens to the vineyards in Napa. We followed that up with a 2002 Bangers & Mash Syrah from Mendocino County, which delivered quite nicely. Besides being delicious, the bottle had a pig on the label, which for some reason, fascinated Richard. Something about a scavenger hunt, while Melissa and I stared at him.

Once again, apologies about the blog. Yes, I know it's a mess. Silly me, I assumed that upgrading the blog to the latest version of Moveable Type would somehow mean that doing cool stuff - such as changing the background color, inserting pictures, adding a list of blogs that I read (called an Index) - would become easier. I was wrong. It's just as difficult and complex. If I spoke HTML, it would be easier, but I don't. And poor Richard, who has patiently helped me all along, received an email (fueled by an excellent glass of 2007 Reinares Tempranillo, from Spain) telling him exactly what I thought of Moveable Type. He is patient and kind, and hopefully, soon, we'll soon have the site looking better. And by "we'll", I really mean Richard.

Wine Tasting while Shopping

QFC is now piloting wine tasting in their stores. I popped in for lemons (Averna + lemon juice + ginger ale = the Vertigo, and my new favorite drink) and paper towels, and left having sampled four solid wines. They sectioned off an area of the wine section, had samples of wines, Full Sail, cheeses and plenty of food. All for a $2 donation to Susan G. Komen. Yeah!

Sorry about the current state of the blog. I have a few entries queued up about and ready to go, which explains the lack of writing lately. The appearance, well, an update to the newest version of Movable Type and my pathetic attempts to give the site a facelift ended in the disaster you see before you. Richard, because he is kind and fabulous, has offered to help me fix it, and I just need to get my act together.

It may be a while, kids, I'm on the road again.

Chicken & Broccoli

Picture below is dinner a few nights ago: chicken, broccoli and a stuffed tomato.



Those of you who know me should now be thinking, ,AeuBut wait, Schelley, you almost never eat chicken and you hate broccoli. What is up with that?,Aeu

Well, two things are up with that.

First, as some of you may know, I regularly try foods that I think I don,Aeot like. Several years ago, I read that in many cases, our food dislikes are childhood relics, and often, we have no idea why we don,Aeot like a specific food. So, we just say we don,Aeot like it, without ever trying and tasting. I,Aeove known for years that I hate the smell of steamed broccoli, and thus, avoided it in all other forms.

However, I,Aeove gradually worked my way towards broccoli. I started eating broccolini about four years ago, which I believe is a broccoli relation. I,Aeove always liked Chinese broccoli, which I think is closer to spinach than broccoli. I,Aeom happily loving brussel sprouts, a cross between cabbage and broccoli. And not that long ago, I ate broccoli fried in parmesan and added to a salad (I should note that the pieces were too small to pick out and I could really only taste the delicious parmesan). Over the past few months, I,Aeove eaten broccoli a few times in Thai stir-fries. And then a few weeks ago, I bought a head at the Farmer,Aeos Market and added some florets to my own stir-fry.

And for the moment in this picture: saut/(c)ed up with garlic, a splash of balsamic and some parmesan for diversity. It was quite good. I still won,Aeot eat it steamed ,Aei the smell is too noxious ,Aei but yes, I,Aeom getting there.

Second, it,Aeos a well known fact that I,Aeom not a big chicken fan. About once a year, I,Aeoll cook chicken, usually a component of another dish (like chicken biryani). Once in a while, a chicken dish will catch my eye in the cafeteria and I,Aeoll succumb. But for the most part, it,Aeos no chicken for me. It tastes, well, not like chicken. It,Aeos chalky and bland and often kind of crumbly. I think I ate too much in my childhood. And, we,Aeove been sucked into believing that chicken is healthy; according to the Overall Nutritional Quality Index, (a new food point system just beginning to roll out, check out the ratings), it isn,Aeot that healthy. Chicken has become the basis of many, many meals; I,Aeom always surprised at how many dishes I can eliminate from the menu by saying no to chicken. I,Aeove also observed that the bigger the chain, the more chicken on the menu.

However, the Cap Hill farmer's market features a chicken vendor. Recently, I bought a dozen beautiful eggs, and found bright yellow yolks, not the pale yellow that we,Aeove been conditioned to think is a normal egg yolk. Those are real eggs, coming from real chickens that scrounge around for bugs and mites. After a few weeks of thought, I succumbed, bought a bird, and cooked it, using Cooks French Chicken in a Pot recipe.

The chicken was good, and tasted exactly like chicken should taste ,Aei like chicken. Not chalky, not salty from injected preservatives, not rubbery. All things considered, it was delicious. But I,Aeom not sure how much I really like the bird. If I,Aeom going with fowl, I really think I,Aeod prefer duck. Or if not fowl, then pork or beef or lamb. I think I,Aeom just not a chicken person,AePbut I,Aeoll keep trying periodically, just to make sure.

For the chicken: easy, easy,AePsalt and pepper the bird, add some olive oil to a dutch oven, heat up, brown the bird, along with some chopped onion, celery, a few garlic cloves and sprig of rosemary. Once browned, cover with foil and the lid, and throw in the oven on low heat until the chicken is done. While the chicken is resting, strain the juice and let it sit to separate the fats, then reheat gently with a tablespoon or two of fresh lemon juice. Carve the chicken, and serve with the chicken au jus.

The stuffed tomato: I seeded, then salted a tomato and let the liquid drain off. I had some stale bread, so I soaked it in water long enough to crumble, then saut/(c)ed the bread crumbs in olive oil. After, I mixed up with handful of herbs ,Aei parsely, cilantro, mint ,Aei added some parmesan and salt and pepper, stuffed the tomato with the breadcrumb filling and baked. Tasty.

For those of you who are curious, my two no go foods are peaches and bananas. I was forced to eat peaches when I was about 10 years old, in one of those classic mother/daughter power struggles, and since, have absolutely hated the smell, look and taste of peaches. The banana dislike saddens me ,Aei it,Aeos a convenient fruit. It started early ,Aei one of a handful of pre-age 4 memories is of eating a banana on my Grandma Olhava,Aeos patio, feeling queasy and then throwing up. The smell of bananas is noxious enough to keep me away from that fruit. And for future reference, if you try to fool me as Pete did a few months ago, well, do so at your own risk ,Aei he convinced me that his fruit smoothie didn,Aeot have banana in it, I sucked down a swig, tasted banana and reacted so violently that we are lucky we didn,Aeot get into a car accident. I can taste bananas in anything. Ahem.

Flatware!

After years of using college hand-me-down flatware, I finally broke down and bought a new set, Pottery Barns Collins collection. Lisa and I talked about wanting new flatware, and last Saturday, after I'd woken up from my nap, she, Jess and I hit University Village. Jess told us her meal utensil preference and gave a few demonstrations involving the importance of the soup spoon. Lisa and I made a decision, and both bought the same cutlery.

While ringing up our purchases, the sales lady wanted to know if Lisa and I were purchasing from our registries. ,AeuNo,,Aeu we said, rolling our eyes. She then looked at us, and while what happened next is still disputed, I do believe she thought we were a couple. After all, if you aren,Aeot getting married and/or setting up house with a new partner, why would you randomly purchase a set of flatware?

BTW, later that same night, we made margaritas, using a new recipe. In a pitcher filled with ice, add a can of lime-aid concentrate, fill the empty can with tequila, add to the mix, then pour in two bottles of Corona. Add a few pinches of salt, mix together and enjoy. Recipe courtesy of Tony and Real Simple.

A Party at the Culinary Communion

Richard had the good sense to have a birthday, and Melissa had the even better sense to plan a celebration at the Culinary Communion.

He picked the 250-Mile Diet theme, which meant that everything we cooked could be found within 250 miles of Seattle (this is a new food trend, emphasizing local farmers markets and trying to eliminate the ,AeuI,Aeom eating organic grapes that were flown in from Chile,Aeu issue). On the day of our class, Gabe, the chef/owner hit the farmer,Aeos market, bought a bunch of ingredients, and we, as a group, decided how to use those ingredients. Then, aided with wine, we went to work, and cooked, managing to use almost every single ingredient on the table. It all came together at the end, with every dish completed just in time for us to sit down and feast.





Here,Aeos what we made, including my participation and a few recipes:

Frittata. Rachele and I chopped up and saut/(c)ed dandelion greens and fresh onions, mixed in some chard and spinach, added a bunch of eggs, goat milk cheese and raw jersey milk. It was delicate, rich and delicious. We probably should have saut/(c)ed the spinach and chard, but alas, wires were crossed and it didn,Aeot happen.



Ground lamb stuffed peppers. A nice spin on chile rellenos, delicious stuffed with ground lamb, breadcrumbs, hard goat cheese, seasonings and other stuff, and topped with saut/(c)ed fresh tomatoes. We also had the vegetarian variety, which I didn,Aeot eat with dinner, but brought home and feasted on the next day. Just as yummy as the meat filled ones.

Roasted beets with blackberries. Someone roasted the beets, and once done, peeled and sliced, laid in a platter, salted, peppered and olive oiled and sprinkled fresh blackberries on top. Someone needed to smash the blackberries ,Aei the beet and blackberry juices were meant to meld ,Aei and that honor went to me.

Pappardalle with arugula pesto. One of the chefs made fresh pasta (a simple recipe along the lines of flour, 2 eggs and a yolk, salt, something else), the pasta rested, and then Melissa used the super powerful Kitchen-Aid pasta maker attachment to create pappardelle (I sense a wedding registry gift). Someone else made arugula pesto. The pasta was delicious, I was sort of lukewarm on the pesto. But I,Aeom also not a pesto and pasta fan,AeP

Ratatouille, redux, with corn. We had eggplant, peppers, onions, basil, the stuff of ratatouille. The veggies were grilled, plus fresh corn, then mixed heirloom tomatoes and some sort of dressing. Delicious.

Clams and mussels with bacon. Gavin and Elaine learned how to debeard mussels. They then made some sort of delicious smelling onion, bacon and wine (plus, I,Aeom sure other ingredients) base, added the shellfish and let it all steam together. Oh. My. Goodness. So wonderful.



Fried squash blossoms and broad beans. Finally, I learned how to fry squash blossoms, much easier than I even thought. Combine a cup of flour and a generous pinch of salt, mix in enough Pellegrino to create a thin batter, dredge the squash blossoms and fry in about two inches of oil until nicely golden (we used vegetable, but you can use almost any type of oil). Drain on paper towels, sprinkle with salt and enjoy. I am now a huge fan of squash blossoms.

Roasted potatoes with sea salt. We used the small little nubby potatoes.

Salad with strawberries and goat cheese. No real explanation needed here, except that I made a mustard and balsamic-based dressing with cr/(R)me freche.

Oh, and Mike,Aeos Amazing Cake for dessert and grilled peaches (I skipped the peaches). Not only was the cake pretty, decorated with a picture of the birthday boy, but it was also delicious.

I'm looking forward to going back - it will be fun to take classes that focus on new styles of cooking. I think I heard a confit class discussed, and it looks like there are a number of regional cuisine classes offered.

Finally, a pic of me, with the squash blossoms. Yeah!

The Omnivore 100

The latest trend to hit food blogs: a 100 list of food, detailing what you have eaten, what you haven't eaten and what you won't eat. This seems to have originated from Very Good Taste (a blog that I don't read), but I found it here, at Another Glass of Champagne Please.

Here are the rules:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you,Aeove eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating. (These are italicized, mainly because I don't have the crossout feature in the blogging tool I'm using.)
4) Optional extra: Post a comment linking to your results.

Here we go. I've added comments to each one.

1. Venison: I remember eating freshly killed venison chicken fried steak style. A few years ago at Boulevard, Nilay, Carrie, Emil and I feasted on venison carpaccio.
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros: I lived in the Bay Area until 2 1/2 years ago. I adore!
4. Steak tartare: I love. Huge thanks to Bryan for introducing me to this one.
5. Crocodile: Does alligator count? If it does, than it's a yes.
6. Black pudding. Every morning for breakfast in Ireland when I was there in May. Delicious.
7. Cheese fondue. Fondue is an Olhava Christmas Eve tradition, and once Ed and I reached cooking maturity, it became all about the cheese fondue. One of the things that I miss about family holidays.
8. Carp
9. Borscht. I lived in St. Petersburg for a summer. I love beets. One of my favorite meals ever, at a monastery, involved borscht and pelmeni (Russian style ravioli)
10. Baba ghanoush. Mashed up eggplant with garlic, lemon and tahini. What is not to love?
11. Calamari. The fried tentacles are my favorites.
12. Pho. Someday, I'll learn to make proper pho.
13. PB&J sandwich. Um, duh. I'm a white girl from the suburbs.
14. Aloo gobi.
15. Hot dog from a street cart.. In NYC. And at the ball park.
16. Epoisses. I had to look this one up - it's unpasteurized cow's milk cheese. And it's delicious, or at least the unpasteurized version, as I live in a country that is mortally afraid of any sort of germ.
17. Black truffle. Absolutely any chance. In the meantime, I have truffle salt to augment everything.
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes. Rhubarb wine. Not that great.
19. Steamed pork buns. Mmmm...
20. Pistachio ice cream. Maybe as a child, but I really can't remember.
21. Heirloom tomatoes. Of course!
22. Fresh wild berries. During my first Seattle summer, I picked them off the side of the street while walking home from the gym. Then someone pointed out that they probably weren't very good for me, considering the exhaust from the freeway a few feet away. And of course, Grandma Luttrell would pick buckets of berries by the creek when I was a child.
23. Foie gras . At almost every opportunity.
24. Rice and beans. One of my favorite Mexican food staples.
25. Brawn, or head cheese. I honestly don't know. I did slice it when I spent two summers working at the Vallergas deli.
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper. No - that stuff is HOT. As in, wear plastic gloves when cutting. No way it's going in my mouth.
27. Dulce de leche. Mmmmmm...
28. Oysters. Any opportunity.
29. Baklava . Delicious. About a year ago, someone at work brought in the Turkish variety. I fell in love all over again. Honey: human's original sugar.
30. Bagna cauda. I also had to look this up. Sounds delicious, but not yet. It's on my list.
31. Wasabi peas. I wonder how many cocktail sized bowls I ate in Dublin at the Westbury with my Guinness?
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl. The San Francisco tradition.
33. Salted lassi.
34. Sauerkraut. I'm Polish, of course I adore sauerkraut.
35. Root beer float.
36. Cognac with a fat cigar. Does this count if you've had each, but separately?
37. Clotted cream tea. I'm assuming that this refers to the traditional English tea, and yes. Most memorable: the Pump Room at Bath.
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O. Thanks to Kanaka, every year at Big Game.
39. Gumbo.
40. Oxtail. I love oxtail. Quinn's does an exceptional job. Some day, I'll be brave enough to cook it at home (the recipe from Like Water for Chocolate has ALWAYS tempted me)
41. Curried goat. Surprisingly, no.
42. Whole insects. Unless I didn't know.
43. Phaal. I'm going to italicize this one. I think I had it with Nilay and Jai in Bath, but am not quite sure.
44. Goat,Aeos milk. I just ate Goat's milk cheese last night!
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth -#60/$120 or more. Maybe when tasting at the Jameson distillery, but no. I have a whiskey drinking partner at work, and am thinking it's time to start dropping some hints.
46. Fugu. Almost an italic, but I've heard it's an amazing culinary experience.
47. Chicken tikka masala . I consider this dish Indian for beginners. It's actually not really Indian, the British invented it, and now it vies with fish and chips as the #1 dish in England.
48. Eel. Sushi staple. And some delicious eel at Quinn's a few weeks ago.
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin. Had it, hated it.
51. Prickly pear. Not a prickly pear, but does the syrup that Richard uses to make me margaritas count?
52. Umeboshi. No, but I want to try these Japanese pickled fruits.
53. Abalone. A great thing about living near the California coast. I remember eating growing up.
54. Paneer. Mmmm..saag paneer.
55. McDonald,Aeos Big Mac Meal. Once, when I was in high school, because I had a coupon. I don't remember how it tastes, and doubt I'll ever have another one as I hate almost everything that McDonald's stands for.
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini. I'm going to say vodka counts as I rarely drink gin.
58. Beer above 8% ABV. Did you really think I wouldn't bold this one?
59. Poutine. Featured on Smith's menu. A Canadian dish combining fries, gravy and curds, baked into delicious goodness. (Smith does a similar dish, also with demi glace and if you're especially decadent, foie gras.)
60. Carob chips. Nature's chocolate, to quote Kitty Forman.
61. S,Aeomores. It would be more often if I did nature activities, like camping. I also make a killer S'mores ice cream cake.
62. Sweetbreads. I'm thinking menudo counts. And I have a feeling that I've had sweetbreads, just don't know where. Sweetbreads were a standard menu item at the Napa Valley Inn, my family's favorite restaurant growing up, where we had a waitress who knew us, knew our drink orders and our food preferences.
63. Kaolin. It's clay and mud, sometimes mixed in with food. No, although if the apocalypse hits, then maybe I'll revisit.
64. Currywurst
65. Durian. Never eaten, but want to try. Must remember next time I'm at an Asian market.
66. Frogs,Aeo legs. Amazingly, I've never eaten. Someday.
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake. Beignets in New Orleans. Churros at a fair. Yummy sugary goodness.
68. Haggis. I ate every morning for breakfast in Scotland. Delicious. When seasoned properly, organ meat is some of the best stuff for you.
69. Fried plantain. Interesting that I despise bananas (practically made a co-worker leave a conference room to finish eating her banana a few weeks ago), but prepared properly, I think plantains are lovely. Especially the ones that I ate with almost every single meal in Panama.
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette. Pork intestines. I don't think so, but they sound delicious.
71. Gazpacho. This reminds me - it's August and time to make gazpacho.
72. Caviar and blini. Mmmm...ultimate decadence, particularly with some good champagne or vodka.
73. Louche absinthe. Can I tell you how excited I am that absinthe is now legal in the U.S.?
74. Gjetost, or brunost. Oh yeah, baby. Stinky cheese.
75. Roadkill. I'm fairly certain I ate cat the summer I lived in Russia. Kittens played in the restaurant we frequented, and then one day, they were gone...and we had a lot of meat in our stew.
76. Baijiu. Not yet, although it sounds quite similar to shoju, a bottle of which I have in my liquor cabinet waiting for me to crack open.
77. Hostess Fruit Pie . I can honestly say I have never had one. And I probably never well - the hostess fruit pie goes against all of my non-processed food rules.
78. Snail. It tastes like steak, with garlic and butter
79. Lapsang souchong. Can't get past the smell.
80. Bellini. The only reason this is a no is because I absolutely hate peaches (Parents, never, ever force your children to eat food they find disgusting. Trust me, it will scar them in ways you never imagined). But every other sort of champagne and juice combination is loved, including the standard mimosa, the poinsetta (cranberry and champagne) and pomegranate juice and champagne.
81. Tom yum. Thai. Yum, indeed.
82. Eggs Benedict. A staple at Venus Cafe.
83. Pocky.
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant. The French Laundry! I'm surprised De Kas isn't the Michellin list.
85. Kobe beef. So delicious.
86. Hare. For some reason, I'm thinking rabbit does not count.
87. Goulash
88. Flowers. Edible ones are delicious, on drinks, in salads...
89. Horse. I'm conflicted. I've heard that horse fat makes the best french fries ever, but not sure I can eat Flicka's friend, even though they do scare me.
90. Criollo chocolate. I'm not exactly sure what kind of chocolate this is, but considering the amount of chocolate I've consumed in 35 years, I have had to had this.
91. Spam. I ate fried up as a kid. Not such a big fan as an adult, but admit that I love it as musubi (Hawaiian way on rice)
92. Soft shell crab. Mostly, in spider roles.
93. Rose harissa. In Morocco, a few years ago.
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano. Mmmm...mole...
96. Bagel and lox.
97. Lobster Thermidor. I believe I have, maybe at the French Laundry (or at least a variant).
98. Polenta. A staple in my house.
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. Not yet.
100. Snake. I may have, in Hawaii when I was 17. But I don't know.

Twenty items that I haven't tried. Two that I won't eat. Not as impressive as I would have thought, but gives me some culinary goals.

A few things are missing from this list: brains (no, but want to try); kim chee (Korean pickled cabbage, absolutely delicious); raw quail eggs (excellent on sushi); squid ink (deep and dark flavor, reflective of the color); red beans (as in the Asian dessert variety); marrow; a Twinkie; pickled lemon; pickled herring ... do you have any others?

Sitting an extra day on this post gave me some time to think. My first thoughts were around the completeness of this list - it seems to be a bit heavy on the Western food experience, and really, not that obscure or exotic. Come on, who hasn't tried chicken tikka masala? And where are some of the more obscure Indian and Asian dishes?

But then, it occurred to me, for many people, this food list is exotic. Even though I think chicken tikka masala is beginner's Indian, a lot of people probably would never try it. It contains odd spices, it's not American, it, and so many others on this list, push the boundaries of what we consider "normal" or "acceptable". I forget that not everyone shares my attitude of "try everything". Or find out ingredients and immediately hate a dish because it contains something they think they don't like. Or live in a geographic area where Olive Garden is the epitomy of good Italian food.

I guess acceptable food is in the eye of the beholder. But really, people's unwillingness to try the unfamiliar kills me.

The 75 Cent Tamale

I spent last week in Baltimore, DC and Denver. Before getting to the topic at hand, a few notes:

--If you ever go tubing, avoid families by showing up after 1:00, spring for the floating cooler, and plan on stopping somewhere along the river bank for something from that floating cooler. Despite taking not having taken my words of wisdom, tubing down the Shenandoah was pretty cool, both from a "hey, I'm tubing" and temperature sense. Plus, the historical nature of the Shenandoah, including historic battlefields, was somewhat inspiring. And then, a very nice picnic after with Tony's excellent potato casserole, my new favorite grape/feta/mint picnic salad and a few other treats.
--Baltimore is a shell of a city. It feels depressed. Beautiful row houses are boarded up and disintegrating. Crime is rampant. With the exception of a few blocks, the city is dead at night. A few people are trying...and the rest aren't. As you'd expect, the food scene is pretty sad. I did have good Afghani food (thank you Tony) and very nice brunch at Jillian's (at the free to the public at all times Baltimore City Art Museum, thank you Julie). I really do thank the visionaries of Seattle and San Francisco (plus the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake) for ensuring that I'm able to live in such vibrant, lovely cities.
--If you're going to Baltimore, don't fly into Reagen International. It turns out that despite being in a colony where it's easy to knock through 5 states in a day, Reagen isn't that close to anything, except the capitol.
--Morton's in Bethesda is overpriced and not worth it. I'm also trying not to be bitter that the bartender didn't tell me about the burger special (Sunday nights only, delicious looking hamburger with sides and fries, all proceeds for some children's fundraiser, the plates coming out of the kitchen looked far better than my crab cake and chopped salad).
--I've gone on two business trips with Char. Both times, I've ended up sick. We now share an office. I think I need to start watching my back.

Now, to the real point of this blog. Denver. Or more specifically, the $0.75 tamale.

With the exception of the airport, I've never spent any time in Denver. Tracy has always sung its praises, and I've heard many good things about Colorado in general. After spending a few days in Denver, I have to agree, it's pretty damn cool.

Twenty years ago, someone had a dream. The downtown area is revitalized, seamlessly blending commercial stores and restaurants with Old Frontier construction, especially once you get past the commercial strip; the frontier buildings reminded me of downtown Napa and Yreka, both also frontier towns. The Denver Arts area intermingles effortlessly with the Capitol building (did you know before reading this entry that Denver is the capitol of Colorado?), the Colorado river and the convention center (where the Democrats are heading). And amazingly, unlike other areas, such as LA and Seattle, the convention center doesn't look like it was dropped into the middle of the city, but rather, thoughtfully integrated within what already existed.

Tracy briefly mentioned that Denver has good Mexican food, which immediately set my foodie instincts aflutter. While walking to Tamayo, a very tasty and slightly upscale Mexican restaurant for lunch (so good, we ate there twice), we passed a few carts selling a selection of burritos and tamales. Street food, in my opinion, can only be good...and the next day, we were stopped. If it were bad, we reasoned, we would have only spent $1.50. If it was good, that would be $1.50 of deliciousness.

Luckily for us, the red chile pork tamale was in that second category.

The masa was the perfect blend of not too dry, but moist enough to stay together. The pork was braised, slightly spicy in the red pepper sauce. I fell in love on the spot, practically choking back tears as I ate. Pure perfection, wrapped in a corn husk. The tamale was worth more than $0.75, in my mind.

"I'm going to buy some to take home," I told Char, and promptly marched up to the seller. A conversation later, he promised me that I'd have two dozen to take home the next day, a dozen of the green chile and cheese, a dozen of the red chile and pork. He claimed the chile and cheese were "very good", and who was I to doubt the man that had brought me red chile pork tamales? Char and I decided to split the cache.

See that picture below? Look closely. That's my suitcase, holding a dozen delicious green chile and cheese tamales. I have always kept a few gallon size ziploc bags in my suitcase for emergencies, of what sort, I didn't know until now. Tamale emergencies.



Tonight, I made a grilled tomato salsa and guacamole, heated up a few tamales, and feasted. The dish, prefeast, in the picture below. Tomorrow night, I'm looking forward to the pork tamales. Good Mexican food...so hard to find here, so delicious (and cheap) elsewhere.



By the way, we had to stay in the Denver Ritz Carlton. Powers outside of my control upgraded me to a suite, which was only slightly smaller than my condo. I gave the five-minute tour of my suite: sitting room, bedroom (most comfy hotel bed ever), dressing room and giant bathroom. Two HD TVs meant some serious Olympic viewing time, reminding me that it's time to upgrade from the analog and rabbit ears to HD for football season. Oh, and Elway's oatmeal brulee, delicious. Think creme brulee, but with creamy oatmeal enclosed in the warm sugar crust.

Quinn's

Hands down, Quinn's is one of my favorite Seattle restaurants. It's just not that it's located within a 15 minute walk of my house, or that the bar cranks out excellent drinks and has an impressive beer menu, or that the wait staff is friendly, cool and crush-worthy, but also, most importantly, the food is amazing. Wait, that's amazing as in a-MA-zing. As in, not one bad meal in the probably 15 times I've dined since it opened last October.

Quinn's calls itself a gastropub, which means that the traditional pub food is there, but elevated to another level. Rarebit? That's served as a warm pretzel with a complex cheese sauce. Salad, yes, but spiced up with new ingredients; my favorite is the bread salad, with fennel, radishes, olives, cucumbers, lettuce and of course, grilled bread. Hamburger...wagyu beef with a pile of delicious fries. Meat, in the form of braised oxtails with gnocchi. Foul, duck confit. Bangers and mash, elevated to a housemade sausage with lentils. Fish, in the form of scallops. Braised eel. Oh, and the list continues...

A few weeks ago, I ended up at Quinns three times in one week, once with my brother, once with Gabe, Jess, Lisa and Tracy, and once again with Lisa, plus Andy, as they helped me snap out of a blue funk with good food and drink. It was an excellent weeklong adventure...Along the way, I snapped a picture of the salad and savory cheesecake, with fresh raspberries and a raspberry dressing. Oh, delicious. The photo looks delicious, the taste is even better.



BTW, I met the head chef in the bathroom line. A Boston Southie, polite enough to want me to cut ahead of him in line. "No," I insisted. "You are feeding all of us. I can't go ahead of you."

My New Favorite Summer Salad

Whenever there's a small dinner party with friends, I kind of dork out. There, I've said it.

So not surprising, when Pete suggested having dinner at his house, I went to work. He foolishly assumed that I'd bring dishes already premade, but alas, he was wrong, and I may have done some non-permanent damage to his kitchen. It was worth it - I made the very excellent grilled vegetable bread salad and satisfying blueberry cobbler. Thanks to Paul for cooking the vegetables, and helping to cement the vegetable salad as one of my favorite recipes of the summer (made even better by the fact that all of the ingredients can be found at my local farmer's market).

Here's the grilled vegetable salad recipe, from Cooks Illustrated. First, dressing. Lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, garlic, olive oil, dijon mustard, fresh thyme, salt, pepper. Then, cut up, mix, olive oil up and grill bell peppers, red onions, zucchini and eggplant (my favorite); when done, toss with some dressing. Also, toss spring lettuce with the dressing. Think ratatouille, minus the basil. Also, grill a piece of bread along the way. On a pretty plate, layer the bread, lettuce and vegetables, top with shaved parmesan and enjoy the deliciousness.

I liked the summer salad so much, the next day, I cleaned out the fridge, went to the store and made a super gigantic batch. I've made two salads, and last night, tried to make a dent in my phyllo dough (long story, never get recipe inspirations after a few too many greyhounds when you live within stumbling distance of a grocery store) by wrapping the vegetables and a generous portion of goat cheese in the dough. Delicious.

Sadly, my salad pictures did not turn out. But, here are some of the phyllo dough pics for you to envision and think about (plus, if you're really curious, either come to my house for dinner and let me recreate, or look at the Cooks Illustrated picture).

I also have enough vegetables left for something else. I'm thinking a spin of Carrie's vegetable tart, with pie dough wrapped around the veggies and cheese.

One Year of Home Ownership

Last weekend, I hit my one-year anniversary of home ownership. Until yesterday, it was good. Then the water happened.

First, Pete, carpool driver for the day, forgot me, leaving me stranded at work. I took the Connector (Microsoft's superb employee bus service), but to get to the pickup stop, had to slog through gushing rain. I was soaked when I reached the bus stop. Ironically, I took my umbrella out of my bag that morning, thinking that it was too much dead weight.

Then, a few hours later, while talking on the phone, I heard a weird dripping noise. It took me a few minutes to realize that it wasn't nature, but inside my home. Drat, I thought. The damn windows are leaking again. Then I realized that the sound was coming from the bathroom. Water was pouring out of the ceiling fan. My home had turned into the final chapter of Solaris.

As a positive, I met my upstairs neighbors, who are very nice and friendly. We think we've figured out the problem, which while it's going to need to be fixed, isn't one of those "uh-oh, we can't use the shower for days and days" types of problems.

All night, I dreamed the sounds of gushing water. That may have been the real rain, playing with my dreams.

This morning, halfway through my shower, the water suddenly stopped draining. For. No. Reason. Whatsoever. Jiggling the plug did nothing. Now, I own a plunger and half a bottle of highly corrosive and toxic drain unclogging agent. It turns out that dropping little nubs of soap down the drain is not a good idea; we theorized that the little bit of thin bar that I dropped yesterday wedged itself horizontally in the drain, the perfect size to completely block all water flow.

Is it just me, or has water been a theme over the past 24 hours?

My brother and sister-in-law had planned an outdoor wedding, but at the last minute, moved inside because of dark and menacing clouds. That was a wise decision, because we could hear the mad pounding of raindrops throughout the entire ceremony. I remember the rabbi saying that in the Judaic tradition, water is a sign of luck, happiness, success.

Hmmm...

About the lack of blogging. I have sooo much to write about, and I don't know when it's going to get done. Really, it's been work. I've been on a project that has stretched for eons, and lately, has caused me so much gray hair and angst and upset, that bad feelings have spilled over into all parts of my life. Things have been better over the past week, in part because my very understanding manager, who realized just how bad it has been when I said, "I have not been this bitter and cynical about anything related to work since I left IDC", made an executive decision that I am to transition off as soon as possible. Happy days will soon return.

Perhaps the water is bringing good tidings.

Fireworks and Food

4th of July was low key ,Aei about a year ago, when I moved into the Vertigo, I decided that I was going to stay at home and watch the fireworks from my building,Aeos roof deck, regardless of whatever was going on. Over drinks at Lola Wednesday night, Lisa and I thought a low key bbq would be fun. BTW, Lola is fabulous, especially the Greek salad with block of fresh and briny feta front and center, plus some delicious drinks courtesy of Andy, their super nice bartender. Anyways,AeP

For dinner,AePI grilled blue cheese burgers and thick sliced red onions spread with bbq sauce after each flip (the onions are a favorite, and always perfect for grilled burgers, the heat and basted bbq sauce combination results in nicely caramelized wedges of delicousness). Sides were provided courtesy of Lisa and Jess, using Mark Bittman,Aeos 101 20-Minute Dishes for Inspired Picnics, published July 2 in the NY Times.

Dish #1, which I think was my favorite:

7 GRAPES AND CHEESE Mix feta cubes and green grapes (or grape tomatoes or pieces of watermelon). Add mint, salt, pepper and olive oil. A tiny bit of chopped fresh chili is good, too.

The briny feta perfectly complements the sweet grapes. We decided that crumbled feta would work, but cubing a block gave it a much better taste, and the structure of a huge chunk of feta in your mouth with the bright sweet grape was just too good.

Dish #2, which rivals #1 for my favorite (note the ending ,Aeuyes,Aeu, to be interpreted any way you choose):

60 Toss cornbread cubes with blueberries, lemon juice, olive oil and hazelnuts. Yes.

Yes. Yes, indeed. The dish sounds weird, and I raised my eye brows when reading the description. But it ab-so-lute-ly worked. I can't describe, but the combination all together was well, positively delicious. The only thing that could make it even better is the addition of freshly whipped cream, but it really isn't necessary. We also poured cassis on top, which decidedly changed the flavor (Jess loved it, Lisa and I were a bit less than neutral on the cassis infused dish).

Dish #3, which was good, but was missing something (the olives, actually; the next day addition of olives and more anchovies gave the dish that added punch):

33 Toss cooked or canned white beans with chopped seeded tomato, chopped anchovy, chopped olives, oil, lemon juice, lots of black pepper, salt if necessary and parsley.

Notice anything unusual about the recipes? Yep,AePno proportions. All 101 picnic recipes are similar ,Aei just mix stuff together, rely on your instincts and taste buds and have fun. Once I realized that only the barest, most essential information was listed, I understood his point: we can be creative on our own. And remembered that many of the best family-passed down recipes are similar, throw the ingredients together, rely on your instincts for measurement and enjoy.

I also felt like cupcakes...and made orange chiffon cupcakes with orange glaze. They didn't quite rise properly, but were still light and delicious, and as Lisa noted, "almost like angel food cake". Oh, and margaritas to drink, because nothing says 4th of July like a few batches of tangy margaritas.

And yes, I did watch the fireworks. We had a perfect view of the Space Needle Fireworks, plus a great view of Lake Union. And, most perfectly, the "not bolted to the roof" rooftop deck did not slide off of the building..huzzah!



PS: Notice the pretty blue wall? And the orange chair. I've ordered a new kitchen table, and since I didn't like the "suggested chairs", decided to go fun with funky chairs. Thus, saffron chairs, and probably some laminate ones too. We'll see. And of course, the table needs to arrive.

Summer Has Arrived!

After a few false starts ,Aei which I missed - summer has finally arrived in Seattle. This weekend reached the 80s, a fabulousness that I love (I need to write about being in the NYC heat wave, and how Tracy and I keep saying "it's warm, we LOVE it"). It means that not only am I warm - after a long, long winter that started on September 5 and just ended - but that I can open all of the windows and most importantly, really start to grill.

For example, Sunday night's dinner: a grilled t-bone and veggies with grilled lemon vinaigrette. And perfect with the very tasty and chewy 2006 Chono Cabernet from Chile,Aeos Maipo Valley (wherever that is).

Here's how to cook everything, courtesy Cooks Illlustrated.

For the T-bone, salt heavily and let sit at room temperature for an hour. Add some pepper, grill for 6 minutes on each side with the tenderloin facing the cool side of the grill (I use a gas grill, so leave the middle burner on high and turn the outer burners to low, translate properly if you,Aeore on charcoal, which I,Aeom thinking will produce an even tastier steak). Leave on the grill if you like your steak cooked more than rare/medium rare, and even though I object to meat that isn't pink, it still is delicious on the well done spectrum (as I discovered when I made this recipe a few weeks ago after a bit too much wine). Rest the meat for ten minutes, slice up and enjoy.

For the veggies, cut up, and olive oil, salt and pepper the veggies up. Before grilling, slice a lemon in half, grill the cut sides about three minutes, then let cool while the veggies are grilling. Mince a shallot, (I used a spring onion), then add to olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper and juice from the grilled lemon. Once the veggies come off the grill, pour the dressing over, and let sit for as long as necessary, or while the steak cooks.





Oh, and I also baked a chocolate zucchini cake, using this recipe. Even though I think the heat did something to the glaze, it won rave reviews at the office.



By the way, warm summer weather also means lots of great wines. Tonight, I made a salad with early summer lettuce, sliced strawberries, goat cheese and a balsamic dressing. The flavors were a perfect balance, accentuated with a Domaine Sorin Rose from Provence, a bottle which I had just been itching to drink while waiting for the sun to appear. Fun to drink - bursting with the flavor of ripe cherries and strawberries, and perfect with my summer strawberry salad.

Other wines: a very excellent Sur de los Andes Torrontes from Argentina and a not so excellent (tasted of peaches, which I absolutely hate) Simonsig Chenin Blanc from South Africa.

Linen Sheets, from Linoto

About a year ago, my friend Jason, a designer of the clothing sort in New York, officially launched Linoto, selling linen bedding. I finally took the plunge and bought myself a set,AePand am kicking myself for waiting so long. The sheets are absolutely beautiful. Soft, comfortable, delicious to sleep in and elegantly crafted.

When I was in New York a few weeks ago, Jason, Gabe and I talked about the sheets. I never realized, but quality linen sheets are pricey (Jason,Aeos are fairly affordable, and considering the time we spend in bed, shouldn,Aeot we have nice sheets?). And linen sheets tend to be frilly, with scallops and embroidery, things that make them appealing to only a very small demographic (i.e., women in the 50s and 60s). In retrospect, there is something timeless about linen; Jason pointed out that it,Aeos not a coincidence that tablecloths and napkins are referred to as ,Aeulinens,Aeu, because in the not too distant past, we were surrounded by linen. After looking at what was available, hating the quality and the price tag, Jason made a set for Gabe,Aeos birthday, and Linoto was born.

Jason runs Linoto with a strong emphasis on quality and experience. My sheets took a while to arrive - the fabric quality did not pass Jason,Aeos standards and we had to wait for better quality fabric. Carefully packed, the sheets were washed and soft and ready to go on my bed.

Fabulous!

Sex and the City

Accompanied by two girlfriends and two gay boyfriends, wearing my sparkley gold shirt and new fabulous patent leather ballet slipper flats, I hit Sex and the City, the movie, opening weekend. I felt like I was hanging out with four friends whom I hadn,Aeot seen in a while - I miss Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha.

Highlights for me: conversations over meals, the fashion, the raw and harsh portrayal of the devastation of a broken heart; cosmos at the end (why did we stop drinking these?); and the sheer energy created by four best friends. Lots of hits, a few misses, and Carrie,Aeos wedding dress was not as tacky as it seemed in the after pictures leaked (although what was up with the bird?). Oh, and I adored the bridesmaids dresses.

It,Aeos not entirely unusual to hear me reference moments from the series, particularly when discussing the single/dating life (I also reference Seinfeld too, which I guess tells you that my brain remembered more in the 90s and early 2000s than today). It,Aeos always interesting to gage people,Aeos reactions when I drop a reference. Those that made it into their 30s single nod in agreement, often adding their own perspective along the lines of ,Aeuthe same thing happened to me,Aeu. Those that didn,Aeot make it into their 30s single generally seem a little perplexed, as in ,Aeuhow could this be true? It was an entertaining show, but that,Aeos about it,Aeu.

I don,Aeot know if it,Aeos a fun fact or a sad fact or something in the middle ,Aei but some things in show have happened to me. Not just the general theme of hanging out with other single friends, but dating disasters, interactions with singles and non-singles, bad and good break-ups, happy and sad. Call it a badge of honor.

In celebration of the final episode four years ago, I made Caroline dinner (pad thai and spring rolls, if I remember correctly). This time, before the movie, I made margaritas and guacamole. After, Hilary, Lisa and I had dinner at Quinn,Aeos, where I consumed a Manhattan (their special Manhattan is excellent), a cosmo (not so good) and a tasty, tasty espresso martini (which is the new ,Aeuit,Aeu drink, I,Aeove had in both London and Seattle). And we talked about the movie, and of course, dating.

The next day, Carrie and I spent about 30 minutes discussing the movie. Apropos, I was drinking wine. I also informed her that when she gets married, she needs to take a cue from Carrie Bradshaw in her choice of bridesmaids dresses.

Broadway Farmer's Market Time

Look at this - goodies from today's Broadway Farmer's Market!



In this picture: cherries (peaking from the back, the first crop of the season), asparagus, lamb's quarter, spring lettuce and mint (accidentally cut out of the picture). Some of it will make tonight's dinner: salad with sauteed asparagus and goat cheese, and topped with a balsamic-lemon juice-shallot-honey-sour cream dressing. For reasons that I can't figure out, I've been craving salad a lot lately. Luckily, it's spring and early summer salad time at the farmer's market. I'll accompany with a Chateau Font-Mars Picpoul de Pinet, from Languedoc, of France. Intersting fact: the grapes grow on top of a field of fossilized dinosaur eggs!

The seasonal market, which is 3 blocks from my house, opened in mid-April. I've been trying to go every Sunday (when I'm in town, that is). It's a great social scene, I usually run into friends and neighbors. More importantly, the high quality produce and foodstuffs. Almost all seasonal, the food has all essential things that I love: fresh, grown by small farmers and truly, really organic. Beyond produce, other good stuff: flowers, eggs, meat (I may even buy chicken, a food that I try to avoid, because, well, most chicken is pretty bad), fish, chocolates, honey and ice cream, with more rotating in and out over the summer.

Does anyone have ideas for lamb's quarters? I remember a spectacular meal years ago with lamb's quarters filled ravioli, but not really ready to tackle that. The seller said it was like spinach, so I'm thinking about simply chopping up and sauteeing with garlic and a splash of lemon juice. Ideas are appreciated.

A bonus picture: baked tomatoes stuffed with couscous with basil, parseley, pine nuts and parmesan, tomatoes a la the farmer's market. I'm thinking that they are hot house grown, and extremely delicious. Oh, and also free of that nasty salmonella strain (a by-product of our industrial food chain, of which I could spend many hours ranting about its evils, but won't).

An Ending

Note: This entry has nothing to do with food and wine and alcohol. It's about life. Although, the one roundabout allusion to cooking is well played.

My six-month subscription with eHarmony ends today. Despite the recent flood of messages from the uber-religious people with new matches (!) and offers of discount renewals (!), I'm ending my relationship with eHarmony. In fact, I'm ending my relationship with all online dating sites as of today. I took this vow when I turned 34, and stayed away for a year. Then, 35 hit me and I decided to try the online thing one last time. Obviously, six months later, it didn't work out.

Over the past ten years, I've dated many of the sites: Match, Yahoo! Personals, Nerve, Lovelab and others that I've forgotten, probably on purpose. It seems that my relationship with those sites mimics many real life relationships. A roller coaster of happy and sad, huge emotional investments that sometimes do, but often don't pay off, disappointment, rejection, broken promises. Second and third chances. Stories, mostly bad, with relatively few good ones.

Nothing would make me happier than to have a sous chef in my kitchen (food allusion!). But, the reality is, that despite my many-pronged efforts, mine is a solo life. In a twisted way, the end of online dating is a sad end; most practically, I'm cutting off an area that blatantly promises a bright and shiny future with the love of my life, only to be found on this site!

Before I become tempted once again by someone's story about meeting their significant other on an online site, I'll think about my history with the sites: a relationship of give and take, which by the end, consisted of me doing most of the giving and the dating site, most of the taking.

PS - For all of my blog readers, please no more advice. Trust me, I've taken your advice, repeatedly. If you want to help me, find me a date with someone who not only has a pulse, but can carry on a conversation, likes to drink and isn't a picky eater.

Molly Moon's!

Daily Candy sent the official notice: a new ice cream shop in Seattle! Not just any ice cream, but one sourcing local/organic ingredients, a mix of traditional and offbeat flavors and a grand opening party.

The opening day party sort of passed by, but the next day, a sunnny Sunday, I remembered the notice, when Lisa and I saw the "sorry, no more" sign at the new ice cream stand at the Broadway Farmer's Market. Have you heard of Molly Moon's, I asked, do you want ice cream?

We went, we tasted, we loved.

For me, a scoop of salted caramel and cardamom. Lisa also chose salted caramel, but with a scoop of Vivace coffee. (She also noted that my scoops were bigger than hers. Uh huh, I smiled and smacked my lips. Can I have another taste of your coffee?).

The ice cream was amazing. It tasted homemade, like what I remember eating at my Grandma's house when I was a kid. None of the cloying sweetness of [insert name of ice cream store]. Ground up Vivace coffee beans in the ice cream. Crystals of sea salt in the salted caramel. Other flavors that I didn't get to try: "scout" mint, balsamic strawberry, honey lavender, ginger, and so many others.

A few days later, I mentioned Molly Moon's to Tracy, who knows Molly and the back story. Molly has always dreamed of opening an ice cream shop, one without artificial-ness and styrofoam. The creamery has been a while in the making...and since opening has been a huge success. Molly has been working non-stop to make enough ice cream, even putting out the call for ice cream making help amongst friends.

It's finally summer in Seattle, so likely, I'll be making a special trip or two to Wallingford for Molly Moon's. Yeah to good ice cream!

Radishes, Braised

See that picture? That is a picture of braised radishes.



There is a good reason why we eat radishes raw, neatly sliced up in salads, dressed with something acidic. That's because cooked radishes, in this case, braised, are just not good. Maybe it was the recipe, although it did come from Vegetarian Cooking for All, which usually produces fairly solid results (only, add more flavoring. Trust me).

In case you're curious, here's the recipe. Saute a chopped shallot and thyme in a few tablespoons of butter, add trimmed radishes, cover in water and braise 3-5 minutes. Add radish greens, braise another minute and then remove radishes from braising liquid. Let it boil down for a few minutes, add some butter "to turn it into a sauce" and sauce up the radishes. Simple, right?

In case you're curious, here's how it all went wrong. The radishes took much longer to cook until tender, approximately 15 minutes. When cooked, they sort of had that radish bite, only meek and watery. And the braising sauce...tasted just like water with butter added. The dish was thrown away.

On the positive side, the seared coho salmon (generously seasoned with salt and pepper) and sauteed spinach (with thinly sliced garlic, salt and pepper, then squeezed of excess liquid, then seasoned with a bit of balsamic) were both delicious, definitely making up for the disappointing radishes.

Spring Vegetable Risotto

After days and days of sickness, I finally felt well enough to return to the land of the living. My criteria: venture more than one block away from home, hang out with friends and consume at least one beer and/or glass of wine, want to cook something more complex than pushing a few buttons the microwave.

All criteria checked. Friday night, Tracy drug me to Sun Liquor, where Eric made me a few non-alcoholic vitamin C laden juices, then insisted that a hot toddy would make me feel better. He was right. Saturday night with Jess and Lisa and Jeff at Quinn's, with a glass of pinot noir and glass of Monastrell (which was quite delightful), and an excellent tongue salad and chickpea soup topped with parsley oil and candied lemon peel and other goodness.

However, the real purpose this blog - to detail the deliciousness of Sunday night's dinner: the spring vegetable risotto. Published in the latest Cooks Illustrated, the recipe ventured from all other risotto recipes in a unique way. Rather than simply heating chicken stock and adding to the risotto, it called for simmering all vegetable and herb trimmings in the chicken broth for 20 minutes, straining and then cooking the risotto as normal. An added punch - a few teaspoons of lemon juice thrown in at the end, and topping each serving with gremolata (lemon zest + mint + parsley).

Delicious, I tell you, absolutely delicious.

A very interesting unoaked Chardonnay, a 2006 Crossings from New Zealand, went quite well with the risotto, which contained spring vegetables of the asparagus and peas and leeks variety. Many years ago, when I finally figured out that I really hated the oaky and buttery flavor of chardonnays, I heard of unoaked chardonnays, and found a few in the form of white bordeaux varietals. The deliberate labeling of "unoaked" was a pleasant surprise, refreshing and not at all like the California chardonnays that I just don't like.

All in all, a nice meal along the road to recovery.

A UK Trip

I,Aeove just wrapped up a business trip to the UK, where I tacked a few extra days on the front end to visit Nilay and then a weekend at the back end with Tracy, before heading off on the second part of the trip, to Sweden and Denmark. It,Aeos been a hard trip, but one also marked by some excellent meals and quality pub and bar time.



Nilay, a fellow foodie, drug me to Borough Market (located at the London Bridge tube stop) promising that it was a spectacular famer,Aeos market. Nilay was right. I loved it, and convinced Tracy to come with a week later. It is not dissimilar to the San Francisco Ferry Building Farmer,Aeos market, only bigger and more crowded.

Both times, I gazed at the vegetables and fruit and meat and fish on display, pondering cooking adventures. Ostrich steaks, with roasted new potatoes, asparagus and beets. Fish with a side of fresh rocket mixed with strawberries or apples and blue cheese and nuts. Freshly slaughtered rabbit, cooked with thyme and served with carrots and peas and buttermilk and herbed mashed potatoes, tied together with some type of red wine reduction. Or a picnic, with hand made salamis (rivaling Seattle,Aeos Salumi), any number of cheeses, walnut bread and brownie for dessert. I couldn,Aeot help but notice shopping lists in many hands.

I ate well during both visits to Borough, sampling from many stalls, bits of cheese and meats and other assorted things, and buying a few other things. Monmouth Coffee, which makes coffee a la Blue Bottle in San Francisco, hand dripped, using high quality beans. Freshly squeezed juices. Ostrich burgers. Seared scallops, nestled on a bed of ground bacon, bean sprouts and thinly sliced carrots. Wraps, with tsatziki sauce and couscous and a mound of saut/(c)ed veggies. And sausages, of every variety, all accompanied by salad and chutney and mustard and onions on freshly baked crusty bread.

Produce at the market:




Delicious rabbits:



Freshly squeezed juice:



Other culinary points to note about London,AePIndian food at a still being remodeled Clapham restaurant, which marked the beginning of my ,AeuI have to order saag [spinch] with every single Indian meal,Aeu trend. High-brow Indian food at Red Fort in SoHo (if you go to Red Fort, get the duck. Trust me). English roast ,Aei lamb, cheesey cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, potatoes and Yorkshire pudding united by tasty brown gravy. Mussels at Belgo Centraal. Vegetarian Indian (again with tasty saag). Giovanni,Aeos, an excellent Italian hole in the wall, with a personality filled owner and impressive food to match the owner,Aeos personality. It,Aeos important to note that while Giovanni,Aeos is in Covent Garden, it,Aeos not easy to find, tucked down an alley.

I have three things to write about my trip outside of London, to Coventry and Leamington Spa. First, if you ever find yourself in the general area of Leamington Spa, eat at Wilde,Aeos. I wanted to return a second night, only Tracy wouldn,Aeot let me. We started with squid and chorizo saut/(c)ed with shallots and scallions, then mixed with rocket, and an amazing bruschetta covered in some type of rich tomato sauce and roasted eggplant and broiled with a generous slice of goat cheese. I demolished a duck breast, perfectly rare with a crispy skin, laid atop a demi-glace. For dessert, I had Wilde,Aeos Eton Mess, a true mess of strawberries and berries and pieces of meringue, folded with whipped heavy cream.

Wilde's Duck:



Wilde's lovely Eton Mess:




Second, I visited a company that had the best quality machine coffee that I have ever tasted. I could choose from black coffee, white coffee, black tea and white tea. It absolutely made the iCup taste like swill.

And third, the London train system is a bit shaky, even when you take the privately run Virgin train. After boarding the London Euston bound train in Coventry, we were dumped off at Rugby Station a few minutes later because of a signal problem. We went back to Coventry on a standing room only train, and over the next hour, heard much conflicting information about schedules ,Aei regardless, it wouldn,Aeot be a straight shot to London. We passed on the first train ,Aei there was no room for three people, luggage and any sort of fresh oxygen. We tried to board the second train, to Leamington Spa (from where we,Aeod transfer trains to go to London) only to be unable to get on. The cars were full, except for the one we were trying to board, which was empty in the middle because a cranky old man was standing and refused to move down to allow other passengers on board. People, including myself, were shouting at him to move down. In desperation, I banged on the window, and others followed. Eventually, we started to curse the man, who refused to budge. At the end, I pulled out Shakespeare: ,AeuMay there be a curse upon your house!,Aeu

A few minutes after the banging on train windows debacle, we tried to get our money back to take a very expensive cab ride back to London, and discovered that the signal had been fixed. So after all, we did take the train back to Euston Station. We did even better when we were quietly told that one of the first class cars had been decommissioned for all passengers,AePfrom that point on, our weekend in London was absolutely lovely, with a stay at the Hotel 41 and of course, cheer and eating.

About the cheer ,Aei much to write about, for another blog entry.

And one last thing to mention,AePthanks to a generous employer, I flew SAS business class to Europe. SAS business class rules, for so many, many reasons, which range from the obvious to easily overlooked. By comparison, United business class is, well, kind of junky. Oh U.S. airlines,AePwhy must you fail so spectacularly?

Pictures to be posted later.

Correction: I received a comment that the entire British railway system is privatized, and since becoming privatized, has turned to "rot". A Maggie Thatcher legacy...and duly corrected in the entry.