Time Travel Vacations

Where is my flying car?  I was promised a flying car.  Next best thing is a week vacation transported into 3 days of holiday.  How can we pack a week's worth of vacation into 3 days?  Interdimensional  travel... maybe.  But my formula is to escape to the rainforest, take long walks in the rain, eat delicious food at every opportunity and laugh.  A lot.  I shared this weekend with T-Man in visiting from Austin.  Saturday found us taking in the sights of Pikes Market with delectable fresh crab salad and fried shrimp.  Saturday night fever struck us and we danced until 2AM.  Sunday came too early but found us on a ferry over to the Olympics and into the rainforest with a quick trip to Lake Crescent.  The trees talk in the silence there, while the lake reflects the majesty that surrounds us. Magic does not even begin to describe it.  Nighttime fell with us walking along the beach and the sound of gulls calling out to sea.  Poaching ourselves in the jacuzzi was the perfect unwind from our travels.  Monday was scented with lavender from Sunshine Farm including lavender hot chocolate.  Lunch was served at a snug harbor cafe with steamers and fresh homemade clam chowder.  Back over the pond of Puget Sound we enjoyed a sunny day and dinner at the divine Thai Ginger.  I am tired and overfed but happy.  This morning is berry bar and conversation with friends.  I look forward to the laughter as I know the rest of my week will be quieter and one of reflection as I look to starting work next week in a new role.  The flying car would have made the journey easier, but sometimes it is the journey that is the vacation.

 

Trece is here~ yippy!

So good to have a bit of Austin here at home.  Last nights dinner was awesome and thought I'd share the cake recipe.  Today is off to see the Seattle tourist things I never seem to get around to until friends come to town.   Pikes Market, Gas Works park, Argosy cruise of the locks and whatever we find to do.  Tonight is Capitol Hill for dinner and then dancing.  Weeeeee!~

Lemon Rosemary Olive Oil Cake

§  4 large eggs

§  1 tsp vanilla

§  3/4 cup sugar

§  grated zest and juice of a mayer lemon

§  1/2 cup regular or extra virgin olive oil

§  1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

§  2 tsp. baking power

§  1/4 tsp. salt

§  2 sprigs of rosemary, leaves stripped off and chopped

§  a couple more sprigs of rosemary to decorate the top

iceing

·         1 brick cream cheese

·         Juice half mayer lemon

·         ¾ cup powder sugar

·         1 tsp finely chopped rosemary

Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl, beat eggs for about a minute until frothy. Add sugar and beat for a few minutes until mixture is thick and pale. Add lemon zest, juice and olive oil and beat again.

Combine flour, baking powder, rosemary and salt in another bowl, then add to egg mixture. Stir by hand until just combined.

Pour into prepared loaf pan (sprayed or lined with parchment). Lay decorative rosemary on top. Bake for 45 minutes, until golden. (Mine was done in a little less, so you may want to check earlier if your oven runs a bit hot.

While cooking, beat icing together till smooth and drizzle over cake when serving.

lobster mac and cheese

Brother of my heart is visiting this weekend from Austin!  So looking forward to it... taking him to Seattle sites on Saturday, Olympic Pennsula on Sunday and snow on Monday.  But first for his arrival dinner... Lobster Mac and Cheese.  Homemade, from scratch (can we hard) and delightful.  I tweaked Ina's recipe and OMG.  It is ready to bake off on Friday for dinner to be served with 3 green organic saute and Lemon Rosemary cake for desert. 

Recipe

Ingredients

nocoupons

• salt
• Vegetable oil
• 1 pound cavatappi or elbow macaroni
• 1 pint 1/2 and 1/2
• 1 pint coconut milk
• 1 tbl spoon brandy
• 1 tsp lobster boullion
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 12 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated (4 cups)
• 8 ounces mild Cheddar, grated (2 cups)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 1/2 pounds cooked lobster meat
• 1 1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs (5 slices, crusts removed)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the pasta and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.
Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don't boil it. In a large pot, melt 6 tablespoons of butter and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. Still whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or two more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, 1 tablespoon salt, the pepper, and nutmeg and brandy and boullion. Add the cooked macaroni and lobster and stir well. Place the mixture in 6 to 8 individual gratin dishes.
Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, combine them with the fresh bread crumbs, and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.

Hot Yoga

Some of my friends ask "Why would you do Hot Yoga?"  I have a simple answer.  It is the first time I've been warm since moving to Seattle.  And yes, it is like doing yoga on the sidewalk in the month of August in New Orleans.  Hot, Humid and some dude playing jazz on the sound system.  By the time an hour is survived, there is not a stitch of clothing on me that is not wringing wet.  I do mean survived.  Hot Yoga is not for the weak or the feeble minded.  Every instinct says, Run!  Get the heck out of here!  Find the AC.  But if you ignore your common sense, you are blessed with Zen like frame of mind and a yoga butt.  The frame of mind is not unlike some of my college days when I had less responsibilities and more time on my hands. Added benefit is I am losing weight and as a member of the over 40 club, anything that takes weight off is ok by me.  Yes, there are health benefits and detox.  Detox is a big thing here in Seattle.  In Austin, we just sweat it out in the 100+ degree heat of summer and no one really talks about detox.  Here in the Emerald City, we layer our clothes, sit in front of the fire for several months and drink a lot of coffee.  We need to detox!  On the subject of coffee, I gave it up in November and now I am a card carrying Green Tea drinker.  The irony of moving to the mothership capital of coffee and to stop drinking 4 cups a day does not get past me.  I hear the universe getting a big laugh over this one.  But truth is I feel better.  I did an Isagenix detox (Seattle is also a detox capital, I might add) last year and after 2 weeks decides, oh one cup of coffee won't hurt me.  No had told me the awful truth.  I felt betrayed.  The coffee tasted horrid.  Bitter and metallic... oh my!  So now when I get nostalgic for a cup of java, I get a Starbucks fireside chi tea latte.  See they still get my money, and I get the coffee ritual.  Most things in life go back to ritual.  The little rituals that make us feel good.  Hot Yoga is becoming a ritual for me.  And it feels so good with class is over!

Day 1 of blog

My morning started off chasing the puppy (Levi) through the house and out into the yard; him with my best red bra in his mouth and glee in his gate and me with no caffine in me yet.  I gave up coffee last year but that is another story.  Needless to say the neighbors got a show as the tug of war commenced.  I won (he is only 4mos old after all) but Mr Johnson will never look at me the same again. Yuck.   I guess I should introduce myself dear reader.  My name is Kat, well actually my name is Katari but since no one can pronounce my name and I'm in sales, Kat will suffice.  I often tell people upon meeting me that my dad was "just creative in the 60's" but since reaching an undisclosed age over 40, I figure that statement just dates me.  So I tell them Katari rhymes with canary and hope for the best.  I plan to use this blog for a recipe log, depository of the humor I see in life, and chronicles of the journey over the Grand Canyon to this lovely city of Seattle.  We ain't in Texas anymore and that is for sure~! 

Last nights dinner creation actually inspired me to start this blog that has been bouncing around in my head for a while:  Fish tacos with homemade slaw.  The slaw was the star of the show.  I really must remember to take pictures of the dish, but I don't even have any idea how to post them yet. 

Fish Taco Slaw
1/4 head cabbage, finely chopped
handful of baby carrots chopped
1/4 unsweetened coconut flakes
handful of raisons
1 tbl of Apple Cider vinegar
2 tbl of Miracle Whip (yes, I am from the south)
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp local organic honey

Toss and let marry in fridge till dinner time (couple of hours)

It turned out to be the love-child of coleslaw and carrot salad.  The Arky (commitment phobic boyfriend of 7 yrs who is from Arkansas and one of the best men you will ever meet) said it was amazing.  I agreed so wanted to post it because I do not follow recipes and never remember what I created.  Next time I will take pics…promise.

So now off to my latest addiction... hot yoga http://www.hotyogainc.com/.  I still roll my eyes that I've become "one of them" but it is the only place I've been warm since moving here.  I told my brother it is a lot like doing yoga on the sidewalk in New Orleans during August.  Being from New Orleans, he could not fathom why I would want to do that.  I told him it is a Seattle thing.