Feeling a little crabby

I hope you aren't sick of my show and tell coast photos. I think these are the last set that will grace the page. After these you'll be stuck with photos of my plain ol' boring kitchen since my traveling days are over. Wait! Until I go to the most Epic Love Event of All Time in Ireland (I wish I had a scanner to show you their amazing invitation) -- the marriage of my friends Lisa and Haigen. I'll most certainly have show and tell photos for you then.

Heather has been talking for months -- MONTHS -- about going fishing. It was a priority request that we had to fulfill, and I am so glad we did, as we managed to coerce the entire family to go. Grandma Joyce was more than a little hesitant; Julia initially refused her seasick patch; my mom claimed to not have enough warm clothes. But, impressively, we corralled all of our characters successfully on the boat dressed in our warmest, rain-proof gear, seasick patches ready to ward off any queziness, and we were ready to catch some fish.

Don't they look thrilled to catch fish?

Being in Ducks and Beaver country we were all pretty jazzed to see these on our boat:

Boise State! The countdown is on.

Nonetheless, we fished our tails off and caught over 40 fish between the seven of us. It was a cloudy and foggy (no surprise) day, which made it quite eery being on the water.

After our time rock-fishing, we picked up our crab pots. My crabbing experience comes from the Deadliest Catch -- this was a tad bit scaled down. We still hooked the pots, pulled them in, flung the ladies back in the water. The only differences were the giant waves, ice, and oh, fear of death and impalement.

Heather skillfully hooking a pot.

Nick and the judge taking one for the team.

The loot.

Jules makes for a pretty cute deckhand.

Not dinner.

Dinner.

We made a point to eat at home each night -- crab, oysters, tuna, rockfish, fresh clam pasta. It was a seafood smorgasbord! But we also made a point to visit local spots for lunch. One such place, which I cannot remember the name, was especially fantastic and had the best coleslaw I've ever had. I've been dreaming of this coleslaw since, and you know me and cravings. And, well, I've been hungry for crab, too. Crab and oysters -- two things that are not going to happen anytime soon. But . . . I found cheese . . . with crab it in!

Because I'm lazy and strapped for time.

I added my own purple cabbage.

The cheese! This stuff is soooo good. Try not to eat it with a spoon.

I found some jalapeno cheddar bread -- need I say more?

My heart and my belly were happy last night.

Asian Coleslaw

inspired by the cute restaurant in Newport, OR with the blue tablecloths and napkins

1 bag coleslaw

1/2 head purple cabbage, shredded

3 tbs cilantro, chopped

dressing:

1 tbs shallot, minced

1 clove garlic, crushed

5 tbs olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tbs brown sugar

1 tbs poppy seeds

Mix the dressing together and toss with the cabbage and cilantro.

"Shuck me, suck me, eat me raw."

Before I placed my first cup of coffee to my lips I was bitching in my head about my lack of time. Then I realized we are all strapped for spare moments in the day, and we could all really use a Multiplicity-esque clone. The semester is in full swing, my reading is growing, and my anxiety is multiplying daily. That's why these pictures are so much sweeter this morning, and how I will look back on this summer as the best summer ever.

We visited an oyster farm while in Newport that boasted a fantastic slogan. Why I didn't purchase this shirt I don't know. Perhaps the judge gave me the stink eye.

We were all giddy to eat raw oysters when the girl at the counter lectured us about how the waters were too warm, and we could all get very sick if we didn't properly cook the lovely little oysters that were ready to slip down all of our throats. We followed instructions and grilled our oysters over a charcoal grill (which alone was fun!). No one wants to get food poisoning in a circular beach house with seven people and ONE BATHROOM.

This was my first experience cooking oysters, and I was pretty thrilled. However, the judge is clearly wearing his emotions. Why he doesn't smile like this in family pictures beats me. He must like oysters more than he likes us.




Coming from a landlocked state where oysters are not as prolific as say . . . potatoes, we made a few mistakes. The gal told us to place them on the grill and that the shells would pop open. Well, a few shells did pop easily. Others had to be helped.

Or pried as you can see the trifecta here attempting to wedge the poor suckers open. We decided that next time we cook oysters (as if this is going to happen next Thursday) we would shuck them first and then place them on the grill.

We added a little dill butter and voila! Such a treat. Maybe next time the waters will be cold enough to eat them raw, but cooked over the charcoal with the ocean in view . . . memorable is fitting.

Along side our grilled oysters I grilled red potatoes. My family looked at me with suspicion when I suggested this as a side dish, but everyone loved them.

These are a fun change to roasted potatoes. The grill marks look fancy, and they are super easy to throw together.

Plus, we have a surplus of these babies in Idaho. Unlike oysters. Tear. Sniffle.

Grilled potatoes
5-6 large red or yukon gold potatoes, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat grill -- gas or charcoal -- first. Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Carefully add the potatoes to the water. Cook until just tender, about 8 minutes. You want them to hold their shape and not be mushy when you put them on the grill. Drain and place in a bowl with the garlic and olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Toss to coat. Carefully place on the grill. You could also use a grill pan. They tend to slip through the grate so use caution when flipping! Grill for a few minutes on each side. Remove when both sides have color. Serve hot. These potatoes would be wonderful with chopped fresh herbs or grated parmesan cheese. They are also fantastic as is. Enjoy!

Filled up on Omega 3s

I have returned as promised! My mind is numb from my first day of classes and my rump is sore from all of my driving, but I am back. Did you miss me? I missed you. Forgive the abbreviated post tonight, as I just got home this morning. Thirteen nights away from my bed, and I cannot wait to crawl into its cozy embrace.

But . . . I had TONS of fun. And I took LOTS of pictures so you would feel as if you were tucked in my pocket.

Let's start with yoga camp in Hood River. This one time at yoga camp . . .

This is our lovely hotel 'yoga studio' overlooking the Columbia River. Not too shabby.

Hood River is world famous for its wind. It's windy as hell there, or I should say, it usually is. The week I was there we had record-breaking heat and no wind. The wind-seekers were not happy. I snapped this photo upon my breezy arrival.

I had no class on Saturday so I joined my folks and Grandma Joyce for a fun day in Portland. They had to drag me away from Powell's Bookstore before I spent my student loan disbursement. We then ventured to Voodoo Doughnuts. We stood in line for over an hour for these tasty treats. People were grouchy; namely, Hailey, was grouchy. I was incredibly annoyed by a vagrant whose sign read, "Are we invisible?" No, dude. We can smell you from here. I wanted to hold up a sign and begin taking donations to pay off my student loans. My mom wouldn't have it.

But they had doughnuts with bacon . . . with BACON! I need to come up with some sort of silly novelty like this that people would sweat miserably in line for over an hour for -- maybe ass cakes? Sweet, bacon ass cakes?!

After yoga camp, I joined my family in Newport for a week on the beach. We managed to get the whole famdamily out on a deep-sea fishing trip. Grandma caught one of the first fish. She's pretty much an 84 year old badass.

We also did some crabbing. How I wish dungeness crab lived in Idaho.

Fresh oysters on the grill.

We ate our fill of omega 3s.

We all had a renewed fascination with the aquarium after our fishing excursion. These guys were everywhere during our fishing trip. Thank goodness for handy deckhands who remove jellyfish tentacles from lures.

Not really short weather. Heather and Julia were dressed appropriately. I was desperate to say I wore my bathing suit on the beach at least once -- I froze my bunnies off.

After the beach, Heather and Nick (and Julia) and I hightailed it back to Idaho for the marriage of our friends Ellie and Ken. My camera never made it out of my car to join the party so our little photo journey is incomplete, sadly. It was a wonderful way to end my fabulous road-trip. Congrats, Ellie and Ken!!!

And now, it is time for an extended savasana. Sleep well, my friends. I will post some more about the trip and our feasting soon. xoH

The most perfect summer food on the planet

If you're reading this now, you weren't too horrified by the ass cake. My apologies if you were. If you haven't realized this yet, humor is a quality I value enormously.

Well, today is Tuesday, which means that tomorrow is Wednesday. Wednesday morning, bright and early, I am driving myself to do something I have been dreaming of doing for a long time. Many, many moons long. After years of attending others' yoga classes and dreaming of one day instructing classes of my own, I finally have made it happen! I am headed to Oregon to receive my teaching certification. The greatest, most amazing aspect of all of this, is that I have proven to my boss(es) the value of this certification and they are paying for it. Can I hear an AMEN?!

Three full days of yoga. Lord help my lungs not to cough. Please and thank you and amen.

Oh wait, friends, the fun does not conclude with yoga camp. As soon as my conference ends, I will join my family for a week of fun and sun and sand on the coast. THEN, we book it back to Idaho for my friend Ellie's wedding. So much fun crammed into a ten day period that I just peed my pants a little. Unfortunately, this day holds nothing but work, errands, chores and packing. And did I mention in-state residency waiver? Vomit.

So I will be gone for a bit, and I hope you will all return. It's not like I haven't done this in the past. Hell, I left for months and I still came back. I promise, this will be a much shorter recess.

In the meantime, here's perhaps the most perfect summer food on the planet. My mom has been making this recipe since I was a kid, and I never realized it was raw fish. Had I realized I was eating raw fish 'cooked' in citrus I would have run away like my hair was on fire. The citrus does actually cook the fish and gives it this light, airy texture that makes you think you are eating clouds. Clouds that taste like salsa . . . that you eat with tortilla chips. Perfect.

This recipe comes from a cookbook in my mom's collection called the Mexican Cookbook, which was published in 1971. It's a gem.

Ceviche

1 lb fish filets (we usually use a mild white fish)

lemon juice to cover fish (I like to use some limes, too)

1/2 a white onion, diced

4 tbs cilantro, chopped

2 large tomatoes, diced

2 cans diced green chiles

3 tbs olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Cut fish into small cubes. Place in a glass bowl (metal is reactive with the citrus) and cover with the juice. Let stand in fridge for 8 hours or overnight. (My mom always pours out a bit of the juice before this next step). Add the remaining ingredients and refrigerate for a few more hours. Serve with tortilla chips.

You can see the citrus 'cooking' the fish.

Love the extra flare Julia's nails give the photo.

Peace out, friends.

WARNING! ass cake. ass cake. ass cake.

Warning: photos posted below that may make some readers blush. Warning. Warning. Warning. Don't say I didn't warn you.

I come from a family of sisters, me being the oldest of three girls. We, sisters, are tight. Naturally, when a new person enters the scene the dynamic changes. Imagine when this character entered the scene:

Life as we know it has never been the same . . . life has become so much more entertaining now that we have Nick as a brother. Potato guns. Potato guns. Potato guns. And one of my favorite things about Nick, he knows all the words to every song in The Chipmunk Adventure. I will forever love him for that.

Heather and Nick are about to celebrate their third wedding anniversary, and I cannot imagine our family without him. He graduated from ISU's physician assistant program on Friday, and to show him how proud of his accomplishment I was, I baked him a token of my love:

Nick's now an expert at prostate exams. I thought this cake would make him giggle. It brought much more than a giggle.

Heather hosted a lovely party -- as she always does. My parents and Grandma Joyce came down for the festivities, and boy was I proud of them. I actually caught my mom chugging Heather's beer during a heated game of beer die.

Heather outdid herself on the decorations and the hospitality.

As the night went on, the ass cake started to take some abuse. I have spared you some of the more gruesome photos, as I woke up to a text message from my dad the next morning that read, "Don't put that porn on your gentile blog." Yes, some of the photos were rather x-rated.

Explosives are always part of a good party, and Nick's party was no exception. It was inevitable that the cake would become the focus of the firepower.

By the end of the night, the ass cake had degenerated into a charred mess. This cake brought TONS of laughter and entertainment and a very happy brother:

Love you, Nick. I am very proud of you.

Tonight I couldn't be bothered with cooking. My bed is piled with four loads of clean laundry begging to be put away before I collapse on top of it. I will write more tomorrow morning about what the next week and half holds for me, but basically I am frantically trying to get ready to go out of town. My to do list seems to multiply every time I scratch something off. Cooking was not an option tonight. Plus, my chest heaviness has developed into a cough that HAS TO GO AWAY!

Nonetheless, this is what I did for dinner: I walked downstairs. I walked about thirty feet to the thai restaurant. I walked to the counter where I ordered a to go order of raw beef pho. Did you all read that? I walked thirty feet to pick up my pho. Happy. Happy. Joy. Joy.

If it was possible to love this restaurant more, I became even more smitten when I saw their handy containers. I have a job interview tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. For real. Wish me luck.

Sustenance quickly

Summer vacation is sadly coming to an end very soon. This break has most certainly been my favorite aspect of being a graduate student; this is coupled by the fact that I have the greatest boss on the planet who allows me to keep a flexible schedule as I long as my ducks are in a row.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I am lucky to have a friend who works on the South Fork of the Snake River, and he graciously takes me out in his drift boat from time to time. Lucky really isn't the appropriate word. The South Fork is a world class trout fishery where folks pay thousands to have a guide take them out and point them towards the fish. I get to go for a twelve pack of beer. Charmed seems more fitting. Yes, I've had a charmed summer.

We were greeted by this lady on the most recent float.

Tuli was very interested.

The lodge at sunset. Not a bad view.

Tonight I had great plans to make a grilled cheese sandwich. Sounds relatively simple, I know. This isn't your ordinary grilled cheese -- grilled halloumi cheese and red pepper sandwich -- thank you very much. I couldn't be bothered busting out the food processor, and I've spent most of my afternoon and evening baking a cake for a certain brother-in-law who graduates from the PA program tomorrow. HOORAY!!! I'll talk more about the surprise cake after its unveiling.

Nonetheless, I was hungry and needed some sustenance quickly before I devoured the cake batter. You'll recognize these ingredients from the bruschetta a few posts back. Easy peasy dinner. You can have this prepped, table set and ready to go by the time your pasta is cooked. Plus, when it's hot out, no one wants to spend time over a hot stove.

I am off to bed to ignore a chest cold that has decided to move in. What the hell? Who gets sick in August? I have too much fun to have to be sick before school starts. This heaviness needs to skedaddle. Buenas noches, amigos.

My window basil is thriving surprisingly.

To make the pasta: cook your favorite pasta shape according to the directions, quarter a handful of tomatoes, chop some basil, mince a clove of garlic if that fancies you, drain the pasta, toss with the tomatoes and basil (and garlic if using), 3 tbs tasty olive oil, 1.5 tbs balsamic vinegar, a good grind of black pepper, and a handful of parmesan cheese. Fifteen minute dinner. Beat that Rachel Ray.

So fresh.

And so tasty.