Summer Flavors

Yesterday Alex and I toured our way through the wonderful city of Seattle. The day started at the famous Russian bakery, Pirosky's. It's down by pikes and always smells wonderful, with a line out the door. I've been intrigued/intimidated by this tiny shop since I first saw it a couple years ago. We weren't really sure what to expect, but were excited to give it a go.

So many choices to pick from but we settled on marionberry and a spinach, cheese and egg one. Let me tell you- it did not disappoint. The flaky crust led perfectly into the sweet and savory flavors, leaving us discussing what we were going to order next time. Always a good sign.

From there we walked around Pikes a little bit, sampling, looking at jewelry, taking pictures (of course!) and making friends with the fruit stand boys. They all seem to think they have the best fruit, so we let them try to convince us by sampling nectarine, peaches, and cherries.

I love the amount of produce that is only available in theses short months of summer. I could live off of rainer cherries and every variety of berry right now.

You've already heard about the amazing chocolate tour, so pick up after that. Alex and I discussed out need for carrots and water after ingesting so much chocolaty goodness. We promptly proceeded to ignore all nutritious knowledge and head to Molly Moons with Trevor. Good choice.

After sampling lavender honey and strawberry coconut milk, I settled on half "scout" mint (with girl scout cookies in it!) and half theo chocolate (just in case I didn't get enough that day) all heaped into the best waffle cone I have ever had. It was fun to catch up with Trevor, watch people walking through Wallingford and have some good laughs.

Well Alli G is back to California and I'm back to reality in Seattle. Lucky for me reality includes hanging out at Alki, drinking coffee at all hours, lots of reading and decorating our house.

Man, I love summer.

Theo Chocolate

This week has been filled to the brim with food, cooking, tea and hanging in the kitchen, but one experience must be shared immediately. Today Alex and I went to Theo Chocolate in Freemont. We walked up to the adorable brick building, smelled the rich, sweet smell of chocolate being make and knew we were in for something good.

The lobby is basically one big sample. You can walk around, try all of the flavors, learn about the factory and talk to the super friendly and knowledgeable employees (my dream job).

From there we went on the tour, which took us through the factory, explaining all of the steps to making it. Our tour guide was wonderful, so sweet and loved chocolate as much as Alex and I do. We learned all about chocolate-fair trade, organic, adding in flavors, packaging, tasting, where it comes from...

We left the tour feeling giddy, ready for more samples and so satisfied. I bought a bread and chocolate bar which is made with salted, buttered bread crumbs (like a chocolate covered pretzel) and Alex bought a Chai chocolate bar. There were soo many options.

Moral of the story- If you are every in Seattle, go to Theo Chocolate. And it is my new favorite store.

Family, Friends, Fireworks and Food

Sorry I have been completely silent the past few weeks. After moving in, I headed to California to see the family and friends then headed to the lake for a week. Its been a fun trip around, but it's good to be back. I just made my first meal in my new kitchen and could not be happier. It feels so big and luxurious compared to the 204!

It's no secret that I LOVE the 4th of July. I'm not sure what it is-feeling that summer is just getting started, the amazing BBQ and apple pie that is always present or the time I get to spend with family and friends -that gets me, but I just can't get enough of it.

This year I got to spend it at the lake, which let's be honest, is hands down the most beautiful place in the world. The entire week I felt so blessed to be able to spend time with the family, sit on the porch reading, feel good and have fun. Chuck and Patty had their annual party complete with the stars and stripes cake, bbq, grilled veggies, salads, salsas and, of course, smores. It was a wonderful time.

all of chuck and patty's decorations

louzie lou

BK

the annual stars and stripes cake

mama bear

my hot date, miss kacy

day after trip to the snack shack

Summer Lovin

Summer is here and I am loving it! Every year school gets out, the sun comes out to play, BBQ's start up and a weight gets lifted off my shoulders. And every year I always say "I forgot how much I love summer".

This year is no exception.

Life has been crazy with finals, moving, saying goodbye to people and making plans. Yesterday Megan and I unpacked (a lot) and cleaned out our cars then headed over to Red Mill Burgers for a "prize" for all our hard work. I'd never eaten there, and boy did it exceed my expectations. We got it 'to go', went to a nice little park in Magnolia and enjoyed (possibly) the best burger I have ever had. The combo of a wonderful view, amazing food, a great roommate and the sunshine burning my nose brought so much happiness to my life. Anyways, if you live in the Seattle area-go to red mill sometime.

From there, we unpacked a little more and drove out to Lake Tapps for Kat's family get together. Her family never ceases to entertain me and they sure know how to throw a party. I loved getting to spend time with Kat and Stazz one last time, walking down to see the beautiful lake, the sunshine, and of course, the homemade ice cream.

They made raspberry which had actual raspberries in it and vanilla. It was so good and I managed to snag the recipe so I can recreate it.

The finished product

Kat's last cameo on the blog for a while

Uncle David, the maker of the ice cream and the entertaining uncle of the party (there's always one)

As great as the lake was, it was bittersweet. I had to say goodbye to my wonderful friend Kat and her sister. She's grown to be one of my closest friends and it was very sad to say bye. The good news is that I definitely get to see her in October for her wedding! I can't wait. Here's to summer and many more sunny days in the future!!

packing up, moving on

Meals in the 204 have been scarce at best this week. Tomorrow Meg and I load up the car, drive two blocks up the street and move into our beautiful new home. (Sidenote-I could not be more excited to move. It's been such a wonderful year in the 204, but I've been dreaming about this house for years. I think it's the start of something wonderful and feel so blessed!)

Anyways-we've been cleaning out the apartment-fridge included. We're down to some bread, PB, a carrot, some grapes, and salad dressing. Last night for dinner we had "potluck" aka everyone bring the food you're not going to eat to our house. It ended up being a lot of pasta, some veggies, chips and salsa, indian food, and couscous. A trip to every ethnicity and very effective at clearing things out.

Tonight Meg and I got Metropolitan Market soup and called it a victory. Their tomato basil soup is just wonderful (Summer goal-learn to make it) She decided to dig out some wrapped up olive oil to pour onto our bread, which made me laugh. Just another typical "we're moving and our life is ridiculous" moment.

Well-from one cucina bianca to the next-here we go!

Risotto, Final, Visitors, Packing

This past week has been absolutely consumed with trying to find motivation for school, cleaning out the apartment, working on projects and packing up. I can not believe how quick this year has gone-I feel like I just got here!

A few days ago I made some Risotto, which was a first. It had lentils in it and parsley and parm sprinkled on top, a perfect complement to some roasted vegetables and grilled chicken. I liked it, Meg has eaten it for every meal since-so I guess she did too :)

Kat's wonderful sister is also in town, so I've been procrastinating by playing with them around the city. Pikes, bridesmaid dress shopping, making dinner together, and just hanging out. On Saturday we went to Pikes and ended up eating lunch down there. We went to this adorable little Italian deli where they served all kinds of paninis, pizza, pasta, salads and so much more. We were fans and I have a feeling it will be a frequent stop this summer!

With lots of love and excitement for what this summer will bring!

French Alpine Cheese Tomato and Onion Soup with the Rooms

Last night Meg, Kat and I had an impromptu crockpot dinner of french onion tomato cheese soup. I chopped everything up, added it to the pot and headed off to class.

Class yesterday was a bunch of food demos, where everyone in the class demonstrates how to make something (think rachael ray) with nutritional "messages" to go along with it. My partner made green curry chicken, which if i do say so myself was amazing and so easy. I think it went well-our stove only started smoking once :)

http://thaifoodcast.com/recipes/main-course/green-curry-chicken.html

When I got home the "traditional french soup" turned into veggie soup with the quick addition of spinach and broccoli in a matter of seconds. The three of us made some cheesy bread, dished up big bowls of onion/veggie soup, talked about our days, wedding details, and how extremely fast this year has gone. Finals start on Tuesday and we sometime next week. It's crazy how time flies.

Oh how I love my red pot

My wonderful roommate and adopted roommate :)