Fall Photos

Here are some pics from this last weekend. I wish I could have gotten more, but hopefully there's still a few days left of these pretty fall leaves.

Mac & Cheese

I've been promising this Mac & Cheese recipe for quite a while. Sorry it's taken so long to post. I highly recommend making at least a double batch. Last time I made it, I made a quadruple batch and froze half of it. When I thawed that batch, I made a little extra sauce to stir in before transferring to the oven since the penne absorbed some of it while it was waiting to be cooked :)

This is my take on Kurt Beecher's Mariachi Mac & Cheese recipe from Pure Flavor.



Ingredients:

8 oz. penne
2 Tbsp. butter
2 1/2 Tbsp. flour
1 1/2 Cups milk
6 oz. sharp Cheddar, grated
4 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated
1/2 habanero, minced w/o most seeds
1 red chili, diced
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. Ancho Chili powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 red onion, diced
1 1/2 cups cauliflower florets
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels
1/4 tsp. paprika

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8-inch baking dish.

Cook the penne 2 minutes less than package directions (about 7 minutes)(it will finish cooking in the oven.) Rinse pasta in cold water and set aside.

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and whisk in the flour. Continue whisking and cook for 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly. Cook until the sauce thickens, about 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Add three quarters of the Cheddar and Gruyere, Habanero, red chili, garlic powder, Ancho Chili powder, and salt. Stir until cheese is melted. Set aside.

In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, cauliflower, and bell pepper. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the onion is just beginning to brown. Remove from the heat and add vegetables to the cheese sauce along with the corn. Fold the sauce into the cooked pasta. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining Cheddar and Gruyere cheese and the paprika.

Bake, uncovered, for 35 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly. Let the mac & cheese rest for 5 minutes before serving.


Note: If you don't like things spicy, leave out the habanero.

Photofunia.com

Another fun photo site provided this:

Third Thursday of October

It's official! It's our TWO year! And we couldn't be happier.

Yet Another Visual Change

I've been hating the dark background on this blog because it always seems to make the pictures look..... weird. I've never been a fan of colored backgrounds for this reason. So CHEERS! to another visual change.

Do you already know?

I've been tagged! By Sarah B. :) The goal is to tell you six things you don't already know about me. This seems a bit difficult, but I'll give it a go. If my mom or Chris already know these things, I hope you'll forgive me.

1. I HATE coffee. I'm a Seattleite and I hate coffee. That sentence wouldn't even make sense to most people, but it's true for me. I've become quite fond of tea and love exploring little tea shops, especially the ones that have tastings. My current favorite blenders are Harney & Sons. A few of my favorite blends are Indian Nimbu (Darjeeling w/Lemon & Caramel), Bangkok (Green Tea w/Lemongrass, Coconut & Ginger) and Yellow and Blue (Chamomile, Lavendar and Corn Flowers).


2. If I could choose one seat to have my name on it aside from my chair at home, it would be a seat at the Chicago Symphony. I could sit at the symphony for days! I can't even begin to put into words how good it feels to be surrounded by an entire orchestra playing classical, romantic, or jazz pieces so vibrant you can't make the goosebumps go away.


3. I very strongly dislike money. Actually.... I hate it. It's a curse. It excites me to dream about our future sustainable sailboat. I pray I can get as far away from needing money as humanly possible while still maintaining our health. Everything else will come....


4. I love having a great variety of friends and acquaintances. I love having those who are super close, those who are very odd, those who are old, and those who are young. I've found that surrounding myself with varying people keeps me on my toes and aware of all who roam this world. It keeps me aware of differing points of view and different backgrounds. It keeps theories ever changing and our thoughts of how things work ever improved. It seems that having a group of friends who are all very similar would be boring. This, coming from an only child who bounced from group to group to find that I usually have 1 close friend out of many groups and well.... I like it that way :)


5. The two collections I'd like to have throughout my life are a. books and b. musical instruments. I've never been one to "collect" things. I suppose when I was a child I had a small rock collection and a button/pin collection. Perhaps a couple others, but they haven't stuck around and I haven't started any other collections aside from books and musical instruments. What excites me the most about these collections is dreaming of what I will learn and what conversations I will have after reading those books and who I will meet and jam with while collecting those instruments. I love the connections these two things create between people and cultures.


6. I feel the Need for Speed. I blame my parents for this one. All those fun toys I grew up with :) Oh, and Dave White.... He has to take partial blame for this too. All those Tool Man references.... crazy guys. To the point: Quite often I feel the need for speed. I don't know if it's because I don't own a car and haven't for a few years, if it's because I don't get out on the jet ski anymore or what, but I just can't run fast enough to curb this urge. Perhaps I should learn to snowboard or ski, but I fear what injuries could possibly come out of having this urge and coupling it with my first time on a snowboard. Perhaps I should go skydiving. Hmmm...



Now it's my turn to "tag" some folks.... Jessie Malcolm & Teresa Halfacre, consider yourselves Tagged!

My Walking Art Update

As you all know, I'm a big fan of art and especially that done by local artists. Today I have a few pieces to share with you that are being shown at the Patricia Rovzar Gallery in Downtown Seattle. Both of these artists are local and their works are wonderfully pleasing. Lyle Silver's use of color in these landscapes is extraordinary and Pierce Milholland has a spectacular sense of light and color in his fantastic paintings of the Pacific Northwest. Enjoy.

Lyle Silver: Another Trip to the Market

Lyle Silver: Late Afternoon at the Square

Lyle Silver: The Way East

Lyle Silver: Western Avenue

Pierce Milholland: Carnation Flower Farm

Pierce Milholland: Night Lights

Pierce Milholland: Skagit Valley Landscape

New Knitting Projects

I have two new knitting projects started. One is called Seascape and it's my first lace project. I have a skein of this amazing hand dyed per stitch alpaca lace weight yarn. The lace seemed modern yet timeless. I hope the lace thing goes well for me.




The second project is a quick cowl which I am also using an alpaca yarn for. I really like this alpaca stuff, but it doesn't hold it's shape very well so I really hope this cowl will work for me. I just want something warm and cozy but not too heavy for my neck this winter season. This yarn is not what is suggested for the pattern... go figure. But I just had to put it to use. Again, wish me luck :)




The pictures of the completed projects are by friends on Ravelry. I will post my "in progress" pictures soon.

Gotta Love Snapfish

So I'm a big fan of all things homemade, but sometimes these companies really come through for ya. I made a sort of cork board collage for Sydney a while back, but the cork isn't very thick so you can't actually use thumb tacks and I ended up using scrapbooking tape to keep the photos up. It's been about a year now and the photos are constantly falling down and are a bit annoying. I went to Snapfish.com to see if I could get a quick and easy collage of photos for relatively inexpensive and low and behold, I can! I'm ordering the 20" x 30" size which will fit perfectly. Here's a little peek:

Seattle Events

Fall is here and there are lots of fun events to update you on. Here goes:

Music(als)

October 9th (5:30 - 7:30) @ Seattle Art Museum: Art of Jazz w/ the Jon Hamar Trio

The Jon Hamar Trio has been named Seattle's 2007 Emerging Jazz Artist of the year. This would be a great opportunity to hear them play in an intimate venue just prior to the Earshot Jazz Festival. This event is free with museum admission. Let me know if you're interested as I have a few guest passes.

October 18th - November 9th @ Various Locations in Seattle: Earshot Jazz Festival

It's the 20th annual Earshot Jazz Festival! "Earshot Jazz Festival brings important artists from around the world into creative collaboration with area audiences and Seattle's finest jazz musicians. It celebrates Seattle's place in the world of jazz — from our award-winning high-school jazz programs to our renowned resident jazz masters — in a world-class festival setting that features many of today's most important artists."

October 29th - November 16th @ 5th Avenue Theatre: The Drowsy Chaperone

"Welcome to The Drowsy Chaperone, the new musical comedy that is swooping into town with tons of laughs and the most 2006 Tony Awards of any musical on Broadway! It all begins when a die-hard musical fan plays his favorite cast album, a 1928 smash hit called "The Drowsy Chaperone," and the show magically bursts to life. We are instantly immersed in the glamorous, hilarious tale of a celebrity bride and her uproarious wedding day, complete with thrills and surprises that take both the cast (literally) and the audience (metaphorically) soaring into the rafters."

October 14th - 19th @ Paramount Theatre: Spring Awakening

"Broadway's most talked about new musical is now the biggest Tony Award® Winner in years. SPRING AWAKENING is the groundbreaking fusion of morality, sexuality and rock & roll that has awakened Broadway like no other musical in years. Winner of eight Tony Awards® including Best Musical, SPRING AWAKENING celebrates the unforgettable journey from youth to adulthood with a power, a poignancy and a passion you will never forget. We agree with The New York Times that "Broadway may never be the same again!""

Art

October 24th - January 11th @ Seattle Art Museum: S'abadeb - The Gifts: Pacific Coast Salish Art & Artists

"S'abadeb—The Gifts: Pacific Coast Salish Art and Artists is a major exhibition that explores the unique artistry and culture of Salish First Peoples of Washington State and British Columbia. The exhibition features more than 175 works of art from national and international collections that offer a glimpse into the daily and ceremonial lives of the 39 sovereign Salish Nations. Many of the works have never before been on view and are, for the first time, interpreted by Native voices."

(7:00-8:00 on Oct. 24th: Curator Barbara Brotherton is giving an intro and overview of the exhibit)

Books

October 12th (2:00) @ Seattle Central Library: David Macaulay "The Way We Work"

Award-winning author of "The Way Things Work", David Macaulay uses detailed drawings to take us on an entertaining, visual journey through the human body. Macaulay will be talking about and signing his new book "The Way We Work".

October 27th (6:00pm) @ Lark Restaurant: David Tanis: A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes

This is a "Cooks & Books" event where David Tanis will prepare a meal for attendees and will talk about his book in an intimate environment.

"A good cook knows the pleasure of a seasonal kitchen. Eating seasonally is eating sustainably, supporting local farmers, and preserving the land, but it has everything to do with pleasure as well. "A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes" offers simple dishes for easy entertaining that perfectly illustrate the idea of eating with the seasons. Tanis shows readers how to slow down, pay attention and give ingredients their due. He serves up charming, unassuming meals for friends and family. Tanis's essays, personal stories and anecdotes are interesting, friendly and soulful. By the end, readers will have learned the inspiration, techniques and joy of the kitchen that are just as important as the best ingredients."

Taylor Mali: What Teachers Make

I can't get enough of this guy.

Weekend Update

Well, I didn't take any pictures this weekend, but I can still fill you in....

Friday, Princess Sydney made her visit and we had a wonderful dinner at Cutter's at the Market. She tried scallops for the first time and the the first thing she said was "It tastes like crab!" (she loves crab mind you). She even had quite a bit of a bleu cheese salad and other random tasty things. I'm glad we don't scare her off in the food department :)

Saturday we did the Lifelong AIDS walk. It was a nasty day out, but we were well prepared. We got some serious puddle jumping in. I'll have to take pics of our puddle jumping fun the next time she's over....
I made a sweet trip to REI (member's sale time!) and picked up some waterproof gear. It was about time and after our morning's walk, I realized the time was NOW!
I battled the wind and headed to the market to pick up lots of cheese, veggies and pasta. I went home and made a huge batch of Beecher's Mariachi Mac & Cheese.... I'll post the recipe tomorrow. mmmmm it was gooooood.

Sunday we woke up to watch the Hawks game, but I'm not sure it was really a game I was watching....
I started my lace [knitting] project...... wish me luck on this one. I only hope and pray I have the patience for the lace thing. My knitting friends are a Godsend.

I think that's about it. Sorry no photos. I was lazy :)

Hope you all have a great week!

Before the rainy mess at the AIDS Walk

Here are some recent walking around photos.....

This was later in the day on National Park(ing) day. Seattle Tilth showed up and we planted some cilantro and parsley. Too bad our apartment gets no natural light :(

They showed us the worm compost bin. Super cool.

Sydmo walking along Benaroya. She's a super jumper these days.

And she still has to touch all the water :) Her hands have got to be freezing.

This is all part of the routine:
Part 1: The Chase
Part 2: The Key Card Unlocking
Part 3: The Opening of More Doors
Part 4: More Chasing
Part 5: The Elevator Buttons
Part 6: The Unlocking and Opening of the last door.
She digs em all.