Seattle - Three days on.

I, am in Seattle. Seattle RAWKS! Pike Place Market is something so concrete it knocks you over but so ethereal you can't describe it. Fish mongers, cheese makers, vegetable stands, Sur La Table, the truffle lady and this guy.

This is the first view you get. Nothing too impressive.

 

Then this after topping the hill.

 

Who knew they had a brick and mortar storefront? Seattleites, apparently.

 

The fish guys who throw fish...? Nearly asleep on his feet. I got pictures of shellfish instead.

The place is big, and crowded and big... Did I mention it's big?

 

Not even close to the entire place, just one aisle.

They make cheese here, Beechers. Really nice cheddar.

You can watch em make it.

They have live music right across the street.

The Truffle Lady has a wicked cool shop. la buona tavola. Her staff is awesome and very knowledgeable.

I learned a lot about truffles, and a little about wine.

Then there was the produce stand with all the garlic and pepper braids.

 

This is about the time I started to burn out... Not on the market but on too much envy. I want this kinda place at home. Even the view from the hotel is nice, once you ignore the utility lines.

I can even see the Space Needle. Foggy this morning.

 

So, that's basically the first 3 whole days. 4 more to go.

Cheers

Chris

I can haz summer malaise?

Seems that I at least had summer writers block.

I am not a warm weather person. Never have been. Even as a child I preferred running barefoot through the snow to barefoot in the sand. Heat makes me languorous.

That being said I have not been idle this summer. I have had all sorts of unfulfilled grandiose plans and a few fulfilled smaller moderately well planned ideas. Just not anything I wanted to write about, until now.

So without further stalling here is my "What I did on my summer vacation." report.

Tried for the perfect BLT made with organic tomatoes and home cured bacon, buffalo mozzarella, and homemade mayo (I do like a few things about summer).

My first paella, made at the lake for tons of people.(Not exactly the right pan but that is sure to be remedied)

 

Grilled watermelon and peaches. Quite tasty.

Discovering Pineapple Pancetta Grilled Cheese. This kills!

Showed some love for the pear tree in my back yard.

Pear preserves all winter, for the price of picking up jars from my mother (gratis) and a pound of sugar, rocks.

Recreating my Grandmothers pressure cooked green beans, almost.

My first tentative steps into the world of fresh pasta.

Used in alla carbonara, sans cream with pancetta,

and with cream and guanciale. (this one was better)

Peach ice cream with homemade caramel sauce.

And most recently and the most grandiose of my summer activities. Tilling up roughly 1800 square feet of the back yard for a garden next spring.

It's bigger than it looks.

And summer just wouldn't be summer without friends to share it with.

I will make every effort to post more often.

Next up is Salt Pork.

Cheers

Chris