We attended the traditional New Year’s Eve gathering in the old neighborhood. Our host made soup with black-eyed peas, spinach, and sausage. (In the Southern US and in Northeast Seattle, eating black-eyed peas and greens foretell a good year.) Julian brought herring, which he considers a good luck food for the New Year. (Personally, I …
Category: Life in the Pacific Northwest
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2019/01/05/a-bittersweet-new-year/
Dec 29
Spamorama
We had lunch at a Japanese/Vietnamese spot today, Poké Café. Julian had a banh mi, I had a ramen bowl. After he finished the banh mi, he decided that it time to try spam musubi. For those of you in Sheboygan or Syracuse, Spam musubi is a quintessentially Hawaiian food. It consists of rice and Spam …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/12/29/spamorama/
Dec 25
White Elephants
I went to two White Elephant holiday parties this year. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, a White Elephant is a gift you’ll never use or desperately need to be rid of. Participants wrap the item and add it to a pile of presents from other partiers. You draw numbers and pick a …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/12/25/white-elephants/
Dec 08
Diving Crows?!?
We’re used to seeing ducks, cormorants, geese, eagles, and herons fishing in the river behind our home. Today I saw something completely different. I saw some ripples near the shore, indicative of some bird looking for lunch. What I was not expecting was to see a crow surface with a minnow in its beak. I …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/12/08/diving-crows/
Dec 07
How Do I Like Them Apples?
As with applesauce apples, I have strong opinions on eating apples. The latest fad in apple varieties is super-sweet. Witness the popularity of the Honeycrisp variety. I bought some Sugar Bee apples a week or two ago, and they were even sweeter than Honeycrisps. I prefer my apples crunchy with a tart edge. Perhaps tastes …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/12/07/how-do-i-like-them-apples/
Nov 25
Staying Warm
Ah, the good old days. When something broke, we’d call the landlord. Now when something breaks, we realize WE’RE the landlords. On Friday I noticed that the condo was cold. I looked at the thermostat and it said the inside temp was 62°. A little investigation by Julian revealed that the igniter for the gas …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/11/25/staying-warm/
Nov 22
Otters!
We are thankful to have a home that overlooks a river and a park, particularly at this time of year. The bald eagles are back from summering in the mountains. Mergansers and cormorants also return. The herons, mallards, and Canada geese are here year round, although I’ve yet to see the snow goose that slums …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/11/22/otters/
Nov 22
Giving Thanks
Thanksgiving is still my favorite holiday. While it’s difficult for some to conjure up reasons for gratitude in these times, I’m an optimist. Here is my list for this year: I’m thankful to live in this country. I believe our democracy has the resilience to withstand the current chaos. It’s survived a full-scale Civil War, …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/11/22/giving-thanks/
Nov 18
Take a Knee – PLEASE
Preferably my left one. Thursday morning I stood up and the knee locked. I eventually got it loosened up, but it locked up several more times during the day. A reverse house call to our friend Bruce resulted in a tentative diagnosis of a joint mouse, a small bit of cartilage or bone floating around …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/11/18/take-a-knee-please/
Nov 18
Kitchen Chaos
Some essential item always seems to fail at Casa Sammamish just before we host a get-together. Our first year here, a shelf in the kitchen decided to fail just before the Super Bowl party. This sent a cascade of ceramic and glass flowing to the counter and floor around me. We managed to clean everything …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/11/18/kitchen-chaos/
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