misty meadows gardens

I went to a garden party today that featured an amazing artist and her garden art, and I wanted to share it with all of you too.The artist is named Debi Johnson, and she owns Misty Meadows Gardens. She creates garden sculptures that look like flowers, however, they are all made out of reclaimed dishes! How cool is that! I bought one of the tiny green flowers,which was made out of a candy dish, a candle holder and a napkin ring. I love discovering new artists, and I have a lot of respect for people who have such interesting, creative visions. I really could see my yard filled with these beauties! 

I think as I find new artists that I like I'm going to start posting them here as I did with Cosmic Garden Design. I like sharing the knowledge!

trader sarah

Speaking of totally stealing ideas, Anders and I love this pre-made grain salad that you can find at Trader Joe's. I was eating one the other day, and I just happened to glance down at the ingredients. I realized that I had everything on hand at home, and I could very well make this salad myself (and better too because we all know they skimp on ingredients at the store!). Also, major props to Trader Joe's for having a salad with ingredients I could pronounce.

Trader Sarah's Grain Salad

Makes 1 large salad

Salad:

1.5 cups shredded green cabbage

1 cup of cooked bulgur* (cooled completely)

1/3 cup of garbanzo beans (I cooked my own, but feel free to use canned)

6 cherry tomatoes, chopped

1/3 cup cucumber, chopped

1/3 cup roasted red peppers, chopped

1 tbs dill

salt and pepper to taste

Dressing:

2 tbs balsamic vinegar

2 tbs plus 1 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp cumin

Directions:

Simply combine all salad ingredients in a bowl and toss until incorporated. Add salad dressing ingredients to a jar and shake well. Add to salad and mix to combine. Enjoy!

*I cooked my bulgur in a rice cooker. I used 1 cup of dried bulgur to 1.5 cups of water and this gave me around 3 cups of cooked bulgur, so I had a lot leftover for future salads or other recipes. If you don't want leftovers, feel free to reduce the amount you cook. If you don't have a rice cooker,  just add the bulgur and water to a saucepan, bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and allow to cool.

freeloaders

When I was growing up my Dad gave me a piece of advice that I carry with me to this day. He said, "Sarah, you never want to own a boat...you want to know people that own a boat." Great advice. So, Anders and I tracked down some friends with a boat and convinced them we were deserving of a ride (to be fair, they were friends first and the boat came later. We just got lucky.) 

Thanks Bryan and Amber! Feel free to call us for rides anytime!

back to it

Ah Monday. It comes around all too soon, doesn't it? No worries, though. I've got a whole list of reasons why this week is going to be seriously awesome-town. 

I'm trying two new recipes this week. I'm making this shrimp curry for dinner and this green quinoa for our lunches. Both look delicious.

We're anticipating the Wednesday sunshine and going to Trago for dinner to sit on their roof top patio for dinner. Can't wait.

I just started this book, which I'm excited about. Ironically, this summer has felt a bit like the arctic, so it seems fitting. I'll let you know how it is.

Anders and I are going to check out Exofficio, which sells wrinkle resistant, fast drying, SPF and bug repellent clothing. How cool would that be for our many travels? I love this skirt and this dress. I can't wait to visit the store!

I also have plans to get together with the wives of these boys (like her!). Hooray for girl-time.

Have a good week!

behind the scenes

The boys have been working hard on the Pike Place Fish company's first cookbook, which is due out in spring of 2013. It's going to be a collection of seafood recipes from the boys themselves, but also from friends, family and restaurants that make up the Pike Place Fish community. With most of the recipes decided upon, this week's focus was on the pictures. The boys had an after-work photoshoot in West Seattle on Alki beach with the skyline and the Olympics as their background. I tagged along and took some behind the scenes shots!

 Gotta look good for the camera...

 and make sure those pants are on straight...

 Morgan hard at work.

 I'm pretty positive this shot is going to make the book...

 That's better.

smoked trout salad

A few weeks ago, Anders and I went to dinner at Ethan Stowell's Anchovies & Olives. The restaurant is Italian inspired with a heavy emphasis on seafood, and every single thing we tried was incredible (and we tried a lot!). One dish that particularly stood out to me was the Smoked Trout Salad. It had such a unique flavor, and I'm always impressed when people know to pair things like grapefruits with smoke trout. Of course, I guess one could argue that that's why they are chefs! Regardless, the salad was so delicious that I wrote down all the ingredients from the menu and attempted to recreate it at home. Mr. Stowell clearly wins, but I was overly happy with my at-home version and have actually made it multiple times since. 

Here is my recipe!

Ethan Stowell's Smoked Trout Salad

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

Salad:

10 endives

1/2 a grapefruit

1/2 cup of pickled red onions

1/4 cup of raw almonds, toasted

1/2 cup of smoked trout

1/4 cup tarragon

Dressing:

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1 teaspoon honey

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread almonds on a baking sheet and roast in oven for 10-15 minutes until toasted. Cool completely.

2. Chop endives by slicing them in half. Using a knife, cut out the core on both sides (the core is bitter). Chop remaining endive and add to a large bowl.

3. Peel half a grapefruit and, using a knife, remove 100% of the pith. Chop into small pieces and add to bowl.

4. Chop the pickled red onions, tarragon and almonds and add to bowl

5. Chop or shred the smoked trout into small pieces. Add to bowl.

6. Mix all the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well. Add to the salad. You might not need the entire amount for the salad. Just add until the salad is fully dressed. Serve and enjoy!

scenes from the solstice

Rating right up there with Earth Day, the Summer Solstice is one of my favorite holidays. I love summer and long, light-filled days. On the actual summer solstice day, Seattle will have light from 5:11am until 9:10pm. That's a lot of light! Every year, Freemont celebrates the Solstice with a crazy, costume filled parade and festival. I headed down there last weekend to check it out, and discovered that Freemont can throw one heck of a party. Here are some pictures from the parade starting off with the naked bicyclists who are either very brave or exhibitionists!  (no worries...I made the pictures PG)

 Hey look! I was in the parade too!

Happy Summer Solstice, everyone!

to my dad

Happy Father's Day!

My Dad is kinda the bee's knees. He has pretty impressive corn hole skills (not be confused with corn planting skills because he has those too), can grill a mean steak and will take on anyone in a belly flopping contest. And when I was little he used to help me practice for softball and will still tell people to this day that I was pretty good (I wasn't). And one time when I was little and we were driving down the freeway, I saw full garbage bags sitting by the side of the road and I told him I thought they were probably bags of money. He actually pulled over and checked for me and wasn't mad when it was only leaves. And his nickname for me when I was a kid was "Sarah Rodriguez Hernandez Sanchez Emanuel Louise Smith Brown," and I have to admit that it's pretty much the coolest nickname a kid can have.

So thanks, Dad, for being awesome. I love you!

have a silly weekend!

Need something to do this weekend?

Check out the solstice parade (look for me!)

or

Make this awesome banana ice cream (I made it last night!)

or

Tie dye some swim trunks (we're doing this too!)

or

Try to find a letterbox (I've found two!)

or 

Read this book or this one (loved them both!)

or

Make some spring rolls (on my to do list!)

Have fun!

guemes island, part II

Too many good photos for one post! Here are a few more from our weekend.

 (bald eagle)

(my gang) 

guemes island, part I

Anders and I just got back from spending the weekend at the Guemes Island Resort, which is a little place located in the San Juan Archipelago on the shores of Samish Bay. It's a cute, but rustic, resort made up of yurts and cabins with common areas for grilling, eating, relaxing and watching seals play in the water. Our friends rented out the entire place for the weekend, so we got to run the show. Anders grilled up around 25lbs of fish and 7 dozen oysters over the course of our stay. I helped by taking 25lbs of pictures and Maggie helped by eating any scraps that were left on the ground. It was a super fun and relaxing weekend, and we even got some sun breaks although the weather called for rain.