Wallace Falls!

Another hiking adventure in the Pacific Northwest! This time it is out to Wallace Falls.  We had passed by it initially on our drive to Bridal Veil Falls and kept it in mind and I'm glad we did because it was a gorgeous hike.  We started off early again on a foggy morning and got to the trail head around 9:30 am.  On the sign-in board at the trai lhead, we were the 3rd people to sign in for the day, cool! This meant that we only saw one pair of hikers on the way up and basically had the entire trail to ourselves the whole ascent to the falls.  The weather was a bit chilly, but as we started hiking we quickly got rid of our jackets.

Here we go!

There are 3 different sections to this hike; lower falls, middle falls, and of course the top of the falls.  Each section was beautiful in its own way.  The water was clear and pristine looking and with the fog in the air, it made for a very mist-like fairy world feel.  As we were hiking, we felt like we were in a Lord of the Rings scene as the greenness of the trees, quietness, and beauty of our surroundings encompassed us.  It smelt like fresh rain and the sound of the rushing water and falls was soothing as it accompanied us along the way.  The hike got steeper and the elevation quickly increased as we moved from middle falls to the top and though we huffed a little, it was definitely worth it when we reached the end.  Who would have though that waterfalls could be in the back of all these trees??  It was a beautiful sight!

Lower and middle falls

Crazy free hanging branch in between trees!

Top of the falls!

Danger, but gorgeous!

Finished! 

The hike took us only a total of a little over 2 hours.  It is best to go early as it is a popular route in the summer.  As we descended, we met more people heading up and we were glad that we had had an early start so that we could enjoy the views and hike without the clamor and noise of others. It is definitely worth the trip to Wallace Falls. It is only a little less than an hours drive from Seattle making it a perfect and easy destination for an out of the world experience! 

Wildlife experience for the day.... slug

Wallace Falls 

14503 Wallace Lake Road
Gold Bar, WA 98251-9384

Weekend activites!

This past weekend was packed full of things to do! It was beautiful weather once again and we took full advantage of it.  Starting Saturday we had a church family picnic with food, water balloons, sunscreen, and ice cream!

Spicy dogs on bed of walla walla onions!

Hamburger deluxe!

Sunday morning I ran a road race! My first since running the marathon this past December. It's been awhile, but it felt good to be out there on the road with a thousand other sweaty runners.  It was the 16th Annual Swedish Summer Run and I loved that it was a race for a good cause.  It was touching to see so many supporters running and raising money for ovarian cancer research.  I'm glad to have been able to be a part of this great cause.  My sister came to be my cheerleader as well so that was fun!

Before the race began!

Yay, finished!

Sunday evening the girls and I had a birthday dinner for one of us at nice Italian restaurant called Serafina on Eastlake.  The ambiance of the restaurant is very Italian cafeish with both outdoor and indoor seating.  There was live jazz music and a nice warm buzz to the place.  Service was fairly quick and when we asked to move to another table because of the shifting sunlight, they accommodated us willingly.  Food here is a bit on the higher end, but was definitely different and interesting to try.  The seven of us all had different dishes which made for little tastings from each person's plate.

Cozze Affumicati

Taylor Shellfish mussels simmered with smoked tomato, harissa, 

sweet vermouth, leeks, fresh herbs, and garlic

 Plin

Hand made agnolotti filled with braised pork shoulder, 

savoy cabbage, and Reggiano; finished with chive butter

Melanzane alla Serafina

Thinly sliced eggplant rolled with ricotta cheese, fresh basil, and parmesan; 

baked in a tomato sauce, served over cappellini aglio e olio

Polpettine di Vitello

Our famous veal meatballs simmered in green olive tomato sauce; 

tossed with penne rigate and finished with ricotta salata

Bucatini all'Amatriciana

House cured guanciale sautéed with onion, garlic and chili, tossed with 

Billy's organic tomatoes, oregano and 

artisanal bucatini pasta; finished with Pecorino Romano

Short but full weekend.  I was exhausted by the end of yesterday, and I think partly because I'm not as young as I used to be and racing now takes a lot more out of me.  However, I did get my full dose of vitamin D this weekend and am ready for the work week.  It's only five more days till next weekend! Happy Monday!!

Serafina
2043 Eastlake Ave E
Seattle Wa 98102
206.323.0807

Happy Aloha Friday and some Banana Bread!

Good morning! It is beautiful today in the Pacific Northwest.  I woke up to sun streaming in my window, birds chirping, and oh the beeping of construction trucks.  Besides the last thing on that list, today feels like its going to be an awesome day.  Starting with ..... what to do with 2 overly ripe bananas? Ummmm make some banana bread! I got right to it and it took me less than an hour to make and bake this! This is a fast and quick recipe.

Banana Bread
- 1 cup of flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup of walnuts
- 1 egg
- 1 cup of mashed overripe banana

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan
• Combine flour, baking soda, salt and set aside.  In another bowl, cream together brown sugar and butter.  Stir in eggs and mashed bananas and mix.  Combine dry and wet ingredients along with walnuts, do not over mix. Pour into pan.
• Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan and then take out.  

Yummy!

It's so moist with a nice crust on the top!

Simple and an awesome way to get rid of some leftover bananas!  It also makes your house smell yummy! Although I have to work tonight, I'm happy I got to spend some time chilling with a friend, jam to some music, and bake. Happy Aloha Friday!!

Ugly Mug ?

The Ugly Mug.... suggests a dark and gloomy place....who would want to go there? I've passed by this coffee joint a million times and finally yesterday I went in.  I met up with a friend for brunch and surprisingly it was a a very good experience.  There is plenty of space in the shop and it was pretty quiet at 10:30 am.  Our server taking our order was very friendly as was the staff who refilled the water jug.  Many selections for breakfast with pastries as well as breakfast croissants and egg mcmuffins that came with a side of salad.  Both were simple, but filling and quite good.  There is free wi-fi available upon request of a password which makes it a perfect study spot and indeed there were a couple of students studying away the morning.

Ugly Mug?

Yum, breakfast turkey croissant!

(turkey, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato)

Egg mcmuffin with side salad and toast with jam!

The outside of the cafe makes it deceivingly small and grungy, but everything inside is pretty cozy and friendly.  I'm glad I finally got a chance to drop in and for the record, the mugs really are not that ugly.

Ugly Mug Cafe
1309 NE 43rd St
Seattle, WA 98105

Italiano in 30 minutes

Gearing up for a 10k hilly run this Sunday, but I've been feeling a bit tired lately because of my evening shifts at work.  However, I do love the sunny weather Seattle's been having though, so all is well! I decided since I was feeling so tired, I probably should start eating some substantial carbohydrates this week.  After my run today I looked in my fridge and put together some things for pasta.

Italiano pasta from scratch
- box of pasta
- one can of diced tomatoes
- 1 8oz can of tomato sauce
- ground turkey
- fresh parsley
- one onion diced
- minced garlic
- dried basil & oregano
- garlic salt and pepper to taste
- dash of white wine
- crushed red peppers

• Cook pasta al dente for 9-10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• Saute onions and garlic in olive oil.  Add seasonings and let cook for a few minutes for flavors to infuse.  Push ingredients to the side and cook ground turkey in the same pan. 
• Pour diced tomatoes and tomato sauce in the pan and combine everything together.  Add salt and pepper to taste as well as the chopped parsley, and a dash of white wine.
• Mix pasta in with the sauce well and serve with a bit of shredded assiago cheese.

Ready to go!

Voila!

 

Simple and easy dinner.  The fresh parsley really adds to the dish.  I wish I had some fresh basil, but dried worked fine for tonight.  If I had some fresh mushrooms I would've added that in as well.  Bon appetit!

Burgers and things....

Some interesting foods and things that I've encountered and made these past couple of days. Enjoy!

Interesting....

Boston cream pie was a thumbs down for me.  The ice cream portion was really sweet, but I was told the little cake pieces really did taste like the pie.  Oh well, Cherry Garcia is still my favorite Ben and Jerry's flavor! The Johnny's was a thumbs in the middle.  It wasn't fantastic, but it wasn't bad at all. A bit overly salty, but once you got past that with a large glass of water, it tasted pretty good.

Turkey Burger with sauteed onions and mushrooms

(turkey mixed with chopped parsley, green onion, garlic, pepper, & salt)

I had some ciabatta buns and ground turkey in the fridge, so decided to whip together some healthy burgers for lunch! Throw in an egg with everything nice that is getting mixed in with the meat and you're ready to grill some burgers.  Also, while you're at it saute up some nice crimini mushrooms and onions to top it off. Yum!

Froyo time!

Churn, churn, churn!

Delicious!

Frozen Yogurt

- 3 cups strained yogurt or Greek-style yogurt
- 2/3 cup sugar

• Mix together the yogurt and sugar. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
• Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Obon dances remind me of summers back at home in Hawaii.  I lived a block away from a temple and on summer nights I would hear the pounding of the taiko drums and the sound of Japanese singing.  It was fun watching everyone dance and the weather was great!

Seattle Bon Odori!

Fun!

Obon dancing!

So cute!

Summer is in full swing and I am enjoying these long days.  Hope you all are having a great summer as well!

Rattlesnake and Gelato!

Beautiful day and I don't have to work. Yippee!!! Time for the next hike of the summer, so early this morning I picked up my little sister and we headed off east of Seattle to Issaquah for a hike at Rattlesnake Mountain.  It was a gorgeous morning and as we drove across the I-90, the sun glanced off of the water and sparkled.  We got to the Rattlesnake trail head about 50 minutes after we had started.  The parking lot was relatively empty and we only saw a few hikers at the beginning of the trail.

Ready, set, go! Look at those trees!

It was actually a bit chilly, but as soon as we started walking we built up a sweat.  This hike is moderately easy with a bit of a strenuous climb towards the top, but there is a well paved and well marked path.  There were 3 trials that we could choose from.  Rattlesnake mountain which is the most popular path was 1.9 miles to the end, East Peak 4.3, and Snoqualmie Point 10.2 miles .  Compared to Bridal Veil Falls and Lake Serene, this hike was cake, but the view at the top was fantastic! Hiking to the top we took note of the foliage and the forestry.  It's amazing to me how Washington has so many different types of trees and each place you go there are different ecosystems and plants, so interesting! Also, as you climb higher in elevation, the types of trees also change.  It was a good 40 minutes of hiking when we finally reached the top.

Top of the peak!

 Awesome views!

I am as high as the mountains!

The view again, was awesome! We did a 360 degree turn and could see something different on each turn from Snoqualmie Valley, to Mount Si,  to Mount Teneriffe, North Bend, and even the parking lot where we parked our car! We took a break at the top and brought out our snacks to munch on.  For some odd reason, there are squirrels that like to hang out at the viewpoint as well and they obviously have been accustomed to humans as they ran straight up to us begging for food.  I know we're not suppose to, but I threw out a bit of a cracker once just because he was so cute looking.... bad idea!! He came back 2 more times and each time got closer and closer to us.  I screamed the last time because it was so sneaky and came up behind me. After that attack I literally grabbed my bags and ran.  If you go hiking up Rattlesnake, beware of the crazy squirrels.  The climb back down was quick and we passed many people heading up.  I was glad we had started off early to miss the traffic that would be up at the top.

Our snacks as we sat and admired the view!

Crazy squirrel, look at him!

We were done by 10 am and feeling satisfied, decided to fill up gas at Costco and grab some smoothies.  What a great idea because turns out that when we got to the food counter at Costco, we discovered they had just launched their new gelato line!! 3 scoops in a waffle cone for get this, $1.50!!!!! What????? Flavors to choose from are pistachio, mixed berry, and stracciatella, YUM! We both liked the mixed berry the best, but the other 2 were good as well.  Refreshed, we happily headed home.

Our first look at the gelato!

No ways!! I'm totally going to be back for more!

I'm absolutely loving summer in the Pacific Northwest! What's better than a good hike and gelato except maybe an ocean to jump into to cool off, but I can do without that for now. Happy playing!

Summer nights ........ BBQ nights!

It's been a little over 3 weeks since we've moved into our new apartment and not once have all four of us been able to sit down and have dinner together.  I think it has been a combination of work schedules and other various things that have come up, but finally I have a weekday off soooo time to do some cooking!

Thinking about what to make took some time as I rolled around ideas last night and this morning.  I wanted to grill for sure because the day was nice and because we have an awesome gas grill in the courtyard of this complex.  A couple of days ago I was able to get a nice piece of pork shoulder, so my first dish was BBQ pulled pork made in the slow cooker.  Second dish was chicken shish kabobs marinated in ramano sauce.  Third dish, a light shrimp Cajun rice dish, fourth, grilled corn on the cob, fifth apple pie (not made by me but by Fred Meyers), and last and best of all, homemade mango sorbet!

It was a packed menu and took me most of the day to prepare.

Slow cooker BBQ Pulled Pork
 - about 2 lb of pork shoulder
- 1 12 ounce can of rootbeer
- 1 bottle of BBQ sauce ( I like Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Chipotle flavor)

• Wash pork and place in slow cooker with one can of rootbeer.  Cook on high for 5-6 hours or until pork falls apart when touched.
• Drain liquid and shred pork.  Pour BBQ sauce over pork and place back in slow cooker for another hour.

  Sweet Baby Rays!

BBQ pulled pork, YUM!

 Cajun Shrimp and Rice
- half to 1 lb of shrimp
- 1 Tbp butter
- 2 Tbp olive oil
- half lime 
- 3 cloves or more of minced garlic
- 2 tsp Cajun seasoning
- 2 plum tomatoes chopped
- 2 bunches of green onion chopped
- 2 cups of cooked white rice
- 3 Tbp chopped fresh parsley
- 1 chopped bell pepper
- half  a cup of mushrooms

• Marinate shrimp in lime juice, olive oil, some Cajun seasoning, and fresh salt and pepper for a couple of hours.
• Heat butter, olive oil, and garlic in skillet.  Add Cajun seasoning and shrimp and cook about a minute. 
• Add tomatoes and green onions then rice along with 1/4 cup of water.
• Stir in parsley towards the end.

 Cajun Shrimp Rice

Ramano Chicken Kabobs

- Chicken breasts in bite sized pieces

- Red bell pepper

- Mushrooms

- Caesar Ramano dressing

- salt and pepper

- skewers

• Marinade chicken in Ramano dressing for 3-4 hours
• Toss bell pepper and mushrooms in olive oil, pepper, and garlic salt
• Thread chicken and vegetables in alternating manner
• Grill on medium heat for about 20 minutes

Kabobs!

Grilling food!

Finally, time to enjoy!

Mango Sorbet
- 3 ripe mangos peeled and cubed
- 3/4 cup of simple syrup (sugar and water in equal parts heated up)
- 2 Tbp fresh lime juice

• Blend cubed mango with lime juice and simple syrup in a blender or food processor until it is a smooth puree.
• Place in ice cream maker.

Hello beautiful mangos!

Make sure you have ripe mangos!

Success!
  

Simple recipes, but just takes some time chopping, shredding, blending, and cooking, but all so worth it. We had a lovely dinner outside in the courtyard under an umbrella.  The weather was nice and cool and tasted even better outside! Can't wait for more summer days!