S'mores cookies!

We're going camping with some friends this weekend in central Washington and rafting the Tieton River on Monday, the same trip we did two years ago. Car camping means an opportunity to bring great snacks and since we can't have a campfire this year because of a burn ban, I found a recipe for S'mores cookies since we couldn't build them over an actual fire. These are definitely second best to real S'mores, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

So how do you make them? You're killing me, Smalls! ;)

I found the recipe here and used chocolate chunks instead of mini chocolate kisses, and used the standard mini marshmallows instead of the Mallow Bits the author recommended. I looked for the Mallow Bits because they seem perfect for baking (they're much smaller) but I couldn't find them! Sadness. Regardless, the cookies were still gooey and tasty.

Oh and a hint: use the parchment paper. I didn't have any so I thought, meh, how bad could it be? VERY BAD INDEED. I left the marshmallow encrusted cookie sheet in the sink to soak after the first round and tripped off to Safeway for some parchment paper. The second round went much better.

Potlucks and Portland

I love potlucks. I enjoy the sometimes hectic process of trying to figure out what dish would be a great accompaniment for an event and then putting it together. Mark’s family reunion was in Portland this weekend so I said I’d bring a pasta salad. I found a recipe that I thought looked good and didn’t require too much of me and whipped that baby up. After adding some corn, black beans, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, avocados, and a creamy dressing, I was done! And let me tell you, it looked beautiful. So colorful! I showed it to Mark before I put the dressing on because it looked like a rainbow exploded in the bowl and my anti-onion/pepper husband said, “So colorful… I don’t think it’s something I can eat.” True to form.

So I stuck it in the refrigerator for the next day and didn’t give it another thought until we were in the car on the way to Portland and Della asked, “Hey how’d the pasta salad go?” And I felt like crying because I knew I’d left it in the refrigerator.

Fortunately we are having a picnic with friends tonight so I can pawn off the pasta salad on them and it won’t go to waste. And there was certainly no shortage of good food this weekend. Our friend Wendy made the most amazing ribs… so we chowed down.


Nom nom nom

Backpacking in the Olympics

The whole crew, packed and ready to go.

As I mentioned Wednesday, Mark and I went on a backpacking trip last week in the Olympic Mountains with some friends. I was nervous about the physical aspect since I hadn’t been backpacking since early high school, but I discovered I shouldn’t have worried. Granted, I did have the lightest pack. But still! These quads held up just fine.

Click “Read More” below for more pictures and stories!

Polka dots!

I’ve needed a sleeping bag ever since my senior year of college when I left mine on a bus coming back from Whidbey Island. My purple mummy bag was so loved: I’d had it since the summer after sixth grade when I went on my first backpacking trip, and it had been on many trips with me since. The stuff sack had suffered a tear but I repaired it with duct tape so it was as good as new again. Classy, I know.

The sleeping bag drought has ended with my brand new Kelty! I love its feminine color scheme and that it has polka dots. Don’t lie, I know you’re jealous. Plus this bag is WARM. We took it on a backpacking trip last weekend and I thought I was going to have to unzip the tent that night, I was so warm. I’m not planning on leaving it on any buses in the future so I’m hoping to have this bag for years to come. Its next use: camping near Yakima before we raft the Tieton River next weekend!

Biking along the waterfront

So… I think summer is over? I feel like the northwest is known for its short yet awesome summers and this one was no different! We’ve been able to pack lots of little trips and excursions into this summer and I’ve done an awful job of posting pictures and updates, so I’ll do my best to get better.

First up, a bike excursion down the waterfront to the Sounders game. We used to bike from our old apartment to Sounders games but moving six miles north has derailed that option, at least for the casual biker like myself. But since temps were in the high 80s and sitting in the car for a potential hour sounded like no fun, we decided to pack the bikes into the car and drive to Magnolia to bike along the waterfront. I much prefer this waterfront ride to our old route to the stadium—it’s so flat!

Half-marathon #2

My second half-marathon came and went and I’m still alive! Training was much easier this time around, and while I can’t say the race was “easy,” running it was much less difficult than the first time. Having my brother next to me for almost the whole race was definitely a highlight! I really wanted to keep up with him this time (last time he left me at mile 5) but again we weren’t destined to finish together. His leg cramped up at mile 11—as he says, “it’s all fun and games until mile 11”—so I pulled ahead. Typical twin syndrome: I’ve won one, he’s won one. ;)

The weather was absolutely perfect for running, and I enjoyed the new course. We started at the Seattle Center, ran down to the International District, over to Lake Washington and north to I-90, then over to the waterfront on the viaduct (awesome view) and back to the Seattle Center. The only bad thing about coming back up the viaduct was having to dodge runners who kept stopping to take pictures.

Mark caught me at the finish line.

After I finally found Richard after the race—I assumed we’d finish together so we never discussed a plan of how to find each other afterward in the thousands and thousands of people—we went to Portage Bay Café for brunch. And man was it the best brunch I’ve ever had.

Finishers!

#8: Make sushi

I mentioned this event on Facebook but forgot to post it on here and update my 100 List! We made a foray into the world of homemade sushi all in the name of… a baby shower. My pregnant friend Samantha loves sushi but hasn’t been able to eat it for a while (obviously) so we thought it’d be fun to have some fishless sushi rolls at her shower. I wanted to do a test run though to guarantee success the day of the shower (you know how it goes – you try something new the day you need it and it’s a disaster). I didn’t quite know what to expect; I’d heard that making sushi was difficult the first time around and that rolling it correctly takes some effort. So I bought a bamboo rolling mat at an Asian grocery store for about $4, watched two instructional videos on YouTube, and gave it my best shot.

And what do you know, it actually worked! We used salmon, cucumber, avocado, a bit of cream cheese, and sesame seeds for our first attempt, but I only used cucumber, avocado, and sesame seeds for the shower sushi rolls. There’s definitely a flavor difference between homemade rolls and those found at our favorite sushi place (Umi’s Sake House in Belltown) so I’m convinced there must be some secret ingredient that normal people don’t know about. But for homemade sushi, I thought it was pretty good and fairly easy. Rolling the sushi takes some concentration to make sure you don’t roll in the plastic wrap or squish out the sushi innards but the process was much easier than I expected. The possibilities are endless!