My famous fish tacos

     Well, no where tonight, just a nice home cooked meal before Kieko leaves for her trip to Alaska.  That's right, the tundra, the frozen northern most icon.  She will be gone for five day; what will I do.  I'm so lost.  Anyway, I made her favorite fish tacos but with peach salsa this time.  That's right, peach salsa.  I've made the salsa with mangos but I figure since peaches are seasonal and somewhat local (we have peach orchards  in Eastern Washington.).  Can you think of anything better?  I didn't think so.  Fish tacos are in fact one of the ten best things in the entire world.

     I like to use a white fish such as cod, talpia or rockfish because of the way it flakes when you cook it.  I marinate the fish in olive oil, onion, jalapeno, and oregano.  I also season it with salt and peper.  Let that set for at least an hour, preferrably more.

     For the salsa, peel and chop the peach along with tomato, red onion, and jalapeno ( or your favorite peppers).  Use a little olive oil, and white wine vinegar, very little, as the olive oil tends to  dull the flavor too much.  Chop some cilantro and a squeeze of lime and let set for whenever.

     Then just fry up the fish and make sure it flakes.  Heat up some tortillas and enjoy.

   
    Oh and make some guacamole as well.  Muy bueno!

Hiking the Denny Creek

     Wow, what a great day for a hike.  This morning we got up and got ready to go up to Snoqualmie Pass to do a little hiking.  But first some breakfast, so we headed to The DISH in Fremont in Seattle.  The food is good but the service was less than terrific.  So I leave it at that.

     We drove up to Snoqualmie Pass to the Denny Creek trail head which is managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

    
      The first half of the trail was pretty mellow but very pleasant as we went under I-90 on the way up to the Waterslide.

     As you can see, this is a great place to bring small children to frolic in the water.  Needless to say, we didn't spend much time here.  We had bigger views to capture.  The rest of the hike became a little bit more challenging and thus fewer kids.  As I recall there were no kids past the Waterslide.  The trail then winds and gets a little steeper until you get to Keekwulee Falls, and Snowshoe Falls.  Snowshoe Falls is the type of place where you relax for a while and splash some cold water on your face and admire the view.

     Getting to the falls did take some rock navigating if you will, but well worth it.

     Many of you may not be aware of this fact, but it takes less time to go back down the trail then up.  How does that work?

      It was a great hike and we were able to get plenty of sun and exercise. 

     When we got home Kieko made the most delicious bowl of Udon Noodles that I had never had before.  Udon are thick noodles and Kieko ran them under cold water after they were cooked.  Japanese potato was grated over the noodles with green onion, seaweed, soy sauce and some wasabi.  It was really good.  I'll have to request that again sometime.

      Yeah, this is what we have to endure after we eat.









Connected

     So the connections issue is solved so I will continue now so enjoy.

     Last night we went to Safeco Field to see the Mariners and to get a Mariners fleece blanket.  The blanket was nice but the game, not so much.  It's like they don't want to score any runs.  Anyway, I still enjoy going to Safeco Field for all the traditions of the ballpark; from the obligatory dog to singing "Take me out to the Ball Game." 

         Mmmmm, doesn't that look good.

     Despite the Mariners loosing, it was still a great night for baseball.

     Today was another beautiful day, so we started at the Des Moines Farmers Market by our place.  The sun was shining and all of the vendors were out displaying their products.  It was really nice.  I picked up a few things to make some fish tacos tomorrow and brought them home.

     This afternoon we took a trip up to Mukilteo, WA which is north of Seattle.  It was a great day to be on the waterfront as the sun was shining and a nice breeze kept us from getting hot.  Of course everyone else thought it was nice to.  Yeah, it was a little crowded but worth the drive.  There is a charming little lighthouse next to the ferry dock making for excellent postcard photos.

     After walking around for a while we became a little hungry so we walked into the Diamond Knot Brewery Alehouse for dinner.  It is purposefully a dive bar with peanut shells on the floor even.  We ordered a couple of their brews and some food.  They have several menu items where meat is put on a hot stone that is heated to 750 degree called a stonegrill.  Kieko ordered the Cajun Shrimp which was centainly better then the meat sandwich I ordered.  I had a french dip type of sandwich which was mediocre at best.  Still a fun experience.

    
     I guess I would still recommend the Diamond Knot Brewery Alehouse. 

     Afterwards, some more walking in a park and then to Seattle for some ice cream at Molly Moon's.  This is quite possibly the best ice cream in the region.  Kieko had a peach sundae made with Earl Gray tea ice cream and I had a fig/chocolate sundae.  That pretty much made my day.

     Well, that is all for now.  Tomorrow we are planning on some hiking up at Snoqualmie Pass.

Connection issues

So I'm having some problems with my Internet connection tonight. My only outlet is my phone and that is not giving me any options really. Hopefully it will be fixed soon.

Good night

Tonight's experience & the past.

     Well tonight was another experience with the Tom Douglas brand.  F
or those who don't know, Tom Douglas is a famous chef here in Seattle.  He has a number of restaurants in the area and they are all just different enough to make it interesting.  Truth be told, they are all pretty good.  Tonight we were at the Palace Kitchen on 5th and Lenora downtown.  They were having an event called "Meet your Maker", and featured items from the Tom Douglass owned Prosser Farms in Yakima, WA.  It was more of a tasting event featuring the food from the farm as well as Chinook Winery in Yakima. 

     The small plates were just that, small, so $25 seemed a little steep for what we got.  However, it was still good.  There were three different varieties of heirloom tomatoes prepared three different ways.  There was a deconstructed BLT with a slice of green tomato with a half slice of bacon and some lettuce, a slice of red tomato with fromage blanc on top and then another slice of tomato with curried potato.  Then there was the eggplant fritter with a tomato jam and basil sauce, but not quite a pesto.  It was all very good but just not enough.  So of course we had to order some fried oysters.  yeah nuf said.

Thank you Palace Kitchen for a very good meal, as much as it was. 

     I wanted to also tell everyone about a new restaurant in Tacoma called Marrow.  This place totally rocks.  It was opened up by Jamie Kay and Jason Jones of Tacoma.  It has a really great atmosphere and even better food.  I highly recommend the squash blossoms, and the watermelon salad with chevre and cherries vinaigrette was just the thing after hiking at Mount Rainier on a warm day.  If you want a great meal with attentive service and a cool vibe, this is the place to be.

     Yeah, I had to add this one for good measure.

     Well, good night all.  I will post again soon.

And so it starts

     OK everyone, hold on tight, Stevo has just entered the blogosphere!  I have taken the plunge and will be delighting you with events and food and travels around the Pacific Northwest in general and the Puget Sound specifically.  On occasion I will also be intent on annoying you and quite possibly angering you.  OK, probably not anger.

     As many of you know, I have taken to cooking lately and have become a bit of a foodie.  I have begun taking a delectable journey into the world of food both from my kitchen as well as the "professionals."  Kieko and I are always on the look out for a great restaurant or a great meal; and we have discovered many.  The Pacific Northwest is a food lovers paradise.  Well, It's my paradise anyway.

     There is of course more to life than food, although I can't think of many right off hand.  Traveling around the Sound and the Northwest is amazing as well.  Mount Rainier is one of my favorite places in the entire world.  The sheer grandeur of the place is awesome!

     So be patient with me in the beginning as I am a blog virgin so please be gentle and then I will take you there.