nature Denny Creek Trail Due to heats waves, forest fire smoke and some old man hockey injuries it's been a while since our last hike but we got back at it and it felt great even if it was a super high traffic spot.
fermenting A Little Funky Been a while since I've done some fermenting but a trip to the farmer's market meant access to some ingredients. First is some hot banana peppers for garnishing. Second are some pickling cucumbers. A fresh startTwo days in
nature Yosemite and Mammoth In an effort to really get away from the house for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic we went on a fun road trip to Yosemite and Mammoth to do some hiking and relaxing. It was great seeing some serious natural beauty. We got lucky and only
nature Bridal Veil Falls It's a bit different than the Bridal Veil Falls I grew up near next to Niagara Falls but it was still a fun hike with some nice sights along the way.
nature Fragrance Lake Trail A slightly wet outing today had a vista, some climbing and a loop around a lake.
nature Dirty Harry's Peak Trail It's definitely the end of the rainy season because the trail today was packed to the gills with people. At least it was a nice hike with nice views while being a decent climb.
nature Moran State Park A bit late posting these pictures but we did a little camping trip last weekend that involved some sun, hiking and general outdoors relaxing.
nature Dosewallips State Park It's spring break for Seattle public schools so we were able to get away for a couple nights of camping and a bit of hiking on the Olympic peninsula.
fermenting Long Term Hot Sauce There's an interesting debate in the fermented hot sauce world on how long you should leave your ferment going. Most people fall on the "couple of weeks" side of the argument but some people swear by longer. A lot longer. Up to this point I've stuck to the couple of
nature Padilla Bay Probably better described as a walk instead of a hike we hit a short, flat trail at Padilla Bay where the Skagit River meets the Salish Sea. The robust wind made the walk seem like it was uphill but our rain gear provided enough protection against the wind to make
nature Skookum Flats We're finally back to hiking now that Owen is fully recovered from his surgery. It couldn't have been a more beautiful day hiking in the snow. We got to try out our Yaktrax for the first time on a trail that was mostly nice compacted snow.
food Who likes fresh pasta? It's been a while since I made fresh pasta so I put together a batch this week. There's something magical about turning just some flour and an egg into a bunch of noodles.
baking Pączki Time! It's that time of year again. Baked, not fried, and filled will vanilla pudding. They are as good as they look. :)
fermenting Kimchi Taking a second shot at making kimchi. My first attempt a few months ago was way too spicy so hopefully this one is a bit more inline with something that won't blow my face off.
nature Gold Creek Pond A bit of a different outing this week adding some snowshoes to the normal hike. None of us had tried snowshoeing before so we kept it simple. The trails around Gold Creek Pond were way too crowded but at least most people were wearing masks and keeping their distance.
nature Mine Road Trail An easy, and moss filled, hike near an abandoned mine by Darrington. Had a bit of a Deliverance vibe due to being in the middle of nowhere and empty but still some good views. Nice to go on a hike and not have to worry about wearing a mask much
nature Twin Falls We are deep in the Seattle wet and dark zone of winter. You can either stay inside for the next three months or you can get wet. We chose to get wet today on a quick hike at Twin Falls to test out the full extent of our rain gear.
fermenting Krazy Kraut! Today I "harvested" the sauerkraut I started a little over a month ago. It's just been sitting on my counter doing it's thing and I've just let it do it. I'm not a sauerkraut expert and perhaps I've never had "fresh" sauerkraut before but I'll be damned if this isn't
nature Ebey's Landing It's been a while since our last hike due to some scheduling issues but we finally got out again today for a short but scenic coastal hike. The panoramic views are the type that never transfer well to pictures but we still gave it a shot.
nature Oyster Dome A nice day for a hike with trees, water views and a bit of fog. The top of the dome was fogged in so no views from up there but that didn't detract from the overall enjoyment of this hike
fermenting Cabbage Experiment 1 I've been meaning to play around with fermenting and cabbage a bit so here's take #1. Plain old normal cabbage + salt + four weeks hopefully equals sauerkraut.
sports A year of spinning This week marks a year of exercising with spin cycling. What started with a Craigslist purchase turned into a new level of fitness and fun that I didn't really expect. At the age of 46 the best shape of my life is still ahead of me and I'm getting closer
fermenting Sweet and Spicy I tend to prefer savory flavours when it comes to salsas and hot sauces but I had a batch of ghost pepper sauce that was just too hot for me to enjoy eating so I decided to try and cut it with some pineapple. The result is a flavourful sauce
fermenting Don't fear the reaper? It's time to start another pepper ferment and we're trying a slightly different mix this time. Shallots instead of onion, a few "yellow" chilies for flavour and half a Carolina reaper for heat. I haven't tried any of the reapers that I have so I'm not sure if it's really
fermenting Blech! I like pickled mushrooms. Ends up I don't like fermented mushrooms. Fermenting adds some "funk" flavours to food. This is a positive with things like hot sauces and kimchi but it's overwhelming with these mushrooms to the point that I just can't eat them. :( Fail!