Like I noted, last week and this week were oh so similar in the happenings of my life.

Monday:  Cooking class again.  This time my roommates, Polly and Mikayla, had signed up with me to take an Italian four course cooking class from a Livingsocial deal at a place called Al Boccalino in Pioneer Square.  It was a great bonding night for the three of us, and we learned to make a very unique but delicious bruschetta, pork sausage and mushrooms over creamy polenta, penne with prosciutto, peas, and a quick take on a tiramisu, plus we had a lot of fun.  We donned our aprons from home, split a carafe of wine and then sat down to our creation.

Tuesday:  Hanging out with my FareStart friends again.  Bryan and I walked to meet Angela and Andrew, also dwelling in Eastlake, at Cicchetti restaurant in Eastlake for the Dine Around Seattle deal available in November for three courses for $30.  The restaurant was very nice, the food was absolutely delicious (and Meditteranean flair), Tuesdays are 30% off bottles of wine nights (two bottles of Rioja wine for us), and our company was great!!  We really like these two!!!

Wednesday:  SEAW Happy Hour again.  Every third month we also hold a happy hour for those that work or live on the Eastside.  I am neither, but I am social chair and take this as an opportunity to try places I wouldn’t normally on the other side of the lake.  We went to Moksha (Indian) in Bellevue that is highly rated and the food was really delicious.  Our turnout was small, as expected on the eastside, leaving more chicken tikka kabobs, pappadum, potato samosas, lamb burgers, and veggie eggrolls for me.

Thursday:  FareStart again!  This week featuring Palace Kitchen, Tom Douglas restaurant that was my first to attend when the family came to visit me the first time.  Great menu (O.M.G.) and again great group of volunteers (although I missed Nikki).

First Course

Entrée

Dessert

Friday:  Hot yoga again!  Great way to end the week with a run in the dwindling sunshine.  Followed up with dinner at the Turkish restaurant Cafe Turko for some fresh and flavorful food and volunteering at the Fremont Abbey for two great musical artists.

Chelsea

I’ve been busy.  Having to replace my lost bag, with a birthday, and just with the turning of seasons I have been hard at work getting new things!  🙂

1. Chic jeggings in navy…because none of my other navy pants fit anymore and I like comfort. 
2. White camisole because you can never have too many.
3. Green fleece jacket because I like the black one so much and they are only $30 from H&M.
4. Lace up army boots because everyone is wearing them these days.
5. White cross bracelet because I thought it looked really cute.
6. Awesome Rossignol S3 skis because they are the women’s versions of Bryan’s, I like the look, and I know they are good ones.
7. Salomon ski bindings because the silver match my boots and my new skis and they are the right style for my ability.
8. Marc Jacobs wallet…because I reallyyyyyyyyy needed a new wallet!

Chelsea

Between now and Thanksgiving is filled up with events and filled up with fun.  Just like this past week I had one night after another of fun stuff…

Monday:  Yelp Elite! cooking event at Blue Ribbon Cooking

Tuesday:  SEAW Happy Hour with a great turnout, the MSU vs. Kentucky game on the big screen, and great food at Von’s 1000 Spirits

Wednesday:  Great hot yoga class at Urban Yoga Spa

Thursday:  FareStart with favorite volunteers and a great restaurant, Poppy, and great menu

Friday:  Pasta making party with FareStart volunteer friends, making linguine and pumpkin ravioli (Bryan and I pressed the ravioli), antipasti, zucchini salad, broccoli salad, tiramisu, pineapple upside down cake and lots and lots of wine

Saturday:  All day Wind Seminar at the Seattle Center (not what I wanted to do on my Saturday), sneak out early to watch the end of UM vs. Northwestern football game, homemade dinner for Bryan (and Polly lol) of roast chicken, roast vegetables (including brussels and the best find ever…white skinned sweet potatoes, so good), and homemade romesco sauce

Sunday:  Church, Seahawks vs. Vikings win with homemade green chile chicken enchiladas, mole pork enchiladas, zucchini salad, maduros (sweet roasted plantains), and a homemade apple crisp with vanilla ice cream, got my bindings for my skis, lazy night

This week’s events and agenda are almost identical.  Ready, set, go!

Chelsea

Here are some pictures that I just stole off of Bryan’s camera:

Chelsea

On Monday I was so super stoked to be apart of the Yelp Elite community.  For this event a group of 50 of us were given a night of cooking instruction at the the Blue Ribbon Cooking Center in Eastlake (right down the road from Bryan).  From 6-9 pm we were given craft cocktails and appetizers while we were divided into cooking groups and rotated through 3 of 5 different stations (of our choosing) before sitting down to eat our homemade dinner served to us by course.  It was an awesome instructional experience and priced at over $150 normally.  The menu we learned fit the season, was delicious, and included:

Appetizers (prepared for us and served as snacks throughout the night):
-Thai Grilled Chicken Skewers with Chile-Honey-Peanut Sauce, Coconut and Cilantro
-Modern Caprese Tart with Heirloom Tomato Jam, Fried Prosciutto and Fresh Mozzarella marinated in Basil-Infused Olive Oil

Salad Course
-Mixed Baby Greens with Grapefruit, Fennel Shaved Pecorino Romano and Champagne Vinaigrette

Starter Course
-Slow Roasted Troll-Caught Salmon with Martini Sauce

Entrées
-Cider Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Flambéed Apples and Caramelized Walla Walla Sweet Onions
-Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Brown Butter Sage Sauce
-Sautéed Green Beans with White Wine and Shallots

Dessert
-Caramelized Apple and Rosemary Tarte Tatin with Caramel Sauce, Gray Salt and Crème Brulee Ice Cream

And Blue Ribbon’s Signature Coffee with Hand-Whipped Cream and Ibarra Mexican Chocolate

The three stations I chose included all of the above except for the dessert course and the cocktail station.  I actually really learned a lot.  Provided that each station was only given 30 minutes of instructional time we could not see everything through but we did get all of the crucial information and did get to work with our hands for a good part of it.  As much as I feel skilled in making a pork tenderloin (especially paired with apples and onions…a la Mom) I want to try this dish at home soon.  It was super easy but really delicious.  The sweet potato gnocchi was also a standout for me.  I am not a huge pasta person but I love sweet potatoes, I prefer gnocchi over a lot of other pastas, and it was far simpler than I would have thought.  I also that the brown butter sage sauce was killer and super simple.  Here are some key learnings from the night:

1. Brining makes a huge difference in moistness and tenderness of poultry.  Brine with 3/4 cup salt + 3/4 cup sugar in one quart of water for up to 24 hours for a super tender piece of meat.
2. The brine juice also helps give you the great sear and caramelization as you retain some of that sugar in the crust.
3. Practice flambeing with one cup of rice in a saute pan outside in the grass.
4. Sear the side of the meat or fish that you want to present first.
5. A vinaigrette is essentially salt, sugar/honey, vinegar, and oil.
6. Pecorino romano and parmesan reggiano are the highest fat contents of cheese, including brie.  Pecorino romano is saltier than parmesan.
7. Remove all whey from ricotta cheese before adding to gnocchi dough so you need less flour to bind it.
8. Making gnocchi is essentially like playing with play-doh.
9. We rolled out the gnocchi with our hands into dime-sized snakes before cutting into equal pieces and then rolling it along a fork to create ridges for the gnocchi to hold the sauce.  Roll out dough in rice flour as opposed to all purpose because it will release in the water better and make the gnocchi less gummy.
10. Blanch green beans in salted water to retain flavor and color.

This was just a sneak peak into all of the things that I will soon be learning in my cooking series course.  I am beyond excited and can’t wait to make many of these dishes on my own, for friends, and with Bryan.

Chelsea

This weekend we embarked on a short trip to Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands.  Staying at a B&B on the island, going with our friends Billy and Valerie, and being a short trip it felt more like a staycation than anything.  Providing relaxation and leisure activities, it was a very nice getaway for all four of us.

Bryan and I were fortunate enough to leave early on Friday and left at noon, packed and ready to go.  Our drive to Anacortes was a smooth 1.5 hour and we had some time to kill before our ferry was ready to debark.  We drove our car on the ferry and had THE. BEST. FERRY. RIDE. EVER.  The sun was beaming through the glass, we had picturesque views of all surrounding mountains and islands, I had one of the many puzzles kept on the ferry, and we randomly had a couple of polka players performing for us the entire hour and fifteen minutes through.  And they were good.  We checked into our bed and breakfast at the Tucker House Inn and were instantly at ease and happy.  We had the whole first floor of one of their houses, a full kitchen, a sunroom that held our dining table, a living room with TV and wood burning fireplace, and two large bedrooms each with their own TVs, bathrooms, homemade soaps, and robes.

Friday night we had to ourselves before the other two joined us later.  Being who I am I had read about a fantastic deal at the neighboring Coho Restaurant.  For $70 we each got a soup and salad starter, an entree (normally priced at $30 each), ice cream or sorbet and bottle of wine to split.  WHAT?!?!?!?!  Two entrees alone would normally be $70.  The deal is only good from 5-5:45 pm but we easily got there at 5:15 and were the first guests seated so we had the dining room to ourselves for quite some time which was awesome.  We were delivered a bruschetta each for palate cleansing, then we received our fabulous and creamy cauliflower and leek soup with pancetta and mixed greens salad.  I chose the special of the day which were huge scallops seared to perfection in a light cream sauce with some brilliant sauteed kale and squash and Bryan chose the roasted chicken with potato and blue cheese rosti and braised greens.  The tempranillo-cabernet from Spain that we chose rounded everything out.  And for dessert I selected the amaretto and Kahlua ice cream and Bryan chose the dark chocolate ice cream, before deciding we like the others better and switching a few bites in.  Dinner was great all around.

After greeting Billy and Valerie and catching up over our ginger cookies and truffles left for us upon arrival we rested for the next day.  Saturday we were greeted with a 3-course breakfast delivered to our sunroom.  We were provided with creamy yogurt, homemade granola, sliced pears, four omelets filled with roasted potatoes, ham, peppers, onions, mushrooms, and goat cheese, and a vanilla creme brulee topped with candied apples for dessert along with milk, OJ, and coffee.  Fantastically stuffed we got into the car to start our tour of the island.  In our drive around the whole island (about 60 miles) we stopped at the American and British Camps with a history museum on the Pig Wars, two lighthouses with short walks, an alpaca farm (awesome!), False Bay, Roche Harbor which was super beautiful (for a snack) and a local distillery which led us through a tasting of their interesting ciders and gins made with island apples, herbs and botanicals (lots of lavender).  Saturday night we picked up some super fresh King salmon that we cooked in our room along with butternut squash and salad and the bottle of Champagne, compliments of the Inn.  We soaked in the hot tub, picked up A Fish Called Wanda from the Inn’s video library, started a fire, had the Inn’s lavender hot chocolate and glazed pumpkin raisin cookies, and Bryan and I fell asleep on the floor next to the fire.

Sunday we were greeted again with a great breakfast.  This time we had chicken, spinach and goat cheese enchiladas/tacos topped with poached eggs, spiced cooked carrots, rice, yogurt, granola, and a fruit salad, and each had our own pumpkin spiced creme puff for dessert.  Again delicious!!!  We checked out and then headed to a local bar next to the harbor to watch the beating of the Seahawks against the Falcons.  Bryan and I chose to take a later ferry and walked around Friday Harbor a little bit to go into the antiques stores.  Our ferry back was nice and long with one stop at Lopez Island.  We didn’t mind, we like the ferry, the puzzles, and a quick catnap.  We were back to Seattle around six.  We had a great relaxing weekend away to the islands and I think we both really needed it!

Chelsea

Seattle weather recently has been both good and bad, wild and calm, rainy and sunny.  It has provided some entertainment as well, but I am not complaining.

Saturday = STORMY

The storm even made national news as several lost power in their homes and in stores and the 520 floating bridge closed after several people abandoned (?) their cars as the bridge shivered and the waves crashed over the road.  How were we affected?  Bryan and I went for a run, lol.  We actually went on our first run together, driving to the nearby Washington Arboretum, that neither of us have been to before, where we were protected by the colossal trees as we took in the beauty of the fall fauna on our 3 mile run.  We also retreated indoors the rest of the day, watching our teams football games at the Eastlake Bar and Grill for brunch where we could also watch the choppy waters of Lake Union from inside.

Sunday = SUNNY

We had glorious weather on Sunday.  Super sunny skies that could be seen if watching the Seahawks game (woohoo) on TV.  How did we celebrate?  By taking an indoor yoga class and spending all day inside pulling out the Seahawks comeback to bring us to an 8-1 record.  We did spend time supervising the smoker as we smoked salmon and chicken for a dinner with our friends (I made a kale caesar salad and roasted sweet potatoes).  Since it now gets dark at 5:30 pm, after the game friends stayed inside to watch the movie I had picked up from the library, called Seven Psychopaths, that we all really enjoyed.  Bryan’s new roommate even  baked us strawberry scones from scratch (I am quickly growing fond of this guy).

Monday = SUNNY

Spent it working.  Was treated to a really nice dinner when I got home from work by Mikayla and Polly.  They made a sausage brioche with homemade brioche dough and lamb sausage (I really liked the lamb), roasted fall veggies, and a lemon pudding dessert (like lemon bars) for me and we watched the beginning of Girls Season 2.

Tuesday = BLAH

Used free birthday meal voucher for a bowl of seafood chowder and fresh baked sourdough bread from Duke’s Chowder House on Lake Union before going over to the boys to do yoga on my own and watch Game of Thrones.

Wednesday = SO SO

Took a great hour long yoga class at Urban Yoga Spa before getting treated to a free dinner at Veggie Grill downtown for a Yelp! event.  Even got to bring home a free dessert, another free entree voucher, and tried some locally distilled liquors.  Tried the new salad on their menu; the Savory Kale Caesar Salad (sound familiar?), although theirs came with avocado, cucumber, and tempeh bacon, plus chik’n that I added and a bowl of their new creamy asparagus soup.  Good dinner after a sweaty workout!

Thursday = DIDN’T SEE THE OUTSIDE ANYWAYS

First time back to FareStart in a long time.  It was a sold out night with Sitka and Spruce being the guest chef (a place I have really wanted to dine at since moving to Seattle and really famous chef in Seattle).  A fantastic menu:

Vegetarian: Autumn Vegetable Mezze: Kuri Squash with Tahini Puree; Feta and Chopped Kale Salad with Sesame and Pistachio; Carrot and Yogurt Salad with Chili Oil and Green Coriander; Jordanian Za’atar Slab Bread

Entrée: Chicken Braised with Prunes and Walnuts with Beet and Lentil Pilav, Cumin, and Preserved Lemon Butter

Dessert: Rice Pudding with Cardamom and Rose, Pistachio Cookies and Quince Syrup

Friday = SUPER SUNNY PERFECT FOR OUR FERRY RIDE

Leaving for Friday Harbor in the San Juans with Bryan and friends Billy and Valerie.  I’m excited and don’t even care if it keeps on raining.

Chelsea

These are my current Top Ten Must Haves in my life right now:

1. Thermos:  This baby keeps drinks warm for hours days.  No joke.  I can fill up with coffee in the morning and it will still be hot, not warm, hot, at the end of the day.  No more frequent trips to the kitchen at work to nuke my mug.  Savior!  
2. H&M Fleece:  I bought this fleece unnecessarily a few weeks ago for $25.  However, it is no longer unnecessary but very, very necessary.  I wear it almost ever day because it is so warm, flattering, and shaped slimming enough to wear under other jackets.  I even went back to get the forest green one I was tried on the first time just because I wear it so much.
3. Immersion Blender:  Ever since stealing Bryan’s immersion blender I am in love with that thing.  I find myself wondering what concoction I can whiz away at next.  So far I have made just two soups but will no doubt be making many more this winter.
4. Straightening Iron:  I don’t straighten my hair every day, or even every week, but this thing is a miracle worker.  It is now kept most often at my desk at work so that I can freshen up right before leaving work since I don’t find the time in the morning before work anymore.  Voila…beautiful!
5. Towels:  These are not ordinary towels, these are towels that I keep stored in the seat of my scooter all of the time.  I cannot tell you how many times I have gone out to my scooter with rain (or dew) on my seat and wished I had something to dry the seat off with.  I have kept these handy towels accessible now for about a year and they are the best things ever.  I could also add my super baggy black UM water ski sweatpants that cover any skirt, pants, or dress when I ride my scooter to work.
6. Slow Cooker:  It’s back…the season for slow cooking.  We broke it out for the chili for my birthday party and for the sandwiches for the Seahawks game.  With cold weather setting in and me wanting to host more weekday Seahawks game nights and such I see it being used quite often this winter.
7. Library Card:  I honestly cannot believe it when people hear about my library uses and proclaim, “I need to get a library card.”  What?  You don’t already have one?  That was one of the first things that I got when I moved to Seattle and I think the Seattle Public Library system is flipping great!!  The collection is huge and you can place hold requests to deliver it to any of the library branches depending on where you live or work.  You can easily renew on their website.  And DVDs!!!!  You can rent so many old and new DVDs for free and have them checked out for 3 weeks.  Redbox can’t do that.  I don’t generally see the point of buying books unless they are demonstration books like cookbooks, gardening, traveling, etc.  Never have, never will…that pretty much goes with me and DVDs too.
8. Twitter Account:  I am not a Tweeter.  I am also not a news follower.  I will say that right away.  But, my oh my, is Twitter a source of constant updates.  I use it to find out about all the cool and unique (and often free!) events that are going on in the city around me.  I use it to find out about restaurant openings, concerts, giveaways, and some news bits.  I could do without it…but my life would be more dull.
9. My TV:  I got this bad boy last March and ever since it has made me very happy.  It has made me so much more confident when hosting guests, not feeling insecure about my guests being able to watch Mad Men episodes, games, or movies.  It is enjoyable when I hang out with Bryan or the girls at night.  It is great to watch games on ABC, CBS, and Fox.  We can easily stream Hulu Plus and Netflix to it and watch many of our shows and movies.  It is also a focal point of that main living room and has brought people to that room, where people should be.  I love it…with or without cable.
10. Scooter:  Duh!  I’ve already explained its importance and absolutely freak out anytime anything at all happens to it.

Chelsea

With November already here I feel like fall is almost virtually over, which is so sad because I really love this season.  But alas, the sun is still out (at times), and it is still light out when I leave for work and come home, and the temperatures aren’t too chilly out.  But I have another list…a list of things I still need to do or try before this magical season is over:

1. Get a pumpkin old fashioned doughnut from Top Pot (also conveniently sold from QFC)
2. Walk/run through the Washington Arboretum to see all of the pretty fall colors (did do this past weekend)
3. Get some pumpkin pancakes (IHOP will do)
4. Drive to see larches (ever since my friends were talking about them I want to see these trees)
5. Get a hot pumpernickel bagel with pumpkin cream cheese from Einstein Brothers Bagels
6. Make a fall centerpiece
7. Buy some holiday tea at the market
8. Make pumpkin, banana, or zucchini bread (or bake something for crying out loud)

Chelsea

My birthday month is over 🙁

1.  My Birthday

I had a fantastic 27th birthday, even being on a Monday.  I got Einstein Brothers bagels from my company, mani/pedis with Polly, a huge bouquet of lilies and roses from Bryan and we had a fantastic dinner at Ethan Stowell’s Staple and Fancy Mercantile in Ballard with a candle even in my dessert (which was soooooooo amazing).

2.  Pumpkin Picking and Corn Maze

The Saturday before my birthday I delightedly spent a festive fall day with a bunch of my friends.  We picked pumpkins and raced (seriously) through the corn maze in Puyallup, WA before heading back to our house for chili (made by Polly), chocolate and peanut butter cake (made by Bryan), a scary movie, pumpkin carving, and roasted pumpkin seeds.  I had a blast!!!

3.  Birthday Cake

As mentioned previously Bryan made my birthday cake this year.  He used the Cooking Light recipe method (but I’m pretty sure he didn’t get anything “light”) and a great peanut butter cream cheese frosting.  I don’t know what it is about birthday cake, especially this birthday cake, but I feel like I can’t celebrate a birthday without one.  Nor should anyone and that’s why I try to remember my friend’s birthdays too.  I had about six pieces of this cake in total.

4.  Nightmare on Lee Street Party

Let me just say that the girls at the Lee Street house know how to through a wicked party.  This was our second attempt at a party and was even better than the first.  We had so many guests, so much dancing, so much to drink, and such a good time.  From the decorations, to the food and drink, to the playlist, to the guest list, we did it up right.  Went to bed at 3 am!!!!

5.  Seahawks Winning!

So far this season I have gone to my very first Seahawks game, have hosted four Seahawks watching game nights, have bought my first Seahawks apparel, and the Seahawks are now 8-1 (first time ever in Seahawks history).  Bryan and I especially love them this year and my friends are getting on board with them too.  It’s fun to actually have a team who we can all cheer for…and better yet, who wins!!

6.  Purse Stolen

Though not a positive highlight of October, my bag being taken from the volunteer room at the FareStart gala, was indeed a mood-swinger and mini fiasco.  I’ve had to get all accounts stopped and cards replaced and had to work with Progressive on my first ever claim.  As much of a nuisance it was, it was also another life lesson.  From now on I am going to try to carry less with me.  I also am going to make sure that I keep more of my receipts.  And I am very thankful that I lost very few sentimental things in this incident.  The thing I currently miss the most is my great Coach wallet.  I haven’t gotten a replacement wallet for it yet and realizing just how much it carried and how organized it kept me is a real insight!

7.  Documentary Nights

Luis and Carina have started to host Documentary Nights, featuring wine, apps, dessert, and a featured documentary with voluntary discussion usually following after.  We have since watched Mansome and Detropia.  I’ve actually had strong opinions about each and it has been nice to see friends more on weeknights.

8.  New Friends

Billy and Valerie have recently jumped to our favorites in our group of friends.  They are extremely sweet, funny, cute together, and interesting.  They have interests different than ours but not conflicting of ours.  We’ve had them over a few times and they returned the favor with a Thank You card and a dinner at their place.  We are planning a weekend excursion with them to Friday Harbor in the San Juans in a week.

9.  Ms. Pacman and Blinky

Best. Costume. Ever.  It was like my dreams came true and we looked spectacular.  We had great fun making the costumes and even more fun dancing with them on.  I was first going to throw mine away after we used them but after our party and seeing the pictures I plan to keep them for one more Halloween at least.  And I might want to enter a Halloween Costume Contest in the near future.

10.  Seattle Restaurant Week

I was able to dine out twice for SRW, per my usual, once for dinner and once for lunch.  Both times were great and both were great deals.  The first time was for dinner on my birthday and I chose Ethan Stowell’s Ballard restaurant, Staple and Fancy Mercantile, a place that I wanted to dine at in the spring but that was already full up.  This year booking my reservation weeks in advance secured our spot and we had an exceptional three course meal with highlights being the braised pork cheeks, the pasta, and both desserts.  So rich and delicious.  For $28 each this was a steal of a dinner.

For SRW lunch I tried the newest Tom Douglas restaurant, Tanakasan, located in Belltown.  Again, a great meal with very good flavors.  My only critique for this restaurant are very high prices for small portions of Asian food that you can get really good in Seattle already for very cheap.  Might not come back but so glad that I tried it.

Chelsea