Saturday 9/10/11 – Tuesday 9/12/11: Seattle, WA
Saturday Fred and I spin our wheels looking for a good food truck for lunch (we are to meet Jack and Sarah for dinner at their house in the evening). We go on a wild goose chase to downtown Seattle looking for a parking lot filled with food trucks only to discover the web information was wrong. We eventually track down a food truck that was featured on the Food Network’s “Eat Street.” It is the Maximus-Minimus pulled pork truck. Yum. I think it is delicious, Fred thinks it is just ok. He is disappointed and expecting something “different.” We spend the rest of the afternoon shopping and looking for stuff for the RV.
We arrive at Jack and Sarah’s just in time for dinner. They have prepared a feast of slow cooked ribs, fresh corn off the cob lightly sautéed in butter, crunchy coleslaw. All of this is topped off with Grater’s blackberry chocolate chip ice cream. This is just the beginning of four days of fabulous food. We spend the night at their condo and enjoy visiting and catching up on the past 18 months.
Sunday morning we return to the campground to move from space #11 to space #8. Evidently someone has reserved our current space, but this is not a problem. We move the RV and set up camp. Jack and Sarah arrive with Rex The Wonder Dog around 3:15. It’s a gorgeous bright sunny day and we all stroll down to the river. Rex is ecstatic – water, kids, sand, sticks - what more could a dog ask.
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| Rex The Wonder Dog |
We say goodnight to Jack, Sarah and Rex around 11:00, waving goodbye as they disappear into the dark. Next thing we know they have returned to our campsite. The park gate is padlocked and they are locked in. Fred goes with them to ask the camp host to let them out. Mr. Camp Host is not happy and begrudgingly gets the key to let them out.
Monday morning we meet Jack and Sarah at their condo. Our mission is to have an early lunch at our favorite dim sum restaurant the Jade Garden in Seattle’s Chinatown. We love to pick and choose the mouth-watering delicacies from the little carts they push hither and tither. The food is as good as ever.
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| The Jade Garden |
After lunch we head downtown to visit one of the Things To Do In Seattle: Waterfall Garden Park. We arrive to find a breathtaking waterfall tumbling over boulders and spilling into a waterway that winds around the edge of the park. The space is captivating. How I would have loved this as a lunchtime retreat from the office.
We decide to do one other thing on the Things To Do In Seattle list: the Kubota Garden, a 20-acre Japanese garden. A public park since 1987 when the City of Seattle bought the garden from the Kubota family, it was started in 1927 by Fujitaro Kubota, a Japanese emigrant. There is no entrance fee and you are free to explore the many paths and trails winding through the landscaped garden. Put this on your list of things to see and do the next time you are in Seattle.
For dinner, Jack and I are determined to recreate the corn fritters we knew and loved at the
Twin Inns Restaurant in Carlsbad, CA. Somewhere Jack has the recipe I emailed him last year. Luck is upon us and we actually find the recipe. I start to mix up the corn fritters batter and it calls for 3 TABLESPOONS OF BAKING POWDER – what? That seems like too much. Jack and I confer. Could there be a mistake in the recipe? My typing? We decide to just put in one tablespoon and see what happens. Fred laughs at us. We have looked desperately for the recipe and once we find it we don’t even to follow it! He thinks we are crazy.
Our first batch of fritters is too gummy. We add more baking powder. Jack adds some frozen corn kernels. The fritters turn out perfect, just as we remembered. The three tablespoons was correct. We pour maple syrup over them and smack our lips. So good and yummy. Here’s the recipe:
Twin Inns Restaurant in Carlsbad, CA. Somewhere Jack has the recipe I emailed him last year. Luck is upon us and we actually find the recipe. I start to mix up the corn fritters batter and it calls for 3 TABLESPOONS OF BAKING POWDER – what? That seems like too much. Jack and I confer. Could there be a mistake in the recipe? My typing? We decide to just put in one tablespoon and see what happens. Fred laughs at us. We have looked desperately for the recipe and once we find it we don’t even to follow it! He thinks we are crazy.
Our first batch of fritters is too gummy. We add more baking powder. Jack adds some frozen corn kernels. The fritters turn out perfect, just as we remembered. The three tablespoons was correct. We pour maple syrup over them and smack our lips. So good and yummy. Here’s the recipe:
1 can creamed corn
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
3 eggs
3 tablespoons baking powder
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
Mix together corns and eggs; mix in baking powder.
Add flour, salt & sugar. Mix.
Drop by ice cream scoop into oil heated to 325 degrees.
Bake for 10 min. or until deep brown
Jack prepares the oven-fried chicken, and Sarah makes her wonderful potatoe-poblano casserole. Fred naps on the couch and Rex snoozes beside him. Dinner is a feast and we retire stuffed once again. Obviously the four of us love to eat.
So, you are wondering how my Weight Watchers Program is going? Need I say?
Tuesday morning we take the VW to Loranger’s Automotive to check out a peculiar electrical burning smell we noticed in the parking lot the day before (did I forget to mention we started the morning with bacon, gravy, fried eggs, and slied fresh peaches? Silly me, how could I forget that.)
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| View from Jack & Sarah's balcony |
The four of us drive to the local Ace Hardware store so that Fred can search for a gadget he is trying to build for the RV. It’s something that will securely hold all the stuff on the kitchen sink…a dream he has. Fortunately we all love exploring the aisles of Ace Hardware stores and we spend a great deal of time discovering new gadgets. I buy a salt bowl with lid. Fred buys some hardware goodies. Jack and Sarah leave with empty hands.
We drive to one of our favorite spots: Snoqualmie Falls. The falls are as magnificent and a heavy mist clings to us. This time we take a quick tour the lodge.
We drive to one of our favorite spots: Snoqualmie Falls. The falls are as magnificent and a heavy mist clings to us. This time we take a quick tour the lodge.
We think about bowling or miniature golfing. Not enough votes. How about the zoo? No takers. What about the tamale vendor? YES!!!! First time I’ve ever purchased tamales out of the trunk of a guy’s car. Not only do we visit the tamale vendor, we also hit the Mexican food bus. You won’t believe this place, but here it is:
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| The tamale stand |
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| Mexican Food Bus |
We call the auto repair guy and he can find nothing wrong with the VW – of course. We pick it up and return to the condo. I put on my stretchy pants. We kick back and wait for dinner time to heat up the left over fried chicken and casserole. Thank heavens for my stretchy pants.
Jack is threatening to bake a blackberry pie but I’m hoping he is not serious (just kidding, I actually hope he makes it).
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