The year of records

From the Seattle KOMO weather blog:

"Wednesday marked the 63rd consecutive day with a high temperature of 70 degrees or warmer in Seattle, breaking the record of 62 set in 2015, which just had broke the record of 61 set in 2003."

Who can deny the climate is becoming warmer, and the weather patterns more extreme?  Add that to that our new 2017 records for "wettest winter" followed by the "longest stretch without precipitation."  In fact, other than a smidgen in July, it has not rained in Seattle since mid-June.

The trees are starting to drop leaves and fade color, more from drought stress than the approaching fall. Still, here it is, the end of August already. For the many Seattle hot weather haters, relief is in sight. The long, dark, wet months are just around the corner. I'm

But in the meantime, one last hurrah for summer.  Surprise! This Labor Day weekend might be the hottest on record, with temperatures reaching the 90's again by early next week.

Amanda is driving over to Seattle today with the girls. She plans to visit some old friends who are in town. They are staying here for two nights, so a fun and busy holiday weekend at home for us. 

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Today is the birthday of Mary Shelley (1797) most famous as the author of Frankenstein, considered the first science fiction novel.   She was the daughter of philosopher and political writer William Godwin and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. She didn't have a formal education, but made great use of her father's extensive library and the home was filled with distinguished literary guests, like William Wordsworth.  She died of a brain tumor at the age of 53, but lived an incredibly eventful and productive life.

As I was reading about her today, she reminded me of the fictional character in Elizabeth Gilbert's historical novel, "The Signature of All Things." What a wonderful read.  The book starts with the story of Henry Whittaker, a poor Englishman who makes a fortune in the South American quinine trade, becoming the richest man in Philadelphia. Henry's brilliant daughter ultimately becomes a gifted botanist, specializing in the study of mosses.  All this takes place in the early 19th century, when Darwin and others challenged the old assumptions about science, religion, commerce, and class.   

"To have in this uncertain world some stay

which cannot be undermined, is of the

utmost consequence."

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Thoughts on the Education of Daughters

Slap-dash chutney

I watched as much human misery as I could take this morning, then turned off the TV and put on The Brandenburg Concertos, my favorite music to can by. I had enough ripe fruit to make a batch of spicy plum chutney-- a dark, savory "relish" good with pork, turkey, cheese, curry, etc.

Most chutney recipes have intimidating lists of ingredients and spices, but nothing could be easier.  All you need is time. Everything gets chopped, grated, measured and then dumped into one pot to cook down for a couple of hours.  While that's going on, round up the jars and and get the water canner boiling.

Generally speaking, it's important to follow exact recipes and directions when canning.  This is especially true with homemade jam and jelly, which flops if the fruit-sugar-pectin ratio isn't right.  Supermarket jam is cheap and good, so I don't bother with fussy stuff like that. But pickles and chutney recipes are fun,  and you have a little more leeway.  The fresh raw ingredients vary greatly from year to year, so it's more creative. 

I never cut corners of course with sterilizing or processing steps, but I've gotten cocky over the years with chutney ingredients. This morning I tinkered with the Saveur magazine recipe and used tiny fresh hot chili peppers instead of flakes, Olive Pit red wine vinegar instead of cider, increased the garlic and added a chopped red onion. 

So. After simmering for an hour it smelled delicious.  We could eat it immediately of course, but chutney is MUCH better after aging for a few months, so time will tell.  The only problem with this method is I could never reproduce the same exact product again.  It's just a slap-dash work of kitchen art.

The worst is yet to come?

Our late summer weather is dry, peaceful and calm.  The contrast is surreal this morning, watching the dreadful news from Texas. I can't imagine our pretty little house and garden destroyed under an appalling flood.   And not just 11 trillion gallons of rainwater, but sewage, snakes, creatures and every kind of urban filth.

Texas seems so far away. Why is that? I don't know anyone in Texas, other than an old acquaintance in Austin, and a lady in the panhandle who writes a blog I follow.  I see the President is coming to visit y'all tomorrow.  We feel your pain up here in the left-hand corner of the country. Honestly, we do. Natural disasters are equal opportunity. What goes around, eventually comes around.

I spent most of the weekend working in the garden. We got a generous (but not overwhelming) crop of plums this summer. There's plenty for eating and chutney, but not enough to trigger a neighborhood feeding frenzy, with people climbing on the fence or helping themselves with step ladders. Hey, I'm happy to share with friends and family, but really?  I guess there's something irresistible about the sight of "free fruit."

The tree hasn't been pruned lately, so most of the plums are high up. At least the best ones.  No worries, I used my handy-dandy-fruit-picker-on-a-pole.

(Not me, but will be soon.)

I can't pick plums without this song humming in my ear.

A quick study

I may have got her started...

But it won't be long til Nova is teaching Nana a thing or two about crocheting...

Win some, lose some

 Are we having fun yet?

When I got to Wenatchee yesterday, I checked the WASHDOT website for both Snoqualmie and Stevens Passes.  Drat!  All routes over the Cascades showed "significant" construction delays.  I basically flipped a coin and went with Stevens Pass.

Bad luck. It was bumper-to-bumper traffic for 80 miles,  from the top of the mountains to downtown Seattle. The traffic stretched forever in both directions as we crawled single file over long stretches of unpaved gravel. Adding insult to injury, a speeding truck sprayed my poor little car with a shower of rocks, leaving at least one big chip on the windshield.  After the car wash, I'll see what other damage is hiding under all the dirt. 

Oh well.  At least I arrived home under my own power, all in one piece (missing a chip or so.) You can't ask for more than that.  But by then it was 4 pm, over 6 hours on the road with an apple for lunch.  I listened to podcasts to pass the time. If you enjoy them, I highly recommend Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History. 

I thought we both deserved a good dinner, since John subsists mostly on teriyaki when I'm away.  I'd bought sweet corn at a produce stand, and then picked up T-bone steaks at Safeway.

It feels good to be home, but Seattle is dry, dry, dry.  We've only had one little drizzle of rain since early June, so going on 3 months without precipitation.

And poor Texas, getting hit with as much rain this weekend as Seattle sees in an entire year. Send some Harvey our way. This is the driest summer in 100 years.

Bye for now

The Internet connection is fickle this morning, so I only managed to upload one photograph from yesterday.  But you get the picture-- cute girls, growing up too fast. My head is still ringing with "Nana! Nana! Look at me!" We had a great time.

I'm headed back to Seattle today, with stops at produce stands along the way.  Canning season is here. John is dropping hints that our chutney stash has dwindled to dangerous levels.

In summer, you have three possible routes: the North Cascades Highway, Snoqualmie Pass, or Stevens Pass. The mileage is about the same; the scenery is not.  Highway 20 over the North Cascades is by far the most beautiful. Snoqualmie Pass is a rat race but usually fast, since I-90 dumps us off practically in our backyard.  We seldom take the middle route (Stevens Pass) so that might be a good change of scene.

Sewing, swimming, etc.

Yesterday was non-stop busy and fun.  We spent most of the morning sewing doll clothes, then hit the Twisp Community Pool in the hot afternoon hours.  By the time mommy and daddy got home, everyone was wiped out, but Amanda still made a delicious salmon dinner with fresh artichokes. 

Tom was greeted with a washing machine problem (it refused to drain) when he came in the door after after a long days' work.  Believe me, a balky washer is indeed a crisis with an active family of four.  Laundry piles up at a phenomenal pace.  He seemed to be making some progress with coaxing it back to life. Otherwise, we'll be having some of our fun at the town laundromat today.

Shows over

 5b's Bakery

Concrete, WA

In case you missed it, there are many breathtaking photographs of the eclipse on the Internet this morning. I left early yesterday, instead of hanging around the house until the event was over.  Going north, I had the road pretty much to myself and was already in the town of Concrete on the North Cascades Highway when the eclipse reached its peak. Even with 88% of the sun blocked, it was still light, albeit a rather strange light.

I pulled into the bakery parking lot, got out of the car, and a nice person immediately handed me some extra solar glasses.  How lucky! They were impossible to get in Seattle. So I had a cup of coffee and sat for a while, watching from that peaceful spot.  

And then onward to Twisp. I'm looking forward to spending a busy two days with the girls while Amanda and Tom are at work.  

 

E-Day finally arrives

Path of totality

The wait is almost over. There's some fog this morning in Seattle, but it's expected to burn off quickly. Along the path of totality, there will be complete darkness for a few minutes as the shadow races across the country.

Here in western Washington, the sun will be about 90-95% blocked for a brief period just after 10 a.m. The lack of sunshine will actually cause the temperature to drop a few degrees. A NASA research plane with a film crew is just taking off from Boeing Field.  I'm sure there will be many spectacular photographs and videos.  

When to leave for Twisp is somewhat of a dilemma. It's maybe not a good idea being on the road with distracted drivers during the event. They say there are some people so clueless this could actually take them by surprise.  But if I wait until it's over, that gives me a late start on the long drive.  Oh well, I have all day to get there...

Enjoy the eclipse wherever you happen to be!

Good golly, peach pie

When was the last time I made a homemade peach pie?  I mean not cheating, with a lazy frozen crust or packaged mix. 

I have shelves of cookbooks, but always seem to go back to my old 1963 Betty Crocker for the basic stuff.  My mother gave me this book on my 17th birthday, and I taught myself how to cook with it over the years.

It's also full of 1950's era house-wifely advice, with tips on running an efficient kitchen and keeping a happy husband (with the help of pies, cakes and roast beef.)

Here's a pristine edition I found on the Internet...

And here's mine, falling apart at the seams, bespattered with thousands of meals and crammed with things like mom's handwritten recipe cards, funny cooking magazine clippings from the 70's and 80's, and Amanda's art work.  In short, a treasure. 

I like watching cooking shows on PBS, like "Martha Stewart Bakes" and "American Test Kitchens." It's fascinating how difficult and complicated they can make the simplest things, like pie crust.

Betty Crocker didn't fuss with stuff like that.

For two 8 inch pie crusts:

1/2 cup shortening (or butter)
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
Cold water to bind the dough

That's it. No food processor required. You can use a pastry cutter or fork to crumble the butter into the flour, but honestly I think it works better to use your hands, Julia Child style. As she would say, you can "get the feel" of the dough. Yes, there's a knack to pie crust, but it's something worth mastering, to call yourself a decent home cook. 

And oh my goodness, what a perfect summer dessert.

Eclipse mania

The eclipse is still five days away, but traffic is already backing up in central Oregon.  It will be the biggest crowd event in state history, with about a million people headed to the 60 mile wide "zone of totality." They are telling everyone to go days early, because traffic is expected to be gridlock on Monday morning.

As luck would have it, I'm going to Twisp on Monday to spend a couple days with the girls. I have no idea how this traffic nightmare will impact the roads in eastern Washington, but some people will probably try and find a back way down to the zone, avoiding I-5 and the main Oregon roads.

I'll just have to watch the traffic reports and see how it unfolds. I have all day to get there. It should be pretty impressive right here in Seattle, and I don't want to be on the road during the eclipse. What they're calling the "biggest driver distraction event in history."

Cute kids

Adelina and Nova

December 2011

Adelina and Nova

August 2017

These girls have been best friends their entire lives, and they're just a couple of weeks apart in age.  Their moms (Amanda and Gina) are also best friends.

Nova celebrated her birthday last week on a group camping trip to Vancouver Island. It's pretty special having your friend play "Happy Birthday to You" on the violin.

Bye, bye Alaska Way Viaduct

For those of you following our endless Bertha tunnel saga, here's a new video from the DOT. 

The tunnel is due to open by the end of 2019, at which point the Viaduct can start to be torn down.  It will be a disruptive and tricky process that could take almost a year. Maybe. They use an annoying corporate jargon verb in the video: "Incentivize," meaning "to motivate."

Progress marches on on Seattle...

Alaska Way Viaduct construction

Circa 1952

Island time

 Vashon ferry

It rained .02 inch on Saturday, barely enough to wet down the dust but enough to break the 55-day dry streak in Seattle.  Best of all, the mist and fresh ocean air scoured all the suffocating smoke from western Washington.   This week we're back to more typical, lovely summer weather, with cool nights and highs in the 70's. Still, no real rain in sight.

On Saturday, John and I spent the day on Vashon Island. The good man said he wouldn't mind tagging along with me for "Vashon Ukulele Day," hosted by one of "The Ukes" at her country home there. I go to Vashon often to ride Moe, so I gave John the full island experience.

First mandatory stop: the birthplace of "Seattle's Best Coffee" and very popular with the locals.

Starbucks bought "Seattle's Best Coffee" a while back and closed the Vashon Island operation in 2003, moving roasting production to Kent.  But the historic roasterie building, along with the original 1952 roaster, continues independently as the "Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie." 

Next, we delivered a bag of carrots to a happy horse, dear old Moe.

Then a walk through the Saturday farmers market in "downtown" Vashon, followed by lunch at The Hardware Store restaurant.  The best sweet potato fries with a veggie wrap.

Finally, the Gathering of the Ukulele Clans.  It was fun meeting people from different ukulele clubs and (trying) to play new songs.

After about 2 hours of this, I figured John had just about all the island fun he was going to have in one day, so we headed back to the ferry dock.  

On the short ride back to Seattle, the captain pointed out a whale spouting in the distance.  He said it was probably a Fin Whale, and we caught a glimpse of its tail.  How lucky! The Fin is the second largest creature on earth. Only the Blue Whale is larger.  A full day of Northwest fun and adventure.

How to make chile rellenos

(If you have a day to spare.)

1. Grow some fabulous Anaheim peppers.

2. Heat up the grill then char the skins.

3. Until they look like this. 

4. Carefully peel off the papery skin.

4. Until they look like this.

5. Remove the seeds and insert strips of pepper jack cheese.

6. Beat egg whites.

7.  Add to the batter.

8. Gently fold in.

9.  Roll the chilies in flour, then dip in batter.  (Too messy for picture.)  

10.  Fry them in fresh, hot oil.

10.  Turn once.

11.  Admire your work.

12. Oh yes. In your spare time, cook up a pot of homemade beans, some Mexican red sauce and fresh pico de gallo.

13.   Time to eat.

14.  Whew. Pour yourself another glass of wine and clean up the giant mess.