Seattle was a treat

Spent last weekend in Seattle with our good friends Scott and Terri who live just north of the city.  Our good friends Mary Kay and Paul also came - so we had a full house and a great time!  Just have to say, if I had to live somewhere else, Seattle would be high on the list.  Ocean, mountains and a great temperate growing climate for flowers.

We spent our first day, up at 5am to beat the tides and head out into Puget Sound at 6am.  It was stunningly beautiful that day.  Blue skies and amazing views.

We dropped five crap pots into the Sound while we wandered all around the islands.  The salmon had started running and we were going to fish for Lumpies and Chinooks.  Fishing didn't turn out too well - we only caught two - but the crab pots (loaded with salmon guts and chicken wings) got us 13 crabs for dinner.

I also got to check off "See Orca whales in the Puget Sound" from my bucket list.  The Orcas were stunning and we saw about 15 of them following the salmon.

We played tourists all weekend with our friends and visited Port Townsend, downtown Seattle and a great sunny day at Lake Baker at the foot of Mt. Baker.

We'll definitely be back!  Here's some more photos from our trip -

A great Monday dinner - Garlic Soup

Ten years ago, while living in Holland, we packed up our ski equipment one winter weekend, and with our Dutchie friends, drove down to Söll, Austria for a week of skiing in the Austrian Alps.  Our friend, Emile, a Dutchie/Brit guy via South Africa had been to Söll before and swore up and down it would be worth the 10 hour drive.   He was absolutely right.  Söll was just a gem of an Tyrol village in the Austrian Alps with great ski pistes and a totally awesome après–ski.  

The one thing Emile waxed poetic about was the garlic soup at a restaurant in the heart of Söll that we all just had to try.  He was convinced it would fuel us to victory for the next day of skiing and fill our hungry stomachs that night.   And boy, was he right!

The soup was divine and believe it or not, we've never had it since.  Nope, that is what you eat when you go to Söll.  No place else makes it better. So don't even try.

So....10 years later, Todd and I finally broke down and tried to recreate that beautiful and delicious garlic soup.  I'm pretty sure we succeeded.  Here's our version: for two bowls:

AUSTRIAN GARLIC SOUP (also know as knoblauchsuppe)

4 tbs unsalted butter
8-10 cloves garlic - minced, pressed

1 medium shallot diced
1/4 cup sifted flour
1 cup milk
2 cups chicken stock canned

* 1 vegetable bouillon cube
2 tbs chopped parsley, plus additional for garnish
2 slices crusty bread

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan, add the garlic and shallots - Sauté gradually for about 10 minutes, on low heat, making sure the garlic does not brown.

When the garlic/shallots have softened, whisk the flour in slowly until they are well-coated. Add the milk, in a slow stream, whisking constantly (This is a basic roux). Turn the heat to medium-hot as you add the cold liquids.  When the milk has been fully mixed in, begin whisking in the chicken stock. Allow the soup to bubble and thicken at a reduced heat.  

* At this point you can add a vegetable stock or a bouillon cube (mixed with water) if you used canned chicken broth. If you used real turkey/chicken stock you made, you could avoid this step)  Also, if you want a "soupier" or less creamy soup just add more stock.

Chop the parsley and stir into the soup.  Let sit for 5-10 minutes.   Slice the bread and put in the toaster.  Remove, cut into cubes.  Garnish the soup with extra parsley and the bread cubes.  Serve!

Emile - this is pretty damn close!  Sorry about the American measurements.... We paired the soup with a Mondovi un-oaked Chardonnay we brought  this fall, while in Napa Valley.  Dude, you don't have to go to Soll!  

Christmas Pie in July

My friend, Eric and I were talking at work last week about one of our favorite summer treats, Christmas Pie in July.   I was introduced to this little slice of pure heaven a few years ago at Beatons Lake.  Eric's mom, Bonnie, made it for Eric as it was his favorite as a kid when the rasberries ripened.

I told Eric he'd have to make me a pie, but I also know that if I waited for Eric to do that, I'd be waiting along time.  So this past weekend I went on a mission to create it.

Now the easy thing would have been to call Bonnie, but I was in a pioneering mood and wanted to figure it out by myself.  The key ingredient is pistachios so I figured something this awesome should be pretty simple to find on Google.  But I was wrong.   So by combining my memories, a couple of recipes and my own ideas,  I came up with something pretty damn good, if I do say so myself.  And I'm going to post the recipe so I can find it next summer.....

Christmas Pie in July

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup chopped pistachio nuts
• 1 stick butter, melted  (I used Land o Lake's Light butter)
• 3 Tbs Sugar
• 3/4 tsp Vanilla

Filling:

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (I used lite cream cheese)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tbs of sugar
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 (16 ounce) CoolWhip - frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 2 (3 ounce) packages instant pistachio pudding mix
• 3 cups cold milk
• ½ pint of fresh raspberries
• 1/8 cup chopped pistachio nuts

 Directions:

1. Mix flour, pistachios, sugar, vanilla extract and butter. Spread into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20  minutes. Cool.
2. Mix together cream cheese, vanilla, confectioners' sugar and 1 cup whipped topping. Beat well, and spread over cooled crust. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
3. Mix instant pudding with milk until thick. Spread over cream cheese layer.
4. Top with remaining whipped topping, sprinkle with nuts, and decorate with fresh raspberries.

Save some room for desert!

Hubert comes to town

This was a wonderful weekend. Hubert, a friend from my days working at Philips Medical in Holland, came for a weekend visit. After spending a good part of the week in San Jose, CA, he willingly chose to fly to the frozen tundra of Madison for a weekend stay. Go figure.

It was a good time (at least I hope...), as we took Hubert for a typical Friday night fish fry, walked down State Street on Saturday, visited the capital and walked out on Lake Monona for this perfect winter scene so typical of Madison.

The grand finale was a Superbowl Party on Sunday where Hubert was able to meet about 20 or so of our Madison friends. They (and we) came to eat some of Raine's awesome food creations, a bit of my Yankee Gumbo and watch a little American football. Definitely a good time had by all.

Today Hubert left for Chicago, to visit the windy city for a day before flying back to Germany.

This visit from a good Dutch friend, reinforced to me the importance of friendship. Good friends are so worth keeping and doing everything you can to maintain the relationship. Maybe our next meeting with Hubert and his wife will be on a sunny Greek isle for a relaxing vacation!

Half a life - more or less

Oh boy. This weekend was the my 23 year anniversary being with Todd. (P.S. I've been with this man for more than half my life. Wow!)

It was also my birthday week.

During those 23 years, we've accomplished so much including; the most amazing two kids in our world (okay Bailey and Bert are up there...), the most awesome friends, the most giving and loving family, our most faithful dogs, moving to Europe, coming back to Madison (and home), and starting a company or two , and most importantly enjoying being!!!!

I am happy to be! Happy birthday to me!

Wiener Schnitzel Night

Last night, our German exchange student, Kathi, made us a traditional German dinner. We were very happy to sample her recipe for wiener schnitzel which called for stone ground mustard in the rub.

Todd and Raine helped with the cooking, so it was a international family affair. We also feasted on red cabbage cooked with apples, cloves and bay leaves. And finally the classic peas and carrots and riced/mashed potatoes. The dinner was sehr gut!

'A truly great man': Milt McPike dies at 68

I was one of the lucky ones. During the 1980s, Milt McPike, was almost a daily presence for my classmates and me during our four years at East High School. Mr. McPike was the head principal but more importantly, he was a true leader to a socially and economically diverse high school on the eastside of town.

With over 2,000 students, he managed to know just about all of our names. And if he couldn't place it right away, he definitely knew what grade you were in, activities in which participated and if there was any trouble.....

It didn't matter to Mr. McPike whether you were black, asian, hispanic, white, rich or poor. When you were in his school - he treated everyone the same - with dignity, with respect and with just a tad bit of patience for teenaged mistakes. It was also the expectation of Mr. McPike's that you treated everyone else the same way.

When I look back to my high school years, I wonder how that man actually got any administration work done, as he always seemed to be walking the halls, surrounded by students, telling stories, hearing ours, giving hugs and being a supportive part of our lives.

In the coming days, there will be thousands of tributes from students and the community he touched during his life - And this man deserves every accolade that will be said.

Mr. McPike had such an influence in the way I see the world, the way I value my community, how I raised my children, and how I learned to believed in my own abilities.

Thank you Mr. McPike. You were a true teacher.

Rylee - Class of 1984

A Sad Day

Our wonderful next door neighbor, Francis (Doc) Adams was killed by lightening this morning at the Odana Golf Course in Madison. I am numb. Doc has been our neighbor for six years and was always available to give gardening as well as great neighborly advice. We will miss him dearly.

Life is lived in the moment, today! Grab it, embrace and learn from it. And make sure your people that matter to you know it!

Grama Kelli comes to visit

So my girlfriend, Kelli, from middle school, spent yesterday afternoon over at the house with her granddaughter. To have 40-year old friends with grandchilden - Holycow! Baby is spending a week with Grama to give mom a nice break. She is just the sweetest thing and it was so fun to spend a lazy afternoon with!