Wednesday, October 8, 2014

GrownUp SpaghettiOs after The Anniversary at SeaCompression

Hey All,

I've been slightly MIA, but well.  More than anything, I've been traveling.  I often forget how busy a jam packed week before a trip really screws with household planning.  There have also been some recent tragedies, but, out of respect for many of my readers, I won't rehash that.  Those of you who are in the know, THANK YOU for being there!  Without your love and support, this would have been A LOT more difficult!

Last week ended up being lots of dining out.....and my budge reflects it.  But, I keep reminding myself, its that time of year and its OK to let my hair down.

There is little to report from last week that isn't holy depressing.  The happy stuff started on Friday when we departed Salt Lake City for Seattle, first class to celebrate our Anniversary at SeaCompression.  Being our first anniversary and all, we decided to do it in style.  Up first was my first-ever first-class flight on Alaska Airlines.  I have loved Alaska for years, their regional carrier used to be my preferred path out of Montana.  In the past year, they have opened up tons of markets in Salt Lake City;  every chance I got I thanked them and congratulated them on their success in Salt Lake City.  I am thrilled to say I am now a card carrying member of their mileage program and will likely continue to fly them when a first-class ticket is in order.

The flight up was pleasant, no alcohol service until 10K feet, but that was soon rectified.  The meal outbound was OK.  It was a toasted turkey and cheese on ciabatta and a broccoli slaw.  The broccoli slaw was a reminder that I really should do that more often when I have broccoli stems instead of feeding them to the dogs.  It was perfectly dressed with a more Mediterranean twist than I am used to with slaw, but it was quite tasty.

Seattle greeted us with the usual fun and frivolity and a very charming accommodation.  If you ever need a place to stay in Seattle and last minute prices have you gagging, try A Bed & Breakfast Inn Seattle.  The rate was well within budget, and despite a smallish sleeping area, everything else was perfect.  The meals were tasty and the staff friendly;  I couldn't have asked for more!

Also in Seattle, I got better acquainted (oh who am I kidding, I feel like they are best friends for life), with Ranger Torchwood, and company, shout to Ranger Flourless Cake too.  We met at the Berlin social at Burning Man and instantly rubbed off on one another.  Here's a picture of us before we created a spectacle of ourselves on one of the dance stages.




I'd love to share more pictures from SeaCompression, but let's be honest, you just have to be there.  Just ask my Mom who was heartbroken that SeaCompression was early this year and she couldn't get away from her job to come.

Seattle brought its usual culinary delights.  One of me favorites, not to be missed, is Odd Fellow's.  The mussels there are not to be missed.  Not quite as good as the canal mussels I had in Vancouver, WA, but a very close 3rd, with Bambara's being #2.  Another amazing find was the hole in the wall, Pike St. Fish Fry.  Traditional cod fish 'n chips with malt vinegar and curry ketchup made this bear very happy!  Oh and I have to say, I actually had good seafood on this trip to Seattle.  Its ironic that I've never had that spectacular of seafood in Seattle in all the times I've visited.

Then, in a flash, it was time to come home.  We were able to enjoy the hospitality of Alaska's Board Room....lunch was a salad and curry red lentil soup.  This is a soup I must make in the upcoming winter months.  It was a nice bite, soon to be followed by Alaska's award winning in-flight service.  Granted, I sent a rather poor review of my check-in experience as I couldn't find the first class check in until well after I'd done the check-in of the unwashed masses, but their in-flight service made up for that minor inconvienence.

The meal was a "snack" of chicken salad.....  I must say, I'd never thought to make a curried chicken salad.  This meal has inspired me to give it my own attempt, I even bought turmeric at the market today:

I must add, they are doing something right.  The solitary cherry tomato was a highlight of the dish.  I often find tomatoes that don't come from my garden to be tasteless, this one was sweet and popped in my mouth.....the glass of chardonnay (and the two before and the three after) was icing on the cake.

Now that I'm home and we've had the obligatory crap pizza meal, I got my poop in a group and made a meal.  Granted, this one is not quite as nice on the pocketbook, or as visually pleasing, but it turned out great.  I call it Grownup SpaghettiOs....and it only dirtied 3 dishes plus plates for 3.

Some time ago, I scored a heck of a deal on premade pesto and tampanade.  I think I paid $0.50 for the containers and threw them in the freezer.  A bit ago, whole wheat cheese tortellini was on sale, I can't remember, but I think it was $2.99 a container.  It takes 2 containers to feed us, so we're into it $6.50 now.  I also scored on frozen green beans at $0.38/lb today....I think I prepared a pound.

At any rate, here's the result:

The little packet of cheese and herbs was saved from the pizza the other night.  Yeah, I'm cheap like that, but damn those things come in handy sometimes!  Yes, that's also a glass of wine.  I've found that when I'm feeling like I do after a day like today, a couple glasses of wine help me lose the day, sleep well, and not have stomach upset in the morning.....not to mention I'll likely drink 32oz of water before bed.


Today's shopping also brought great ideas for next week.  Husbear is off on Friday and has promised to help with the prep for next week.  I'm happy about this, I think we're catching on that a little bit of preparation makes for a lot less hectic week.  Without further ado, here's the menu for next week along with prep:

Meal 1:  Chorizo and peppers.  Usually I do an Italian sausage and peppers, but I was pretty sure we were out of Italian sausage and chorizo was cheap on sale ($1.58 for 18 oz).  We'll slice the onions, tomatoes, and peppers and have them in the fridge so all we have to do is fry the mess.

Meal 2:  Beefteki.  I've written about this one before and its a favorite (see April 6, 2014 entry).  I have leftover greek yogurt in the fridge and cucumbers were $0.10 ea, so why not!  I had to hunt to find a cucumber that hadn't been frozen and was wilty, but the hunt was worth it.  We'll mix the beef, herbs, and onion and have that ready to go.  The tatzeki will be made ahead as well as the flatbread (see May 30th entry).

Meal 3:  Steak and Corn on the Cob.  OK, this one doesn't have much prep, except maybe dry rubbing and sealing the steaks.  I paid a bit more than I like to for corn, $0.39, but the ears were nice and I know they are local.

Meal 4:  Walnut Shrimp.  Cabbage wasn't super cheap, but I've been craving this and at $0.59/lb I couldn't say no and mean it.  This is a personal favorite of mine and really easy to make if you cheat on the breading....I'll have to write this one up when I make it.  I always serve the shrimp on a bed of shredded cabbage....the cabbage barely wilts when you throw the hot shrimp and sauce on top and is a just perfect sweet and savory.  Granted, this is purple cabbage so the whole mess will turn out a weird green/purple color, but whatever.

Meal 5:  Flatbread Chicken Margherittha.  An easy take on the classic Margherittha pizza.  Since I've only enjoyed a few of the tomatoes, and most have gone in the freezer, we'll be doing this.  Also mozzarella, while fun to make, was on sale for $1.49 for 8oz in water.  Make the flabread ahead.  Soak the chicken in garlic, salt, and oregano and grill it.  Put together and throw it under the broiler for a bit and viola!

I hope you all are doing well and enjoying the Autumn.  And let me reiterate, no more freaking tragedies....I'm getting kind of tire of it.

Lotsa Love,

3Day

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