market dinner!

Tags

eating, markets, shopping, spring

http://www.myballard.com/images/ballard_farmers_market1.jpg

there is something about an open air market. live music playing from the sidelines. crepes being cooked on hot griddles. the smell of pizza coming straight out of a mobile wood-fire grill. tulips in every color. dogs. babies in strollers. the laughter of little ones and those not-so-little alike.

i love a farmer’s market. there is just nothing else like it. my brother and sister (in law) were in town and we spent a morning full of unexpected, unfiltered, sunshine traversing the stalls of beautiful, local produce; amazing hand-crafted delights; delicious food and libations like hand-made sodas, hot donuts sizzling before our eyes-dusted with sugar and cinnamon, hot verachi pizza, mouth-watering caramels, heavenly jams; and fresh flowers from all over the state.

http://losingambition.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/ballard-farmers-market.jpg

but i have to say that my favorite way to spend a sunday morning is to hit the tea shop or bakery, enjoy a cup of tea and a pastry or crepe, and peruse the market.

and if that’s my favorite way to spend a sunday morning, my favorite way to spend a sunday mid-afternoon is to prepare a delicious dinner from all the fabulous things i indulged in at the market. so the five of us (myself, husband, brother and sister in law, and 8 month old) walked the market up and down to see what looked yummy, and pulled a menu out of the stalls.

on our shopping list was wild-caught-never-frozen-alaska-salmon, a medley of hand-picked-dried winter mushrooms, fresh trofie pasta, peak-of-season asparagus, and up the street to cupcake royale for some dessert.

here is our april market dinner menu:

salmon grilled in foil with olive oil, dill and lemon

trofie pasta in a lemon-cream-mushroom sauce

broiled asparagus with lemon and olive-oil

it was simple, but delicious! the salmon was so lovely on its own, it really took very little preparation. my husband and his brother salt-and-peppered the fish and squeezed lemon on it. they drizzled oil and laid lemon slices and dill sprigs on top. they wrapped it in foil and put it in a low grill to cook slowly. we re-hydrated the mushrooms and started a sauce with butter, garlic, onions and lemon zest. we chopped the mushrooms up and sauteed the whole thing, then added it to a cream sauce made of a potato starch roux. my brother in law broiled the asparagus until crispy on the ends. we enjoyed it with a loaf of amazing, crusty bread.

it turned out to be one of the best meals we’d had in a long time. a bit of a splurge for us, but when one buys market fresh and local, it’s pretty hard to go wrong. the food is awesome on its own, and anyone can be a gourmet chef.

http://www.myballard.com/images/ballard_farmers_market2.jpg

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baby, oh baby {hats} !

Tags

childhood, friends, knitting, shopping

two-and-a-half years ago, we didn’t think about it. we didn’t see it coming. sure, we’d been to like 25 weddings, but we were so wrapped up in the food, drink, dancing, friends and gossip, that we didn’t think about the 25 babies that were heading our way. in just about 2.5 years.

it’s always been fun to include kids in our circle of friends–when the first baby arrived in our little circle of friends about six years ago, we quickly figured out how cute baby stuff is, and how much fun it is to shop for babies. a couple years later, two more little boys came and my “uncle” husband and auntie me have a lot of fun shopping for our youngest friends.

of course, uncle husband had a few rules. like, we should always buy books. and auntie me preferred to buy baby goods from local vendors. as some of the older kids in our group grew up, though, we rediscovered the magic of toy shopping. in our new neighborhood there is an amazing locally owned toy store. the first time we walked in, looking for a toy (having disappointed the recipient for about 2 years with book gifts), we both gasped. i felt like i was 5 years old again and everything i had ever dreamed or wanted was contained in the store. costumes, rocks, miniature kitchen toys, model cars, robots, stuffed animals, and giant bubble wands. my husband got caught up with the toy trains and stuffed elephants, and a paper book of monster-dolls that can be punched out and put together with glue. we were both glad that we had a “legitimate” reason to be seen in a toy store… because we had an awesome time.

now we have a little godson (just turned 1) and some friends who are 6, 4, 3, 2–and a bunch of new friends we’re patiently waiting to meet. and all the sudden it seems like everyone we know is expecting. it’s an exciting time for us–though probably more exciting for the parents-to-be. and we’re kind of broke. and to avoid some of the pitfalls of the summer-of-25-weddings, i decided to literally take matters into my own two hands. because, who is more local than me? what is more hand-made than something i worked hard to make? and when i can walk down the street to the local yarn store to buy soft merino/camel wool yarn in bright colors to produce something that every new baby needs…i feel like we have a recipe for success. and if i can produce a thoughtful, hand-made, high-quality product by replacing some of the $$ cost with some of my time, then it’s time well-spent, and a well-given gift.

so, this winter, i’ve been knitting away. these little hats are so fun to make because they can be colorful! some can be in traditional gendered colors, and others intentionally ignore the classic pairings in favor of bringing a little brightness into the winter baby’s new little life. they take a couple hours to make, and the pattern is fairly simple–and so not difficult to mass-produce. what might be best is that i knit to relax regardless. and feeling productive–like i’m doing useful work, and creating something thoughtful–producing something to give, helps me relax and makes me feel good to boot!

having had no idea how big a baby’s head is, i finally came up with a general size. on size 7 circular needles, i cast on 50 stitches. you can either do all knit, all the way around and get a cute curled up lip, or do a knit/purl for 5 or so rows to get a little rib. then i knit all the way around until the body is about 4-4.5 inches, and i start doing decreases on every 5th stitch. then when i get down to about 10-15 stitches, i loop the yarn through the open stitches and synch the top closed. then i use the extra yarn to start a little braid at the top, or a poof. i like to stripe the yarn, which is really easy–at the end of each row, just change up the yarn. it is easiest with just 2 colors, one row each, but the i started to get creative with some other patterns and wider stripes. and i don’t waste any of the yarn, so some of the designs are definitely leftover-yarn-inspired.

i’ve felt really happy to be able to give something to my lovely friends as they venture into parenthood. something i created and made with my own two hands while i thought about the little ones who would wear them soon. and something that is meaningful. it’s a way to connect and celebrate that feels a little more personal than clicking something off a registry. even when our friends, and their little ones, are far, far away–we can send them a little bit of ourselves. we’re thinking of and missing the ones that we haven’t even met.

frugalista {super frug inspiration}

Tags

beauty, friends, local bakery, shopping, weddings

my friend cubby cheng, over at super frug, blogs about all the different ways she saves money so she can live the kind of life she wants (ie. being creative and not being chained to a desk in an office all day!).

she has *a lot* of great ideas about how to save money in little ways that really add up. it’s like when i drink water to “save calories”–100 here and there may not sound like that big a deal, but over the course of a year, it really adds up. for example, cubby notes that her revised beauty regime helped her go from $66 ($792 a year!) a month on bath and beauty products, to just $15 a month! and she looks fabulous, in case you are wondering. and that’s not all. she has a lot of awesome tips to get the most from your dollar.

given this economy and the fact that my husband and i have both recently finished graduate school and have been recently out on the market–and the fact that we aren’t necessarily high rollers–so to speak, i was inspired to share some of the little things we have been trying to do. especially since we are, unfortunately, the kind of people who always inadvertently choose the most expensive option.

image borrowed from outblush.com

buy your burberry on ebay. ok. not technically frugal. what i can say is that i have found some fabulous buys on ebay, at garage sales, or at consignment shops. especially local, indie consignment shops, i can still feel like i am paying into the local economy and supporting a small business. for example, i got my orla kiely handbag at a consignment boutique for over $100 less than what i paid when i purchased one new. and it was hardly used! on my last trip to the east coast, my impulse buy (and then return) of a burberry handbag would have set me back $1200, if i hadn’t had the good sense to reason with myself about the reality of my finances. later i found a simular handbag, and one that was originally more spendy, for less than one-third of the price on ebay. and it came with a matching wallet. plus, it will last forever.

another big plus of this system of purchasing is the lack of anxiety attacks that come from scratching, dropping, spilling on, and going out in the rain with, your prized possessions. 

image borrowed from clinique.com

ask yourself if your pricey product really is better (or if the product is bad, just because it is cheap!). i was spending a chuck of my pocket money on clinique facial care. and i guess i wasn’t sure if it was really making a huge difference–it wasn’t bad, but i wasn’t sure if it was great. so after a lot (a lot!) of experimentation, i decided to try out another product. cetaphil (about $5 per bottle!) gentle skin cleanser and moisturizing lotion (and the SPF 15 lotion for the daytime–which is more like $10 bottle). yes. boring, cheap. and you can buy it at the drug store. i was anxious at first that this system wasn’t customized to my “combination” skin, nor did it explicitly address skin aging. yet, my skin feels more moisturized than before. i use dickinson’s witch hazel as a toner (something like $3.50 a bottle)–which actually DOES address my combination skin. AND–if you happen to look at the #2 toner–the purple one–for clinque, you will see that the major ingredients are witch hazel, purple coloring, and menthol–which is more like $20 for the same amount. i did splurge to address my anti-aging issues. i purchased a bottle of kiehl’s midnight recovery oil, which i use nightly. 2 drops a night out of an eye dropper. it is $50, and will last me at least a year. and i am really happy with my skin! the only thing i haven’t worked out a cheap-but-good option for is my eye cream. but, for the last six months i have been using free samples of eye creams that i like.

another big plus of this system of purchasing is that you don’t get sidetracked into the nordstroms’s shoe section on your way to pick up your face wash. 

image borrowed from khanapakana.com

restaurant.com. yes. i am on their mailing list, so i get notices when their gift certificates go on sale. i do not pay more than $2 for a $25 gift certificate to restaurants in my neighborhood–and not just mediocre ones either. restaurants that i would normally go to! the catch is having to spend at least $35 + tip. Which means my husband and i can have a very nice dinner for about $15.  

another big plus of this system of purchasing is that we always have ideas for date night! just sift through our pile of gift certificates! or for friend-dates, everyone gets to save. 

image borrowed from iamkoream.com

do your own pedicure. classic advice, i know. but i can take the $40 for a (cheap!) pedicure and go to the russian bathouse for the entire day. i’d rather have the piece of mind that comes with soaking in the salt bath and drinking tea than professionally painted toenails. i love a good pedicure as much as the next person, but i have to say that i’ve been doing my best to keep up with my own podi-grooming. and for the most part, it’s good. nail polish is pretty cheap, and you can soak your feet in the bath with epsom salts (less than $1 a pound). my toe may not look *as pretty* but no one, including myself, is close enough to check it out.

another big plus of this system of purchasing is that i’m actually getting better at painting my own nails. and since i do it myself, i can redo it every week instead of feeling obligated to make it last forever. it’s healthier for my nails to get a little breather.

image borrowed from parents.com

 giving meaningful gifts. being in this time in my life where friends are lining up by the drove to get married, have babies, graduate from school, and settle down, i am finding that i spend a lot of money on gifts. a lot. and events with high spending expectations–like weddings, which can be three separate gifts for the lucky couple–get spendy. especially when our friends are getting married in wonderful, lovely, and exotic (read: far away) locales. so we try to budget. i would rather spend the shower gift + wedding gift money together and get one really nice piece–for example, a piece of china, or another useful item that the couple will really have for a long time–as opposed to a couple towels for the shower, and another medium/small gift at the wedding. what that might mean is showing up to the other occasion (shower or wedding) somewhat empty-handed–which feels uncomfortable. so i try to give a meaningful gift at the shower, and then something handmade or fun at the wedding. handmade gifts really do mean a lot, and they are twofold for the giver. it’s fun to make them, and fun to give them. sometimes i give jars of jam (reuse jam jars and fruit purchased at its lowest cost), matching knit hats (buy yarn on sale at specialty yarn shops, usually locally run), hand-edited photos in frames (purchase low cost frames and embellish), embroidered fleece blankets (2 yards of fleece material on sale for about $5, with yarn to edge and embroider names and dates), or aprons (easy to make from scrap material). handmade gifts are great for holidays, too–especially knit scarves or consumables are always appreciated. for baby showers, i knit little hats (made out of merino wool). for about $10 of yarn (on sale!), i can get 4 hats. of course, that doesn’t include time, but it’s quite relaxing to knit while i’m watching tv, commuting on the bus, or in long, boring meetings. if you can’t knit, you can. if i can do it, trust me, you can too.

sometimes an experience is a meaningful gift. in lieu of an actual thing or piece of stuff, i give a card outlining a dinner party in the recipient’s honor, asking them what they would like to eat, and which day. one idea for major gift giving–for example, when you might need 12 gifts, is to “gift” friends a dinner in a certain month (so now you have lined up having friends over for dinner every month for a year). this works for us because we would love to have our friends over, gift or not. again, i ask them to select a theme or dinner idea, and to choose a date that works for them.

another big plus of this kind of gift giving is that you get something back, too! you get to spend time with your friends, cook (if you enjoy cooking) and indulge in your hobbies purposefully (cause seriously–i only need so many knit scarves for myself).

image borrowed from mylot.com

use cash. i can’t stress this enough. our spending has plummeted since my husband and i have started to use mostly cash for things. it doesn’t leave a paper trail, no, and when you loose it, it’s gone, true. but we’ve really reduced our spending by simply using cash–regardless of credit card rewards, etc.

another big plus of using cash is limited frustration with $5 debit credits and/or cash only bars and bistros.

we haven’t kicked our savings up into the thousands, yet. but it’s a start. and i’ll keep looking for good ideas to keep up the trends!

down the rabbit hole!

Tags

eating, korea, shopping, world

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Happy Lunar New Year: the year of the Rabbit!

last year i passed out iconic red envelopes to my coworkers for the lunar new year, though because they were red, they were wrongly construed as valentines–and possibly the fact that it was the year of the tiger furthered the confusion. we non-Chinese lunar new year observers also take a little objection with the Chinese new year terminology–the event is the new year by a lunar calendar–and therefore not exclusively Chinese.

hugely celebrated in other parts of the world, the lunar new year is an event to dress in traditional clothing, go to cultural performances, and stuff yourself silly on rice cakes, moon cakes, and korean rice-cake-soup. if you’d like to try it, check out this entry from last year about making 떡국 ttŏkkuk. every year i think about having a party to celebrate–just as an excuse to take a trip to the large-scale Asian grocery stores in the area. when i rode the train to work, my transfer bus stop was right in front of a giant Japanese grocery store–with a pan-Asian food court, import book store, and a large home section. i love to drool over the food, and tinker with all the home goods i think i need. i love the bookstore full of cute stationary pens, and wonderful books that are elsewhere unavailable.

next year i vow to wear my 한복 hanbok, and make my husband wear his and have a little party to share my culture with my best friends.

 

westport winery–home of the twilight wine

Tags

autumn, cozy, eating, garden, ocean, seasons, shopping, travel, wine

when my husband first suggested we try this little winery on the coast, i was skeptical. he had mentioned that as a nod to the wildly popular “twilight” series (set in coastal washington) the winery had named one of its red wines after the main character–bella–and further set that proceeded from each bottle of “bella” would benefit the american red cross society (an allusion to vampires). like i said–skeptical.

but, after tooling around the fishing village of westport for the morning–wandering in and out of its little shops, buying salt-water taffy, and eating freshly made (amazingly delicious) hot raspberry fritters at little richard’s house of doughnuts, the winery looked like exactly the kind of place i wanted to go to round out the afternoon.

it was certainly lovely. the first thing we noticed was the sculpture garden all the way around the grounds. for each variety of wine, a local artist was contracted to make a sculpture. a blue, abstract, blown-glass wave stands in for surfer’s last syrah, as a large fender guitar made of drift wood represents pinot noirvana. they also have a lot of outdoor seating for lovely days, as well as lawn games, including croquet. there is also a large, fluffy, friendly, ginger colored dog who visited us.

when we walked inside, we entered the tasting room–a bar with a long row of wines, and a refrigerated section where we could purchase and pair cheese, crackers, chocolate, and charcuterie with the bottles we purchased (if we were inclined to partake immediately). then, through the open doorway, one could wander into a large room with heavy tables and chairs, a popcorn machine, and two couch areas. one, in the front of the room, boasted a large flat-screen tv playing old surfing documentaries. the other is housed inside the lighthouse build out–with super comfortable, over stuffed chairs and fun magazines–coastal living, and bon appitite, incase you want a little restful time between wines.

tastings were $5 for 5. as it was, my husband and i were able to share, so we really got to taste 10 wines, and then our sommelier threw in 4 additional tastes, so we tried 14 wines in all. mostly delicious. and generous pours. of the 32 wines, we tried 4 whites, 4 reds, 4 fruit wines, and 2 dessert wines, with popcorn to cleanse our pallets. the winery donates a certain amount of the proceeds to local charities and organizations–and try to pair the donations to the name and theme of the wine.

whites:

• shorebird chardonnay: a very nice, dry chardonnay, much nicer than mass produced californian varieties. still a little oaky for my taste. benefits grays harbor audubon society.
• fleur de lis pinot gris: a lot of fruit, again, not super sweet. benefits 7th street theater.
• captain grays gewurztraminer: i usually like dry whites, but i also like very fruity whites with a lot of flavor/fragrance, but no sweet after-taste. this was a great example of the kind of “sweet” whites i like. benefits the grays harbor symphony.
• going costal sparkling gewurz: this was my number one wine out of this winery. they ferment the gewurztraminer champagne-style and it is delicious. fruity, easy to drink, and not sweet. with no cheap-sparkling-wine aftertaste or afterheadache. and no need to add juice! benefits ocean shores interpretive center.

reds:

• charterboat chick’s cabernet sauvignon: cabernet has long been one of my favorite reds. it’s big, i know, and full of tannins. this cabernet was milder, and the tannins were soft, with an almost woody flavor and currants. benefits the westport charterboat association.
• surfer’s last syrah: the winery’s young syrah, which is pretty jammy, actually. benefits the south beach ems.
• swimmer’s last syrah vinter’s reserve: this syrah was delicious and amazing. more oaky, and much less jammy, it had a more sophisticated flavor. i definitely prefer this of their syrahs. benefits the children’s advocacy center.
• boom runner reserve merlot: i am not typically a merlot drinker. it’s just–blahish. this merlot, though, was very spicy–and would be great mulled. benefits the polson museum.

fruit wines:

• rapture of the deep: being as we were at the cranberry coast, i was eager to try this 100% cranberry wine. it was intense! like pure cranberry juice. it would be great mixed with sparkling water! benefits the driftwood theater.
• dawn patrol: another fruit wine with berry–this time raspberry. this wine was a base of riesling–and it was ever tart! also intense–also would be great mixed. benefits general james. g. dolittle vfw post 3057.
• duckleberry grunt: another berry wine, but in a base of gewurztraminer. it is a blueberry and huckleberry wine, and very sweet! very sweet–with no alcohol tint–like juice. another that would be great mixed. benefits grays harbor ducks unlimited.
• little wild blackberry riesling: a blackberry wine on a riesling base this wine had a really intense and strong blackberry flavor. i loved it, blackberries being my favorite berry–but again, probably better mixed. benefits grays harbor and pacific county master gardeners.

dessert wine:

• shelter from the storm: this is an amazing port! it’s a blend of blackberry, blueberry, and cranberry. i like port–and this port isn’t super syrupy–and doesn’t have any inkling of cough syrup flavor. my second favorite wine. benefits the grays harbor hospital foundation.
• red sky at night: this is one of their signature wines–raspberry chocolate. and it really does taste like chocolate! it would be great over ice cream, though i wouldn’t recommend drinking more than about an ounce straight. benefits the westport timber library.

after we did all the tasting we picked out some snacks and bought a bottle of going coastal. we had taylor’s sausage–which has been in business since 1924. we had the jalapeno pepper cheddar sticks–which had a strong fennel flavor that went well with the wine and cheese. we also got a piece cranberry havarti from willamette valley cheese company, and the mount townsend creamery off kilter–a semi-soft cheese made with scotch ale. it was all delicious and went well together.

westport winery has been recognized as the “best northwest escape winery” for 2010 by evening magazine. they were also just written up in washington tasting room magazine . i highly recommend–and worth the drive even for a day trip! but better paired with a night at the bayside bed and breakfast!

Westport on Dwellable