July 19, 2011- Marinated Flank Steak

Katie and I went to Jen, Andy, and Jackson's house for our PEPS gathering tonight.  Since we hosted last time, we didn't have to take anything for the meal this time.  Jen marinated and grilled flank steak that was tender and full of flavor.  She mentioned that the marinade recipe included soy sauce, garlic, cumin, and several other ingredients I don't remember now.  We also had a caesar salad, a couscous salad, and peach cobbler with ice cream along with the meal.  Yum!  

Tuesday, 9/14/2010

Our good friends Laura and David invited us over for dinner tonight.  We were really looking forward to spending time with them and to a good meal.  They are great cooks:)  We were not disappointed.  They cooked a fantastic meal for us! Newly married, they had fun new cooking tools and equipment to test out, including an electric wok.  David manned the wok, into which he fried chunks of chicken that were marinated and then rolled in cornstarch.  The recipe for the chicken came from Laura's parents.  The chicken was served in an amazing sauce with pineapple chunks, green peppers, and carrots over white rice. Ben and I both went back for seconds--it was that good!

We had baked broccoli with crushed garlic as a side dish.  The recipe came from Cook's Illustrated.  If you've known Ben and me for a long time, you know that broccoli is one of the veggies we will not eat.  Laura and David couldn't remember if it was on our do-not-eat list and decided to go for it.  The broccoli dish was already in progress when we arrived, so I don't know if I know all of the ingredients in it.  I do know that it included crushed garlic and freshly cracked pepper.  The broccoli florets were cooked on a baking sheet at 500 degrees and came out a bit charred.  I think Ben and I both felt obligated to at least try the broccoli since we were guests at the meal.  Well, you will not believe it...we both liked it!  Ben even had a second helping.  It is silly to say, but I am very proud of us for trying something new.  Thank you Laura and David for gently pushing us out of our veggie comfort zone.  It worked:)

We were the photographers for David and Laura's wedding at the end of July.  Tonight we had the pleasure of delivering their final wedding photos to them.  We ended the evening by watching a slide show of the photos and enjoyed fresh peaches sliced on top of a sweetened biscuit with vanilla ice cream. The biscuit recipe also came from Laura's parents.  Other than Katie hollering "home" and "all done" at us, it was a great way to finish the night.  Laura said she would share the recipes with us.  I guess that means I need to buy a wok:)

Wednesday, 9/8/2010

When I planned our menu for the week, I hoped we would have spaghetti left over to eat tonight.  Thankfully, that is exactly what happened.  Ben and I each had a bowl of spaghetti and were satisfied.  Katie took another marathon nap (four hours!!!) and didn't eat lunch until after 3pm.  Understandably, she really wasn't that hungry for dinner and just nibbled at her spaghetti.  

After dinner, Ben and I played a good game of chase and hide-and-go seek with Katie, per her request.  What fun!  She giggled, squealed, asked for "more", and ran and ran and ran until it was time for her to go to bed.  I guess we wore her out--she didn't make a peep after we put her down for the night:)  For dessert, Ben and I each enjoyed another juicy peach from the market and a spoonful of Nutella.  Oh, and I had an orange vodka tonic.  Quite a nice evening:)

Monday, 9/6/2010

It was so nice to wake up today, a Monday, and know that we didn't have to go anywhere today:)  And, now, looking back at the day, I am so glad it was laid back, relaxed, and quite productive.  It was a truly excellent Labor Day!

For dinner tonight, Katie ate mandarin oranges, grapes, a few bites of chicken, peanut butter, and some graham crackers.  It was quite the smorgasbord:)  Ben and I finished off the hamburger helper I made a few days ago.  While that was a pretty boring dinner, our dessert was phenomenal!  While at Pike Place Market yesterday, we got to sample a slice of ripe yellow peach that was to die for.  At the end of the tour, we just had to go back to buy some--four large, juicy peaches for $2.99 a pound.  They were worth EVERY penny:)  Ben and I each had one tonight; although, we did have to share with Katie who kept demanding "more".  In general, Ben doesn't like peaches.  But, tonight I would like to caption this photo of our sliced peaches with a quote from Ben.

"Katie, I'm sorry.  I was in peach bliss and didn't even hear you." ~ Ben Ackers

Monday, 7/26/2010

Ben took today off so that he could spend more time with Thad and Shannon. During the afternoon, we visited the Ballard Locks (Hiram M. Chittenden Locks). We got there just in time to join a guided tour group. I am so glad I went. It was my first time there, and I really had no idea what they were. Since we were already in Ballard, we wanted to find a restaurant there to try out. Thankfully, our friend Melissa gave us a great list of recommendations.


First, we went to Carta Oaxaca. We got there at 4:55pm and were told to wait 5 minutes until they opened. Given that it was warmer inside than outside, we opted to not wait. Instead, we went to Hi-Life and had a really nice meal together. Ben had the Firehouse Grill Burger. He said it was good, but lacked flavor. He's not sure he would order that again. I went a completely different route with two small plates. I had summer skewers of grilled peaches and fresh mozzarella wrapped in pancetta, drizzled with some kind of raspberry sauce. YUM! And, I had two little tacos-- roasted pork shoulder & grilled pineapple salsa. Again, YUM! Ben was kind enough to share a few of his french fries with me. They were really good. We ordered simple grilled chicken and green beans for Katie. She ate some of the chicken, but only with ketchup to dip it in.

For dessert, Ben had the bread pudding drizzled with espresso carmel. He said it was the best bread pudding he has ever had. High compliments:) I had the tin roof sundae without peanuts. Very tasty indeed. Needless to say, we ate too much.
Thanks to Thad and Shannon for taking time on their vacation to visit us in Seattle. We hope to visit you on the East Coast some day too.