Spring Fling

Another successful weekend for the Always!

We spent Saturday morning in Bothell visiting Stewart's grandma. She absolutely loves Rummikub and Stew has been playing it with her ever since he was a little kid. Liesbeth is 93 but she's still always up for a round or two when we visit. And this time I won!

After our visit we headed down south for the annual Spring Fling at a new location this year: The Hub in Tacoma. I can't believe it, but Stew and I have been Spring Flinging together since 2008! I really have no idea where the time went...

Dinner was delicious with chicken, fish, roasted veggies and Caesar salad, and we had the whole space to ourselves including a private bar. Stewart was in charge of the play list which he worked quite hard on, and it paid off because everyone danced all night and had a great time.

We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott with Brett and Haley which was actually super nice and quite affordable. But a late night of drinking and dancing really takes a toll on us these days, so we spent most of Sunday just lounging around, although we did get some grocery shopping and cooking accomplished.

How was everyone else's weekend? 

Restaurant Review: Skillet Diner

My boss has been raving about Skillet Diner on Capitol Hill for months now, so we decided to try it this morning for a team birthday breakfast. The diner originated from Skillet Street Food, which chef Josh Henderson prepared and served out of a vitage Airstream trailer. The food is American-style made from seasonal ingredients.

The atmosphere inside the diner is very casual, not suprising since the words "super dope" are used on the Skillet web site. When I looked at the menu I loved the fancy twist on comfort food and really had a hard time deciding, but I eventually got to sample several items. Wow. Absolutely delicious.

Mason jar water glasses and mismatched silverware.

Skillets hanging on the walls, go figure.

Casual breakfast bar but there are also regular seating areas.

"The Ultimate Grilled Cheese"
A classic done right with brie, cheddar and american cheeses
on brioche toast with bacon jam and poutine on the side.
This is one of the best dishes I have EVER eaten. We shared
it between our table and I wished I would have ordered the
whole thing for myself.

Chilaquiles
Tomatillo salsa, corn tortillas, pico de gallo, sour cream,
cilantro and two eggs over medium with avocado on the side.
This dish was delicious but a little too spicy for my taste.
I was only able to eat about a quarter of it and took the rest
home to Stew.

The simple quality of all the food I tasted plus the portion sizes, friendly server and casual atmosphere all made Skillet Diner someplace I would return to. I'd really like to try some items off the lunch and dinner menu. And if you are a bacon lover this place is worth visiting just for the bacon jam, which can be purchased by the jar. I don't even like bacon and I was drooling over it. The only negative comment I would make was that they were playing Tom Petty's "Runnin' Down A Dream" quite loud for 7:30 a.m. but that's really a personal preference I suppose. And of course the parking on Capitol Hill was atrocious as usual so give yourself extra time. But I'll definitely be taking Stew here in the near future.

Has anyone eaten Skillet Street Food from the truck?

Restaurant Review: Wasabi

When I first moved to Seattle in 2005 I had never tried sushi before, but it only took one taste and I was completely hooked. I've eaten a ton of sushi since then, but I keep coming back to my first and very favorite sushi restaurant: Wasabi. Located on Second Avenue in Belltown, Wasabi has undergone several renovations throughout the years but the delicious food never seems to change. I hadn't been there in a while, so my friend Margaret and I decided it was the perfect spot for our next happy hour rendezvous. 

Wasabi has happy hour every day from 4pm to 6pm with food and drink specials. You can choose any three items off an extensive list to make a combo for $14. Margaret and I were both starved so we chose six sushi rolls (which in hindsight was probably a mistake). I got a delicious glass of Columbia Valley Maryhill Riesling that went great with the perfectly cooked edamame the server brought for us to start with. Then we both had a cup of the miso soup followed by the most insane display of sushi I have ever seen! Every bite was delicious, but I think we only finished a little over half of what we ordered. At many restaurants happy hour plates can be quite small, but Wasabi really gives you your money's worth with large, delicious rolls. And I particularly love how fresh all their ingredients always are.

I really liked these light fixtures.

Large bar with friendly bar tenders.

Ultra modern interior.

Edamame.

Miso soup.

Our sushi feast: Spicy 101 Roll, Mango Tango Roll, Seattle Roll,
Philly Roll, Shrimp Tempura Roll and Las Vegas Roll.

I was so glad we picked Wasabi and I'm sure Stewart was too, since he got to eat all the leftovers.

Are there any other amazing Seattle sushi places I need to try?

Skinny Taco Dip

Inspired by Pinterest, Haley and I decided to try a recipe this weekend in Sunland and since it turned out super delicious I thought I would share it here. Any recipe that is yummy but also healthy is a major winner in my book, and I even got Stew to try a few bites although he hates several of the ingredients. He actually liked it, too!

Here is the recipe, modified to our particular tates:

Skinny Taco Dip
Servings: 24

Calories: 59.2

Fat: 3.6 grams
Protein: 2.2 grams
Carbs: 4.7 grams
Fiber: 0.6 grams

• 8 oz 1/3 less fat Philadelphia cream cheese
• 8 oz reduced fat sour cream
• 16 oz jar medium salsa
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 2 cups iceberg lettuce, shredded
• 2 large tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup reduced fat shredded Mexican blend cheese
• 2.25 oz can sliced black olives
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions

In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sour cream, salsa and taco seasoning and mix well. Spread on the bottom of a 9x12" glass dish. Top with shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, black olives and green onions. Serve with tortilla chips.

We didn't want to bring glass on a camping trip so we used a slightly deeper, plastic dish. This turned out to be a mistake because the chips (we used Juanita's brand gluten free tortilla chips) weren't strong enough to get through all the layers to the bottom part of the dip, so we had to use spoons. So we recommend using a shallower dish if you can. Also since we were going to be camping all weekend I decided it would be easier to prep everything beforehand. I chopped and measured each ingredient separately and put them in individual ziplock bags which fit nicely in our cooler. Then when we got hungry it was super quick and easy to assemble the finished product. Bon appétit!

Have you discovered any delicious summer recipes lately?

Sunland = Funland: Memorial Day Weekend 2012

I started going to my friend Evan's family cabin in Sunland for holiday weekends back in 2004, and Stewart began joining me in 2007. Since then I don't think we've missed a single Memorial Day or Labor Day weekend in this little Eastern Washington paradise, and these trips provide some of our favorite memories with some of our very best friends.

We're all starting to grow up a little bit these days. Most people are either engaged or married, and two of my very favorite Sunland ladies will have children by the time the next trip rolls around. The single-wide 1970s trailer is being replaced by a beautiful house, which means indoor water fights and wrestling matches are a thing of the past. But even though we're getting a little older and wiser we can still party with the best of them, which means boating out to the Sand Dunes (less to participate and more to people-watch these days), beer pong and flip cup tournaments, epic volleyball matches, and hours and hours of sun bathing while sipping on cool summer beverages.

Not to mention that as a product of the '80s we will always be children at heart, as evidenced by our theme night this year. '80s fashion, it just never goes out of style. (Yes, I realize these photos don't necessarily speak to our maturity level... but it was so much fun!)

  

So once again we had a fantastic Memorial Day weekend and we hope everyone else did as well.

Do you have any holiday weekend traditions?