Michigan

Marty and I were in Michigan last weekend for one of his dear childhood friend's wedding.  It was fun running wedding to-do's, and catching up with my fiance whom I have not seen in a couple of weeks. Between coffee swigs & a much needed haircut ( Marty was looking like a bum broke hobo) we had a blast.

    I love seeing my future last name on anything these days....

    Rocks outside our window.

    Marty planning out his best man speech.

      He made a very handsome best-man, once he got rid of that curly monster!

End of Summer Eats!

Summer is coming to a close. Well technically. By technically I mean, for most yes. For Florida no. Florida still feels like Satan's playground. Hot, boiling, and sweltering heat make a bottle of coke & some fresh nachos and salsa a must. It's one of Marty's favorite summer time treats!

Guacamole

Two Hass avocado, red onion, vine tomato, fresh squeezed lime juice, cilantro, salt and pepper.

Salsa

Vine tomato diced, fresh squeezed lime juice, red onion or white onion diced, garlic minced, cilantro, salt and pepper.

New Camera!

Finally... I got a DSLR camera! Whoot! GREATEST DAY EVER.

Last Day...

Splashing at Green Lake.


Well, It has finally arrived. My LAST day in Seattle. When I really think about it, gosh it flew by so fast. I tallied a list of things that truly will be missed, Marty, gelato, finally mastering the art of cookie baking, my kitchen aide mixer, Green Lake, Mocking Bird Books, and Zeke's amazeball( its just another word for amazing) veggie pizza ( nom nom moments on that piece of heaven for sure.) The sunset will be missed from our balcony, and our late summer dinners we had. HOWEVER..............


Things that will not be missed, dead plants, dark grey skies, busted wash machines, and 50 degree weather in the summertime. Seattle the next time I see you I will be a married woman. So until April, I bid you ado. Stay class Seattle.

xoxo Monique

Gasworks Park

clear blue skies makes us happy.

Last Saturday Marty and I took a Picnic to Gasworks Park. I'm going to let the pictures do the talking on this one.

Friends playing music on a hill side.

a old factory still intact at the park.

beautiful colors of the rainbow

wonder what this dog was mulling over?

kite flyers

The best cookies on the planet part 2

Seriously yummy stuff here folks!




A couple of weeks ago I made this pretty bomb @$$ good cookie. I have tried for years to make the perfect chocolate chip cookie. One that was brown, crispy edges, and soft in the middle. Well It never happened, what I got were cookies that were white as milk, and tasted like cardboard with a sprinkle of dirt. That was, until I found this recipe and learned a secret... when mixing the dry ingredients with the wet, SLLLLLLLOW and steady is the course of action to take with the flour. If you dump all the flour in at once, you will get Casper the ghost cookies. It takes awhile to slowly tap in the flour, but trust me, it is so worth it. Marty asked me to make him a fresh batch to freeze before I head back to Florida. I had some friends inbox me and ask me how I did it,This is how...
Makes about 40 good sized cookies.




Taken from Real Simple Magazine:



Ingredients
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
kosher salt
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
Heat oven to 375° F.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
With an electric mixer on medium-high, beat the butter, sugars, and vanilla for 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the baking soda. Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture to the egg mixture until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Scoop the dough into tablespoon-size mounds and place on the prepared baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake until lightly browned at the edges, 12 to 15 minutes.
Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks and cool completely.


1. I like to bring out all my ingredients and split them into dry, and wet. I have done crazy stuff like forgot the baking soda, or salt, because I did not have it all put out in front of me. My mind is like a wandering traveler, always some place else but home : )




The Dry Guys

Flour, cane sugar, dark brown sugar, & kosher salt. ( Baking soda not pictured.. see I freaking did it again! @#%!$)

the brains behind the ENTIRE operation, you forget this, your cookies are screwed.



The Wets

Don't forget to make sure your butter and egg are at room temperature before you start baking!

Vanilla extract, 2 sticks of butter, and 1 large egg



Tools


That flour swifter is the best thing that ever happened to my baking. You can find it on amazon for about 10 bucks.

Okay first thing you want to do, is start off creaming your room temp butter, sugars, and vanilla... If your using a Kitchen Aide mixer, use speed 4. If your using a hand mixer use a high setting. Your mixture should end up a nice brown color.

After you cream your sugars, & vanilla add your egg! Make sure its room temp too.



Now its time to move onto the dry ingredients. Don't forget your baking soda! Sift your 2 cups of flour, baking soda, and salt all together. You can also use a hand held strainer, works just as good too!

Now just put your flour mixture in with your wet mixture..very, very slowly.
after everything is well combined you should have a nice brown batter. Time to add the chocolate chips! I like to go crazy and do two bags, but you can add as little or as much as you like! Stir in to batter until combined.

Use a ice cream scoop to get a accurate size... Bake at 375 for 13 minutes. I would test out 4 cookies and see what time works best. All ovens are not created equal!

Let cool for 5 minutes, grab a tester and Enjoy!

Marty tested, & Marty approved!

Marty's Lunch

Chicken Tarragon Sandwich

It's my last week of Seattle (sigh), so I decided this week I was going to cook Marty a fab tastic, amazeball lunch for the last 5 days Im here. Today, I decided to kick it off with Chicken Salad Sandwiches. So easy to make, and only took about 15 minutes. It also helped that I had some frozen chicken from a prior dinner that was already seasoned and ready to go! Again thanks to Ina Garten for another fantastic recipe.

We found this Mayo at a organic hippie shack called Trader Joe's, it was pretty cheap and darn good! Now,tarragon is a interesting herb, smells like black licorice, but gives food a great depth of flavor. ( I know it sounds insane but trust me). If you have never cooked or used it, I recommend just a tad, take a taste, if you like it add more, 1 tablespoon should do the trick!

Any rustic bread will do, I went with this one!

chicken breast(I did 3), well seasoned, bake at 375 and then cut it into chunks while still warm. I seasoned with salt, pepper, parsley, rosemary, and thyme.


Meanwhile cut your celery.. make it as chunky or as thin as you like!

Then mix your chicken, mayo ( I did two spoonfuls), salt, pepper, tarragon( 1 tablespoon), and celery all together!

Toss well my friend!

Marty said best sandwich he has ever had!






Here is how ol Barefoot did it. ( taken from the food network)

Ingredients
4 split (2 whole) chicken breasts, bone-in, skin on
Good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup good mayonnaise, plus more for the bread
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves
1 cup small-diced celery (2 stalks)
8 to 10 slices health or seven-grain bread
1 package mesclun salad mix
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts, skin side up, on a sheet pan and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Set aside to cool.

When the chicken is cool, remove and discard the skin and bones and cut the chicken into 3/4-inch dice. Place the chicken in a bowl and add the mayonnaise, tarragon, celery, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and toss well.

To assemble, spread a little mayonnaise on half the bread slices, top with the chicken salad and mesclun mix, and cover with the remaining slices of bread. Cut in half and serve.

Eva

For Marty's 29th birthday we went to a local restaurant called, Eva which is located in our Green Lake neighborhood. It had charm from the time we stepped in the restaurant. As for the food? The flavors were so complex, and the was food laid out and prepared beautifully. We left nothing on our plate. Marty quickly decided when both sides of our parents come to visit, we will have to visit this darling restaurant again.

The charm started as soon as we got to the door..

All I want for christmas is this kitchen....

yep charm... all the way down to the menu!

yes, please!

Sure, we will have some of that too!

Even MORE good Eats!

These last few weeks I have caught the cooking bug! Here are a couple of dishes Marty has been stuffing his face with lately....

Yummy Eggplant Parm... ( this time I actually remembered to peel the dang thing.)

Kabobs marinated with greek yogurt, lemon, and rosemary....

Banana Nut Bread.. this was ridiculously good..

Its been a good summer!

Marinated Lamb Kabobs- taken from food network by Ina Garten

I used steak instead of lamb.. still delish!

Ingredients
1 pound plain yogurt (regular or lowfat)
1/4 cup good olive oil, plus more for brushing grill
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
5 tablespoons fresh whole rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds top round lamb
1 red onion
Directions
Combine the yogurt, olive oil, lemon zest and juice, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a large, non-reactive bowl. Add the lamb, making sure it is covered with the marinade, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for up to 2 days.

Prepare a charcoal grill with hot coals. Spread the coals in one tight layer on the grill.

Cut the lamb in 1 1/2-inch cubes. You should have about 20 cubes.

Cut the red onion in 8 pieces and separate each piece into 3 or 4 sections. Loosely thread 3 or 4 pieces of lamb onto skewers alternately with sections of onion. Sprinkle both sides of the lamb cubes with salt and pepper. Place the skewers on the hot grill and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, turning 2 or 3 times, until the lamb is medium-rare.



Enjoy!

Downtown Seattle

Steep hill to walk down towards Pike.

Yesterday, Marty and I took advantage of the vivid blue skies and hopped a bus to downtown Seattle. Downtown was in a buzz as numerous events were going on and Pike's Place was in full swing. There even was a Medicare rally, complete with a jazz band, that played to the beat of their protest. Beautiful day, beautiful people, and beautiful food.

A outdoor picnic seemed like a must...

Our view for lunch

Women protesting to bring our troops home.

A vintage library with some books you don't normally see...

Fresh veggies for sale...

For the seafood lover in you.