living with animals

Our family was never one to own pets. We had a hamster (2, actually) for a short stretch, but they didn't last very long, and were near the end of my time at home. That is to say, animals were not part of the culture of our home. Accordingly, growing up I didn't have a feel for what it meant to have a pet as "part of the family." It just seemed kind of silly to hold an animal in that regard.

Since leaving for college, I've ended up having a couple of closer encounters with animals, from Hannah's dog and reptiles, to Picchu the cat and her brood, and now the McDougal Dachshunds. Living here with Ferg and Gwen has been a much more intimate interaction with dogs (and pets generally) than ever before, and I can honestly say I'm beginning to understand.

This morning the pup are curled up under my blanket after their morning romp. It was cold this morning, so they came in shivering and begging to be loved. Gwen was actually barking repeatedly until I finally let her into my room and helped her onto my bed. Annoying, but adorable.

It's fascinating to me how intuitive it is to interact with them. Not just telling them "Hey, stop that!" or "No! My food!" but even when they want to be cuddled, it just makes me really happy. And especially when they want to hang out in bed, there is a special, relaxed kind of intimacy. Like having another person there to cuddle with, it is relaxing and comforting to have a puppy lying there asking to be hugged and pet and patted.

To a certain extent, I'm sure the feelings of comfort and understanding can be explained away by personification of the animal, blah, blah, blah, but it doesn't change the emotional reality and significance of the connection. They really are very sweet dogs. And for that I am thankful.

Just reaffirms how much I want to have a pet when I am older. Though, my furball of choice will of course be a cat!

sleepless in seattle

So last Monday one of my coworkers sent out an email saying he would be heading to Seattle for a Mariner's game on the then-coming Saturday or Sunday, inviting anyone who wished to come along. When we met a couple of Seattle interns later that week, they agreed we could come crash at their place, thus making a weekend of the trip.

So, Aaron, Allie, and I made the trek yesterday morning to see the sights of Seattle. Allie has ties to Seattle, so she knew many of the places to see, and was able to show us around. We ran around and saw the troll, the gum wall, and the market, along with generally everything else I intended to see while I was in town.

Photo time:

The quirky toy store, suggested by Emma. You can find anything made out of plastic here: Bacon superherous (with Tofu nemeses), Ben Franklin and Oscar Wilde figurines, and of course your standard-issue rubber chicken.

A standard sight to see at Archie McPhee is the "Wallingford Beast." I have no idea what the deal is with this creepy plastic zombie-spider, except that it's there, in a curtained terrarium, so it must be famous. ...

The Fremont Troll. And a monster made of cement. ...

Here's our stalwart crew! That's Aaron on the left and Allie on the right.

And your fearless hero standing before the Seattle skyline.

The Seattle Library! Weird building. But it waters its plants with rain water! Which is cool. It's also a work of art on the inside.

Original newspaper from 1932. Really cool.

The Red Hall. A hallway that's completely red. Actually the whole 4th story is red like this. The camera kind of brightened the image, it's actually a deeper, darker red. 

Pike Place Market! We saw people throwing fish, tried some fruit, and explored the various stands. We got Piroskies, a Russian pastry, from a little bakery next door to the original Starbucks.

I'd heard that duck tours were a cool way to ride around the city and then get on the lake. I did not realize that they are also filled with Jungle-Cruise-style puns. I groaned for a while, but after a while it grew on me. 

Lastly, a duck tour boat with the "Sleepless in Seattle" boathouse in the background. Haven't seen the movie, but I figure if I do that'll mean something to me at some point.

While I had a lot of fun in Seattle, I was kind of surprised that I didn't feel it even more. For whatever reason, I just didn't feel that falling-in-love feeling I had when I went to Chicago, or that I have when I think of San Diego. I think expectations have something to do with it--Seattle is... Seattle. Like, the Seattle. So the thought of seeing it and loving it was so exciting... that perhaps I was slightly let down? Let down isn't even the right phrase. I just had a very romanticized image, not even an image, just a feeling for what it would be like to go to Seattle. Instead, it just felt like being in a city. It was fun, because I like cities, and because we saw some funny things, but it wasn't the Seattle experience I wanted it to be.

By no means am I giving up on the city. It was still beautiful, and I look forward to seeing it again. It might just be that rushing around sight-seeing took away from the effect. Playing pool with Jess and the others was definitely my favorite part of the adventure, even though that could have happened anywhere (except Sequim--there's not a single table in this town).

For now, it's back to Sunny Sequim and the birds.

Some music for the night:

Goodnight!

breakfast with class

While looking for some other recipe last week, I came across the "Strawberry omelet." It sounded nuts, but I wanted to try it! So when a co-worker mentioned she would be picking strawberries, i asked her to pick me up some so I could try it.

This breakfast is the ultimate in class. Without a doubt the most beautiful omelet I've ever made.

Here's the recipe:

Strawberry Bliss Omelet (pulled from here)

I made a half-recipe, but here it is in full:

Ingredients

6 eggs
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 ounces cream cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1-1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries, divided
Confectioners' sugar


Directions

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, water, salt and pepper. Heat butter in a 10-in. nonstick skillet over medium heat; add egg mixture. As the eggs set, lift edges, letting uncooked portion flow underneath. I made the mistake of putting my eggs on the stovetop before I had sliced my strawberries. Don't do this. You don't want to need to be fiddling with your omelet when you should be cutting your strawberries!

When the eggs are almost set, sprinkle cream cheese, brown sugar and 1 cup strawberries over one side. Fold omelet in half. Cover and cook for 1-2 minutes or until brown sugar begins to melt. Slide omelet onto a plate; top with remaining strawberries and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Our ingredients. The almond milk ended up being from the other recipe I was looking at. I almost put it in anyway, but I decided to start simple, and stick with the recipe. Always time for further exploration in the future.

In the rush of getting the strawberries sliced, I forgot to take any intervening pictures, but here's the finished product:

Ta-da! A breakfast with class. I added the powdered sugar a little later, and it really completes the meal! If there is such a thing as a breakfast wine, this is the meal to make with it. For now, I drank some cranberry-blueberry juice with it, which was delicious, of course.

Ultimately, my eggs did not completely set on the inside, but I think that may be because I wasn't lifting the edges enough earlier on. Still, it was good, and I'm going to continue experimenting. This one was not very sweet, so i think in the future I may try one of the ones where you put in milk and maybe vanilla. Nevertheless, today's was a successful breakfast adventure. Yum!

welcome to Sequim

I am now arrived and settled in Sequim, Washington (pronounced 'skwim').

Honestly everything about this experience has been wonderful so far. I came to this town after landing an internship at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, a lab associated with the US Department of Energy and run by a non-profit (or not-for-profit?) company called Battelle.

I am renting a room in a house with a family here in Sequim, and from the moment I arrived they have been wonderfully welcoming. Kim, my host mom, is an awesome cook (like, seriously, she runs a restaurant and is an amazing chef), and gives me cooking (and cleaning!) tips, which are very helpful. Rick, her husband, has always made a point to talk with me when I get home or around the house, really making me feel welcome. And their daughter Maggie is really chill, the very first day taking me on a bike ride to the river to tromp through the mud. She has done a great job of helping me find things to do around town. Another student (well, a recent grad) from the Lab is living here as well. Caleb has been really fun to hang out with--we're currently watching through the Devil May Cry anime.... so much fun! Lastly, the dogs Fergie and Gwen are the most adorable little dachshunds, and they are very friendly once they're done "greeting" you when you walk in the door (with piercing yapping).

Work has been going really well so far. My boss is really fun, and my project (observing birds and bats!) is really fun, because I get to work outside for half the time. My coworkers have also been very welcoming, helping me around the office and hanging out at lunch. One of my new friends even invited me to a house concert! That was a lot of fun.

The town itself is simply charming. There's about 6,000 people in the town, one "main" street that has almost every store on it. There is a bike path leading almost the entire way to work, making it easy to ride to work.

Finally, Audubon has a center not far from where I'm living, so I have opportunity to visit them and learn as much about birds as I like!


Some photos:

Audubon has these adorable stuffed birds that make their actual bird call! Guess what the Baby's getting as his souvenir....

The view from work.

Welcome to Sequim. We have sushi in a barn.

One of my coworkers (seen on the back right) plays in a marimba band in Sequim! Apparently marimbas are a thing here in the Pacific Northwest. How cool is that?

I've always been one to support small business.

Awww, Gwen wants out again. Or something. You can never be sure what exactly she's asking for...

House concert by Noelle Johnson and her band. You can't see the mason jars from here, but the plaid should tell you they're around.

The Olympic mountains.

The lighthouse on Dungeness Spit. Who's that standing there on the tip?

Sorry for the kind of hollow tone. Now that I've gotten the location update taken care of, I can get back to thoughts or ideas the next time one of them strikes.

beet-quinoa salad

This week, for whatever reason, I got really excited about beets. So, this week will feature two beet recipes. Here's the first: a Beet-Quinoa salad I made for dinner last night.




Adapted from "Quinoa, Beet, and Arugula Salad," at Allrecipes.com


Ingredients
2 medium-sized beets, peeled and sliced
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
beet greens, chopped
goat cheese, crumbled, to taste


Directions

1. Place a steamer insert into a saucepan, and fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer. Cover pan and bring the water to a boil. Add beets, cover pan, and steam until just tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Set aside. 
2. Bring quinoa and 2 cups water a saucepan over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, about 15 minutes. 
3. While the quinoa is cooking, whisk olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, garlic, salt, and black pepper together in a large bowl. 
4. Remove quinoa from heat, then immediately add half of the vinegar dressing while fluffing the quinoa with a fork; reserve remaining dressing. Cover and refrigerate quinoa until cool, at least 1 hour. 
5. Stir green onions, arugula, goat cheese, beets, and remaining dressing into cooled quinoa mixture. Toss lightly before serving. 

It's a beet!





The beets are all sliced up and placed in the steamer.





Ta-da! The final salad.





The recipe says it makes enough for 6 servings. I think mine will last at least that long. I just used the goat cheese at the end, rather than mixing it all in with the bowl. That way, I can still use it for something else later in the week!


This salad was really tasty! I think the goat cheese really finishes it off well! And the beet greens taste just like a spinach. Delicious!

bruschetta!

I decided to make pasta today, but since I didn't know if I had rights to the landfamily's pasta sauce, I decided to use some of my excess tomatoes to make a bruschetta!


Ingredients: 

2 cloves chopped garlic
enough olive oil
2 tomatoes
3 sprigs thyme (I didn't have any basil)
more olive oil
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
shredded Parmesan cheese
fresh ground pepper
baguette or crostini

Some of our starting ingredients:

Instructions:

Sautee garlic in olive oil for about 2 miniutes on medium heat (probably less--mine ended up a little burned!). Place in serving bowl to cool. 

Dice tomatoes and add to bowl.

Add the thyme to the bowl. Add olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and ground pepper to taste.

And that's all! I microwaved mine for about 30 seconds after to take the chill off. Next time I would probably do even more, or put the tomatoes in the frying pan for a little bit with the garlic. 

the finished bruschetta:

Lunch is served!

Mine made enough for two! I served it (to myself) with a side salad, pasta, and some sourdough bread, and some cranberry juice.

Recipe adapted from "Joelan's Best Bruschetta" - http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,171,128181-248192,00.html

And some music for lunch:


"Postcards from Italy" - Beirut
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjzVbXeD_8E