Spring in My Kitchen, Galley, and Elsewhere

We've bounced around a bit this Spring, but not too energetically. Sunshine and warming weather prompted more relaxation than busy activity; things like slower strolls through the neighborhood and more time spent birdwatching and blossoms opening rather than ambitious baking or recipe exploration. Ahhhh, Spring!

Friend Jean's Campbell River garden is especially stunning in Spring, a blooming wonderland of Japanese camellias, towering rhododendrons and colorful bulbs and perennials. An assortment of her camellia blooms brightened up the bar counter in the galley.

Friend Rose brought a sweet mini rose along with her on a recent boat visit; more Spring blooms to add color and cheer. 

Our meals aboard tended toward the routine, a combination of fresh produce and treasures from the freezer. On some days snacking replaced actual dining, a stressfree approach when not expecting company. Ahhh, but we did indulge in breakfasts on the ferry traveling to and from Vancouver Island. Platter-sized offerings fed both of us quite nicely, though RL always finds room for a small bowl of soft ice cream.

One new acquisition to celebrate is the replacement oven in the boat galley. Finally installed during the last days of our stay aboard, it still awaits action. I'm pretty excited over having three oven racks, one of which is a gliding, rollout beast sturdy enough to hold a Thanksgiving turkey... not that I've ever needed that capacity. Three racks makes me giddy enough.

Some Lemon and Gingery Things

 What's New In My Feb/Mar 2018 Kitchen

Lemon Drops, a classic hard candy, are reputed to offer some health benefits by stimulating the salivary glands to combat dry mouth, and in minimizing nausea. Medicinal? perhaps, but in February these sugar coated, puckery lemon-flavored candies were an overly tempting snack. I had to order a second bag quickly.  

It's routine to find fresh ginger root plus some sliced, pickled ginger in my fridge, and a jar of powdered ginger in the spice cabinet, but now these standard items have a lot more company in the pantry as I explore ginger's digestive and anti-nausea attributes. I might have been a bit over-enthusiastic in adding more ginger to the kitchen.   

Lemon and ginger cookies and tea breaks have been almost as popular as afternoon naps this month.

Not one of my favorite spices, ginger has always seemed far too pungent, a bully battling to take center stage and overpower other more subtle flavors. That said, I was surprised to find ginger listed in more than a handful of my recipes on the blog. Evidently I enjoy ginger in Asian dishes, in desserts, quick breads, and sauces and more. Note to self: toss those tired old attitudes and embrace new flavors.

I have no clue how Rose Flower Water and Orange Flower Water will work in my kitchen, but I couldn't resist ordering them both when placing an order with a new-to-me spice company. Mmmm, the aroma alone was worth the purchase price. This duo will hang out in the pantry, waiting for a time when I have the energy to search for appropriate recipes and experiment. Madeleines come to mind, but I'm hoping for something more adventurous. Uses/recipe suggestions anyone?

Dark chocolate and nuts - oh my, need I say more?! Who would guess that we first tasted them at a medical clinic? These amazingly delicious bars could become addictive if more than a few ever made it into my kitchen. We currently share a bar, divided carefully in half, and leave no stray bits on the plate. It takes considerable willpower to ignore their large-quantity availability at Costco. Check out the package statement "Ingredients you can see & pronounce" - that's a good thing, but should be the standard for more food items.

That's it for new things in my kitchen lately, it has been a quiet, eat comfort food, snuggle up with a book and a blanket kind of month. Finally the days are growing longer and official Spring is only 20 days away. Bring it on! Now, click over to the monthly IMK roundup at Sherry's Pickings to see what's happening in other kitchens around the globe. You will enjoy the people you meet there. 

In My Kitchen - Jan/Feb 2018

French Apple Pie: a little messy but tasty, a bit like life.

It's February... already. Hilary arrived with a hand-decorated heart plate piled high with a stack of healthy and delicious cookies, a reminder that yet another holiday arrives next week. We ate the cookies during her visit, before I even thought to grab a photo. 

Valentine's Day is just one week away - now how did that sneak up so stealthily when the last of the previous holiday trimmings are barely tucked away in storage? Denial on my part perhaps, while studiously ignoring the calendar and some promising signs of Spring outside the kitchen windows. Winter hellebore bloom alongside clumps of energetic daffodil stalks that daily shoot skyward so quickly you can almost see them grow.

When we spent time aboard the boat last month the view from the boat galley was more wintery, gray and wet with gale force winds and occasionally white-capped surf inside the marina. No promise of Spring observed here yet.

Sweaters, turtlenecks and raingear were daily attire and warming meals were in order, from oatmeal breakfasts to stews and vegetable braises. We ate interesting meals from provisions already on board and in our travel cooler. No way was I eager to brave the elements to struggle along the lurching, bouncy dock and head for a grocery.  Happily the pantry was well-stocked with staples. Strangely memorable was RL's ferry boat lunch featuring bland, underseasoned Manhatten clam chowder and his condiment choices of vinegar and mustard to top a packet of fries. Mustard! really? I wondered, "Why not poutine?" if he wanted an unconventional flavor experience. (Note to self: don't judge without tasting. The fries were surprisingly good.)  

New arrivals In My Kitchen include...

*...Emilie Raffa's sourdough cookbook, so highly recommended by numerous IMK bakers. My breadmaking has suffered lately, disappointingly inconsistent loaf to loaf with several epic failures. It's time to go back to basics, quit "winging it" and strengthen my starter, Old Faithful. Wish me luck. 

* ...a colander, bowl and pitcher that match other Sam Scott pieces in my collection. The artist's work is available at his studio in north Seattle, in numerous galleries, online at Etsy, etc. but I'd rather pick up a few pieces each year at the local Seward Park Clay Studio.  

*...plus a few more soup bowls, just because. It's time to rotate out the early marriage bowls no longer in use, the ones that hold nearly four cups. Hmmmm, did we really have appetites that large all those many years ago? 

*...a new cookbook holder that can accomodate fat cookbooks as well as a thin iPad. Yes, you can tell by the titles of the new cookbooks contained inside that I'm off on another food challenge addressing potential treatment side effects. New cooking adventures, here I come.

What's happening in your kitchen lately? Click over to Sherry's Pickings for a monthly peek into interesting lives and kitchens around the globe. Good things happen in the kitchen. 

October/November In My Kitchen and Galley

...plus a few lunches out and about.

 Yes, it's Hatch Chile Time once again. This 5-pound box arrived long after we finished the previous shipment. The heavenly aroma of roasting chiles briefly perfumed the entire house, and that's almost reason enough to roast them. A handful of fresh chiles went into the fridge for immediate use, but the bulk of this batch went into the freezer after roasting, ready for enchiladas, dips, omelets, and more in the weeks ahead. Mmmmm, we do love New Mexican chiles! 

Warm Autumn days and settled weather drew us north to the boat, as though we needed an excuse. 

This 180-degree panorama is a tidier-than-usual peek inside Rhapsody; salon at the left, galley in the middle, and the stairways to the right lead down to the staterooms and up to the pilothouse. Full disclosure: Life afloat usually involves more stuff filling the counters, things like in-progress project debris and cooking equipment. While we enjoyed several weeks of Fall sunshine, early morning fog in Discovery Channel and condensation on cold galley windows reminded us that the weather was changing.   

Dock neighbor Ember surprised us with a large bag of chanterelle mushrooms she had picked over the weekend at one of her secret island spots. What a delicious, thoughtful treasure to share. Mushrooms sauteed in garlic butter were ahhhhmazing as a steak topper that night - thanks Ember! The bulk of the 'shrooms were cleaned, sliced, sauteed and frozen for later use. 'Shrooms and pasta, mushroom soup, 'shroom-filled crepes, mushrooms in SO many other preparations... oh, yes!
   

For the past decade or more apple season has meant searching for Honeycrisp apples at an affordable price. Costing more than double or triple the price of other varieties, Honeycrisps are relatively expensive. I love to eat Honeycrisps but am usually too cheap frugal to cook with them. The harborside grocery recently featured a new-to-me Canadian variety, the Ambrosia apple, which immediately became our new favorite.

First registered in 1993 the Ambrosia offers a perfumed aroma, crisp texture, low-acid sweetness (which makes it easier to digest) and is slow to brown. What's not to like? We ate them for snacks, chopped them in salads, and enjoyed a few in stovetop desserts. Stovetop? Yes, the oven still awaits replacment. Skillet apples with a crunchy streusel topping were a welcome treat.

Snow flurries accompanied us on the trip back to the mainland, and we've seen the flip side of Fall weather ever since. Now it's time for bulky sweaters, comfort food and socializing over meals with friends and family. Lunches out lately have included:

Yellow Curry with Crab and Red Curry with Shrimp at Kirkland's Thai Soul Kitchen, 

Two Tamales with Mole Sauce and a Brisket Burrito at Cactus in Seattle's Madison Park neighborhood,

and the indescribably delicious Moroccan Fried Trout Tacos at nearby Meet the Moon Cafe.

Procrastination struck and it's down to the final few hours open to join other bloggers for this month's In My Kitchen posts. Hmmmm, that could make for a missed edit or two. This post is linked to Sherry's Pickings, the mothership for the monthly IMK roundup. You'll enjoy clicking over for a don't-miss-it opportunity to explore other kitchens around the world. 

Summer 2017 IMK Notes

In and Out of My Kitchen...

Summer 2017 has been memorable for Seattle's record-breaking stretch of hot, dry weather; an incredible number of horrific wildfires that torched forest lands in western US and Canada; throat-irritating smoke and ash from those same fires that filled the air for weeks, transforming both sun and moon into brilliant red/orange orbs; and the fleeting thrill of a rare total solar eclipse. Life in my kitchen tended toward the unpredictable as well, but we're back on track for a calmer Autumn. 

Foodwise, we reveled in the abundance of produce. Our three sunloving Asian pear trees produced a record crop, a challenging mixed blessing since so many ripen at once. I've tried to be magnanimous and forgive the marauding raccoons and squirrels who take one big bite, just one! out of dozens of pears. This year there was more than enough fruit to share.

Summer stone fruits, melons, blueberries, and mint make my tastebuds sing. Mint is a total pest, growing like a weed in a sideyard bed, but it's so aromatic that it is worth the effort to keep it in check. Think more fruit salads, more mojitos...

 Vine-ripened tomatoes are the gold standard flavorwise, and 2017 produced a bumper crop locally. Now I wish I had put in a few plants, but the neighborhood markets kept us well supplied. Tomatoes plain, tomatoes sauced, tomatoes in soup, tomatoes in salads... yes!

Pastry hand pies were not my thing, no matter how I tried, so I moved on and worked instead with pizza dough to bake calzone and stromboli. Mushrooms, kale, mozzarella, basil, garlic and walnuts combined for the latest filling. I ate mine plain, but RL preferred his share dunked in spicy red sauce.   

After sorting through my kitchen towel drawer, reluctantly tossing some threadbare favorites, I treated myself to some replacements. The first two were plain and serviceable, my favorite color but nothing special. More remarkable is the lack of any new kitchen gadgets. Such restraint!

In and Out of My Galley...

Tea towels plus matching pot holders caught my eye at Wei Wai Kum House of Treasures, a First Nation store in Campbell River, BC. I carried these treasures south after the trip, thinking they might make attractive gifts for friends. They would, but I decided to keep them for myself and will transport them back to the boat for galley use.

During her week aboard niece Slone helped me organize galley cabinets and pantry, discarding items past their pull date or otherwise questionable. No effort required to deal with the fridge - it had stopped chilling and was empty. We went old school during the trip and used two styrofoam coolers instead. Two freezer drawers and a separate icemaker still functioned so we froze ice blocks to rotate in and out of the coolers on the back deck. It worked, though Slone made countless trips daily in and out to the coolers. Our preplanned menu shifted a bit as we focused first on fresh greens etc., using them while they were stilll crisp. 

Photo: Slone's Loaded Chicken Taco Salad

Our several restaurant outings were all about seafood. The Bouillabaise at the Pt. Roberts, WA Compass Rose Bar & Grill was bowl-licking good... so good I forgot to take photos. I wish they sold cartons of the base sauce, it was that good. Trollers Fish & Chips on the dock in Nanaimo, B.C.'s busy harbor failed to live up to its advertised "Best in town" claim. Overbreaded and overcooked fish proved disappointing. Again, no photos. Ah, but the totally terrific dinner at Campbell River, B.C.'s Riptide Marine Pub was everything we could hope for; very fresh seafood that was well-prepared, a knowledgeable and efficient waitstaff, plus an upbeat vibe. This time I remembered photos.      

Photo: My Togarashi Tuna Plate at the Riptide Marine Pub

Photo: RL's Seafood Linguini at the Riptide Marine Pub

Photo: Slone's Seafood Puttanesca Fettuccini at the Riptide Marine Pub

And then the weather changed; Fall was suddenly in the air if barely on the calendar. The rainbow below hints at good things to come. I'm ready.

Linked to a post at Sherry's Pickings highlighting the happenings in other kitchens around the world. Pop over to meet some interesting cooks, find tempting new recipes and enjoy tales of life, travel and so much more.