Happy Equinox!

But just a couple days later!!

On Equinox I received 6 boxes of 36 lbs of cantaloupe and had to peel, cut, and process each one for our cantaloupe mint sorbet. That was already a large amount of fruit to cut, but on top of that, they were cute little organic cantaloupe, that slowly started to morph into annoying never-ending, why do you have to be so small, cantaloupe. During the whole process I kept thinking that there must be a joke about how cantaloupes can't elope, and how it would go.

After work I went to little home make lanterns. Well, I sat and watched Azure, Aviva and Dave make lanterns, while I ate homemade Thai food and drank champagne. But afterwards we all took a walk around green lake with other equinox celebrators. It was the perfect night, we wore t-shirts, a lot of people were out, and there were so many creative lanterns and costumes.

Cantaloupe x 500



Handmade lanterns



Aviva is pretty and that is a fish



Festive

The Coast

I went to a three day wedding this weekend.

It was on the coast.



I arrived at the coast with Kailin



and Mathew



This lady and that speaker was the center of many dance parties



It was cold.



They are happy.



It was beautiful out there.

hum hum

Rum Hee by Shugo Takumaru

makes me feel like I am flying a kite, then I am sitting on the kite, blowing bubbles into the air while fireflies are spinning and dancing around me, then the bubbles transform into GIANT white circular balloons, and I am frolicking through yellow peony fields holding the balloons by a purple string.



Also, I know I am about a decade behind the times, and I know that every time I hear this band playing on the speakers somewhere for the past decade, I always ask who they are. What I don't know is, why I haven't taken the time to ever listen to their whole album. This stuff always drives me crazy. KINGS OF CONVIENENCE are my new favorite bedtime band. Their music is really beautiful, and it makes me feel very nostalgic about the past, happy in the moment, and hopeful for the future.

Poached Nectarines

So, instead of poached pears, I decided to make poached nectarines. Pears aren't in season now, and I saw a beautiful picture of a poached nectarine in a magazine that inspired me to make it. They are all over the farmers markets, so it was a pretty easy transition.

I just made a test batch and I am so excited to serve this dessert! After poaching the nectarines a layer of skin peels off effortlessly and the fruit reveals an incredibly colorful flesh that exposes soft tones of red and orange. The next step is to taste it and hope that it tastes just as elegant as it looks!

Dodge

Hi. Today after work I got dinner with my friends Shannon and Paul, then, on my way home, I stopped by to watch a game of street dodge ball at Cal Anderson Park. It was awesome. I love street b games.

This Weekend

I picked 2 lbs of blueberries!! For $1.25/lb!! I wish I had my camera with me at the time, there were a lot of little jewels around the farm, but I did manage to bring back a little blueberry bouquet for you.



My heirloom tomatoes are also going insane! The heat wave made them really happy, and they are popping up all over the place.







The cucumbers are popping up too, they were made from scratch {seeds}



They have funny ringlets that grab onto anything next to them



Including other ringlets.



AND at work today, I got a bunch of blackberries from Pacific Crest Farms. They were delicious and will probably be just as delicious in ICE CREAM.



Then I went home, and ate a yellow watermelon for the first time. It was sweet and hydrating and filling.





<3s. Many of them.

GUESS WHAT?!

Guess what I get to do Thursday of next week?

I get to help fillet 60 lbs of salmon at the Loki house! Loki is a local fishing company that practices sustainable harvesting of wild fish. They are supposed to be a top notch fish company, and I get to go to the family's house and fillet fish for them!

That's not it...

I am also in charge of dessert for a fundraising event called Smoked and Pickled.

Here are some details:

Five-course smoked salmon & BBQ dinner to benefit the Vera Project. Featuring wild Alaskan coho salmon from Loki Fish Co., Molly Moon handmade ice cream, and Redhook beer-- come out and enjoy awesome food and drinks to benefit radical All-Ages Music & Art!

Menu:
Spicy Sangrita shooter w/ Ikura, creme fraiche, & chives
Summer grape & feta salad w/ meyer lemon olive oil
Roasted corn w/ chili-lime dressing
Dirty rice & bacon black beans w/ bourbon cornbread
Salmon smoked two ways or Vegetarian BBQ'd Mac n' Cheese
Poached pears w/ Molly Moon Ice Cream

I contacted the person in charge of this dinner, pitched the dessert idea, and now I will be playing with recipes for the poached pears, and hopefully I will find something that is easy and fast since there might be a lot of people at this event. I will make the ice cream at work so half of it is already done. I'm pretty excited about this! Whoooooo!!!!