Thursday Thought

You find your voice by joining the choir.

Austin Kleon, Show Your Work

I believe the original reference was meant to encourage artists to be inspired by the work of other artists, read widely on their chosen medium and collaborate with others. However, I feel as though I have found my voice by joining an actual choir. In my high school choir days, I was so afraid of singing a wrong note, that I sang quietly before being encouraged by my fellow altos to lose my timidity. Nowadays I sing out loud, a quality which has also translated to my real life and work, sharing the things that are most important to me.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig - Day 12

Finally - nearly two months after returning from our sailing vacation and I have come to the end.

Though I still longed for breakfast from Blue Moose, we instead used our meal tickets for free Sunday brunch at the hotel. Edible and not too bad of a flavor (other than the breakfast pastry that had a distinct freezer taste to it), but disappointing with so many great breakfast options. Dungeness crab benedict for me and french toast for Trent. Fortunately, the company was good as we had a few last minutes with Trent's parents.

The current was against us 1.5-2 knots which made for a long slog home - 7.5 hours from Port Townsend to Shilshole. While we put up the mainsail to motor-sail, the wind was never at both the right speed and direct us to tempt us to try it without the engine. There were more marine mammals (porpoises) at this section of the journey than any other, probably because the fish were out at full force (at least judging by the sheer number of fishing boats on the water).

On arriving home, we were so thankful that Shilshole now has a cafe. We immediately rewarded ourselves with coffee and a Boggle game after bringing up the first cartload of items to the Prius and before heading home for a brief rest from the boat.

The next day was boat clean-up day, a task that I left chiefly to Trent when he still worked from home. This year I scrubbed the cabin floor and deck and sponged out the bilge, while he "dived" the boat to scrape off any new marine life. We removed the cushions, spinnaker and anchor, leaving the dinghy behind initially. Though this will never be my favorite part of a boat journey, it was strangely satisfying.

While we'll still go out on occasion in the fall and winter months, it feels as though Rock Lobster has been put to bed to hibernate until spring.

Recipes Galore

Recipe #8 from the Loose Recipe Challenge (Chai Brownies): now baking in the oven in anticipation of book club. Another recipe that I clipped back in 2007 and kept without once giving it a test drive. If the batter is any indication (I am an unreformed bowl-licker in spite of any scare tactics regarding salmonella and raw eggs), it will be spicy, gooey goodness.

I love this challenge so far. Since last week's post, I did indeed bake Bierocks, dumplings filled with ground turkey, cabbage and onions. I've been using the dough function on my bread machine lately, so the hand kneading was both fun and sticky (though I resisted the temptation to add more flour). The results are below.

I can tell that if I want to continue adding photos I'll have to come up with a better solution. My camera battery can't seem to hold a charge and the Chromebook, which took these two, requires that I arrange myself and the food for the webcam to get a good shot. Notice that I am wearing my poncho from "Embrace Fall".

Lots of leftovers, perfect for lunches at work. They can be eaten heated or room temperature. The Paris Mushroom Soup was similarly delicious, as well as surprisingly simple.

Other recipes tested since last Sunday:

#5 Garlic Honey Vinaigrette - my friend Phil's house dressing - mix 1 t. honey with one minced garlic clove. Whisk in 1 T. olive oil and 1 T. apple cider vinegar. I serve this over spinach salad with dried cranberries or cherries and sliced almonds.

#3b Gruyere and potato gratin - This shouldn't count in the challenge, since I got the recipe after it began, BUT the only reason I made it was it used up the creme fraiche from the mushroom soup recipe. A perfect recipe for cold and rainy nights. We ate the leftovers for lunch today with andouille.

1 clove garlic, peeled and cut in half

3 T. unsalted butter

1 large slice of onion (I used the heel of an onion)

Salt

White Pepper

2.5 lb. peeled and thinly sliced potatoes

5 oz. creme fraiche

1.5 c. grated Gruyere cheese

Rub the side of a 2 quart gratin or casserole dish with the cut side of the garlic cloves and enough butter to grease the sides and bottom. Blanch the potatoes with the onion and salt for 5 minutes. Drain and discard the onion. Spread half of the potatoes in the gratin dish. Salt and pepper to taste (okay, to me this step was a little weird, since it is hard to figure out "to taste" when the potatoes are only part-way cooked). Top with half of the creme fraiche and half of the cheese. Place the remaining potatoes on top, then cover with remaining cheese and creme fraiche. Dot with the remaining butter. Bake at 425 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until the top is browned. Serves 6 (supposedly, though I think that is as a side instead of main course).

6) Orange bubble bread, another Cooking Light recipe. Back to using the bread machine for dough. The extra sugar seemed to make the dough come alive like the Blob. I don't own a tube pan, so I just used a baking pan and arranged them like cinnamon rolls. The recipe makes 24 and I was certain that I'd need to invite friends over. However, they seem to be disappearing on their own.

7) Pancit - 13 years, that's how long I've had this recipe without cooking it. When we moved to our last house, I had an enormous box of Cooking Light magazines, which I went through (in anticipation of our move to our current house) and lovingly clipped out every recipe that I might some day want to make. These fit in two overstuffed manila envelopes, which over the last three years I have culled to the best of the best potential recipes. Last night, after coming home from a showing of the silent film, The Phantom of the Opera, accompanied by an accomplished organist, I started this recipe and had it on the table 25 minutes later. Trent and I both approved, though I'd probably double the recipe next time and have bigger servings, as well as leftovers for the work week.

Last night I jettisoned two recipes: a granola recipe from the work health newsletter (very similar to a recipe that I already make) and Pesto at It's (sic) Besto from the Seattle Tilth Newsletter - how many pesto recipes can one woman keep?

Have you made any recipes lately from your collection?

Thursday Thought

"Did you write today?"

"Yes."

"Then you're a writer today."

Julia Cameron. The Right to Write

I'm in the middle of reading Mindset by Carol Dweck which contrasts the fixed mindset ("you can't teach an old dog new tricks") with a growth mindset, where we can change and develop if we put forth the effort to learn new skills. It reminds me of an observation that one of my book club friends made a couple of years ago - that she had already done all of the things that she has natural aptitude for, so now is the time to explore hobbies that take a bit more effort. To me this also says that we are defined more by what we do than by how we think of ourselves - actions speak louder than words.

I don't think of myself as a writer. I was never one of those kids who spent hours creating stories or one of the earnest high school journalists working on the Garfield Messenger. But I did write in a journal (one of my earliest entries reads "Mom says I'm a lucky duck because I have blonde leg hair". Sadly that did not last). Now I write a little nearly every day, so by this definition, I'm a writer - at least for today.

I hope today to also be a runner and a weight lifter - maybe even a sketcher/artist. What identities will you claim today?

The Loose Recipe Challenge

I've always been intrigued by stories of people who have challenged themselves to do a project or task for one year: work on a Happiness Project, have No-Impact on the environment, follow Eleanor Roosevelt's lead, cook all of Julia Child's recipes or try to avoid buying things made in China. Recently, I read an ARC of The Happiness of Pursuit, which posits that projects like these can greatly enhance life. But until this week, I have never selected a project of my own.

This Monday, I had a self-proclaimed "scathingly brilliant idea" (to quote Hayley Mills' character in The Trouble with Angels): a loose-recipe challenge, where I focus on cooking each of the recipes in my recipe box or binder over the course of a year. Initially, I thought I might be able to do it in less time, but when I actually counted up my recipes, I realized that I have approximately 130 of them and doing 11-12 per month sounds challenging, but will also allow for me to cook my standard recipes or those from other cookbooks. It will also give time for any summer ingredients (e.g. fresh tomatoes) to come into season again. Any recipes printed off and prepared since September (pumpkin scones, borscht or smoked salmon chowder) count as completed already. Any print-out/clipping that does not taste good, I can recycle, though I will probably keep handmade recipe cards given by friends and family.

I've also given myself a few exemptions: if I photocopied a particular recipe from a cookbook, I don't need to make the other recipes on the page - but I get bonus points if I do. If there is a recipe featuring an ingredient that is unavailable, I will excuse myself from it only after looking for appropriate substitutes. And in general, I can make substitutions, as long as I generally follow the recipe.

The challenge appeals both to my love of cooking and to my minimalist side.

I've chosen three recipes for this weekend. The first, apple pie biscuits, I made last night. Not wanting to purchase any self-rising flour, I used her suggested mixture of baking powder (though mine had aluminum, unlike the directions), salt and flour. My biscuit "squares" also ended up being rectangles when I started cutting 2 rows of 6 instead of 3 rows of 4. Overall, they turned out deliciously, though the biscuits are a little tough, probably due to overmixing (unless it was that flour substitution). I can tell already that the loose recipe challenge will inspire me to share desserts with friends and co-workers, so that next year I don't have to do the "lose my loose-recipe challenge weight" challenge instead.

Today, I'll make Paris Mushroom Soup, photocopied in 2010 or 2011 (and not yet made) from Dorie Greenspan's book Around My French Table (which after my loose-recipe challenge, I see that there is a whole website devoted to French Fridays with Dorie) for lunch and Bierocks, clipped from Cooking Light back in 2004 when I still had a subscription.

Earlier in the week, I also randomly made cornbread from the recipe clipped from my Albers cornmeal box to serve with my slow cooker vegetarian chili.

So far this has been easy, though I suspect it will get more difficult as time goes on. Now to plan out the coming week and weekend's recipes! This may be the impetus for me to finally add photos to my blog, so that you can cook along with me.

Port Townsend - Day 10 and 11

We awoke at 7 for a planned departure time of 8 at Roche Harbor, giving us time for coffee/chai and famous doughnuts, the only thing that seemed inexpensive at the resort.

Trent wanted to have sails ready by the time we exited Mosquito Pass. I was nervous to set up underway without someone to check my work - which probably means I need to do it a little more often at the dock), so I steered through part of the shallows, another task that I usually leave to the skipper.

We were able to sail for quite a ways, with wind mostly 12/13ish. Haro Strait in particular was a bit wavy. The current was a mixed bag, with us sometimes going a glorious 8 knots over ground and later dropping to 2.5 before rising again. As the wind dropped we switched from jib to genoa, but before long were motoring, sitting at the stern of the boat to keep the engine from popping out of the water.

We finally arrived at Boat Haven around 4:30. While we missed getting reciprocal moorage, we learned that if we went the next day at opening, we'd have a good chance of getting free moorage - the rule is the first two people with membership cards in hand get it.

Trent's father met us at the marina as we were putting everything away, while the rest of the family (Trent's mom, brother and sister) were in town. His parents had tried to reach us while we were underway to ask if we wanted a hotel room at the Manresa Castle either one or both nights. Our original plan had been one night on the boat, one night at the hotel, but they ended up getting a hotel room for both nights for us - not necessary, but wonderfully luxurious after 9 nights on Rock Lobster. Taking showers in a room adjacent to our living space = heaven.

We dined at the Owl Spirit Cafe, whose sliders came highly recommended by a couple we met at Stuart Island. Trent and I split two varieties (the kofte and the portabella, I believe), along with baked sweet potato fries and an orange creme brulee, as well as a few bites of the other dessert at the table: a chocolate, coconut, pecan bread pudding. Quite tasty, though Trent said they did not compare to his lamb burger at the Tree House.

The next day, we raced down to the marina and successfully scored free moorage! After the hotel breakfast, the clan (with the exception of Trent's sister who had headed home early to pick up her boyfriend from SeaTac after a work trip to Germany) headed to Fort Worden to check out the State Park. Very interesting to see the sites of the enormous guns, fired only in practice.

Lunch at Better Living Through Coffee - delectable salmon chowder and cafe arancia (I'm a sucker for coffee drinks with orange people). Very crowded due to the ferry run.

After lunch, Trent and I rode our bikes to Mt. Townsend Creamery for cheese tasting with the family before taking off on our own on a Brompton adventure on the Larry Scott Trail. The trailhead is adjacent to Boat Haven, which we've stayed at a number of times, but were only able to take advantage of this year. Such a nice bike ride. We hadn't ridden so much together in ages and realized that our little bikes are much better matched to each other than our large bikes (giving me validation that the while the user makes a difference, so does the right tool). After our 14 mile bike ride, we stopped at the Port Townsend Brewing Company tasting room for a refreshing Reel Amber for me and a Port Townsend Porter for Trent.

Finally it was time for dinner at one of my most favorite restaurants - The Fountain. So divine - I had the paella, while Trent had the pasta special (penne with elk, wild mushrooms and a smoked gouda cream sauce). We split the Buffalo frog legs and a wild salmon cake appetizer as well as tiramisu for dessert. I so enjoy sharing favorite places with family and friends.

Thursday Thought

"The voyage of the best ship is a zigzag line of a hundred tacks."

Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

My brother is taking time to read a list of "great works" and Emerson is on the list. In trying to find a way to spend more time with my siblings, who live too far away, I decided to read a couple of Emerson's essays with him. Our brother-sister book club didn't last long - just one or two phone conversations - but I enjoyed it while it lasted.

Besides enjoying the sailing reference, I find this one particularly inspiring as a reminder that we don't usually get to our goals in a straight line. We move back and forth, getting closer and closer, sometimes at a snail's pace - especially when the wind is strong against us. When that's the case, all that's left is to enjoy the journey, which is a far better answer than scowling and shaking your fist at the wind.

Everyday Fulfillment

Earlier this year, I encouraged a friend to start writing in her blog again. After restarting this blog, I've been on a mini-mission to convince friends and family to either start or revitalize their blogs, because it adds to the quality of my life (and obviously, what's true for me must be true for everyone else).

She replied that she had nothing interesting to write about - that all she does is work and go home to eat, sleep and watch Netflix. Now that is patently untrue, as she also goes on fabulous weekend adventures to explore beaches, restaurants and local events. However, it got me thinking about how I am interested in learning about everyday lives and routines - both what people actually do at work and how they add quality and meaning to their personal lives both because of and in spite of full-time work. Whether you have a fulfilling job or not, how do you make it so that it is only a part of who you are? What can you do at work to add a sense of playful light-heartedness? Is it healthy to compartmentalize - where week days are for working and weekends are for playing?

I complain about the length of my commute and yet, it gives me time and energy to spend on some of my hobbies. On a given week, you'll find me alternating between reading, writing (on non-bumpy portions) or knitting on the bus before I finish off my journey bicycling. During my most re-energizing work breaks, I hula hoop with co-workers or do a 10-15 minute meditation on Calm.com (though I find it hard to relax when someone could sneak up behind me at any moment). Every Thursday evening, I spend two hours at choir rehearsal to feed my soul.

What do you most love about your job? What do you do to bring some of the weekend into the week? What interests or passions are you able to pursue in the midst of working and commuting each day?

Roche Harbor - Day 9

Overnight in Tsehum Harbor, wind swept over the deck rustling the plastic garbage bags containing our bikes and the waves knocked us about enough that sleep was hard to come by. When I finally slumbered, I dreamt of leaky boats and sponging up the bilge.

We awoke to free showers (hooray!) and more time to look around the docks for San Juans like Rock Lobster. We finally left the dock at about 11 and arrived after 10 nautical miles in two hours of wind mostly in the 13-17 knot range with fairly large waves in Haro Strait. When we finally arrived at Roche Harbor, we circled the Customs Dock for an hour and lost our spot in line when we moored at a place near to, but not in, the official customs zone.

I have always resisted Roche in the past, due in part to a brief stopover a couple of years ago for matches and a lighter when our lighter failed to light the stove for our very early morning tea after leaving Port Townsend at 4 a.m. Everything seemed over-priced and resort-y. And it certainly is that. But it is also an interesting slice of U.S. history with the lime kilns (producing the most lime west of the Mississippi). Signs explain the history of the church, the gardens and the McMillin family, the patriarch of which built a mausoleum inspired by Christianity, the Masons and his fraternity.

We visited the Sculpture Park, getting turned around on the numerous paths, including a quick blackberry-eating detour on my part (I missed the season in Seattle and Canada's were too green, but Roche Harbor's were "just right"). I was proud of myself for recognizing Georgia Gerber's work from a distance. Afterwards, we made a side trip to the mausoleum. It was still and peaceful. Next time I'll spend a little more time there, but we had to leave in order to give ourselves time to get to the dockside seafood shack.

Our grilled spot prawns marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, ginger, garlic, cilantro, and red pepper flakes served with grilled flatbread, Cuban black beans and Canadian ginger beer were delectable, as well as far more affordable than the resort restaurant. For some reason, no matter how many times we eat grilled shrimp or prawns on the boat, we never tire of it.

Post-dinner, we wandered around looking at swanky boats until it was time for the colors at sunset. A group of four young adults lowered the Roche Harbor flag, followed by Washington State, Canada (tune: Oh Canada), Great Britain (God Save the Queen), a break for a salute (one cannon shot) and then Taps as the American flag came down. I almost felt like a Girl Scout again, remembering folding up the flag during day camp.

Thursday Thoughts

"Do the things that interest them and do them with all your heart."

"Each of us has...all the time there is. Those years, weeks, hours are the sands in the glass running swiftly away. To let them drift through our fingers is a tragic waste. To use them to the hilt, making them count for something is the beginning of wisdom."

Eleanor Roosevelt, You Learn By Living

I've been reading inspirational non-fiction again on health, happiness and balance. One of the ARCs that I read earlier this week The Sweet Spot: How to Find Your Groove at Home and Work by Christine Carter suggested finding inspiration to make us feel more joyful. One way she does this is by covering her office walls in inspiring quotes, as well as sharing them on her blog in a series called "Thursday Thoughts", which in turn inspired this blog post. Time will tell if it becomes a series.

Anyway, I'm starting with two quotes from the historic figure that I would most like to have dinner with - Eleanor Roosevelt. I read You Learn By Living a few weeks ago and found myself scribbling quotation after quotation. I was inspired by her carpe diem mentality.

Who or what has inspired you lately?

The Power of Wishing

Earlier this year, as part of a writing exercise from The Right to Write, one of the writing books I'd been devouring, I wrote a list of 25 wishes - things that I either wanted to introduce or increase in my life. After enumerating each one, I pondered how do-able each of them actually were. Nothing required winning the lottery or giving away all of my possessions. In fact, the item that I thought would be the most challenging (that was potentially in my control) was "I wish I could stop grinding my teeth".

While no genie or fairy godmother has appeared or waved a magic wand, I've made enormous progress in a half year. I wished to spend more time with family, be closer to Trent's siblings and to help my parents more. This was the summer of family - my brother visited twice from Oakland, my sister once. We saw Trent's parents three times instead of the usual once. Trent's brother came up from San Diego to visit. I ran into Trent's sister at the local vegetarian coffee shop. And as my father's been having health problems, I see him more than I have since my first year in the dorms and now have actual conversations on the phone that he initiates (he's not much of a phone talker). Last Sunday, my mom came over so we could cook recipes from her new vegan cookbook.

• I wished I had a youth literature book club... and I have an invitation to attend one later this month.
• I wished to travel to Africa... and I have a trip planned for next summer.
• I wished to be a mentor... and I am part of the first Washington Library Association (WLA) mentor program pairing.
• I wished I could spend more time singing in a group... and I sang with a number of new folks in my bluegrass singing class.
• I wished I could make fabulous sushi... and I made tasty (though not very technically proficient) sushi twice this year.
• I wished to spend more time with kids... and this summer I went camping with four kids under five, helped a friend whose husband was out of town with her daughters' bedtime routine and held my oldest friend's new baby for the first time.
• I wished I knew how to meditate... and I've started to calm my monkey mind at least some of the time.

Not everything is perfect. I still spend far too much of my time commuting (about 3.5 hours roundtrip daily), though I do enjoy the reading, writing, knitting and bicycling that I fit in each day. I still don't find it particularly easy to measure outcomes. The small container garden was never planted - I'm hopeful for next year though. And my brother and sister still live two states away.

But I'm going to keep wishing and keeping track of my hopes to see what new dreams start to come true.

Sidney/Tsehum Harbor - Day 8 - last day in Canada

After showers, free muffins from the marina and deflating & cleaning the dinghy, we left Ganges at about 11 a.m. The wind was dead against us for most of the way, so we ended up motoring much of the journey. We headed to Tsehum Harbor, just north of Sidney in a successful attempt to save money by using our Sloop Tavern Yacht Club reciprocal moorage. We got the last spot at the dock, a deal at $5 to cover shore power and showers.

We were certainly glad for our bikes, as Tsehum is 1.5 miles away from Sidney. We got into town a little after 4 and were reminded what a sleepy little retirement town it is - everything closes early. Our first choice for coffee had closed just minutes before, so we ended up at Serious Coffee for internet, coffee/chai and a pastry.

Having skipped lunch, we quickly chose our dinner restaurant as well to avoid any hanger - Fish on 5th, a cozy little dive. We, not surprisingly, chose the fish and chips and split an Electric Unicorn beer, reminiscing fondly of good old Palu Rainbow. While the fish and chips were tasty, it was nowhere near as transcendent as dinner at the Tree House.

A few days earlier, we had learned about a bike trail that runs from Sidney to Victoria and toyed with the idea of docking Rock Lobster for two nights in Sidney, while we spent a night in Victoria. Time was a bit too tight to follow through on that plan, but we did continue down the Lochside Trail, making it about a third of the way to Victoria before turning around at 7:45 to return before dock. Next time we'll either need to give ourselves more time or make sure to bring bus fare for the return trip!

We made it dockside just before dark and roamed the marina, where there were a number of interesting sailboats (a few San Juans and a couple of Nonsuches). Finally the lack of daylight sent us back to the boat for cocoa, a story, and some writing.