Of hoofs and hogs


Some things we did this weekend -

  • We volunteered to make Burrito lunch packs for the women's and men's shelter in Seattle. We meet at the New Horizon's Kitchen,once a month. We take with us cans of milk, fruits, and whatever we feel like donating. Some women cook the rice and beans and the rest of us heat the tortilla, fill it with rice, beans and cheese and roll it up in an aluminium foil. It is fun to work together and at the same time do some selfless service.
  •  We had our Saturday Brunch @ Plum Bistro. The restaurant is as cute as its name. High ceiling, woody interiors, open kitchen, lots of tables with a small vase and cloth napkins and best of all, bright and open. The food was great. Given the fact that they use organic ingredients, I wouldn't call it pricey. We had their Panamanian-style Polenta and Jalapeno Poppers.
  • What is a sunny weekend without wandering through Pike Place? We walked through every nook and corner of the market. Like hormonal teenagers, we even indulged in a brief necking outside an abandoned old library that we discovered by chance. A gets amorous when no one is around.
  • We saw someone eating a huge falafel sandwich (so we assumed) and A could not resist the urge to get one too. So much that he asked that man where he got the sandwich from! I had to whisk him from that fast food joint, while agreeing to have lunch @ Mr.D's Gyros Delicacies sometime soon.
  • We then stopped at Three Girls Bakery. We saw a long line and instantly knew that that's where we would gratify our need for something sweet. Also known as Dessert. We looked at the dainty delicacies with our big brown eyes, making complete moppets of ourselves. The calories consumed had to be factored into our decision making process and so, we decided on the pistachio almond cookie and the apricot walnut bla bla something. It was A-one.
  • After teetering up and down Pike Place, we wanted to soak in the sun for sometime.We sat on a bench in the Waterfront Park, overlooking the ocean and mountains. Some prattle. Some people watching. Time for a latte.
  • We picked up our latte from Local Color, our usual coffee corner. Then, drove to Seattle Library and checked out some books.
  • Did some grocery shopping @ TJ's, where A wolfed down samples after samples of Panang Curry.
  • We then scooted to Parlor Billiards for happy hour. They had this huge helping of amazing spinach artichoke dip with pita.The new Lucky Strike with video games n all is groovy.
  • After a brief stop at Whole Foods, we star gazed from atop the bridge on 405. In Kirkland, that is.
  • We actually drove past the bridge. A then said that he'll show me something and made a U and went to this abandoned dark path that lead to a bridge over 405. We parked the car and walked over the bridge and gazed at gazillions of bright stars on a clear sky.And yes, we did it, under the stars. Kissed, I mean.
  • We then got back home and watched Chance Pe Dance, which was a total waste of time.
  • On Sunday, the weather turned out to be bright and sunny. We tottered to Juanita Beach. We had a lil picnic - Garlic fries, asian veggie patty burger, beer n wine. Strolled on the juanita bridge. Lay on the grass n read a book for sometime. Got back home and watched Surrogates. Another waste of time.

Hum-es


Last night, I made hummus. Though it is simple to make, it is very tricky. The amount of olive oil should be just right. A little less or a little excess, will make a huge difference. I tried to make it the lebanese way. Just as what you get in Med Kitchen.

The ingredients I used :
3/4 can  Garbanzo Beans
4 cloves Garlic
Lemon Juice as needed
Olive oil  as needed
Salt
And a 2 tsps of water

Grind them together untill you get a smooth paste. It tasted ummmmmmmm so..........ambrosial. Garlicky. A roasted chunks of portobello mushroom and red bell pepper. So, that's our lunch today -Mediterranean Sandwich with hummus, roasted portobello mushroom and red bell pepper. A's has some slices of veggie bacon strips. Bon Appetit!

When you need a salsa fix!


I love salsa. Who doesn't? When I watched people salsaing ;-) , I thought it was very daedalian. The twists and turns and the hip shaking and the elegant steps. I thought I can never learn it. Am not a master now. But, I just discovered that it is not very tough, at least to begin with. The basic steps can be mastered with some practice.

Today was my first Latin Impact class. It's a cool and groovy Aerobics class at my gym. It is a mix of Salsa, Merengue, Cha Cha Cha and Zumba. Sounds all Hi Fi, huh? It was an intensive workout and I really enjoyed my "gym time" for the first time. For an hour, I pictured myself to be in some exotic dance club on some far away isalnd.....Ibiza. Yes, Ibiza it is. I love love love the music.

On another note, I finished reading Undomestic Goddess. I wouldn't be surprised if it comes out as a movie. One of those light hearted romantic comedies. It was a good change from the series of murder mystery horror books that I have been reading. The ending was too filmi...you know what I mean? And is "Er..." the only filler on earth? That kind of got to me. I think to Er or not to Er is the question now. Otherwise it was a good read.

Weekend again! I have to go now. Ciao!

Mirabella


A is adept at spontaneous naming. Names just pop, out of the blue, at any time. May be its an art. So, this morning, I was dubbed during a tete a tete on bed.

A: "Mirabella"
Me: "Hmmmm?"
A: "Mirabella"
Me: "Why Mirabella?"
A: "You looked exotic with your lustrous curly hair hiding your face partly.....like some Spanish or, you know, someone from a Greek Island.....so, I called you by a mediterranean name."

A smile lights up my face. After all, aren't the Mediterranean dames the most prettiest on earth?

Tubing @ Snoqualmie


Saturday morning. One of those days when I have the luxury to catch some zzzz's. After sprawling on the bed for an hour or so after we were wide awake, we agreed that it was time we got up and decided on the POA for the day. Espresso in hand and our patuchus firmly rooted on the chair in front of the computer, we toggled between Vancouver and Tubing @ Snoqualmie. Some fervent calculations and a few phone calls later, we chose to go Tubing. It was 10:00 am then.

We showered, dressed and left home at 11:00 am. The first stop was at Med Kitchen for an early lunch. The food was exactly the way we wanted, incredibly scrumptious. We smacked our lips and ooohed and aahed after consuming every spoon of the hot veggie shawarma. We licked the plate so clean that the waitress gave a Thanks-I-have-one-plate-less-to-wash smile . We shot back a Don't-mention smile and walked out, all set for the drive to Snoqualmie.

By the time we parked our car and trekked our way to SnowFlake Summit, the afternoon session was sold out. Bummer! We had to wait in the dingly little cafe for two hours. A was a little grumpy about the wait, given that we had forgotten to take our books along.

Our "could haves" and "should haves" sounded like this

A: We should have reached a lil early.....or even better, we should have booked our tickets yday......now, what will we do for the next two hours...?

Me: Okay, come let's leave.....

A: We'll leave and what? come back later?

Me: Yeah we will book our tickets in advance and come back next weekend....

A: After coming this far, I don't want to go back without tubing........And moreover I don't want to come here again...

Me: Okay then, let's wait.

A: (Mumble Mumble) Come let's go sit in the cafe.....

Sitting in the cafe was probably a wrong idea, because, seeing other people eat, made us crave for fries and burger and other sinful food. I had to keep reminding A that we just stuffed ourselves two hours ago. After fighting the urge for the said sinful food, we ordered drip coffee(we didn't have a choice) and chose to just people watch and pull each other and talk about what we would do for the long weekend of Feb 14th. That seemed to do the trick. The conversation was endless and then it was time to get out and have some fun in the snow.

I am not embarrased to say this. I am scared of walking on ice. I just cannot get myself to walk bravely without even having the slightest doubt that I might fall, because, I WILL slip...and slide and skate and finally fall. So, there I stood, at bottom of the stairs, refusing to walk down the tiny hill of hardened snow. A tried his best to make me walk down.


A: Come, you won't slip. Just come.

Me: No.

A: Even if you fall, you will fall on the snow and nothing will happen to you.

Me: No.

A: Why don't you turn around and walk backwards? That is more easier.

Me: No...No...I can't come down.

A: (Now laughing and getting impatient...) You have to do something, baby. You can't stand there for the rest of the day.

Me: (Terrified) I know! Lissen, let's pretend we are having a conversation.I don't want others to know that am scared to walk on the hardened snow.

A: (Laughing) Ok..so walk now.

Me: Maybe I will sit down and just slide.

A: Okay do whatever you want, but puh-leez come down!


Ah, finally I was on the fresh snow. We clicked some pictures and shot some videos and walked over to the tubing area. We grabbed our tubes and ran to a lane. There were 12 lanes in all and a pulley system to pull you back up after you slide down. I went down first and was a little too scared at first. The speed was awesome and in less than 15 secs I was down, lugging my tube, tottering to the line that had formed to take the pulley back up. A couple of times, though, we walked back up the slope. A tried all kinds of antics....sliding down on his tummy, butt and what not? The two hours just zipped by and we loved every minute of it. Somehow, the two hour wait was all forgotten and Mr.Grumpy here transformed into the Cheerful Stuntman and was talking about tubing sometime soon again :)

We we voraciously hungry at the end of it. We stopped at GLC for dinner. It was more like a sports bar and had a very unpretentious decor. A few booths, a few wobbling tables, an old juke box, a small bar and very dark. But who cares? The food was to die for. They have the best sandwiches on earth and all of them 100% vegetarian. We ordered the Tycho - grilled portabello mushroom was juicy; together with the melted mozarella cheese, grilled onions and roasted tomatoes it was heavenly. It came with soup/salad/chips n salsa. We chose the split pea soup. We also ordered the Tamale. It was quite interesting to see a veggie tamale. The forbidden rice was perfectly cooked. And there was salad on the side too. My mouth waters when I think of their food.

We got back home with stiff legs and wet pants, just in time to crash and dream about the fab day.