Puyallup State Fair

We went to the state fair this year, and this is my second state fair ever, I think. The World Cafe (www.worldcafes.net), for whom I have been doing menu development and nutrition analyses, hosted a cooking demo at the fair, so I had a chance to test my ability to cook and speak at the same time. I drew on my years of experience watching television chefs, and I think we did fairly well.

I taught guests how to prepare Greek Chicken, a meal based on recipes written by Graham Kerr (The Galloping Gourmet - www.grahamkerr.com) and created by Day by Day Gourmet (www.daybydaygourmet.com). It's an easy meal, because it's prepared in various steps and placed in storage bags. All I had to do is thaw it, follow the directions, and plate it beautifully. Kassi was my beautiful assistant, Brad did the big selling, and Felicia did a lot of the sampling work. We were a great team! The photos were taken by our graphics girl, Jess Lundie.

In addition to the cooking demos, Steve, Michelle, and Josh joined me for touring around the Fair. We went to the 3-D show of Al's Brain. Hence the hot glasses.

Finally, the Fair Scone is famous. People apparently buy dozens of them to take home, and the mixes are sold in packages. All you do is add water. I bought two. One with jelly and one plain. Not bad... but not the scone I was expecting. Although it's more like a triangular biscuit, it lacked the creaminess and the underlying sweetness that I'd gotten used to in a scone. It tasted like a less-bitter Bisquick biscuit. Eh... I probably wouldn't rush out to get them again. But for $1.25 it's one of the cheapest eats at the fair.

Last Days of Summer

Seattle has been mindboggling for me, and I have tried to thoroughly take advantage of the great summer that we've had here. The Pike Place Market has long held a dear place in my heart, and the different merchants and artisans have not failed to disappoint. Selected images of my daily wonder are offered here to tantalize your imaginations. If you haven't yet visited the Market, you really must plan a trip next summer. The variety of food, the talented musicians, and the wonderful people you meet are sure to dazzle. I thought that working in/around Seattle would diminish its fabled glory for me, but it has only increased my fascination and amusement. More to come...

Elaine and Jesse invited us to go to Herron Island with them, and I had my first taste of digging for clams and mussels (pictured above) and swinging on a tire swing! The swing extended out over the receded tide and threatened to throw you to the sea, but I survived! I know, I'm so brave. The mussels were extremely delicious, and we enjoyed a pasta dish suited for kings! Or average Washington transplants who spent the early morning diging up the clams...

Matthew and Brittany were wed on Aug 29th, and Carol and I ventured to the Des Moines Farmer's Market to check out flowers to decorate the chapel. The flowers in Seattle are just stunning. Here's a snapshot of a typical bouquet sold at any market for just $10-15 depending on the vendor. Colorado, sorry to say, cannot rival the bouquets here. The wedding, in case you were curious, was absolutely beautiful. Brittany's bridesmaids were adorned in darkish pink gowns, and Brittany's mermaid-inspired dress was one of the most classy designs I've seen. Matthew dressed his groomsmen in fancy tuxedos, and the wedding was a lovely ceremony at the Seattle University St. Ignatius Chapel. The reception at the Mayflower Hotel, in downtown Seattle, was enjoyable, and the dancing went almost to midnight. I would know, because I nursed blistered feet for days afterwards! But it was so worth it! Congratulations M&B!

We've been enjoying the summer with good friends and spiffy festivals. This giant Salmon graced the Ballard Seafood Fest. Steve and Michele graced us with our presence and patiently accompanied me to the adjacent farmer's market. What fun! I can't wait to see what other festivals have yet to happen and to return to the ones I missed!

Pictured below, I've been assisting with the culinary development of the World Cafe in Puyallup (http://www.worldcafes.net/). This is the cafe side of Day by Day Gourmet, a company based on the idea that convenient food can be mostly prepared at home and meet the nutritional restrictions to have a healthy impact on your life. The affordable dinners are packaged in sets of 12 and can be portioned from 1-6 servings. Go to www.daybydaygourmet.com to get more information about those. The World Cafe provides tasty and non-indulgent breakfasts and lunches, and I've had my fingers in most of the second draft of these recipes.

We're going to be at the Puyallup Fair three times doing cooking demonstrations, featuring the Day by Day Gourmet dinners and providing copies of our World Cafe menu. If you're in the area, please stop by. We'll be there 9/19 @ 6:00, 9/23 @ 3:30, and 9/26 @ 10:30. We can be found at the Pavilian/Home Arts building on the second floor. We'll have food to sample as well!

In my work to continue the development of Day by Day Gourmet dinners, I frequently test the recipes and the cooking instructions on different people. Bill, my father-in-law, is an excellent tester for the work, because he is detailed and doesn't attempt to assume what the instructions meant to say. Here he prepares the Gold Medal Apple BBQ Chicken. Brittany is advising him.