June 25, 2010

Always Welcome

There's never a season when chocolate is unwelcome. Unlike wearing white after labor day, there is no rule restricting chocolate to appropriate times of the year. That said, I try to capitalize on this as often as possible. So chocolate is a welcomed-regular in my rotation of daily foodstuffs. This past week it took the form of brownie cupcakes.



I say brownie cupcakes because they were more moist and dense than cupcakes, but they were baked in a cupcake tin. And since there's no better friend to chocolate than peanut butter, I decided to throw him in the mix too with some frosting.



Afterall, if you're going to have a treat, don't pretend. Enjoy what you really want.

June 13, 2010

It Has Arrived



You know what the photo up top means. Ketchup for burgers and ice cream for, well - me. Dear friends, summer has arrived. The talk of summer in Seattle is touchy between May and June as Seattlites good and well know theirs wont be starting until closer to July. But, lo and behold - Ms. Earth has gone and shocked us all. Now I can count with two fingers the number of times I've become pink-shouldered on a weekend.

And what better way to kick of summer than a road trip. Although the destination wasn't the most adventurous of all places, it certainly is a well known area in the Pacific Northwest as the vast majority of local fruits we eat come from its valley - Yakima.




Yakima is an odd amalgam of idillic landscapes that bear juicy stone fruits whose residents can be found yelling across the grocery store to their counterparts, "And don't forget the tater tots and Velveeta cheese!" (In light of not wanting to ruffle anyone's feathers, there's nothing wrong with either tater tots, nor Velveeta cheese. I just found it funny.)

Before leaving for Yakima, we picked up a package my mom mailed us, which turned out to be a hearty loaf of homemade bread and cost her double to ship than what it was to make. (Now that's love.) Bread made from mom's hands was the only thing that made sense to eat as we snaked our way through Washington's heartland. Sentiments aside, the burgers and shakes a la Miner's Drive-In in Yakima brought us back to reality and rounded out the experience to make it a true summer day. Sunglasses included.

How have you kicked off your summer?