Happy Thanksgiving

From left to right: Doug, Bari, Nick, Lesley, Carry, Karen, Bruce, Dave, Mark, Jason, and Sam

Thanksgiving started - as it should - with a little pre-emptive calorie burning. Eleven of us met in North Bend for a quick hike up Little Si in the mist. The views weren’t great, but the company sure was! Three people are missing from the summit shot: my brother Brian and two of his friends. Apparently, they got to the trailhead after we left and went on their own off-trail adventure. They might not have made it to the summit, but it sounds like they had a good time anyway.

After the hike, the family met at the Brown household in Woodinville for some holiday cheer and delicious turkey.

Of all the things I’m thankful for today, I have to say that I’m most thankful that Nick and I live near our families and that we can enjoy a meal together. It’s the simple things that are most important. Happy Thanksgiving! 

Beets Revisited

Nick and I have been turned off by beets since the sliced, slightly mushy pickled variety turned up at the dinner table when we were young. Neither of us had eaten them in years (or even thought of eating them), but we suspected that there had to be more to this humble, crimson root. We decided to give them another chance - this time, cooked fresh, in a savory soup.

The results totally surprised us! The soup was silky in texture, deliciously earthy and - best of all - a shocking color of red. We swirled a bit of sour cream on the top for effect and served it with spicy sweet potato wedges.

Here’s the recipe if you’d like to try it yourself:

Savory Beet Soup

Servings: 8
Preparation Time: 45 minutes

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup onion—chopped
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 medium beets—peeled and halved
1 medium potato—peeled and halved
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon lemon juice
8 teaspoons lowfat sour cream

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Add broth and next six ingredients (through bay leaf). Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes or until beets and potato are tender. Discard bay leaf.

Place one-third broth mixture in blender or food processor; process until smooth. Place pureed mixture in a large bowl. Repeat procedure twice with remaining broth mixture. Return pureed mixture to pan. Warm soup over low heat for 5 minutes or until heated through. Remove from heat, and stir in lemon juice.

Combine 1/2 cup soup and the sour cream, stirring with a whisk. Place 3/4 cup soup in a bowl and top with 1 tablespoon sour cream mixture; swirl sour cream using tip of a knife.

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Per Serving: 63 Calories; 2g Fat (22.4% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 1mg Cholesterol; 415mg Sodium.

Stay tuned. We still have the beet greens and will be trying those next!

Kelsey & Lee’s lights

Psychadelic Lights

Today was Apple Cup Sunday, when the University of Washington and Washington State football teams play for a year’s worth of bragging rights.

More important than football (in my mind anyway) is Kelsey and Lee’s annual tradition of turning on the Christmas lights after the game. Lee took several days off to hang more than 12,500 lights on their house, so this is a really big deal.

The final effect is quite stunning!

Mt. Dickerman

Summit of Mt. Dickerman.
Cast of characters from left to right: (back row) Atsuko, me, John; (front row) Evgeny, Heather

We couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather for our hike up Mt. Dickerman today. It was fairly cold, but as you can see, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Snow up to our knees and thighs slowed us at times, but pushing on to the summit was definitely worth it!

A Record Falls!

Morning dawns on the French Trench

I just got word this morning that our friend Dan Kaseler has designed the fastest windsurfing sail in the world!

Windsurfer Finian Maynard - riding an F2 board and a Naish Sail designed and built by Dan - beat the outright speed sailing record...not once, but twice this week! On his best run, Finian averaged 46.82 kts (holy moly!) over 500 meters in the French Trench, an 1,100 m long canal in Stes. Maries, France that is maintained specifically for setting record speed sailing attempts.

Second break, mid-run

Check out the official event website for details: Masters of Speed.