These asparagus sculptures sprouted on Q St (between 17th and 18th) awhile ago and I’d been meaning to go snap a photo for awhile. Turns out, they’re the work of Jan Kirsch Studio on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. A survey of the work on her site shows a wide variety of fruit and vegetable related garden installations. I think the Ichiban Eggplant is my favorite.
Yesterday we took Petunia and Jan (purple bike and orange bike) out for their first ride together. It started out nice, then turned overcast and drizzly as we made our way from home, out to Rhode Island Ave metro station to check out that part of the new Met Branch trail, then on to Capitol Hill, a pit stop at Firehook Bakery for a refresher, and then down to the SW waterfront and Maine Ave Fish Market. We shared a fried shrimp platter there on the water, watching the ducks float around and do… nothing. I guess that’s what ducks do on Sundays. On our way out, we picked up two tilapia filets to go, packed them on some ice, and headed home to prepare some fish tacos for dinner. All in all, it was a nice 11 mile ride around the city. Best way to spend a Sunday.
With our new hand-crank ice cream maker birthday gift, we set out to beat the heat this weekend by way of traditional homemade vanilla ice cream. Whole milk, whipping cream, sugar, a bit of salt, and pure vanilla extract went into the canister…. and after about 30 minutes of hand-churning the crank that rotates the canister (surrounded by layers of ice and rock salt), out came delicious, creamy vanilla ice cream. Mmmmm. While 1) it may not be as economical to make it this way and 2) Matt claimed it tasted just like McDonald’s soft serve… Well, I still think it was worth the added effort of doing it yourself, and reminding us all of past memories doing the same tradition on the farm in Iowa, or at our birthday parties as little kids. Plus, what else is there when the temperatures reach 108?!
Bowser guarding the Rock Salt -
checking the consistency…
yum!
Hope everyone had a rockin’ 4th of July! We had a blast grillin’ out in Capitol Hill, watching Tiki and Bowser dogs wrestle each other, playing backyard/lawn games, and eventually wandering our way down to the Mall for people watching, gin drinking, and of course fireworks over the monuments.
oh and check out some of our foodie pics below… stuffed and wrapped-in-bacon jalepenos on the grill, Matt’s infamous meat and cheese flag, and apple pie (before topping). MMMmmmerica!
Peppers at the Dupont Circle farmers market — don’t they look crisp and delicious and ready to be stuffed and grilled? ahhh summertime is here.
DANGEROUS SNOWSTORM IMMINENT!!! DC is looking at a possible 20 to 28 inches of snow and blizzard-like conditions over the next 48 hours. Holymoley! let’s all freak out and run to the grocery store and deplete supplies of milk, TP, and other essentials like cookie dough and Bud Light. Admittedly, I was one of them this morning, at the local Safeway, about 15 people deep in line, waiting to get what I *need* for the next few days. Many people were given the day off work in order to avoid a nasty evening commute.
Anyways, I wish that people would relax a little, stop listening to the non-stop media hype (do we really need to name everything??), and look at this as an opportunity to spend some time indoors with your family and friends, catch up on some reading, learn a new recipe, and just be thankful that, perhaps, your crazy plans for running all over town are probably cancelled this weekend. It’s almost like Mother Nature is encouraging us to slow down and hunker down, and eventually enjoy the beauty of the snow and the peace and quiet once it all piles up. Either that, or buy as much wine as you can, get out your sleds, and follow the best storm advice out there from http://snowpocalypsedc.com. Remember, it’ll never get this bad…
A few weekends ago we stopped in to try Sushi Go Round at Gallery Place in Chinatown. The concept is pretty simple – you sit at a counter and sushi goes traveling right under your nose on a conveyor belt. You can grab whatever looks delicious or interesting to you, and you pay at the end based on a color-coded system for which plates you chose. You are also free to order off the regular menu. Genius! It’s like the conveyor belt joints on TV — hot dog eating champ, Takeru Kobayashi, uses them as part of his strict competitive eating regiment. If the champ does it, you know it has to be good.
The sushi was sufficient (not the best I’ve ever had, but certainly not the worst either), but it especially works if you’re in a hurry as we were, about to go see Avatar in 3D. I guess the best part is that it allows you to be a little adventurous with picking something based on the sight of it, whereas if you read it on a normal menu you might not be tempted to order it. This was okay for us, but if you are more of a “I like to know what sort of raw animal I’m going to ingest” sort of person you can just order from the menu. That really negates the whole point of eating sushi from a conveyor belt, though. As we were newbies to the Sushi-Go-Round experience, we did not pick the optimal spot at the bar to get first picks on the freshly prepared pieces. We would watch the chefs place new plates on the belt, then carefully keep track of our new plate as it made its way around the horseshoe belt, all the while giving the “stink eye” to any of the other diners who appeared to be interested in our coveted plate. If you go, take note of the direction the sushi belt is moving and get the seat closest to the chefs. It is all about strategy at Sushi-Go-Round.
One of my resolutions this year was to stop eating dinner out of boxes so much. It got really easy, especially in the middle of the semester when we were both swamped, to just make frozen lasagnas or pierogis or even just cereal for dinner. So yesterday morning I ran over to the grocery for ingredients for Chicken Tortilla Soup. Whether I was subliminally influenced by the fact that Matt had turned on repeats of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations or not is left to be decided… but it does help motivate my cooking aspirations when I see, for example, a show dedicated entirely to the process of making handmade noodles.
Anyways, this soup is about as easy as it gets. I pre-cooked and cut up 2 chicken breasts and tossed it in the crock pot along with: 1 cup of organic chicken broth, about 8 medium-sized diced tomatoes, a 4 oz can of green chilis (or use something spicier if you want), a small can of sweet corn, half a diced yellow onion, and some random spices from my rack. I think it was some paprika, some chili powder, and some black pepper. Set the temperature on high and walk away — I left it to cook for about 4 hours. When you are starting to get hungry, add a bunch (fistful?) of chopped-up cilantro (this is the best part, I love cilantro) and let it do it’s crock-potting for a little longer. When you’re ready to serve it, add a sprinkle of shredded mozzarella cheese and a slice of fresh avocado to your soup bowl. Oh! also, and don’t skip this step, squeeze a lime slice over the top and BON APPETITE!
As a final note, yes, I skipped the actual “tortillas” of the “tortilla” soup. Honestly, it just seemed like a lot of work to fry tortillas and cut them into crispy strips. Plus, it adds some unhealthy to the whole thing. Instead, go for cornbread! Easier to make, less messy, and it’s delicious for soaking up the remaining soup.
Last weekend when Ty and Val were visiting, we checked out the chocolate and coffee shop ACKC on 14th Street. We’d walked by there many a time, but never poked our heads in. As it turns out, it’s a cute little place owned by Rob Kingsbury (the chocolatier) and Eric Nelson (the artist). When you walk in, you are bombarded with bright colors from the artwork on the walls and tons of tiny little morsels to make you drool. The photo above is a closeup of one of the many custom tabletops painted by Eric, which are pretty much awesome.
On New Years Eve, we celebrated the end of the decade with Jill and her friend Rachel as well as a few bottles of bubbly. In return for crashing on our couches, Jill treated us to an amazing 4-course meal (that actually concluded with the final course for breakfast the next morning). We didn’t mention that she was welcome to the couch regardless of a dinner return or not. Anyways! It seems as though her CIA edumacation is paying off. Deeeee-lish!
