Back in the Saddle

DIRTY WORK: We are a little late to the game this year, I believe, but we finally got seeds into soil today. 

Since our tomatoes under-performed last season, we're mixing things up a bit. We'll see what sprouts and flourishes - or doesn't. I'm hoping the tomatillos go gangbusters. If so, I see salsa verde in our future. If the sunflowers flourish, most of them will be headed to Mukilteo, for the park grounds around the lighthouse.

KITCHEN DISASTERS: So, we have half of the pretty new countertops installed, but the balance of the kitchen is pretty much a disaster. We're tearing the floor up, all the way down to the original framing, since the ugly old vinyl was so massively adhered to the particle board subfloor. 

Oh, and while we were doing the countertops, we decided we really should remove the upper cabinets on the north wall, so we could insulate behind them. Fortunately, that's done and buttoned back up. Once in awhile I wish we weren't so thorough with things, but in the end, doing the right thing is worth the extra time and effort and money and mess.

Meanwhile, in the midst of all of this, we somehow keep on cooking. In fact, this weekend was Teen Feed, so we were cooking up a storm. The main dish this month was a hearty rice-based entree of the chef's choice. 

We were in charge of making 30 main entrees, each consisting of about four cups of rice apiece, plus at least a half pound of protein each, and tons of veggies.

We decided to adapt Nonnie's fantastic tortilla casserole recipe to a rice dish. So we made about a gallon of red chile sauce, used about 14 pounds of boneless chicken, and five pounds of corn, plus a small mountain of olives. That all got mixed in with a ton of rice and it turned out great!

We also decided to make a spin on chicken pot pie, with rice as the starch instead of a pie crust. We mixed cream of chicken soup, sour cream, milk, about 5 pounds of mixed veggies and about 6 pounds of chicken for 8-10 servings. We added thyme, sage, garlic powder, salt, white pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. ] Let me tell you, it was delicious -and a huge hit with the Teen Feed crowd, per the post meal report.

Fresh fruit and homemade cookies were also on the menu. And, as always, we had vegan and no onion options. 

But they're was one thing we didn't plan for. "Do you have any non-rice options?" the Teen Feed coordinator asked me, about a half hour before service.

I was glad I was wearing a mask, so the guy couldn't see my jaw hit the floor.

"We have one guest who is frustrated when it's a rice dinner," he explained.

So, my friend and I scrambled to come up with a non rice alternative. And we worked it out but, what a heart stopper.

What's ironic is that apparently Mr. Frustrated Rice Dinner Diner got over his frustration when he saw our protein-laden options. Everyone who donated main dishes did a great job of making them super hearty and heavy on the non-rice elements. I can totally understand someone getting frustrated by nothing but mostly rice for sustenance. That would get old real quick.

A couple of photos of our cookies and the tortilla rice dish.

RALLY TIME: Sunday morning, we piloted our Mariners blue Honda toward the Mariners' stadium for a drive through rally. 

We didn't really know what to expect, and didn't really care. The stadium is close to home and we were happy to get out of the house.

There was a wheel of fortune station. Imagine our thrill when we won four Kyle Seager bobbleheads.

Not too long ago we got rid of four more Kyle Seager bobbleheads. Oh well, I rehomed them on our Buy Nothing group today.

We also 'won' four Mariners backpacks. Midday today, we took those to a low income elementary school near our house and donated them to their closet for kids who need clothing and school supplies. 

Perhaps our favorite stop on the tour was local burger joint Dick's serving up free burgers.

Yes, please!

MORNING REPORT: While the kids aren't in a formal Japanese class at the moment, they continue to learn more about the language and culture. They sat in on a class this morning. CJ can tell you more about it.

This morning, I watched an online event hosted by the Japan-America Society of the State of Washington (JASSW). The event, titled Virtual JIS Workshop: Tōkaidō, was centered around the former location of the same name in Japan.

Tōkaidō was a road connecting the cities known in the modern day as Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan's eighth-largest and first-largest city respectively. Tōkaidō is sometimes considered a figurative "road from ancient to modern Japan," as it connected Kyoto, Japan's historical capital, with Tokyo, Japan's current capital.

Perhaps Tōkaidō's most significant quality as opposed to other roads between Kyoto and Tokyo is that it went through rivers in Japan. Travellers who seeked to avoid getting their feet wet could even hire an on-foot taxi, carried by a quartet comprising the human taxi's "wheels."