My 1st Special @ Ocho

I finally had an opportunity to throw a special on the menu for my weekend saute shifts. There are so many bland mushroom dishes out there, I knew I had to keep it simple but definitely unique for it to sell. With the help of my friend Slick Johnny in Sacramento, who's food knowledge is highly regarded, I was able to put together a Portabella Mushroom skewer laid over a Sofrito Eggplant White Bean puree with some Sweet Pequillo Peppers and Pine Nuts.


vegan power


To my surprise we sold out of the first batch of 35 skewers that I made. The mushrooms are submerged in balsamic vinegar and garlic while as I filleted them. After they were sliced I sauted them with a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Hickory Smoked Chard (because I couldn't actually find any Hickory Wood Chips, to achieve that smoked flavor) then braised them in red wine. Once the red wine reduced I rolled the slices and skewed them.

bomb.com

Lake Washington/ Mercer Is. Loop Clockwise

Yesterday Matt and I took an "easy" ride around Lake Washington, which included a detour through Mercer Island. I say easy because the idea of the ride was to stay at a leisurely pace and put in some decent miles. In reality we all know that when you get excited about a new ride you just wanna haul ass for as much of it as you can, well, atleast I do. With that being said I was really impressed with Matt keeping up on his track bike. There were four major climbs in the loop, each consisting of atleast a mile or two and all of which were just north of Bellevue. Perhaps that's why they call that area Juanita Hills, go figure. There was, however, a nice reward after the bombing of said hills... A pit stop in Juanita Bay where we enjoyed some kind herb and a gorgeous view.


The tiny erect figures in the middle-right part of the skyline are buildings from downtown Seattle.





This last one was snapped by yours truly seconds before Matt's rear tube spontaneously pops with that violent gun shot sound. After we repaired the overly inflated situation, it went from trail bound to road side. I will admit that I didn't follow my own directions and got us lost and about 10 miles off course, which wasn't bad but roads without bike lanes suck in suburbia.

We took the scenic route at hwy90 and cut through Mercer Island where I had hoped to hit up the Mercer Island loop, but alas. I'm sure Matt was hurting by that point, 50 miles w/o a shammy on a track bike doesn't seem that awesome... so we skipped the loop and went straight back to the hill for some protein drank at Emerald City Smoothie


Anyone looking for the directions I mostly took, and should have followed for an optimal experience, PEEP GAME!

Vegan Yogurt-Tahini Sauce

Use how you will.

Ingrediants:

-1/2 cup soy yogurt
-2 tablespoons tahini
-2 teaspoons lemon juice
-1 clove garlic, minced
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1 pinch red pepper
-4 teaspoons ketchup
-2 tablespoons water

Whisk together in a large mixing bowl. Done. Put it on something. Eat it.

reup.

Make Your Own Vegan Goddess Dressing

Ingredients:

-1/2 c. raw tahini
-1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
-1/4 c. soy sauce
-1 Tb. lemon juic
-1/2 tsp. salt
-3 cloves roasted garlic (raw will do, but honestly just roast it first)
-1/2 c. h2o
-2 Tb. chopped parsley
-1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
-1 Tb. sugar
-1/2 c. olive oil

Method:

Combine all ingredients EXCEPT OLIVE OIL in a food processor (or blender if large enough). Blend until well incorperated. Now gently stream oil into the mix while blending. Add more salt and/or tahini if needed.

Saturday @ The Locks

Kusha, Blake, Kendall and Jeremiah dropped by Ocho on Saturday while I was manning the kitchen for brunch. After getting them fed real nice I clocked off and we all spent the next couple of hours checking out the Ballard Locks. This is definitely a tourist spot, but after a doobie you're basically on a field trip where everything is interesting again.






Not a good spot to practice bike tricks you're friend saw on youtube via (insert smartphone name here)




[The green wheeled bike in the middle has a Shimano Nexus coaster brake 8-speed rear hub on it... dangerously fun, all I can say]

Until Next Time Kids...

Trip Sitting on New Years Eve Day

A couple of friends from Sacramento, Daniel and Michael, came to Seattle for New Years during a rock-climbing trip they took up the West Coast. I hung out and snapped a few shots while they tripped their brains out of the galaxy off some Gold Caps. A day to remember, if you will.


Volunteer Park


Vitamin Ckull


Waffle Face

Dig the Fog

I recently started to really appreciate the Seattle skyline. There's something about wet streets and fog that just does it for me.


More like Space-Ship, eerie.