Damn You Mark Bittman!

I had this whole entry just about written, plus had a killer story about it. How I had spent a few hours during a rainy evening on the boat snug under the canvas, laptop blazing while sipping whiskey. Ah, what a lead-in to my lecture/rant about ingredients. Full of witty bons mott. Hell, even elegant.

Then, PM brought home a book she picked up for me at the library. Bittman's (must be said like NEWMAN with a Seinfeld snear) "Kitchen Express". After reading the Intro and "A Word About Ingredients" I just groaned and hit the delete button on my now very pale effort.

This guy started hop scotching back and forth across that line of respect last year when he was rubbing shoulders a little too literally with the likes of Claudia Basols and Gwinny while whining in the back of a Mercedes driven by Mario Batali. I know! Makes you want to either punch him or claim best friend status or both at the same time!

Damn you Bittman!

http://www.bn.com/ebooks?lkid=J28439236&pubid=K222507

Fifty Friggin Seven

Fifty Friggin Seven...... years old that is. Today. Aahhhg!

You know, honestly I never thought about becoming deeply middle aged. I just assumed that I would be young and restless, then really old. The in between part never came into my thought process.

I won't bore you with the gory details. Suffice to say it sucks as much as you may have heard. Aches, pains, less sleep, more gut.
Of course its not all bad. I have the love of my life, a VERY good life going, a cat (whowouldathunk) two great dogs, a boat, a wonderful home and did I mention the love of my life?

The PrincessM

So, we walk into the boat dealer a few years back, determined to be cool, negotiate hard, get a great deal. Muriel is just a few steps ahead of me, when suddenly she screams, “They have my boat!” just as the salesman sidles up. Still, I remain determined I am going to negotiate hard. We tour the boat. We chat about possible options. We walk around a little. Things look good. Right up to the point where some other folks, just browsing, happen to step aboard the boat and Muriel (again in full voice) says, “Sweetheart, get those people off of my boat!”
What can I say, it’s a done deal.

Our boat is a 2006 Sea Ray 240 Sundancer. Dark Blue hull, Mercuiser 350 w/Bravo 3 outdrive.
We LOVE our boat. We have a large grill that attaches via rod holder clamp just aft of the wetbar sink.

We swim, cook, drink a little, dance a little….
We spend weekends on her, usually at Detroit Lake during the summer, Portland in Fall.
At this point in our lives we are not long time, long distance cruisers. We just enjoy our little (fast) condo on the water each summer weekend for just as long as we can before the weather turns too cold. But, really, isn't that how most people use their boats? We honestly think so. So, why are all the magazines, online and otherwise, devoted to the long distance cruiser? Are we all just trying to live vicariously? Well, maybe we just need to live.

http://www.searay.com/Page.aspx/pageId/10231/pmid/140245/240-Sundancer.aspx

We freely admit to being fair weather boaters. Cold or rain will surely see us heading home early. But, during the nice weather we really love nothing better than our French press coffee with marionberry muffins in the early morning at a totally desserted section of lake. Or an evening cocktail while a steak sizzles on the grill and we watch the other boats all heading back in to the dock and we increasingly have the lake to ourselves. Nice.

Check out this link to explore Detroit Lake, it has a ton of useful links.

http://detroitlakeoregon.org/

For those of you who may not be familiar with the Northwest, it is simply huge. There are plenty of opportunities for boating and there are a number of large, clean lakes as well as the proximity of the Willamette River, the Columbia River and of course the San Juans.

Summer Sunday Dinner

Grilled Lemon Herb Shrimp with Herbed Rice

Fresh cool flavors perfect for a summer afternoon
We serve this with a nice crisp white wine or light citrusy beer.

Recipe By: BezonianBob
Serving Size: 3
Cuisine: PacNW
Main Ingredient: Shrimp
Categories: Summer, Spring, Grill, Main Dish

-= Ingredients =-
1 pound Shrimp ; 21-25/lb peeled/deveined
1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar - White
1 Lime ; both zest and juice
1 Lemon ; both zest and juice
2 tablespoons Ginger spice paste ; sold in produce dept.
3 cloves Garlic ; minced
1 tablespoon Fresh dill ; or 1/2 tbsp. dry
2 tablespoons Fresh Lime Thyme ; or use lemon thyme
1 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
1 cup Basmati Rice
1/2 Lemon ; add juice, cut remainder in thirds
1 tablespoon Ginger spice paste
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Honey
1 teaspoon Dill
1 cup Corn kernels
3 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil

-= Instructions =-
Combine vinegar, lime zest, lemon zest, lime juice, lemon juice, ginger paste, garlic dill and thyme in a bowl. Add the shrimp and coat well. Place in refridgerator for two hours to marinate.
After 2 hours add Olive oil and recoat shrimp.
Skewer the shrimp on bamboo skewers to grill.
Grill over high heat charcoal for 3-4 minutes per side.
Serve over Herbed Rice

For Rice:
mix lemon juice, ginger, dijon, honey and dill in a small bowl.
cut remaining lemon chunk into three pieces
heat olive oil over medium heat
add rice and cook, stirring frequently until rice turns translucent
add the liquid ingredients and water
add the lemon chunks
reduce to low simmer and cook for 15 minutes until nearly tender
add the corn kernels and finish cooking

To Serve:
Remove lemon chunks from rice.
Pile a mound of rice in a colorful bowl.
Drizzle with a really fruity extra virgin olive oil
place skewers of shrimp on top and take to table

Sun Dancing Barefoot

Welcome aboard!

Together we are about to embark on a journey involving cool boats, great food, incredible friends (including you?) music played a little too loud and laughter that draws the attention of others.

One of the things we noticed as we looked through the endless 'groups' and 'discussion boards', 'clubs' and blogs on the web was that we could not find a site devoted to those who like to spend weekends or more aboard their boat, cooking, swimming, reading and such. No, not serious cruisers, more like party cruisers.

In the PacNW we are kind of infamous for taking things seriously. Heard of the anarchists?! It carries over to most aspects of life. Hiking, rafting (have I got some stories for you!), coffee, beer, mushrooms, farmers markets, politics, writing, water use.......

So, let's talk about it. All.

By way of introduction, I am nearing the end of a varied career. I am a writer, consultant, analyst, bon vivant, aging bad boy. Looking back, the only things I regret are the things (mistakes?) I didn't do. So, what the hell, I'll do them now.

Want to come along for the ride?