An Excuse

I haven’t posted something around here in awhile, and I wish I could blame it on being busy. Even though some of my time has been taken up by this little summer job at a small cafe-restaurant in town, the truth of the matter is that I just haven’t felt too much in what we’ll call a “cook-y” mood.

I thought I would come home for the summer and really get into the blog, where I would work up a storm making and photographing things all the time and then posting about them. I have been cooking somewhat, making these soft pretzels with some braised red cabbage, or a big batch of vegetable curry over rice with a mint-cilantro chutney to top it all. But more often than not I haven’t been motivated enough to try anything new and exciting around here, let alone get myself into the kitchen to actually make something (instead of just assembling sandwiches for lunch or eating a salad for dinner, for example).

On top of that, a short little trip through Washington’s Northern Cascades with my mom the past couple of days  and a seemingly constant stream of eating out has resulted in a kind of fooded-out feeling. Do you ever get that? The feeling that there is too much food, too much of the time, up to the point where the only thing I’m craving is to actually feel hungry for a meal for once. By the time the sun actually arrives here in the Northwest next week, I’d like to get back to that lovely rhythm of eating food familiar to the summer—light, fresh, that whole deal.

And while I think my interest in cooking and baking new things (and then actually photographing and blogging about them) will come back soon once I settle out of this feeling, I still have no recipe or any real food to share with you today. I did however attempt to take a few pictures on my trip with my mom, and so I think I’ll share those instead. We drove through the Northern Cascades, stayed a night in Sun Mountain near Winthrop, then circled down to spend a second night in Leavenworth, a small tourist-driven town modeled after Germany.

The trip reminded me that although I pretty much despise the weather here (it’s overcast outside right now, with sprinklings of rain and a temperature of about 60 degrees), Washington will always have my heart when it comes to snow-peaked mountains, big and crystal-clear, turquoise lakes that are attached to giant dams, and big hills covered with too many evergreens for the eye to see. It’s a beautiful place.

(The drive through the North Cascades was beautiful. My mom was disappointed that the sky was overcast and rainy so she couldn’t see the sights of the winding mountains clearly. I liked the clouds though; the way they wrap around the mountain peaks and sides looks so mysterious, as if they mountains hold secrets that we can’t reach.)

(Despite the fact that I had never ridden a horse in my life up until the slow hour-long ride at Sun Mountain, I have recently decided that my missed life opportunity is not ballet as I previously thought, but is horseback riding. I’m a little into Native Americans, the Wild West, and the whole idea of having a ranch with horses and chickens and cattle at the moment. Just so you know.)

(Our view from breakfast at Sun Mountain.)

(A cheesy sign in Leavenworth. Fitting for a very cheesy town. You still have to love it, though—it’s just one of those things.)

 

One Year Ago: Ginger-Sesame Otsu & Mushroom and Leek Barley Risotto

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