redwissel.com

once again, b and i decided to go exploring in the city. first we walked a very long way to pier 90 to hang with the sailors and get free tours of all the ships. you can see some of b’s pics here.

also we dined at one of our fav sushi places in belltown, wasabi bistro. pretty good sushi at good prices. happy hour prices are fabulous.

b gave me a slicer dicer as seen on t.v. for christmas. last weekend, after spending the day out in the sun i baked sweet potato chips to provide us a healthy snack to much on while watching hellboy later on that night.

step one: slicing

step two: soaking

step three: drain and wait for the oven

step four: bake in the oven

step five: add salt

the finished product

sweet potato chips go well with our new favorite beer from trader joe’s - mississippi mud

yesterday, after we spent two and half hours at the dmv to get our washington state drivers licenses, b was starving so we walked 6 blocks from our condo to the original, yes i said original red robin. he was in shock by the size of the burgers, bottomless drinks and fries. not knowing any better, b also ordered a chocolate malt, which of course went straight into a to-go cup. overall, the experience was better then the one back home in union center. the service was way faster. our burgers were out in five minutes even though the place was pretty full. though the place being original and all, was clearly dated as far as the interior went. and our waitress thought it was weird that i asked for fries to come out right away. how was i supposed to know that there would not be a long wait like there always is in cincy. although i don’t think she was all the way with it, either. i ordered a chicken sandwich and she asked me how i would like it. and after several weird looks and uh, what’s she finally explained herself. she said “well how do you want it, rare, medium, or well?” i was like “um, i ordered a chicken sandwich”. and after about 30 seconds i saw the light bulb turn on above her head and she smiled and replied, “oh, yeah. that’s right.” i considered it a miracle when my sandwich came out correct.
p.s. i had never had a red robin malt before do to the size of the burgers and fries. but a few hours after we got home and unpacked the office, b and i partook and thought it was a very good malt. so if you ever find you have room, get a chocolate malt. they are yummie!

everyone seems to have new’s year’s resolutions. here’s mine and the focus on returning to the basics.

1. eat healthier, more fruits and veggies, more whole-grain, non-processed, all-natural organic foods.

2. relax more and stress less. it’s all in your mind and you can control it.

3. make the important people in my life a higher priority. do all that i can to ensure their enjoyment, happiness and relaxation.

4. save more money then in the past.

5. find peace and relaxation in my new hobby - bonsai. my classes start on the 28th of february. slowly working on building my dream garden. ; )

6. take care of mother earth. learn what i can do to make a difference. and to take the extra seconds to recycle items instead of doing the easy thing and throwing it in the trash.

friday i did the usual. happy hour at tina’s with the co-workers. and then a group of us (challis, antony, hank, hank’s beautiful girlfriend, brad, jessica who had the beautiful glow of motherhood, nick and myself) moved the party to chez nora for dinner and more drinks. i had the ahi tuna and then i stole some of antony’s sesame - something or other salmon. it was delicious. much better then the tuna and the tuna was fabulous. it was a very fun relaxing evening.

saturday i went to my work team’s picnic at kim’s house. even though the rain made an appearance. the food was fabulous and we still had a good time hanging out in the garage. the pork and barbeque was excellent. i’m still enjoying the leftovers. after that i met my peops at goettafest. yes i said goettafest, where everything you can eat has goetta in it. goetta phillies, goetta tacos, etc. i had a goetta chedda and it was fabulous. we then followed up the festival by going to the late night showing of the simpsons. very funny movie. although b/c we saw the late night i slept through part of it. so i’ll have to go see it again. anybody want to go see it, count me in.

this story dates back to when i was on hiatus, but it a good one.
on fine monday, scott, antony and i decided to stroll over to the skyline on 6th and vine i believe. i ordered the usual - two cheese coneys with everything. when our food arrived, the waitress took our drinks for refills. while she was refilling our drinks i eagerly went to scoop up a coney when i noticed a very dark spot on the end of the bun. and at the very moment i was trying to decipher whether the dark spot was the chili just soaked into the bun or worse, the waitress returned with the refills jsut in time to see the ugly face i made when i realized it was mold, yes big bright green mold. she asked what was wrong. i told her. she immediately said just mold ok i’ll get you some new ones. and as she snatched up the moldy buns, she began explaining to us in full detail how moldy buns on mondays are a common problem - no big deal. apparently, every monday part of the prepping for the day routine includes a bun inspection for mold. she said it’s not uncommon for the buns to go moldy between saturday and monday. especially in the summer with the hot days. she said that this morning they had more then usual b/c the dude responsible for them on saturday did not properly put them away. five minutes later, she left our table to go get me some nonmoldy buns. the funny thing is instead of trying to cover up the situation, everytime she returned ( to give me new coneys, refill our drinks, check to make sure the new ones didn’t have mold and drop off our checks) she would go right back into that story repeating how it happens a lot and it’s a routine check on mondays. any other waitress would prolly jsut say i’m sorry, i don’t know why that happened and try to forget about as soon as possible. not this one. i think she unconsciously wnated to make sure that i completely lost my appetite. so anyhow, the moral of the story is that scott, antony and i have made a pact - we will never eat at that skyline on mondays. and we figure we shouldn’t go on tuesday to make sure they get through the weekend buns and move into the fresh buns on wednesday.

this may sound strange, but it is very yummie and i would definitely suggest making it sometime.

Grilled Apple Chees Sandwiches

2 pieces bread
apple sliced no more then a 1/4 in thick
2-3 slices cheese, the more exotic the better
and butter

basically make a grilled cheese sandwich like you always do. just when you place the cheese on the bread, also include a layer of apple slices going across. it’s fabulous. crunchy cheesy deliciousness. if you need directions on how to make a grilled cheese, then i don’t know if you can handle this recipe.