That's Gneiss! #197 ~ A walk in the woods
Plus - MUST TRY food!
Hello my friends!
Today I’m going to tell you about our latest adventure, and hopefully I’ll finish before some dreadful world event kills my mood. I’d better type quickly!
It wasn’t anything earth-shattering, but we did manage to get out of the house and spend some time walking around Carkeek Park yesterday. If I’ve ever been there before it was when I was a kid and I have no memory of it. What a gem and not too far from us! The park is long and narrow, and there’s a network of trails throughout. We only explored a small area in the northwest corner of the park, so are looking forward to going back.
We saw a large rock along the trail, a remnant of the ice sheet that covered the area thousands of years ago. Rowland wasn’t impressed and in fact mostly complained about going up and down the hills.
And yes, many of my photos are a view of Michael and Rowland ahead of me on the trail. I fall behind quickly when I stop to investigate something interesting.
The park has a beach area that’s reached by a pedestrian bridge over the train tracks. Dogs aren’t allowed on the beach, so we only took a moment to enjoy the view of Puget Sound. The Olympics are over there somewhere behind the clouds.
It was a beautiful day, much cooler after yet more hot and muggy days. We will definitely return to this park to explore the other areas. It wasn’t too crowded today, but I imagine it gets pretty packed on the weekends.
Hearty Shakshuka Recipe You Need To Try
Hot tip: that headline doesn’t lie!
Michael made Shakshuka for the first time yesterday, and we were both floored by how good it was.
A North African and Middle Eastern favorite for generations, dating back to the Ottoman era, shakshuka is as flavorful as it is eye-catching. Built on a glorious foundation of sweet, acidic tomato and savory, runny poached egg, every mouthful of shakshuka electrifies the tongue with its generous inclusion of various herbs and spices.
The almost buttery softness of the eggs, the searing heat of the harissa, the delightful aroma of the herbs, and the sharp yet sweet punch of the tomato make shakshuka a truly mind-blowing culinary experience when it comes to both creative flavor and layered texture.
Don’t skip the harissa sauce either.
The ingredients seem a bit unassuming, but don’t let that fool you! This was tasty as all get-out.
We’ve been making some changes to our diet, which wasn’t horrible to begin with but definitely could be better. Less of the fried and heavy food that’s common in British diets (don’t let anyone tell you it’s bland). More veggies and salads. A recent lunch of leftovers had two excellent salads - the Caprese on the right, and a chickpea & kale salad on the left.
This is a great time of year for fresh food. Some neighbors gave us fresh salmon they caught a couple of days ago. What a treat!
We are thrilled at the news of the new Omicron booster shots headed our way, and it’s looking like they’ll be available within days. We’re not going to suddenly start eating in restaurants of going to shows where we’re standing cramped against strangers (ewww), but it will open the door to doing more things.
Are you reading anything good these days? What was the best read of your summer? I’m currently reading The Auctioneer, a 1970’s horror novel by Joan Sampson. It’s creepy, in that small town nobody can help you way. I recently finished When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole. A great thriller about sinister gentrification - highly recommend! I don’t want to give anything away about either one.
That’s all for now! Except for this pretty flower I spotted the other day. Cheers!
That Sashukan looks so yummy! Be sure to go back to Carkeek later in September and early October. This is one of the creeks that salmon return to in the fall! If Rowland likes fish, keep your eyes on him because other animals will drag the carcasses onto the banks. And just in case you don’t know yet, raw salmon skin is not good for doggies.
The Shakshuka looks AMAZING!