UW Quad
Well it is officially spring, so far it has been wonderful. Love all the flowers and blooming trees. Our landscape will be in full bloom soon. The cherry trees at the University are already in full bloom–hurry.
Book Club
Book Club met at Bev’s home, we had a good discussion about The Great Alone, a hard book to read but I think we all enjoyed it. April venue will be at Carole’s home on April 8th. We will be chatting about Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. Let Carole know if you plan to go.
Traveling Neighbors
Ed and Helen are back from the desert. Hopefully the weather will stay nice so they get to enjoy spring in the NW.
Edy and I are planning on going to Istanbul in a couple of weeks. She has been invited to speak at a conference in Istanbul and invited me to travel with her. Both Dave and Jerry are staying home. We are excited about the trip–we are really lucky to have a young lady act as our tour guide while we are there.
Recipes Du Jour
Three-Cup Chicken
1/3 Soy Sauce
1/3 C. dry sherry
1 T. packed brown sugar
1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into a 2-inch pieces.
3 T vegetable oil
1 (2 inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced into thin half-rounds
12 garlic cloves, peeled and halved lengthwise
½-3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
6 scallion, white and green parts separated and sliced thin on the bias
1 T water
1 tsp cornstarch
1 C Thai basil leaves, (if you can’t find Thai basil you can use sweet Italian Basil)
- Whisk soy sauce, wine, and sugar together in a medium bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat; set aside
- Heat vegetable oil, ginger, garlic and pepper flakes in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is golden brown and beginning to soften, 8-10 minutes.
- Add chicken and marinade to skillet, increase heat to medium-high, and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in scallion whites and continue to cook until chicken registers about 200 degrees, 8-10 minutes longer.
- Whisk water and cornstarch together in a small bowl, then stir into sauce; simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove skillet from heat. Stir in basil, sesame oil, and scallion greens. Transfer to a platter and serve.
Serves 4
Recipe from Americas Test Kitchen
Tips Du Jour
Zesting stubborn lemons
If your citrus is soft or your rasp or grater is dull here’s what you can do. First place the whole fruit in the freezer until partially hardened, abut 30 minutes. Remove the fruit and rub it against the box grater or rasp type grater.
Forgot to save pasta water
If you forgot to save pasta water for thinning sauce instead poured it all down the drain, this is an easy fix. Mix ¼ tsp of cornstarch with 1 cup of water and microwave it for 1-2 minutes until hot. A splash or two of the slightly thickened liquid creates a sauce with just the right consistency.
April Birthdays
Bob Terry and Lauri Otnes both have birthdays in April
Neighborhood news
A new grocery store has opened in Lynnwood. Sprouts Farmers Markets, @ 19630 Hwy. 99. This is an Arizona based grocery chain. It opened in Feb. We stopped by to look at it last week. Lots of fresh vegetable, the produce looked good.
Also, in the same neighborhood Trader Joes moved to a new location, 19715 Hwy 99. I haven’t visited it yet so if you do let me know what you think. T. Joes is one of my favorites.
Does anyone know what is going on across the street? There is some action on the building across the street from the Little Store.
Restaurant Review
Calypso in Edmonds.
We tried Calypso on Sat. afternoon for Happy Hour. We were quite pleased, we had 3 different appetizers, conch fritters, ribs and a couple of sliders all were tasty. Tel # 425 678 0652. They don’t take reservations It is located at 109 Main St. The location of the old Café de Paris. Hours Monday-Sat. closed on Sunday. Happy Hour 3-5 PM
Linda and John recommended The Hook Seafood Broiler @ 18521 78th Ave. W, Edmonds. It is in the Perrinville neighborhood of Edmonds. Hours daily until 11:00PM. 425-673-0551, website. They said the food was very good, a little noisy. We have eaten there but it has been a couple of years. Thanks for the review
Happy April Fools Day
