Entre Nous.

Sea & Smoke

So proud of my friend, Blaine Wetzel, and his book Sea And Smoke. The book is set on the island where I spent my formative years and is bound to be a bestseller. On the heels of his second James Beard, win not to mention hitting the number two best restaurant in the country, this is certainly his year.

"Sea and Smoke is as much a culinary adventure as it is a serious restaurant book, chronicling the plucky ambition of a young chef who was determined to create a world-class dining destination on Lummi Island (pronounced like “yummy”). After working at Noma in Copenhagen, Chef Blaine Wetzel took the principles of hyperlocalism stateside to celebrate what was good and nearby and tasty, off the rugged coast of Seattle.

The “sea” and “smoke”  from the Pacific Ocean and the restaurant’s own smokehouse, plus foraged ingredients and a local farm, yield a colorful playground of ingredients for the restaurant’s nightly 20-course prix fixe. Recipes include Smoked Mussels, Herring Roe on Kelp with Charred Dandelions, Aged Venison Legs and Wild Lettuce with Seeded Bread, Warm Blueberries and An Ice Cream Made from Sweet Woodruff, and more, all of it mirroring the verdant, sea-salty, foggy surroundings of the coastal Pacific Northwest. If you can’t hop the ferry or charter a plane to Lummi, this book is the next-best thing."

Sea And Smoke is currently available for pre order through Amazon and will be released in October 2015.

They Say It's Your Birthday

The Birthday highlight reel.

Detox Schmetox

Yesterday was the finale of my 12 day Wild Rose Detox. The Wild Rose Herbal D-Tox was created by a Clinical Herbalist Dr.Terry Willard, Ph.D and is designed to give your body a ‘complete detoxification of the liver, colon, kidneys, and lymphatic system.’

Since mid April I've been living sans sugar, but I was looking for another way to incorporate a cleaner way of eating overall. When I confided this in my friend Phaedra, she suggested the Wild Rose Detox, which she had done in the past with stunning results.

What can you eat? A diet heavy on most vegetables (with the exception of mushrooms), some fruits (apples, berries, stone fruits), lean meats, unsweetened almond milk, tahini, eggs, coffee, beans, whole grains, and almonds. You also consume three varieties of herbal tablets and an herbal-extract tincture that are to be taken twice daily. What can’t you eat? Basically no dairy, sugar, flour products, or alcohol. Oh, but you can have butter, which seemed rather odd. But hallelujah for butter. 

There were certainly some highs and lows throughout the 12 days. There were moments of "I could eat this way indefinitely" followed by "I'd kill for a diet coke". My savior during the moments of challenge was almond butter. I slathered it on rice cakes, put it in my cereal, and even ate it straight out of the jar. What also helps the cravings is when you realize you can eat as much as you want of the approved food, within reason. I did slip and have a Diet Coke or two over the 12 days. I also will admit that I made a list of everything I want to devour once the cleanse was over, namely CAKE.

Now that the detox is over, I do feel healthier and less lethargic. I also lost ten pounds, just in time for my Birthday. It helps to go into this detox with another person, for moral support. My friend Phaedra steered me towards recipes and kept checking in on me throughout the process. Now that it's come to an end, I could definitely see myself incorporating the detox into my life once every season

Tips:

• I read online that if you put the herbal liquid into a shot glass of cold water it’s much easier to take. Of course I read this after the detox was completed.
• Almond butter will become your best friend.
• Drink a LOT of water. I probably didn't drink as much as I should have.
• I’d recommend preparing ahead of time by stocking up with the right food and recipes. Though the detox does come with a list of acceptable foods to consume, it took a bit of online research to find some palatable recipes. 
• I’d also suggest not doing the cleanse when you have any social obligations.
• I LOVED drinking my coffee with almond milk. Though I still prefer cream and sugar, I might save those for weekends only.
• Treat yourself during this time. I made sure I had a house full of flowers and indulged in some leisurely baths.

Aca-belive it!

Kate Spade is at it again with their latest #missadventure video. Then there's these gems from Pitch Perfect's Anna Kendrick.

Sequels everywhere. Eeek!

April Showers Bring May Flowers

                                   

Happy May Day! It sounds so provincial, but when I was growing up we would leave anonymous flower bouquets on peoples doorstep on the 1st of May. These flowers were always gathered from someone's yard or garden, never purchased. What with lilacs blooming in such abundance of late, my thoughtful Mom left a bouquet of them at my door while I was out for the day. She, along with everyone else, knows I'm obsessing over them. May always sneaks up on me, but next year I'm going to do the same for an unsuspecting friend. It's such a sweet gesture.

I also welcomed in May by eating my very first grasshopper. My friends brought them back from Oaxaca. So on a lark, and since it is my year of first, I gave it go. It was flavored with chili and lime, so it was a tad spicy. It certainly would have been more memorable were it dipped in chocolate. Once was certainly enough, no seconds for me.