Love at First Bite?

Now Maren has two teeth, both in the middle on the bottom. About 2 weeks ago, we decided to try feeding her solid foods, and she seemed to know what to do right from the start. We started with rice cereal according to conventional wisdom, though it looks and smells a lot like tasteless paste to me!

Next, we tried her on sweet potatoes. Much messier!


Now Maren has also tried peas, green beans, and bananas. I think sweet potatoes are still her favorite. I must admit I have to overcome my own bias against peas in order to feed them to Maren!

James made a video of Maren's first venture into solid foods. Note to self: move your hand out of the way next time!

Girls' Night Out

I'm playing catch-up from about a week and a half ago, when some of my girlfriends and I got together for a girls' night out in downtown Seattle. We'd reserved a hotel room right in the heart of downtown, went out for a nice dinner and cocktails, and went to a cabaret show at The Can-Can, which is right under Pike Place Market. Here's the view from our hotel room. The skyscraper in the middle is actually where my office is located - I go back to work in just over a week now.

Katy, Kari and Nicci at the Can-Can.

Lacy, Lisa and me just before the show.

The next morning, we went to brunch at a restaurant above the market. Note the random old man in this shot!

Of course I missed Maren terribly, and I called home a couple of times to be sure she and James were okay. It was my first night away from her since she was born! But it was really fun, and great to get together with old friends. Three of the other girls are moms too, so they were understanding. We all need a night out now and then!

Hi all,

James here. I had to add some pictures of the boo. She still isn't quite ready for the jumper.




Kinda surprised her with this one. I think daddy was having more fun than she was.

Both my girls.

Susan and Maren are in California this week. I am all by my lonesome working on the back room. I will add some pictures once complete.

P.S. Maren's second tooth is busting through.

Salmon Recipe

We're going to copy Isabelle and Johan, who post recipes on their blog, to include the recipe we used for the salmon (see last post). Here it is:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets
lemon pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
salt to taste
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

Season salmon fillets with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and salt.
In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, and vegetable oil until sugar is dissolved. Place fish in large zip-lock bag with the soy sauce mixture. Seal the bag, and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Preheat grill to medium heat.
Lightly oil grill plate. Place salmon on the preheated grill, and discard marinade.
Cook salmon for 6-8 minutes per side, or until it flakes easily with a fork.

Bon appetit!!!

Gone Fishin'

Last Saturday, James took a well-deserved break from home improvement projects to go fishing with a couple of friends, Hau and Doug. Here's a picture of Doug's boat while still on land.


They set out from a dock in Mukilteo, near the Washington State Ferry landing across from Whidbey Island.


James's friend Hau:


At first, James caught a small one ("shaker") that he threw back. But then... he caught a whopper salmon!

It weighed 8 pounds!

Doug cleaned and cut the salmon. Here's the master at work.

The fish was a female (you can't tell until you cut into it), and she had two egg sacks. Here's the caviar:

James had great luck, and he was the only one of the three guys who caught a fish that day. He brought home the 8-pounder and we marinated it in soy sauce and brown sugar. Our friends Dan and Joli came over and we grilled it that night for dinner - it doesn't get fresher than that! Ah, the beauty of living in the Pacific Northwest!