Author Archives: Laura Heldreth
Seahawks Games at Markaritaville
For the last two weekends, I’ve been cheering with my favorite Seahawks fans at Markaritaville. You haven’t heard of Markaritaville? Well, it’s my favorite bar, comfortably located at my friends, Toni and Mark Bagnall’s home. Mark is a top-notch mixologist when he isn’t busy working as a contractor. And he can make an Italian Margarita […]
A New Lens and Breadcrumbs
“We must look at the lens through we see the world, as well as the world we see, and that the lens itself shapes how we interpret the world.” ― Stephen R. Covey I’ve been savoring our foggy mornings out in the garden while playing with my new macro lens. It’s a Canon – EF 100mm […]
Making Shrimp and Crab Dumplings
Ever since, My Pirate and I lunched at the new Taste of Sichuan in East Vancouver, I’ve become completely smitten with Asian dumplings. To learn how to make my own, I turned to the public library and checked out Asian Dumplings: Mastering Gyoza, Spring Rolls, Samosas, and More by Andrea Nguyen. And I’ve been making […]
Creamy Scrambled Eggs for Dinner
This fall, My Pirate’s work schedule shifted from traveling out-of-town four days a week to an in-town local route without a long commute. After years of us living opposite hours, now he gets up at 5:30 in the morning to go to work and he’s home every night for dinner. I’m thrilled to have him […]
Cranberry Chutney Infused Vodka
Several weeks before Thanksgiving, I looked into my garage fridge at a leftover bottle of vodka and a thawing container of homemade cranberry chutney and decided to mix the two together just to see what would happen. I imagined a cranberry chutney flavored liquor to serve as a Thanksgiving themed martini. It didn’t turn out […]
Parsnip and Barley Soup with Chicken
Barnaby and I are home sick with a cold this week. Yes, that’s right. The dog and I are sniffling and coughing together on the couch watching old sci-fi movies while My Pirate tends to us. Barnaby picked up a case of kennel cough from his dog park friends. My (poor) Pirate is home on […]
Reuben Panini Sandwich
I recently learned that my Artichoke Glow photograph was selected to compete in the Peoples Choice portion of the Oregonian’s garden photo contest. I was elated. I grew up reading the Oregonian and always looked forward to seeing the garden photo winners announced in late December. It brightened my spirit to see so much beauty […]
My Minestrone Soup
Last week, I finished planting all of my new plant acquisitions with Barnaby’s help and uncovered our front walkway. My Pirate was ecstatic. The very next day a windstorm blew in with 50+ mile-per-hour gusts and stuck around for over 24 hours. The roaring winds knocked over large fir trees and fences throughout our neighborhood. […]
Giving Thanks and Cranberry Chutney
Raise your hand if you grew up eating canned jellied cranberry sauce! I did. And I’m not embarrassed to admit that I loved my sliced Frisbee of cranberry goodness. But, then I grew up and craved something more sophisticated: sweet and sour with hints of orange and ginger. I searched for a cranberry chutney recipe […]
Custard-filled Cornbread
Have you ever tried the custard-filled cornbread recipe from The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham? Whether you love or hate cornbread, you need to try this recipe! Custard-filled cornbread is one of those rare genius recipes that magically exceed the sum of its ingredients. I first stumbled upon this recipe on page 251 in Molly […]