Alki beach in the summer
Weekends like these makes all those rainy days worthwhile. Photos taken in Alki beach in West Seattle.
- Ramiro
Weekends like these makes all those rainy days worthwhile. Photos taken in Alki beach in West Seattle.
- Ramiro
Made this for dinner tonight, came out pretty good:
Ingredients (makes for two full portions)
· 1 15oz can of cooked garbanzo beans
· 1 cup diced tomatos
· 1 cup diced green pepper
· ½ cup diced red onion
· 2 tbsp minced garlic
· 2 tbsp lemon juice
· 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
· 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
· Salt and pepper to taste
· Crumbled feta cheese to taste
How to
1. Mix everything but the feta cheese together, and let it rest for at least one hour
2. Chill in the fridge, covered, for another hour.
3. Mix in the crumbled feta cheese right before serving.
4. Enjoy!
Great dish for a hot afternoon, went great with a cup (or two) of chilled rosé wine.
Hope you like it!
- Ramiro
While I’ve been to the Bay area several times (most of them on Mountain View), I had never properly visited the city. While the weather wasn’t the best (it was like Seattle, which is bad when you’re on vacation!), I really enjoyed doing all the touristy stuff in the city. The city is quite beautiful and very picturesque.
One thing I really dig about the city is how bike-oriented it is. From my experience, it seems like a lot of people move around San Francisco in a bike, which rocks (even with all those hills). Also, people dress really sharp, especially in down town.
Pics: Wells-Fargo in downtown / Yerba buena garden / 'Quantic Man' in SFMOMA / Street car / Pier 39 / Golden gate bridge
- Ramiro
* There’s no such thing, but sure sounds cool ;)
In the list of weird things in Seattle, this easily fits in the top 10.
Right in the middle of ‘downtown’ Freemont there’s a 16 feet bronze sculpture of Lenin, the father of the Russian revolution. Imagine that, a huge bronze statue of the major communist figure in history, right in the middle of an American city! I have no idea how that was even allowed, but I love it! It just makes Seattle even cooler.
There’s a whole Wikipedia entry dedicated to the statue, take a couple of minutes and check it out, it’s pretty cool. If you live in the Seattle area, and have never seen it, you should really drive (or cycle, Freemont is really bike-friendly) and say hi to comrade Lenin. It’s right on the intersection of Evanston Ave N, N 36th St, and Fremont Place.
- Ramiro
Yesterday, my step-sister was pregnant; today, a brand-new girl came to live.
Albeit it being the one of the most common events on the planet, I still can’t wrap my head around it. This is for sure an awesome moment, in the literal sense of the word.
- Ramiro
PS: She’ll be getting this book as a birthday present. Check out the video, is really cool.
Victoria is a really cool and relaxed city (something that seems to be shared by every island-city I’ve ever been to, something in the air maybe?), with a great park in the middle of the city (Beacon Hill), and a downtown perfect for an afternoon stroll (which includes Canada’s oldest Chinatown). In general is a very lovely city, perfect for ditching the car and walking (or biking) around.
The city is perfect for a weekend getaway, being just 3 hours away by ferry. I really recommend it, especially in the summer.
- Ramiro
PS: Parking near the ferry terminal in downtown for two days was cheaper than taking a cab. The ferry company has a great deal ($10 per day) with the parking lot in the corner of Wall St. and Alaskan Way.
For the past few days I've found myself mentally repeating a couple of lines from Quevedo's 'Salmo XVII' disturbingly often (at least is not Lady Gaga, right?). The Salmo is one of my favorite poems, one which I vaguely remember having to memorize in one of my junior high classes. I've always like the sonority of it as well as the images it produces, albeit it's very dark subject, the dreading sense of the looming death.
Anyways, I've decided to share the poem here, in an attempt to exorcise it from my mind. I'm putting the Spanish version and below (couldn't make the two columns look good) a very crude translation (my own) for all of you who don’t speak Spanish. Hopefully you can get a sense of why I like it so much.
Salmo XVII
Miré los muros de la patria mía,
si un tiempo fuertes, ya desmoronados,
de la carrera de la edad cansados,
por quien caduca ya su valentía.
Salíme al campo; vi que el sol bebía
los arroyos del yelo desatados,
y del monte quejosos los ganados,
que con sombras hurtó su luz al día.
Entré en mi casa; vi que, amancillada,
de anciana habitación era despojos;
mi báculo, más corvo y menos fuerte.
Vencida de la edad sentí mi espada,
y no hallé cosa en que poner los ojos
que no fuese recuerdo de la muerte.
Franciso de Quevedo
English translation:
I watched the walls of my country,
at one time strong, now decayed,
tired by time’s race
for whom they bravery now fades.
I went to fields; watched the sun drink
the brooks freed from the ice,
and from the mountain the cattle lamenting,
which with shadows stole the light from the day.
I walked upon my house; saw that, stained,
it was now ruins of an ancient room;
my walking stick, more bowed and weaker.
Defeated from age I felt my sword,
and I couldn’t lay my gaze upon nothing
that wasn’t a reminder of death.
Hope you like it!
Ramiro
In my efforts to successfully complete the great no meat challenge 2010 I’ve been trying out some new meat-less recipes to eat at home (eating out on a no-meat challenge is hard, so say the least). Last week I prepared a coconut milk risotto that turned out fairly good, so I decided to share the recipe, in case a brave soul decides to risk it all and try out something I recommended:
Ingredients (makes for 2 big portions)
How to
Extra points
I haven’t tried this yet, but adding some chopped peanuts or cashews sounds like a great idea (as they go really well with the whole Thai theme). Let me know how that goes if you give it a try.
Hope you like it!
* Feel free to replace the shallots with garlic or onions. I just like shallots a lot.