Ski season has officially begun. Oh what fun it has been so far. It has been especially fun bringing our mobile ski lodge Airstream with us for toasty warm accommodations! This is only just the beginning of our winter Airstreaming and we are very excited.
If you are using your Airstream in the winter, I would love to hear about your adventures!
The sweet taste and tender meat of the Dungeness crab when dined on no longer than a few days after being caught and steamed surpasses any seafood in the world. The Washington State Fisheries Department does an incredible job of managing our game and wildlife – our favorite being the “Deadliest Catch,” Dungeness crab.
This years crabbing season was extended until the end of December, giving J5MM the first time since we lost our 35′ Meridian yacht in 2006, to do some serious crabbing. Dock Crabbing.
Although not nearly as treacherous as our “Infinity II,” Blind Bay return to Burrows Bay fishing adventure, where an over sized male Dungeness crab clawed our wiring leading to a fiberglass inferno — winter dock crabbing can also be as dangerous as rewarding.
We were fortunate. This year we won — and the crabs lost.
Dungeness crab risotto garnished with flash fried sage leaves, was on the menu tonight.
Crab Risotto was heavenly. Simply follow this recipe omitting the butternut squash and add your fresh crab, fried sage leaves (see super easy steps below) and add shaved Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (use a vegetable peeler for beautiful curls!). A (very) light drizzle of white truffle oil atop adds a deep earthy dimension to this dish.
Bon appetit and stay SAFE!
Flash fried sage leaves:
Heat the oil up in your pan, add the sage leaves and flash fry for 3 seconds each side. Remove from pan and add crunchy sea salt (we like Maldon’s sea salt for finishing — very nice crunch and big flakes).
Serve as an appetizer as is — or crumble on top of the risotto. B could not stop eating these :)
What a beautiful morning. The sun was rising like a brilliant gem in the sky lighting up our surrounding landscape with beautiful hues of yellow and orange.
Breakfast this morning was a warm bowl of steel cut oats, to eat outside. I followed my recipe here and added 2 tablespoons of pumpkin pie filling while I was warming it up. I folded in a handful of white chocolate chips too.
To finish off this decadent breakfast, I pulled out my brand new kitchen torch so I could melt or “Brulee,” some sugar on top.
The result? An amazing hard-shell candy top to a heavenly bowl of sweet and rich steel cut oats.
To me? This was dessert. B must have felt the same. He devoured the entire bowl, and asked for more.
Success!
Sometimes it’s nice to take life easy and enjoy the simple things. That was the theme for our Thanksgiving holiday weekend getaway in the San Juan Islands. Roast a simple turkey in the Airstream’s oven, enjoy some gourmet cheese along with a rustic loaf of bread and we’re set.
Since we had plenty of leftovers it only made sense to pack them up in our picnic basket and go for a hike the following day. Our destination? Shark Reef Sanctuary on Lopez Island where we experienced magnificent sweeping views of the San Juan Channel and the Olympic Mountain range in the far distance.
The weather seemed to be cooperating. It was rather chilly, but we were not worried, we had our blankets. Oh, and hot cocoa too.
We finally found the perfect spot to enjoy roasted turkey with stilton cheese and cranberry chutney on “pillowy soft,” brioche buns. Honeycrisp apples to accompany the sweet creamy cheese (complete with flower). Buttery, rich pecan pie and hot cocoa completed our seaside picnic.
Soon it was time to turn back and retreat to our warm and cozy Airstream where we would have our campfire (complete with s’mores) and light up the living Christmas tree.
Watching the Washington State ferries pass by was such a pleasure . . .
How exciting! B received this beautiful postcard in the mail from a couple who had found his bottle. If you don’t recall the story of his message in a bottle, you can read about it here.
The letter reads:
“Dear Bradley,
How exciting for us to find your bottle and wonderful note (fabulous drawing!) on the beach on Orcas Island!! We made ourselves wait two whole days to open it – until we just died of curiosity :) Thank you for creating such a fun adventure for our Orcas Thanksgiving getaway. We were here without our children and grandchildren, so your magic, mysterious bottle gave us quite a thrill (and you have beautiful handwriting, too!). You are obviously a very special boy :)
Jeff and Mary”
