Month: June 2016

Pride and Politics

On By Travels with MelindaIn adventure, Seattle, UncategorizedLeave a comment

There was a sharp contrast between the joy of the Seattle Police Department officer kissing her girlfriend with the crowd cheering them on to the families holding hands as they waved rainbow  flags and the smiling faces of every group marching vs. the hateful signs of the anti-gay protestors.  As Lin-Manuel Miranda evangelized at the Tony Awards, love is love is love is love…and why people can’t embrace that love is beyond me.  Love trumps hate and today that showed as the participants kept on smiling despite the horrible messages being displayed along the Seattle Pride Parade route.  Love wins!WP_20160626_12_32_51_Pro

Last year we marched in the Pride Parade with the Seattle Storm contingent and had a great time handing out bam-bams.  This year, after serving 352 people in need a hot meal at the Shared Breakfast at First United Methodist for three hours, we decided to skip walking and instead cheer on the Pride along the route.  First, we hit the Seattle Center and I was glad to see that many major companies have woken up and were supporting the LGBT community with their presence, giving away a huge array of rainbow beads, wristbands, mints, pinwheels, etc.  We signed petitions for gun control and against the I-1515 Washington anti-transgender bathroom initiative.  Thom was wearing his “I’m a gun sense voter” so the anti-gun ladies had him pose for a publicity photo.  Always the model he is!   Hopefully taking advantage of the huge crowds will further these issues that are so vital to protect all people.

There was huge support at Pride by Seattle government agencies and officials from the Seattle Supreme Court to Seattle Metro Transit.  Politicians had booths as well as many religious affiliations but the odd man out (literally) was the Trump booth.  Unable to stop himself, Thom went off on the staffers because they had the gall to show up and represent their candidate who has vowed to stack the Supreme Court with justices who will repeal gay marriage rights.  “How could you sell your souls just because this is the party nominee…that’s DISGUSTING!”  I pulled him away to get a cookie from the church ladies and move on to other less stress-inducing booths.  I did have to love the “Bill for First Lady” t-shirts and just had to pose with “Bill” after trying out sticking pins into the Trump voodoo doll.  Very satisfying indeed.

At the end of the day, Pride 2016 celebrated people.  People who have the right to love who they want and be who they are in peace and without violence and hate.  Simple.  Be kind.  To all.  Oh, and dance like there is no tomorrow. 

The wait is over..cherry liqueur is ready!

On By Travels with MelindaIn booze, Cocktails, Happy Hour, liquor, Seattle, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Was it worth the two week wait?  You betcha!  After the initial pitting of 6 cups of cherries and addition of vodka and brandy, the first week we took turns shaking the homemade hooch every day so the fruit and booze could comingle.  Done.  Next, I added to the concoction a simple syrup I cooked up and it was time to let the liqueur sit and just be for another week.  Done.A__130D (2) (2)

Now, it’s drinking time!  I filtered the whole shebang through a cheesecloth-lined strainer, squeezing out the booze-infused cherries into a smooth fruity stress-reducing taste of heaven.  Sweet and strong by itself or in the “I’m with Her” cocktail I created to carry me through the election, it is DELICIOUS.  Just shake with ice 1 part cherry liqueur, 1 part vodka and 4 parts OJ.  Top with a cherry and let the sipping begin!  Here’s to summer in Seattle and a Hillary win in the fall.  Cheers!

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Signs as Seen in Seattle

On By Travels with MelindaIn adventure, Seattle, Travel, UncategorizedLeave a comment

I love Seattle.  Living downtown we get to wander and see the silly signs that people and businesses post to encourage us to shop and laugh.  I try to imagine living in suburbia again, walking by carefully manicured lawns on the clean sidewalks and shopping the ubiquitous strip malls amid big box retailers.  No.  Thank.  You.

Block by block, the streets of Seattle always present a new view, interesting people watching and signs galore.  Here are my favorites from today’s walk:

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They had me at whiskey French toast but won’t turn down a $5 mimosa!
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Interesting twist on drinking with a fitness angle.
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I couldn’t agree more-my hat choices are picked with careful consideration to mood.
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Not often you get voters passionately advocating for a murderer over the alternatives.

Homemade Hooch. What?

On By Travels with MelindaIn adventure, booze, Cocktails, Food, Happy Hour, liquor, Seattle, Uncategorized1 Comment

Watch out world, I’m making my own liqueur now! Over the past few months,  I’ve created a cocktail cart, done my due diligence to research key cocktails (hard work but somebody had to do it) and now I’m moving on to creating delicious, nutritious and fruity hooch.  There’s no way for me to avoid my passion for politics in this crazy presidential year, so I’m going to need LOTS of alcohol so, very wisely, I thought why not make it myself?WP_20160612_15_46_26_Rich (2)

With a sale on cherries that are happily now in season and a recipe from my friend Dawn’s blog, I was ready to muddle and mix up some cherry liqueur.  Of course, pitting 6 cups of cherries is no small feat so on went the latex gloves as I ripped apart the gorgeous cherries while enjoying the beautiful Seattle day on our patio overlooking Elliott Bay.  Needing only one cinnamon stick, I choose not to buy the $10 jar of sticks at the grocery because, really, when will I need another?  I am nothing but cheap so we decided to check out Metropolitan Market’s bulk spice section and, sure enough, for only .14 cents, I got the one cinnamon stick I needed.  SCORE!  I already had the brandy and vodka on the cocktail cart, not being used regularly and, quite frankly, covered in dust.  What can I say?  My focus has been on  whiskey and trying to create the perfect Old Fashioned and I’m oh so close, so my other booze has been feeling a little bit left out.  Not any more!

After the pitting session, which my sidekick Thom chose not to participate in and rather just picked out the best cherries to taste, I was off to muddle.  Even after quite the aggressive muddling session, I was only able to produce a tiny amount of juice that went into a separate jar for a week while the smashed cherries got the cheerful duty of absorbing the brandy and vodka.  After storing in a non-sunny place with a shake here and there over the next week, the boozed-up cherry pieces will finally be reunited with the juice that will be boiled with water and sugar to create syrup.  The final leg of the journey requires the mixture to rest for another week before straining out the final product, my very own cherry liqueur.

Then, watch out, it’s drinking time!  Since I’m not much of a “shot” girl, I did a little research in my handy cocktail guide and created the “I’m with Her” cocktail to drink throughout the political season.  I will be saving the straight shots for the debates and take a shot every time Trump says, “Win bigly” or “Big, beautiful wall”.  Trust me, it will help.  Can’t hurt.

So, here’s my proposed “I’m With Her” cocktail to celebrate our first female president-to-be.  It will be a fruit-infused celebration in your mouth with enough kick to get you through the sure-to-be crazy upcoming political season.  Now that I think about it, this cherry liqueur will come in handy to house in a flask (still need to get one of these!) when I stand out in the freezing cold at the inauguration of our first female president.  Can’t wait! No, I’m not taking her victory for granted and I will do everything in my power to support her but I can’t imagine the alternative without going crazy so I’ll just be hopeful.  And drink.  A lot.

I’m With Her Cocktail

1parts homemade Cherry Liqueur

1parts vodka

4 parts orange juice (I would say “fresh squeezed” like the cocktail books like to say but let’s face it, who has that sitting around in their fridge when the need for a cocktail strikes??

Dash of lime juice or bitters-whichever you have just for variety

Prep-chill the glass.  Mix-shake the ingredients with ice vigorously enough to skip the gym.  Strain into a glass, the prettier, the better.  Garnish.  ALOT.  Fresh fruit or maraschino cherries or a sugar rim or umbrella decoration.  Just pick whatever is fun for you.  This is a celebration damn it!   Enjoy.  Cheers!

Many thanks to Dawn who shared this great recipe for cherry liqueur on her blog,  First Look, Then Cook.  Check out her great food recipes too.  She may even inspire me to cook!

Cherry Liqueur

Ingredients

  • 6 cups Bing cherries, pitted
  • 1 cup brandy
  • 1/2 cup vodka
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick, broken

Preparation

Put the pitted cherries at the bottom of a sealable glass jar and muddle them with a wooden spoon or muddler to release some juice. Drain the juice into a separate container and set aside. Then add the brandy, vodka, and cinnamon stick to the muddled cherries. Seal and shake the jar. Let steep for one week at room temperature away from direct sun, shaking every few days.

Combine the reserved cherry juice, sugar, and water in a pan and bring to a boil, stirring frequently until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let cool. Once the syrup is cooled, add it to the steeping jar, seal, and shake. Then let it steep for an additional 2 to 5 days. Strain through fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth into glass jar or bottle. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

 

3 Chicks in Chicago

On By Travels with MelindaIn adventure, Boise, Chicago, Music, Nightlife, Seattle, Travel, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Girl’s Weekend!  My sister Becky along with our best friend since grade school, Patti aka Trish, and I took on Chicago this weekend for a glorious girl’s only experience which featured food, fun, music and, of course, wine.  Oh. Yeah.  WP_20160604_19_17_07_Rich (2)

We have been best friends for 45 years believe it or not.  I know, how can that be???  We all look so young!  From swimming at our neighbor’s pool every day in the summers to sneaking smokes in the field between our houses, we have been through life’s challenges and celebrations-divorce, death, weddings, births, businesses, etc. with lots of tears and laughter along the way.  I truly don’t know what I would do without these great women in my life.

After meeting up in our amazing suite at the Warwick Hotel on the Magnificent Mile complete with complimentary champagne and chocolate covered strawberries, we headed out for a walk by the waterfront, enjoying the blue sky and warm temps and then through historic Astor Park where the multi-million $ brownstones are to-die-for gorgeous.  Next on the agenda was a late dinner at Volare.  Even with reservations, the place was packed and it took awhile to get our table and food.  A HUGE appletini for Patti and wine for me eased the hunger pains but then the food arrived and LOTS of it–mushroom risotto, caprese salad, minestrone, pasta–all to share and sample.  YUM.

Becky and I are the “walkers” with matching FitBits so we got up early leaving Patti to her beloved sleep and took off for a walk by the river from bridge to bridge.  Satisfied that we were well on our way to 10,000 steps, we pried Patti out of bed with the temptation of a Saturday brunch at a neighborhood café where we sat outside until the rain began but not before a courteous street dude walked right up to us, declared, “Charlie’s Angels” and walked away.  You betcha!

It proceeded to mist on us as we ventured out of the downtown core to the Hyde Park Art Fair.  I have no artistic skill whatsoever so am in complete awe of the interesting creations that the artists were showing.  I saw an interesting cross necklace made out of antique silverware (only $35!) and pounced on it to purchase.  Patti and Becky also wanted one so they are going to order online at:  Silverware Artistry.  Later we hit the Magnificent Mile and shopped till we dropped at Nordstrom’s (and the Rack), Anthro, Victoria’s Secret and Banana Republic.  All my favorite stores and the stars were aligned for us all to find stuff we loved to take home.  New Kate Spade shoes.  Check.  New Anthro white jacket.  Done.  Ring at 50% off.  On my finger.

Nothing says “Girls Weekend” like a concert by awesome artists so, lucky us, got to go see Sean McConnell and Kris Allen at City Winery on Saturday night.  I’ve seen Sean play in Seattle, opening for Griffin House at Columbia City Theater and, believe me, he is destined for greatness.  His new album comes out July 2nd and he is touring as the headliner in the fall, coming to Columbia City in Seattle on August 19th and Neurolox in Boise on 9/3.  Go see him before he blows up and is playing at huge arenas.  Seriously, if you like rich lyrics and soulful tones, you will enjoy Sean’s music.  Plus, I modeled my new hairstyle after his-seriously.  I told him that story after his performance when Becky and I talked with him so she could buy his CD.  He laughed.

Next up was Kris Allen and his band who got the crowd engaged, singing and clapping.  Thom and I saw him just last week in Seattle at The Triple Door and he was equally entertaining.  Singing by himself or with the group, Kris is a true talent that I have enjoyed since he was on American Idol.  He is a hard worker with a brilliant voice.  I hope he gains a wider audience and enjoys great success.  WP_20160604_22_04_53_Pro (2)

After a lovely evening with wine, great food and wonderful music, we once again got a quick Uber (I’ve even made Becky an Uber lover!) and off to the hotel for some rest.  The next morning Becky and I again wandered the neighborhood, walking to the lakeshore to get in our 10,000 steps.  Then, it was off to the train to South Bend to see Mom.  These 3 chicks had quite the time in Chicago and we vowed to make this a yearly event!  Cheers!IMG_8119 (2)