The Most Expensive Ice Cream Cone Ever

Really...it came to a grand total of almost $14:

Roundtrip ferry to Bainbridge Island from Seattle: $6.70

Small waffle cone with 2 scoops: $6.95

Was it worth it, you ask?

Indeed...every lick.

So here's the long story: a few friends and I decided to take the ferry to Bainbridge Island and wander around. Originally we were going to drive on and explore the island beyond what is within ferry walking distance. Last minute we decided to park under the viaduct (yes...still standing...) and walk on. Good decision, the vehicle line was at least two ferry waits long.

So our parking spot had a two-hour limit, which meant that basically we had time to take the ferry over, get something to eat really quick, and get right back on the ferry. (This is all worthwhile, locals and tourists both do it often.) Yesterday's ferry trips were immensely interesting in the people-watching department: Seahawks fans going to the preseason game against the Denver Broncos, cruise ship passengers seeing Seattle before catching their flights home, and island-dwellers heading to and from weddings and other parties, along with the rest of us.

But I digress...

The ice cream in question is from Mora Iced Creamery. To get there, walk up Winslow Way and turn right on Madrone Lane. Mora is tucked in back. Inside is a dizzying menu of ice cream and sorbet flavors such as lavender, spicy chai, and mojito. Check out the website for a full list: http://www.moraicecream.com/icecreams.html.

I gingerly plunked down almost $7 for a two-scoop waffle cone with one scoop of lavender and one scoop of espresso mocha. My first taste was pure delight, at which point I forgot how much it cost. It only got better. The espresso mocha was strong with obvious black flecks of ground espresso beans, more coffee than chocolate, which was fine with me since I had in previous moments been wishing for a latte. Then came the lavender, a perfect amount of the little purple bits floating in a melt-in-your-mouth vanilla base.

One of my friends ordered her standard, the plain old vanilla, and declared it the best ever. Another friend had the blackberry, which is the namesake ice cream ("mora" is Italian and Spanish for "blackberry"). Both were fabulous as well.

I recommend Mora. It's worth every penny for the amazing flavor. Oh, and the shop is really cute too, with silver lids on the long rows of ice cream and an artfully created menu.

I'm already dreaming of pumpkin pie ice cream in November...

Market Dinners

The epic Pacific Northwest summer continues: sunny, hot, and dry. My days are full of work, play, and generally attempting to avoid homework, which is easily done by shopping at the Tuesday market and cooking the goodies.

Dinner was inspired by the remains of last week's market expedition and tonight's visit to the market with a little Metropolitan Market thrown in for good measure.

What you see here is a collection of vegetables--Walla Walla onions, crimini mushrooms, bok choy, and arugula---sauteed in olive oil, fresh basil from my back porch plants, and black pepper. On top of which is a piece of delightful Wild Alaskan salmon from Metropolitan Market, with a slice of lemon. Having eaten a lot of fish throughout my detox diet in February and discovered that it is quicker to cook than any other meat, I now feel like my week is not complete without eating it at least once. As a gal from the East Coast who grew up eating fish maybe once a month from the grocery store IF it went on sale, the availability and affordability of salmon and other fish here in the PNW still amazes me. Thanks to a friend we occasionally even have a fresh salmon from a local river filleted and delivered straight to our freezer!

Dessert was a handful of blueberries, which are bigger and sweeter this week than their predecessors last week. Tiny's Organic finally has pluots, the combo of plums and apricots that has become my favorite stone fruit. I also saw a small group of tomatoes at the market today, and am happy to report that my plants have little green fruit and several more flowers.

The sunflower placemat? Target, $1.99.

A Midsummer Night...

Tonight's adventure was with two friends to Woodland Park in Seattle to take in a showing of Shakespeare in the Park. This summer's shows are The Comedy of Errors and King John. We were treated to The Comedy of Errors. The show is conducted by GreenStage, the company in Seattle that conducts Shakespeare in the Park during the summer.

Prior to the 7 p.m. showing a visit to QFC had produced fried chicken, an Asian-inspired cucumber salad "new today," (get some...it's fabulous), a baguette, and rocky road brownies. Oh...and Twizzlers...because I must chomp on a couple...or three. Sidebar: This tradition hails from summer days at the local amusement park back East that ended with us sitting under the stars eating Twizzlers through fireworks set to patriotic tunes and all the way home.

Arriving at Woodland Park a good while before the show we promptly wandered around for a quarter hour looking for "just south of the lawn bowling area." Said location was not found and instead we decided to commence with the picnic. Blankets were spread and the food was enjoyed while we watched runners, Bocce players, dog walkers, and families enjoying the beautiful summer evening. We also closely observed people carrying chairs, picnics, and blankets for clues about where the play would be held.

Note about the play's location: Woodland Park has various entrances and many open green spaces, but to find the precise open green space on which GreenStage performs enter at the 60th and Aurora Avenue (Highway 99) entrance. There was plenty of parking and close bathrooms.

Without giving anything away but providing some idea of what's to come, The Comedy of Errors is about two sets of identical twins, someone in a country he doesn't belong in, and various and assorted other characters. At various times the cast became part of the audience, making for a fun evening.

Shakespeare in the Park happens at about eight different parks this year, including Volunteer, Magnuson, Fall City, Lower Woodland (where we went), and Discovery. If you want to go, check out this link to find one: http://www.greenstage.org/2009/performance-calendar.

I shall leave you with a quote from the play: "Every why hath a wherefore." Act II, Scene II