use real butter

I always start out with the best of intentions – to post when I’m away. Yet, I find that I have so many durned photos that I’m dozing off before I even get through the first twenty. Consider it your break from my incessant yammering. But here now. I have photos to share and not a lot of inclination to hang out on the blog tonight. It’s Jeremy’s birthday today and he’s recovering from an outpatient procedure so I think he deserves some pampering, don’t you?

Right! So I started my trip to Seattle last week by seating my bum on the south side of the plane because I like looking at landforms of the western US and because I love volcanoes.

hello mount adams, you are so lovely

My dear friends took me to the Queen Anne Farmer’s Market to grab a bite and peruse the produce stalls. It was there that I found shishito peppers AND padróns in a box side by side. Now I can tell you that shishito peppers and padróns are not the same (I was mistaken in my last post). Padróns are a tad larger in size and darker green in color. So there you have it. Oddly enough, I ran into a whole slew of Seattle bloggers at the market: Becky, Lorna, Jenifer, Julie, and Scott, who was giving a cooking demo.

colorful flower bouquets

i saw a cute bernese mountain dog puppy

crates full of peppers

seattle food geek workin’ the shallots

We started the next morning with a visit to Macrina bakery before my hosts left for work. I hadn’t planned on visiting with food bloggers on this trip, but the schedules panned out and I got to enjoy lunch and a walk along the neighborhood of houseboats with my sweet pal, Tea. She then handed me off to Shauna, Danny, and Lu who took me to go visit with Matt, Danika, and Drake and Lara! I think I’m in love with Seattle folk. Nicest. People. Ever.

choosing breakfast at macrina bakery

my noodle bowl lunch at nettletown

matt

lara

little lu

drake being coy

danny and lu

**Jump for more butter**

It took longer than I had anticipated to get this recap posted what with all of my activities in and around Seattle for the past 8 days. Best to get on with it before the next conference, right? I’m super sleepy and I’m trying not to be snarky here, but it’s REALLY hard. Bear with me, please.

After that gorgeous-turned-rainy-muddy backpack in the Cascades, I went from eating instant rice and sleeping in the dirt (and rain, did I mention the rain?) to bougie food and a luxurious bed at the (gloriously waterproof) Hotel Monaco where IFBC kicked off with registration, swag baggery, evening reception, and a great speech by Morgan Spurlock. Also, I met tons of food blog pals like my girl Peabody.

some of the fancy pants food: geoduck ceviche

pistachio crusted rack of lamb (lambipops)

full room while morgan spurlock spoke

I skipped the after-reception party in favor of a fantastic sushi dinner with my buds Allison of Sushi Day, Susan of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy, and Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes at Nijo Sushi just down the hill.

finally looking at the menu after spending 30 minutes gabbing and gossiping!

Being the fuddy duddy that I am, I retired to my room and proceeded to process backpacking photos until 2 am. I got your party girl right here, folks. That wasn’t such a good idea because the IFBC organizers had planned something ridiculous like a 13-hour day at Theo Chocolate which is a 20-minute bus ride from the hotel. Note to conference organizers: please don’t do that anymore.

Just my luck, I was so used to waking up at 6 am, that I got up at… 6 am. I caught one of the buses to Theo Chocolate (the main venue) and felt like my head was about to explode. Or maybe that was Amy Sherman chattering away next to me on the bus?

Breakfast – an assortment of pastries and berries – was really lovely, but a platter of bacon would have brought tears of joy to my eyes. You know what is better than a platter of bacon (I know, few things, but this really is)?

seeing shauna and danny‘s beautiful new book

**Jump for more butter**

I’m in Seattle for the IFBC (International Food Blogger Conference) 2010 right now. I love this city and it’s especially wonderful with so many terrific fellow food bloggers all in one place. I flew out a few days early to spend time with friends of mine who are soon to be wed. Not long after I touched down in the Emerald City Tuesday afternoon, we went to dinner…

at coastal kitchen

and visited a park

That evening, Nicole and I sorted, gathered, and packed gear for a backpack in the Cascades. In the morning, we drove east to Wenatchee National Forest. The first day in was sunny and hot. There were mosquitoes and several miles of trail overgrown with plants taller than us between the trailhead and our camp destination. Oy.

lovely views, but hot!

happily setting up the stove to cook dinner after local sunset

The next day started out perfectly cool and gorgeous for our hike to White Pass, but by 12:30 pm the wind, clouds, and rain moved in. Here’s how lovely it was before the weather enveloped us in fog. We even saw a bear (but no pictures).

corn lily in bloom

glacier peak

lush high country

stunning patches of lupine

The rain soaked us to the bone (curiously enough, there were no more photos taken after White Pass). When we got back to our tent, it was raining steadily with some nasty winds whipping rain and dirt about. Rain + dirt = mud. Lots of mud. In the morning, we packed up our sopping wet belongings and hiked out the way we came in. Walking through the tall and wet overgrowth was akin to a several-mile stretch of car wash.

Nicole dropped me off at the hotel just in time for me to unpack all of my muddy gear (don’t tell the hotel!) and wash up before the IFBC reception. There were so many friends, old and new, to meet. However, the highlight of my evening was…

having a picture taken with morgan spurlock (thanks andrea!)

More on IFBC after the weekend. I’ll see you on the flip side!