Ask me about my sack

I've said it more than once, but I'm a huge fan of the bulk section at Winco Foods.  One of my brothers actually got me hooked on the bulk section at Winco.  I was visiting him one weekend and to entertain me he took me to Winco for the first time.  He treated to me a selection of gummy candies that we gorged ourselves on while playing video games the rest of the weekend.

The only real downside I've found to buying in bulk is the number of plastic bags we go through.  Depending on how much stocking up we are doing, we can come home with more than 10 different bags filled with flour, rice, beans, and other stuff that isn't quite so good for you.  For the last year or two we've been saving these bags after we refill our kitchen storage containers and reusing them on our next trip.  This has worked pretty well but when the bags have been filled with a powder like flour or sugar we've had to rinse the bags which can be a pain.  I decided to look for a better and more permanent solution.

I found Kootsac on Etsy and order a set to try out.  They were really well made and worked well on the first trip to Winco.  Only three came in the set I bought and they were all a bit on the small side, especially for the amount of flour I usually buy.  I decided with LJ's sewing set up I could create my own.

I found some nylon ripstop on eBay that was originally intended for use in making military parachutes but it did not meet their specifications (the auction warned me not to attempt to make my own parachute out of it).

I used one of our bags as a guide and cut the material to to strips.  To create the bags I would fold the strip over itself and sew up the sides to create a bag.

LJ got me set up on her serger, gave me a few tips to ensure the ends were sealed well, and left me to it.

I'm now the proud owner of 12 large and 4 small reusable sacks for buying bulk dry goods.  I should mention at this point the policy at Winco is that you can't bring in your own containers to fill in the bulk section.  No one said anything to me when I used the Kootsac and it was bright blue.  I intentionally went with a material that resembles the normal plastic bags in the hopes that no one would say anything to me.  If I'm confronted about using them I may play dumb, or if I'm feeling bold I may ask to speak to a manager.  I'm hoping this small act of environmental activism doesn't get me black listed from Winco, though I imagine they would welcome my sacks at the local co-op.  That place is a little too full of hippies, even for me.

Black cod

When we visited NYC, JP make us some baked white fish for dinner one night.  LJ and I both looked at each other and said, "Why don't we eat this more often?"  I'm not really sure why we ignore white fish, but it probably has something to do with living in such a salmon friendly area, so that is always what is on my mind when I go to our favorite fish monger.

When we visited this time we had lots of options and settled on black cod, for no reason in particular (it was actually the most expensive fish they had so I'm really not sure why we ended up with it, I guess it just looked the best to my untrained eye).  It actually was unclear to me if we were purchasing black cod or sablefish, but from what I've read the terms are often used interchangeably.

I used some seasoned bread crumbs we had on hand to coat the top.  I baked the fish for 10 minutes at 400F and then broiled the fish for 3 minutes to get the top crispy.

I pulled the fish out just in time as few of the bread crumbs were just starting to turn black and the parchment paper was near smoking.

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This fish has an interesting texture that might not be for everyone.  For a white fish it has a higher fat content and the flakes of fish are a little more buttery than your typical white fish.  It isn't bad, just something you should be aware of it if you are expecting something flakier.  We are looking forward to trying a few more fish types to see what we like best for white fish, though with Copper River salmon season coming up that plan may get derailed.

On Holiday: NYC

To all our loyal blog readers (my dad), I greatly apologize for the relative radio silence from the blog.  Since we are in between CSA seasons we haven't been getting interesting vegetables to try cooking and LJ has been busy with work and not sewing much (so much so that I actually broke down and bought myself a Pendleton wool shirt from the vintage clothing store in town because I knew it would be quite some time before she would be able to get around to making another for me).

I know what you are thinking, "What about spring break? That is one of the best things about working in the schools.  You get a random week off to do whatever you want.  Why wasn't massive amounts of sewing and cooking being done so blog posts could be written for my entertainment?"  Really you are right, spring break is excellent and one of the reasons I miss working for a university.  However we spent spring break visiting friends in New York City (Harlem to be specific).

Our friend JP got married last spring (you may remember the bridesmaid dresses) and immediately ran off to New York before we could hardly meet his wonderful new bride so we invited ourselves out for the week to spend time with them and explore the city.  They were amazing hosts that provided us with a number of home cooked meals, directions on navigating the subway system, and suggestions of things to do when we ran out of ideas.  (Also shout out to my two brothers for their help in making this trip happen.  One provided drop off and pick up from the airport and the other used his magic internet search skills to find us excellent deals on airfare.)

We spent the first day completely in transit.  JP provided us with excellent instructions on how to get from JFK airport to his place of employment on 5th Avenue.  This involved taking the AirTran to Jamaica Station where we caught the E train subway in to the city.  The AirTran was a little confusing because you don't have to pay if you are riding it just around JFK between the terminals, only when you get off at one of the connections to the subway.  At Jamaica Station there were a few staff members who were specifically helping people figure out how to purchase their AirTran fare and buy a ticket for the subway.  JP had suggested we get an unlimited week pass for the subway and one of the guys who was working had a stack of them that he was selling if you could pay cash.  I bought two and we were on our way to catch the E train.

As we were walking to the subway I realized I had just purchased something off the street, in New York City, where the person would only accept cash.  I turned to LJ and said, "Don't let me do something like that again on this trip."  Lucky for us the guy was reputable and our cards worked to get us on the subway.  LJ had no problem with her card but I had to swipe mine 3 or 4 times and was beginning to panic.  I then watched a native New Yorker swipe his card and realized I was sliding mine too slowly through the reader.  Later in the trip I saw someone doing the same thing and I passed on what I had learned and he looked much relieved to make it through.

Trying to blend in as native New Yorkers on the train.  Taking a picture probably wasn't the best way to blend.

When we got off the subway on 5th and 54th we headed above the surface to get our bearings and head towards where JP works.  One of the problems with riding the subways was that since we were underground we would lose our cellphone signal.  We had been texting with JP to give him a heads up of when we would arrive but the last half hour of the trip we were without a signal.

When we got on the street we made our way down 5th Avenue.  I was expecting swarms of people, and though it was busy it didn't seem that much crazier than walking through parts of downtown Seattle on a busy day (the only thing that I found really odd was the long line outside the Hollister store.  I wanted to point out to the people that they have a website that you can order from so there was no need to stand in line.)

As we were walking we noticed we'd received a text from JP who said he was going to meet us at the subway station.  We were already a few blocks down the street and realized we probably just missed each other.  We decided to stay put, text him with our location, and let him find us.  While we were standing on the corner a very nice couple asked us where the Abercrombie store was.  We had no idea but someone else who was passing by had overheard the question and stopped to give them directions.  Things like this happened a number of times throughout the trip which lead us to believe that New Yorkers have an unfair reputation for being jerks.

After JP found us we walked part way back to his place by taking a short tour through Central Park and then jumping on the subway to Harlem where they live.

***

We spent our first full day in the city at the American Museum of Natural History.  It seemed like a good way to adjust to the city without being out among the crowds, and instead spent the entire day inside with the crowds, who were there on school field trips and spring break. 

There was a ton of stuff in the museum and we ended up purchasing the all access pass so we could see all the special exhibits as well.  We didn't realize initially that each special exhibit had a specific time we had to attend but it ended up being good because it scheduled our day out for us.  LJ had demanded that we visit the Hayden Planetarium, mostly because she thinks the director is the sexiest astrophysist alive.

One of the special exhibits was about food and food culture.  Laura had to snap the photo below showing that Washington State supplies apples to New York.

Seeing all these kitchen utensils mounted on the wall reminded LJ of her parent's house.

The most unexpectly cool special exhibits involved butterflies. We first watched an I-MAX movie about the scientist who figured out that monarch butterflies migrate to Mexico where they spend the winter.  It was fascinating and there is no way I can do it justice.  We then went to an exhibit where you could walk among a bunch of living butterflies.  I didn't expect to be impressed but it was excellent.  They mostly just fluttered around the room but a few kept landing on one woman's bright orange knit hat because they seemed to think it was a flower.

I made LJ pose for this picture next to the skeleton remains of Lucy.  It isn't that actual skeleton, but still pretty cool for some science geeks like us.

LJ spent a lot of time in this section

 After the museum closed we walked along Central Park to the Time Warner Center, where we were meeting JP and Elizabeth for dinner at Landmarc.  An old classmate of LJ's is the chef there and he had made a reservation for us.  It was an excellent meal, though none of us were daring enough to order the cotton candy that they are known for.

The following day we were feeling more confident in our ability on the subway so we jumped on the train and took it to Wall St and walked from there to the Staten Island Ferry.  On our way we (accidentally) walked by the New York Stock Exchange.  This part of town was surprisingly quiet, possibly because it was just mid-morning, and I wished I had researched a little bit more what other sites were in that area that we should have checked out.  But we had a plan for the day so we made our way to the ferry and took it over to Staten Island, got off the ferry, and immediately re-boarded the same ferry for the return trip.

The ferry was packed with tourists because you get excellent views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and lower Manhattan, and it is free.  Unfortunately we somehow lost the pictures we took, which is unfortunate because I took a picture of all the tourists lined up along the glass snapping photos because it struck me as funny.

After we got back to Manhattan we jumped back on the subway and took it one stop, under the river, to Brooklyn.  We were in search of New York pizza and had a tip that Grimaldi's under the Brooklyn Bridge was just about as good as it gets.  It was busy (we waited in line outside for about 45 minutes, luckily it was a beautiful day) but totally worth it.

From there we walked over the Brooklyn Bridge back to Manhattan.  Similarly to the Staten Island Ferry, the bridge was mostly packed with tourists.  I wouldn't have thought to do this on a visit to the city but on a nice day it provides a lot of great views of the city.  If we were to do it again I think we would have spent a little more time exploring Brooklyn, especially Williamsburg because I love hipsters more than just about anyone else.

We got back in to the city earlier than expected so we decided to cross some other things off our list that we had planned on doing the following day.  We headed to Times Square, which may have been the most overwhelming place we were the whole time.  Not really because of all the lights and billboards but because of the number of people trying to hand you things and the number of tourists aimlessly walking and stopping. Everywhere else there were tourists but they knew where they were going.  We did get our picture up on the giant screen (that is us right below the red umbrella, sitting down and taking a rest)

Next we had to go to Mood Fabrics in the Fashion District.  This is where they go on Project Runway to look for fabric and it did not disappoint.  This photo is of one side of an aisle, and there were 10-12 aisles and three floors.  LJ was quickly overwhelmed and it took her a few minutes to get her bearings and settle down.  We literally could have spent hours here but it had been a long day so we jumped back on the subway and headed back to Harlem.

The next day there were a few things I wanted to cross off my list.

I was shocked there wasn't a line of a hundred people here.  We were actual the only ones.

A New York bagel.  We got there late so they had already run out of salt bagels so I got an egg.

JP and Elizabeth suggested that we take the subway up to The Bronx and check out Arthur Avenue.  This was excellent on a number of levels.  By making it to The Bronx we would hit all five boroughs of the city (Manhattan, Staten Island, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens - Queens only because we flew in to JFK) and it was a longer subway ride so we got to experience more public transportation.

It was a bit of a walk from the subway to Arthur Avenue and after exploring that and eating lunch, we walked by The Bronx Zoo and back to Manhattan on the subway.  Much of that subway ride was above ground which was cool to see more of the surrounding area.

We got off the subway at Central Park which we walked around quite a bit.  I can see why city residents enjoy it so much.  There are places in the park where you can't see any of the skyline because of trees and hills and you forget you are in the city.

This huge reservoir is inside the park and has a long running trail around it.

 

While on Arthur Avenue we picked up some cookies at an Italian bakery.  I had to buy a black and white cookie for JP, who seemed to be struggling with race relations in the city.

On our last day in the city JP and Elizabeth were able hang out with us since they both had the day off.  Elizabeth is a medical resident in the 3rd busiest emergency room in the country and her schedule is a bit crazy.  After working a 12 hour night shift she came out with us the next morning to get a donut and check out High Line Park.  Both were awesome.

LJ took this picture because of my love for skywalks.

We walked along the water front, through Greenwich Village, and eventually ended up back on the subway. They rode with us back to JFK just to make sure we didn't get lost.

We had a blast and it was great to hang out with JP and Elizabeth.  A number of people asked us if we thought we could ever live in the city.  Considering how expensive it is to live there, and that we like to live as frugally as possible I'm not sure it would be my first choices of places to live, but for a few years while you are young I think it could be a pretty fun experience.  Though from the picture below I'm a little worried about what it might do to you.