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Rose Tries to Cook: Chicken Adobo Edition
I first encountered Chicken Adobo on of my noontime strolls through Pike Place Market. Wondering where I would procure my lunch, I happened upon a Filipino restaurant called Oriental Mart. One bite of Oriental Mart’s Chicken Adobo and I was hooked! The distinct aroma of the sauce, the fall-off-the-bone tenderness of the meat – I knew I needed to replicate it at home somehow.
Taiwan Food – A Scavenger Hunt
A lot of great food in Taiwan is pretty inexpensive. Therefore, I propose a Pokemon approach, try to catch ’em all. Here is a scavenger hunt list, download a simplified version in hard copy here.
1. Fresh soymilk with fried crullers
I am most nostalgic about breakfast food in Taiwan. On the few trips there when I was a kid, I remember waking up to find my mama already returning from a morning stroll to get Taiwanese breakfast for us, featuring crunchy-flaky fried crullers and fresh warm soymilk, maybe with green onion pancakes.
A hot place to get fresh soy milk in Taipei is: FuHang Dou Jiang (阜杭豆漿). Expect a long long line, but it’ll be even tastier for having waited. I showed up early and was in line from street-level, up a flight of stairs, and into the food court where they were taking orders.
2. Green onion pancakes
Happiness can be so affordable! When I went, a very good green onion pancake at 北方油餅 (Beifang Green Onion Pancake) was 50NT, about $1.66 USD. I got up early on a Sunday morning to catch one of the first ones and skip the line, and I put on my dorky foreign tourist hat to take a video so you could experience in full color video, the making of a 北方油餅 (Beifang Green Onion Pancake) -with egg! Video is at the bottom of this post so as not to disrupt the flow of your reading.
Aerial Yoga: Whut?!
5 things to know before you go
I found myself one Saturday morning going over to Fly Freak Yoga in Saint Paul, MN for an introductory course in aerial yoga. It was a chance to spend quality time with my old friend Renee, and also to get some much needed exercise while visiting family back in Minnesota. When she upped the ante to my yoga suggestion with aerial yoga, I said, “Gee, that sounds scary and a bit crazy,“ and then “Sure! Let’s try it!”
UPWC: Easy Pass to Colonial Creek
UltraPedestrian Wilderness Challenge (UWPC)
Presenting a guest post on trail running by K, of General Tso’s Chicken blog fame.
Stats
5:47:00 Elapsed Time
2 Strava segments (GPS watch was a shame first 20 miles, Switched to iPhone Strava track when watch froze)
1 GPS watch that lost signal about 20 miles in
1 Finish photo
2 liters of water, 2 consumed
7 Clif Bloks, 4 consumed
2 Stroopwafels, 0 consumed
2 Clif Bars, 0 consumed
1 Spam musubi, 1 consumed*
1 Lovely Wife to drive me to Easy Pass (pictured to the right and owner of this blog)
‘Gram
https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE3OTQ1MTc3MDgwMTc1NTQx/
Trip Report
Inspired by friends undertaking longer and longer trail runs and a recent read of Scott Jurek’s North, I identified Easy Pass as a nicely laid out route and excellent introduction to the UltraPedestrian Wilderness Challenge. With a supportive community behind me, I convinced my wife (pictured above, you probably have to scroll back) into a wet camping adventure in the North Cascades and off we went.
Three lessons learned from Saturday’s run:
Gear Review: ISLE Inflatable Stand Up Paddle Board
“I can’t believe I waited so long to get a SUP board!”
– Rose on the Lake last Sunday
I’ve lived within close walking distance of a lake for almost three years. Regrettably, I waited until last month to purchase a stand up paddle board. Thanks to the recommendation of my adventurous friend Yiling Wong, I purchased the ISLE 10’4 Airtech Inflatable Yoga Stand Up Paddle Board (6″ Thick) iSUP Package.
Fishing with Ross Outdoor Adventures
A Review
I Did My Part for Sustainable Fishing and It Was Delicious!
Consider this great experience gift for your next Father’s Day or other family event!
My parents live in Minnesota, and ever since I can remember, they loved to fish. After ten years in the Pacific Northwest, it finally occurred to me to take my Baba [1] fishing here, given the abundant fish and all. I hadn’t gone fishing on my own in about ten years, and didn’t own a boat or equipment, so we hired a guide.
K and I had heard through the grapevine that bass and walleye were “🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥” in Potholes Reservoir and Moses Lake this time of year! We booked with Shelby Ross of Ross Outdoor Adventures last minute. I was glad he made room for us in his schedule on a sunny Saturday, the morning after my father flew into town. He was very responsive by phone and email, so it was less intimidating calling a stranger for a short notice booking. In my Midwestern childhood, I learned that fishing was all about getting up at the crack of dawn to sit quietly on a boat or dock and wait, possibly never catching any fish. So I steeled myself to be happy even just for a day on the water in a boat, rocking gently to and fro…
Also in this Post
Ingredients / Steps / Experience Rating / Walleye Origins / Cook Methods / A Poll
3 Pro-tips for Your Road Trip
– Things We’ve Forgotten, NPS Edition
As folks get rolling out to the U.S. National Parks and the rest of the great outdoors for Summer, here are three things to know plus one bonus idea.
1. Watch for the AM radio sign for the latest updates and tune in!
- This is usually posted as a road sign as you’re driving in toward a national park
- Sometimes the park’s official website will also note it
- In one case, this was invaluable to listen to heading into Utah’s Zion National Parks last Spring, as droves of people were coming in and it informed us of scarce parking and the existence of a shuttle ahead of time. At Moab, it gave us early warning of all the internal campsite closures due to road construction so we knew to look outside the park perimeter.
Friday is Bike Everywhere Day!
Plan your commute accordingly, Friends.
Felt compelled to do this PSA:
Friday May 18th is Bike Everywhere Day!
I’m just going to leave this link for Bike Everywhere Month here …
Check it out for a map of the fun bike stations that will pop up around town on Friday. It’s a fun party atmosphere (er, starting at 6AM), and I’m hoping this year will be even more festive thanks to all those dockless bikes available for riding. By “fun” I mean free stuff like bike lights, chocolate samples (see: Fremont Bridge stop), music and free food. Check it out, Peddler’s Brewing is having a party 4-8 that day! The feature photo for this quick post is from a previous year’s bike celebration in Ballard.
How do YOU plan your commute?
Further Reading:
- Pro-tip Tuesday: How to Fit More Gym Clothes in Your Bag
- Thrifty Thursday: How to Save on Shopping When You Bike
- I learned to bike when I was 18 – an origin story
- Seattle Bike Blog
Shoutout to Tricia who, after a couple years’ convincing, finally talked me into bike commuting back in 2013, and the whole Bike to Work Team buddies I had downtown.* Miss you guys even more than that waffle breakfast we did, sniffle…
*Also: Shelley and Tricia who both biked with me on my first couple rides, and Tesia who helped calculate my [low] odds of accident per trip to allay my risk averse brain.
Stand-up Paddleboard:
Starter Kit Recommendations
As the days yawn longer and air gets warmer, my snowboard powder dreams recede and give way to the echo of hypnotic rhythmic waves of a good lake paddle. Several friends asked me about my SUP (stand up paddle board) equipment, all in this last week, so I thought it was finally time I jot something down for you.
Q: Which paddle board do you have? Thinking of making an investment.
A: Woohoo, SUP! I have this one from Isle Surf & SUP:
ISLE 10’4 Airtech Inflatable Yoga Stand Up Paddle Board (6″ Thick) iSUP Package
This set includes the hand pump and storage bag, both are very handy. I love my SUP board, it has brought me so much joy and tranquility.
That said, here is a size chart you can compare to your height so you get the right fit: SUP 101: Paddle Board Weight & Size Chart (Isle Surf & SUP)
Q: You’re happy with it? Inflatable sounds awful, but look a lot cheaper than the non-inflatable..
A: Yes, very happy! I’ve brought it with me all over the Pacific Northwest since Fall 2016, a feat which would’ve been hard and much less likely with a rigid board since I have a Honda Civic so it would’ve been hard to carry and store. Once inflated to proper PSI, it’s quite rigid and stable. I suspect that a different rigid one would be extra maneuverable, but not nearly so grippy for those nice yoga stretches. To me, inflatable is worth the trade-off for portability. How portable? Well, I even took it on my back on an e-bike to get it from my AirBnB in Bend to paddle the Deschutes River the weekend of the eclipse. Yup.