Obiwan_k's space

Well my parents came for a much anticipated visit.  We had TONS of fun. They brought thier camper so I finally got to take Trish and Maddie camping in the local National Parks (Washington has 5 National Parks/Recreation areas).  I think Trish was surprised at how much fun she had camping.  Previously she had only gone camping with me a couple of times in my tent....let's just say Trish is not much for camping in a tent.  (Not that I blame her, lets just say that the older I get the more I find sleeping on the ground.....less comfortable)  Anyway I posted a few photos of their/our adventures.  One of the great things about living in WA is the great natural environments you can visit.  Trish enjoyed herself so much that she decided to get (or at least let me get) a camper for ourselves!!!!  Now we can easily enjoy all the great parks in WA.   Next stop will be Wallace Falls I think.  Anyway enjoy the photos and email me (or leave a comment) if you have any questions.

Well I added a new album to the blog.  Most of the photos were taken at the 26th Annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.  I like to go every year just so I can take some photos.  I think Maddie and Trish look great next to the flowers.  Now if I could just teach one of my in-laws how to take and fram a decent photo perhaps I could get a really great family portrait.  Oh well, maybe next year. Enjoy the pics

Start with a whole salmon, head on, and have the fishmonger remove the scales. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.  Score the salmon a few times about every 3 inches. Take 4-5 cloves of garlic (or more if you are using a large salmon) and cut them into large chunks mine were about 1/4 inch by 1 inch thick cuts.  Stuff the body cavity with FRESH rosemary (lots, I used two large sticks)  and most of the garlic.  You don't have to chop the rosemary or anything, just as long as the sticks of rosemary fit in the cavity.  Stuff small sprigs of rosemary and the rest of the garlic in the scores you made in the body. Do not over stuff the scores, only one piece of garlic and one small sprig of rosemary per score.  If you are using a larger salmon you can increase this accordingly. I made a "4-person" salmon, about 20" long or about 7 lbs.  Take 2 large pieces of Foil, spray them with non-stick on one side each.   Place the salmon on one of the pieces (spray side up) and then place the second piece over the salmon (spray side down). Tightly crimp the two pieces of foil together to make a sealed close fitting "tent" around the salmon. Place the salmon on a cookie sheet and back in the oven.  Backing times depend on how you like your salmon, if you like your salmon med-rare bake it till the internal temp at the thickest part of the fish is 150 degrees (about 40 min probably), 160 = Med, 170 = med well, 180 = well, 190 = very well. If you have a good seal on the foil, all the juices will stay trapped and steam the salmon as it bakes also infusing the meat with the garlic and rosemary flavor.  When it is done, carefully remove the foil.  Hopefully the skin will remain intact and you can transfer the salmon to a platter and garnish for presentation.  The salmon will be very delicate, so don't worry if you mar it.  Once on a platter, serve with a large metal spoon. The meat should be so tender that if you gently cut with the spoon the bones will stay attached the spine and you can gently slide the meat right off the bones.  If the head makes you self conscience, you can have it removed by the fishmonger, I personally think the presentation is better with the head on.  Plus the best bits of the fish are in the head (i.e. the cheeks). 

Hey everybody,  Take a look at the photos I took at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle this weekend.  They have a butterfly house in there with a Koi pond, I think I got some pretty good shots of the butterflies.  Also make sure you see my fearless daughter petting a cockroach and Millipede. (Much to her mother's chagrin and dismay  ) We had to (literally) drag her from that cockroach she liked it so much.  Also, If you havn't been to the site in a whiler, make sure to check out the previous two photo albums with photos from Feb and March as well. I should also mention that I added photos to the "Friday at the Beach" album last week, so you may want to double check that album if you saw it prior to the addition.

I had to add a few pictures to the previous album from this weekend. We went to the zoo again and I got some really nice pictures of Maddie at the Zoomazium.  Check them out.  Also I got a cute pic of Maddie and Sheriff together.