This is an exciting portion of the sports calendar for me, and probably very few other people. Two of my favorite sports are soccer and college baseball, and the next few weeks will be chock-full of both. With the European Championships starting this weekend in Austria and Switzerland, the international soccer community will enjoy its finest competition outside of the World Cup.College baseball’s 64-team regional tournament started this morning and will culminate with the eight-team College World Series in Omaha, Neb. June 14-25.International soccer and college baseball are not the most publicized of sports, but they are definitely the most exciting. ESPN is starting to get the message, and will be televising the majority of both events on its family of networks. 

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I’ve been wanting to make brownies for a couple of weeks, but every time I get home I’m hungry for real food. Thanks to leftover Greek turkey burgers, I had time and energy to make brownies last night. My future brother-in-law associates brownies with funerals. I associate brownies with, well, chocolate. The chocolatier the better.

I also really like mint, so a couple of years ago, when I was perusing Gourmet magazine and found a recipe for Grashopper Squares, I knew I had to make them. They were really good and I got requests from people in the office for the recipe. So last night when I was trying to decide on a brownie recipe, I went to epicurious.com to find it. I had a fun time making them with Brian’s help telling me the ingredient specifics. Instead of making the fillings and ganache and stuff, I decided just to melt chocolate on top of the brownies and make a minty cream cheese frosting. Who doesn’t like cream cheese frosting?

About 10 minutes after the pan had been taken from the oven, my brother walked in the door and begged me to scoop him some hot brownie goo he could eat before heading home, and when I woke up this morning, one row was already missing from the pan. That’s a good sign.

Gooey Brownies

Adapted from Gourmet, Dec. 2005

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter
23 oz (two bags) chocolate chips, divided (preferably Ghirardelli 60 % cocoa)
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking pan with foil. Butter foil.
Melt butter and one bag chocolate chips with brown sugar in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Remove from heat. Combine eggs and vanilla. Temper egg and vanilla mixture by adding a bit of the chocolate sauce and whisking. Whisk egg mixture into the rest of the chocolate mixture. Whisk in flour, cocoa, and salt until just combined.
Spread batter evenly in baking pan and bake until set and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs adhering, about 20 minutes. Spread the rest of the chocolate chips on top of the brownies and let set a few minutes for chocolate to melt. Once melted, spread it evenly. Cool completely. Top with piped Minty Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows).

Minty Cream Cheese Frosting

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 ounce peppermint schnapps
2 drops peppermint extract

Whisk all ingredients together and pipe over brownies.

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My bad! “Sex and The City” will be playing at Liberty Cinema in Wenatchee. The first showing is at 4:45 p.m. I’ll be at the 7:45 showing. See you there!

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It’s almost June, which means that it’s time to break out the blank tapes — sorry, CD-Rs — and compile your favorite summer tunes onto one easy-to-transport device. Sure, summer doesn’t officially begin until June 20, but (clearly) the sun isn’t waiting around to take its cue.

When I think of summery music, more often than not, I start to remember the tunes from “97.3 KBSG! — Seattle” (yes the jingle did just play in my head) that I grew up listening to when I lived in Redmond. Who can resist the light-hearted fun of a Buddy Holly or Monkees song on a hot summer day? Songs like that were made to be heard while outside catching some rays, sipping on a soda beverage and chomping down burgers. Just thinking about it makes me want to leave the office right now to go chill in the park with sandals and a single-scoop ice cream cone (any more and I’ll make a mess, I guarantee it) blasting “Sugar Shack” by Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs. … So, I’m sort of an overgrown eight-year-old, but my stuffed panda Squish prefers me that way. But I digress …

The problem here is that there are too many good songs from that era to fit onto one tape, or even two for that matter. Besides that, what could I include that isn’t already predictable? As much as I want to make a mix that doesn’t exclude Mungo Jerry’s “In the Summertime,” I think it’s about time I gave the summer mixed tape a makeover with some more modern tracks or, at the very least, some lesser-used gems (I couldn’t live with myself if I left off Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s 1975 release, “Hey You,” even if it is technically an oldie) that embody the season’s mood rather than make direct references to it. For good measure, I’ll divide a track list between two discs (what, you didn’t think I’d actually use an audiocassette, did you?): Summer Days and Summer Nights.

SUMMER DAYS
1. “Hey You” by Bachman-Turner Overdrive
2. “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire
3. “You May Be Right” by Billy Joel
4. “Higher Ground” by Stevie Wonder
5. “Island in the Sun” by Weezer
6. “Where It’s At” by Beck
7. “Girlfriend” by Harry Nilsson
8. “San Francisco Bay Blues” by Eric Clapton
9. “I See Love” by Keb’ Mo’
10. “Born on the Bayou” by Creedence Clearwater Revival
11. “Precious Time” by Van Morrison
12. “The Sweet Escape” by Gwen Stefani
13. “Callin’ Out” by Lyrics Born
14. “A Sweet Summer’s Night on Hammer Hill” by Jens Lekman
15. “La Grange” by ZZ Top
16. “Just Like Heaven” by the Cure
17. “Here Comes My Baby” by the Tremeloes
18. “Drift Away” by Dobie Gray

SUMMER NIGHTS
1. “Feeling Good” by Michael Bublé
2. “Lullaby” by Wang Chung
3. “Baby I Love Your Way” by Peter Frampton
4. “Mexico” by James Taylor
5. “Mud on the Tires” by Brad Paisley
6. “One of these Nights” by the Eagles
7. “Such a Night” by Dr. John
8. “Shadow Dancing” by Andy Gibb
9. “Minor Swing” by John Jorgenson
10. “On the Road Again” by Katie Melua
11. “Sinkin’ Soon” by Norah Jones
12. “Lucky” by Jason Mraz (featuring Colbie Caillat)
13. “Marry Me” by Martin Sexton
14. “Family Tree” by Ben Kweller
15. “Dusty Road” by Missy Higgins
16. “1000 Miles Per Hour” by Ok Go
17. “A Wink and a Smile” by Harry Connick Jr.
18. “American Pie” by Don McLean

On these discs, I’ve tried to cover a lot of ground with genre. Summer Days contains some of the more upbeat, danceable tracks for a high energy day in the sunshine. Summer Nights moves into the lazier, ambling tracks, perfect for a drive during twilight with the windows down and the volume up. Both CDs are full of good tunes to sing along to, as well. I’ve highlighted all my special favorites in blue. Some of these tunes are covers; for some reason or another, I felt they fit better here than the original versions.

What, no Jimmy Buffett? you say? How could I have left off the Offspring or System of a Down? I want my Missy Elliot! you demand. I know there are plenty more songs that could have worked well on these mixes, but with so many songs in the world, I just went with my gut … well, and the “top of my head,” as they say. It’s not an essential mix of summer songs (far from it, to be honest); just a very good one, if I do say so myself. Of course, I’m just trying to put the idea in your heads. If you don’t like mine, make your own. Whatever helps you enjoy the season.

Tips on making a mixed CD:
Pick a theme. Try not to become too specific with your themes. Try to keep them broad so you leave yourself with a lot of good song options. A Summer theme works well for this. You could go so far as to do one for Summer Love, or Summer Drives, Summer Nostalgia, etc. But try to stay away from themes such as Songs With My Name in Them. Besides really narrowing your options, you’re going to end up resorting to including songs that you don’t really want to listen to. Which leads me to my next tip …
Omit songs you don’t like. Should go without saying, but some people will go to any length to stick to a theme. Really, don’t do this. Ultimately, you’ll just end up skipping it every time you listen. And even if you don’t skip it, it will soil the experience.
No repeats. Maybe it’s just me, but when I make a mixed tape, I don’t like to repeat artists. Usually, multiple songs by the same artist fit into the same theme, so it’s hard to make a choice, but just pick one. That’s all you need to get your point across. It’s painful for me to accept that one Led Zeppelin song is enough, but in this case, it probably is.
Think of your listeners. More often than not, you’re making this CD to play with friends — at a party, on a road trip, etc. — so make sure to pick songs everyone will like, or at least tolerate. (No matter how much you love “Sunshine Day” by the Brady Bunch, and by “you” I mean “I,” it’s probably not going to be a crowd pleaser.) That’s why I keep some music in my library that I don’t normally want to listen to. It comes in handy for projects like this.

(As always, all the songs I mention are available at the iTunes store for 99 cents each.)

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I’m glad to see a new study which concludes that extra treatment doesn’t always mean better care, particularly at the end of one’s life. Released Thursday, the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care study looked at 4 million patients (more…)

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Tomorrow (Friday) is the opening of “Sex and The City” in theaters across the country and here in the valley it will be playing at Columbia Cinema (East Wenatchee). Apparently, there’s a bit of a frenzy around the event and women everywhere are making it a full-fledged girls’-night-out. I’ll be there along with a few gal pals (insert cringe) to see if the movie lives up to all of our expectations. And, let’s be honest, it’s a good excuse to dress up a little. If you’re there and dressed for the occasion, expect an impromptu fashion shoot!

(Photo courtesy of sify.com)

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Sometimes blogging about food just doesn’t cut it. I often have to supplement my food thoughts and words with food talk or virtual food talk. Such was the case yesterday when World photographer Kathryn Stevens and I were communicating over iChat, the interoffice instant messaging program. Here’s what went down:

Me: what should i eat?

Kathryn: hmmm…I had the best thing on Monday night.

Me: what????

Kathryn: Greek turkey burgers. They are SOOOO good and good for you.

Me: where how when?

Kathryn: I cheat quite a bit b/c I forget the original recipe.

Me: that’s great!

Kathryn: I use turkey meat and add pressed garlic, fresh mint, greek seasoning, salt, pepper and form the patties. Then, to make tzatziki sauce i use plain non-fat yogurt with more greek seasoning, cucumber, salt and garlic salt. This time I cooked the patties in a skillet with olive oil and garlic and it was MUCH better b/c it is the turkey meat, but in the past I’ve just cooked it on the Foreman.

Kathryn: Then of course you add feta and tomato and cucumber for garnish.

Me: that wounds fantastic [Yes, I wrote “wounds” instead of “sounds.” I am pretty sloppy over iChat.]

Kathryn: I put it on a wheat bun.

Kathryn: Oh my gosh, I LOVE IT.

Kathryn: Especially during the summer months.

So, I e-mailed myself the chat in order to remember what goes in the burgers, wrote a shopping list in my phone, headed to the grocery store and made the burgers. They really were “SOOOO good.” This is recipe is a keeper.

Because I’m cheap and was pretty sure I had all the spices in my cupboard, I made my own Greek seasoning. I also wanted to use some of my garden’s bounty so I put fresh spinach on my burger and added green onions to the tzatziki sauce. I made a few other changes and additions. Here’s my adapted recipe thanks to Kathryn.

Recipes

Kathryn’s Greek Turkey Burgers

1 pound ground turkey

1/4 cup chopped mint

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 clove minced garlic

2 teaspoons Greek seasoning (recipe follows)

Salt and pepper to season

2 tablespoons olive oil

Tzatziki sauce (recipe follows)

Feta cheese

Sliced tomatoes

Combine turkey, mint, parsley, garlic and Greek seasoning until just combined. Divide into quarters and form into patties to fit your hamburger buns. Season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook patties until browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes on each side, turning once.

Spread tzatziki sauce on buns, add turkey burger patty, feta cheese, tomato and whatever else you want.

Greek Seasoning

1 Teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion salt

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine. Set aside

Tzatziki Sauce

6 ounces plain yogurt

6 ounces Greek (or strained) yogurt

3/4 cup diced cucumber, squeezed of excess water

2 cloves minced garlic

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup diced green onion

2 teaspoons Greek seasoning

Mix all ingredients and let sit at least 1 hour to let flavors meld. Add salt and pepper to taste.

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I’ve been working on a project that maps out the riverfront property in Wenatchee where development is currently taking place or is expected to take place in the coming years. As part of the project I made a trip over to the Chelan County Assessor’s Office to get some information on property ownership and I was surprised to see some of the cool technology the folks over there use to do their jobs.

I forget the name of the mapping software that is used at the Assessor’s Office but it is really, really neat and really, really detailed. Oh, and it is really, really complicated too.

How detailed and complicated is it? It makes Google Earth look like a simple application created by a preschooler.

While it is not the exact same software the Assessor’s Office uses, you too can play around with mapping tools on the computer and look at who owns what in Chelan County and how much it is worth. Just go to this Web site and click on “Special Interess MapOptix” on the top right side of the page. It’s some pretty interesting stuff.

One word of caution though, I don’t think the application will work on a Mac because I couldn’t get it to work properly at my desk computer, which is a Mac. However, I went to a PC nearby in the newsroom and it worked just fine.

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My trip to Uwajimaya still has me thinking about Japanese food.

When I went to Japan two years ago with the Wenatchee Valley Misawa Sister City delegation I got to stay with a family that lived in the Sabishiro Beach area of Misawa in northern Japan. On one of my three days with them, they took me to Hachinohe City. It’s a large port city south of Misawa.

We did three pretty fantastic things in Hachinohe City. First they took me to a shrine, one of the most serene places I’ve been in the world, then we went on a boat ride tour of the harbor for the sole purpose of feeding gulls shrimp chips and then we went to the fish market. I was so excited to be there. We didn’t have a lot of time and I was pretty sure I would have been unable to get some of the most interesting food items past customs the next day. However, I got to ogle a $90 crab, sample garlic flavored chips, snack on dried squid pieces and, best of all, I got to try takoyaki.

We were walking by the stand with the man making the snacks and I asked what it was. Instead of trying to explain, my host family bought me a container of the piping hot octopus balls. Takoyaki is, more or less, octopus pieces suspended in a ball of savory pancake-type batter. Then, it’s topped off with condiments like bonito, mayonnaise and some sort of Japanese-style barbecue sauce. I can taste it now. We had to wait for them to cool and then, flavor explosion. My host father clearly liked them but was trying to be nice and let me eat all six of them. I shared.

Now I’ll share with you. Here’s a video by an Italian blogger I can only assume is living in Japan. My Italian is poor. Enjoy the music and try not to let it get stuck in your head.

I was also reminded of takoyaki while browsing through a Williams Sonoma catalog a month or so ago. The company was selling a Danish pancake pan that looked eerily similar to a takoyaki pan. There’s got to be some sort of connection. One day I’ll get a pan try to make them.

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Increasingly, health care reporters are getting and reporting national comparisons of health care systems. These comparisons attempt to show the quality of care at different hospitals, doctors and clinics. I’ve checked out two such comparisons (more…)

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