Kayak Camping on another Island was a new experience for me. And yes, I would do it again and explore some more. I paddle boarded to Blake Island with 3 girlfriends on a ladies trip from the Southworth side 2 years ago. After waiting for the ferry on the Southworth side for awhile I decided that I wanted to try from West seattle.  On that trip we had used bins and/or dry bags and bungeed them to my board. We were able to bring a lot of gear on the kayaks, like a tent and a stove. Kayak camping felt more like car camping, only you have to paddle 6 miles to get to Blake Island from Lowman Beach to West Seattle. It was great because we didn't have to worry about the ferry rides and going to Southworth. Yes, it was a bit longer this time (6 miles instead of 5). It was also a bit more of a shoulder and upper body workout than paddle boarding, which is more of a core and back. We went with one other couple from Lowman and another couple came from Bainbridge. 

You know that saying, show me your friends and I'll show you who you are...Well it's been true for me. Since HS to now, (I just interviewed my HS friend on my podcast) and these are my friends now!. I love my community, both of these ladies told me about this ride and I signed up for it... the Kitsap Color Classic put on by Cascade Bicycle Club,) I love it when my community comes together like that! Our wonderful friend housed us on the other side of the peninsula so we didn't have to worry about catching the ferried that morning of the race.
We all need friend like these. Who push us to our fitness limit and bike along with you! More please!
A big shout out to you ladies.. Angelica and Amy and thank you Michele and Andrew for taking care of us!

Serves 6

My daughter and I had some fun preparing this chicken and vegetable dish together- I love one-pan meals. It came together beautifully, and easily made enough to have for lunch the next day.

Ingredients for Chicken:

• 4 1/4 lb whole chicken
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper

Ingredients for Flavored Butter:

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tbsp olive oil, plus more to drizzle
• 1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tbsp lemon juice 
• 1 tsp salt, plus more for vegetables
• 1/8 tsp black pepper

Ingredients for Vegetables:

• 2 lbs medium red potatoes
• 3 medium carrots
• 8 oz Brussels sprouts

Instructions:
1. Place chicken breast-side down with the wings/ neck facing towards you. To remove the spine, use kitchen shears to cut through the ribs right next to the spine along both sides. Open rib cage and use a heavy knife to score down the sternum. This will help pop out the breast bone and flatten chicken. Season inside the chicken with 1/2 tsp salt and a pinch of black pepper.

2. Flip the chicken over, breast side up, and set on parchment-lined, rimmed baking half sheet. Using the palm of your hand, push firmly over the breast bone, forcing the chicken to lay completely flat. Use your thumbs to separate the skin from the meat over breast, thigh and drumstick areas.

3. Preheat oven to 425˚F. In a small mixing bowl, combine the flavored butter ingredients. Mash with fork for a couple of minutes until the lemon juice is mostly incorporated into the butter. Spread 2/3 of mixture under the chicken skin and and dot/spread remaining butter all over chicken.

4. Prepare vegetables- scrub the potatoes and cut them into quarters. Peel the carrots and cut them into quarters. Trim the Brussels sprouts and cut them in half.

5. Place prepared vegetables all around the chicken and drizzle everything with olive oil. Sprinkle chicken and vegetables generously with salt and black pepper.

6. Bake uncovered at 425˚F for 45 min or until instant read thermometer reads 160˚F when inserted into thickest part of chicken breast. Remove from oven and rest uncovered for 10 minutes on a cutting board before serving.

Burritos with Black Beans & Salsa Verde
With a twist- I used turkey meat to put into along with the beans and vegetables for filling.
SERVES 12

This is not a difficult meal to make, but it does require some prep work. Since you can make so many at once, it is fun to cook this with friends. Any leftovers can easily be frozen for a quick meal later.

First, you will prepare the toppings and filling, then you will assemble the burritos and put them in the oven. You can pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees before you start.

1. Pickle the onions

• 1 red onion, halved and very thinly sliced 
• Juice of 1 lime 
• A pinch of flaky sea salt

Add the red onion to a small bowl with the lime juice a pinch of sea salt, then massage together with your hands until they start to become a bright pink color. Put to one side to lightly pickle while you prep the other ingredients.

2. Make the Mexican Salsa Verde

• 1/4 cup feta or vegan-style feta cheese
  
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, leaves picked
• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil zest and juice of 1 lime
• 1 green chili
• 1/4 cup of nonfat Greek yogurt 

Combine ingredients into a food processor with the rest of the ingredients and blitz until you have a deep green, slightly creamy salsa. Season to taste, then set aside for serving. 

3. Prepare the filling
BLACK BEANS:

• 2 x 15-ounce/400 g cans of black beans (or 3 cups/ 1¼ pounds/500 g home-cooked beans)
  
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  
• 1/2 bunch cilantro- stalks and leaves chopped
  
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 green chili, finely chopped
• Olive oil

Cover the bottom of a pan with olive oil over medium heat. Add the beans, followed by the other ingredients, and stir until fragrant and well-combined.

TACO MEAT:

• 1 1/4 lbs of meat of your choice 
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 2 cloves of garlic 
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tbsp chile powder 
• 1 tsp each of garlic power, onion power, cumin, paprika 
• 1 tsp salt

Sauté onions in olive oil over medium heat until translucent, then add garlic until fragrant, about 2 min. Add the meat, cook through on med-high heat, then add seasonings. Remove the meat from the pan and cook the vegetables next.

VEGGIES: use whatever you have on hand. I used the following, but broccoli, Brussel sprouts, and celery also work well.

• Zucchini
• Carrots
• Yellow peppers
• Carrots

Chop vegetables. Sauté over medium high heat with 1 tbsp of olive oil until tender. Salt and pepper to taste. Then set aside.

4. Assemble the burritos

• ​12 or more flour or whole wheat tortillas

I warmed up the tortillas with a little olive oil to make them soft and easy to wrap.
Add 3/4 cup filling to each tortilla and top with salsa. Line them up on a baking tray. Spray with olive oil.

5. Cook and serve
Put your trays of burritos in the oven for about 10 on 400 degrees.
Serve the burritos while they are warm, topped with salsa verde, pickled red onions, thinly sliced radish, a squeeze of lime juice, cilantro, and a crumble of the feta cheese.

To freeze, individually wrap with parchment paper and foil.