S'mores and more

Hold your breaths, folks: I've worked on my bucket list this weekend, in spite of the almost unbearable heat. Three friends and I started Saturday with brunch at cozy Cafe Flora—highly revered among the local vegetarian/vegan community, and well worth the generous praise. After initial conferring regarding which of the crowded parks we should head out to afterwards, followed by a wild-goose chase for an available, grill-friendly spot, we eventually found the perfect place in the shade under a tree in Carkeek Park.

Why 'grill-friendly' on such a hot day, you ask? Because we were making s'mores, of course! I'm well aware that s'more-making is a culinary art often practiced during colder, darker times, but if this girl was to try the tasty (?) treat before leaving its country of origin, then this was the time.

The Swedes out there may not be familiar with the recipe—I know I wasn't. You need: graham crackers, marshmallows, chocolate, and a fire.

Traditionally, people use Hershey's rather than fancy chocolate, but we aimed a little higher. Also, we chose 'giant roasters'—not the most brilliant decision, perhaps, but it made eating the goodies way more fun (especially for the 25% of us with beards, and, in effect, even more so for the 75% without).

In short: marshmallows were put on sticks and roasted over the fire. As soon as the fluffy chunks got nice and golden they were transferred to a graham cracker that had been prepared with a respectably sized piece of chocolate; finally, a second cracker was placed on top.

Ta-daa!

Beautiful! Just beautiful. I feel like there has to be a pastry chef in me, just waiting to get out. It's nice to have a second career to fall back on, should this 'science' thing not work out.

Looks aside, the result was a success: the hot, gooey marshmallow melted the chocolate, and the whole thing was quickly eaten, accompanied by muffled expressions of general approval and mouthfuls of giggles.

I may have had two of these monsters. I may also have had three. (Go big or go home, folks!)

It took some concentration, and then... NOM!

This concludes the edible portion of my bucket list, which included a twinkie, banana cream pie, and s'mores. One of the items kind of pushed the definition of the word 'edible'—I leave it up to you to figure out which one I'm referring to.

As if this wasn't enough action for one weekend, I went to Portland on Sunday with Emerald City Supporters to cheer for Sounders as they took on Timbers at Providence Park. Beer, jello shots and chanting throughout the entire three-hour bus ride—a fun trip indeed, even if the game ended quite sadly with 4–1 to the hosting team. (The return trip was somewhat mopier.) My first away game, still! Big up to Isaac who made it happen.