Seafair 2009 . . Thunder in Seattle

Just Peachy ! ! !

Thank you to "Bon Appetit" for their inspiration for you. All of the recipes for these beautiful items can be found there. These summer days bring mental notes of sweet peaches. Give one of these a try or see which restaurants and caterers are prepping these sweet sensations for you right now!

Peaches, originally from China, are among the most popular fruits grown in the United States. They're the state fruit of Georgia and South Carolina—though not of California, which is the largest producer. There are two main varieties: clingstone (usually canned) and freestone, which is easier to pit. Yellow peaches have a brighter acidity and white peaches have a sweeter, more floral flavor.

Buying Peaches:
Don't be taken in by that come-hither blush—it's simply the part of the fruit that was facing the sun when it was on the tree. The best way to pick a peach is by aroma—the headier and sweeter-smelling the better. Choose firm but slightly soft fruit that smells sweet; pass on peaches with soft spots. Avoid hard or greenish peaches, which were picked too early and likely won't ripen well. Store peaches at room temperature until ripe.

How to use:
Peach skin adds beautiful color when the fruit is baked into pies, tarts, and jams. The skin is good for you, too, especially if you buy organic fruit. But it's fairly easy to remove the skin, provided the peach is very ripe. Start at the stem end, separating a bit of skin from the flesh with a sharp paring knife. Then pull the skin off in strips.

You can also give the peaches a 15- to 30-second dunk in boiling water, then plunge them into a bowl of ice water to prevent cooking. When they're cool enough to handle, the skins will peel off quite easily. A peach discolors quickly when it's cut and exposed to air. To prevent browning, sprinkle the fruit with a little lemon juice.

Storing:
Keep on the counter in a single layer with breathing space until fully ripe. Refrigerate for up to one week; serve at room temperature. Or refrigerate first to delay ripening.

Tribute to Carnegie's in Ballard

Recently we celebrated a special occasion at what turned out to be an incredible venue - Carnegie's in Ballard on Market Street. We knew we could anticipate a good evening, however they exceeded any of our expectations in, atmosphere and cuisine. The service was absolutely impeccable.

If you have not had the good fortune to step into Carnegies, do yourself this favor and put them on your list of "must dos". For those of you familiar with Ballard, you will recognize it immediately as the 100 plus year old building given to the City by Carnegies as a library. Over the years, it has been home to various types of businesses and currently the grandnous of the main floor is both a full service restaurant as well as a venue you can reserve for a special event. This is one of those venues that can be setup for so many types of arrangements, as it has three main distinct areas that work well together as one total venue, or can be setup for individual requirements. We had our event in the Eastroom, while the Westroom catered to their restaurant patrons. We found one exceptional compliment to Carnegie's, as at no time were we ever aware of their restaurant patrons, due to the uniqueness of the room setups and the beautiful curved glass walls.
The food itself was exceptional from the Coq Au Vin, to the Rack of Lamb Dijonaise. Bon Appetit!

Ideas Worth a Second Look. . . .

Conceived in 1998, by Lisa Craig Gautier and her husband, Patrice Olivier Gautier (Senior Director, iTunes Music Store, Apple, Inc.) this nonprofit concentrates on manmade surplus, natural surplus and eco-educational programs. The results are worthwhile, common sensical and often enchanting. Matter of Trust is collaborating with thousands of salons throughout the US and abroad, that donate their hair clippings to soak up oil spills. Last year over 2,600 oil spills occurred in the world. They weren't all are high profile, but most had an impact on the environment.

LavishGiving.com is an online gift retailer that donates 20% of all purchases of USD 100 or more to a charity of the buyer's choice. Which allows them to be generous twice: once when giving the gifts they purchased, and a second time when donating 20% of their value to a favourite charity.

Lacoste joins “Save Your Logo” campaign to protect crocodiles. Brooks Brothers has the golden fleece sheep, Ralph Lauren has a polo pony, and Penguin’s got, well, a penguin–but the most recognized animal logo in fashion may very well be Lacoste’s crocodile. The company has just joined the “Save Your Logo” campaign, started by the Global Environmental Facility, the World Bank, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which allows private companies to contribute to the preservation of animal life by protecting the animal that represents their logo.

Architectural Fun

Whispy lines, curvaceous ceilings, and geometric adhesions - all used in architecture to surround you with subtle comfort, style and impeccable design. There are just not enough adjectives to describe the benefits to all of us in good architecture. We are surrounded by it every day, in every way, and everywhere, yet we tend to take it all for granted. It is impossible to tap even a microscopic peek at examples, so let us just say thank you, to all of you who work in and around this business, you fill our world with magnificence and we are in awe. . . . .

Turn Up The Heat

Click here for more details about this event!

More about the WSCFF Burn Foundation: The WSCFF Burn Foundation was founded in 1987 and is a 501(c)(3) charity to provide funding for burn research and burn prevention education. The WSCFF Burn Foundation is a separate organization from the WSCFF Benevolent Fund and operates as an independent registered charity. The foundation is operated solely by Washington State professional firefighters.

Funding is primarily raised by sales of an annual fire fighters calendar. Several stores throughout Washington State carry the calendar.

Donations from the foundation are then disbursed via grants after approval from the board of trustees. If you need information on WSCFF Burn Foundation grants, please contact them.

Sandpoint Idaho . . you will simply love it!

Staycations are the perfect answer for all of us to participate in the activities right in our region. This week we wanted to highlight, Sandpoint Idaho. If you have not had a chance yet to spend some summer or winter days in this area, you have missed a large hunk of beautiful summer days and nights and incredible winters. This is where skiing gets serious. Fancy yourself a skier? Then you need to fancy a trip to Schweitzer Mountain to see what powder snow really looks and feels like.

Sandpoint, in the northern tip of Idaho, is no ordinary vacation destination. Located on magnificent 43-mile-long Lake Pend Oreille, surrounded by the Selkirk and Cabinet mountains, and with Schweitzer Mountain ski resort minutes away, Sandpoint is blessed with outstanding attractions. The town itself is home to a thriving arts community, the historic Panida Theater, a busy events schedule, a plethora of excellent restaurants, fine hotels. Coming events for this summer include June 18th - Summer Sampler - Taste the cuisine of Sandpoint's finest restaurants. June 27th - Schweitzer Summer Celebration. July 5th - and following on each Saturday through July 26th - Concerts on the Lawn. The Sandpoint Wooden Boat Festival is July 9 - 12th. Many more activities are lined up in July and August - with one of the highlights being the Festival at Sandpoint from August 6 - 16th. One of the biggest events is their Octoberfest - so jot that down for October 2009.

Setting The Example

We are doing it! Take a look below - see one or more things you use on a regular basis? If you do, then give yourself a pat on the back. YOU are turing green in a good way and everyone should be following your example. There are so many little ways we are moving in the right direction. Whether you are a global warming advocate or maybe not, green is always a good color and someplace on that color wheel in your mind, it should be one of your favorite colors permanently.

Let's face it, living in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, Hawaii and Alaska, well, do we really need to say more? We already have an edge, we just need to make sure we keep it. Congratulations everyone. Keep it up. If you have any great green products or ideas, we would love to hear from you and feature you on our blog.

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July from the banquetevent.com family to yours.