Gizmo & Sammy

Each February we know its President’s weekend when we see Richard and Brigitte arrive. They have been coming to the Tucker House for the past 20 years, and knew the property when the Inn was the single Victorian house owned by Clarence and his wife Marie Tucker.  We now refer to it as the Lower  [...]

The Fluke: A Valentine’s Gift to the Town

On Valentine’s Day, a small crowd gathered to dedicate ‘The Fluke’, the Town of Friday Harbor’s first public art piece, a polished aluminum whale tail sculpture weighing 180 pounds. This life-size statue measuring 12 feet across and 4 feet high, is installed on the corner of A and First street, a couple of blocks from [...]

Whale You Be My Valentine?

While many celebrated with roses and chocolate, San Juan Islanders celebrated their love of whales. On Valentine’s Day, the Town of Friday Harbor dedicated its first public art piece, “The Fluke” and just a few blocks away, the Whale Museum had a grand reopening after a 6 week closure to mount two new exhibits. The [...]

Dodie Gann’s Gift to the Island

I am never amazed at the shear generosity of our island community. Some residents give tirelessly with their time, others with ample means help improve our quality of life by endowing public projects, while others give their soul. San Juan Island said good bye to a remarkable legend this past December. Dodie Gann (1922-2012) a [...]

Lemon Bavarian Cream

  Lemon Bavarian Cream  1/2 tsp. lemon oil 1 ½ c. whole milk 1/3 c. sugar 1 Tbsp. limoncello 5 egg yolks 1 envelope (about 1 tablespoon) unflavored gelatin 2 c. well chilled heavy cream plus ¼ c. confection sugar Candied lemon zest for garnish Directions: 1. In a small saucepan stir together the milk [...]

Blueberry Cheesecake Bites

Blueberry Cheesecake Bites Make mini cheese cakes in removable spring form pans or cup cake pans with liner.  Peel the paper liner off before plating and garnish with blueberry sauce. Crust:  Crushed Graham Crackers with melted butter or a single vanilla wafer for each cheesecake Cheesecake: 1 – 8 oz cream cheese, softened at room [...]

Oreo Cookie Bars

Oreo Cookie Bars Serves 12 ½ c. butter ¾ c. oreo cookies, broken into pieces ¾ c. famous wafers or graham crackers, ground 1 tsp. cinnamon (optional) 1 tsp. vanilla (optional) 4 oz. sweetened condensed milk 16 oz. semi-sweet chocolate morsels 3 ½ oz. flaked coconut 1 c. chopped nuts or chocolate nibs Preheat oven [...]

Lemon Desserts Using Lemon Curd

Lemon Desserts Using Lemon Curd for a Large Party Lemon Curd Tart with Fresh Raspberries Lemon Curd Tart with Whipped Cream Lemon Parfait in Champagne Flute with Blueberries & Whipped Cream Lemon Trifle – Coconut Pound Cake, Whipped Cream, Berries Lemon Curd 1/3 cup lemon juice 2 large eggs 1 egg yolk 1/2 cup sugar [...]

Sweetened Strawberries for Strawberry Shortcake

Sweetened Strawberries for Strawberry Shortcake Shortcakes Makes 8 Servings 2 cups All-purpose flour 3 Tbsp sugar 1 Tbsp baking powder ½ tsp finely ground sea salt 8 Tbsp European style unsalted butter 1 large egg ½ c. heavy cream 2 Tbsp rice flour for rolling shortcakes Glaze: 1 large egg white 2 Tbsp raw sugar [...]

Shrimp Cobb Salad

Ingredients 1 head Bibb lettuce, cleaned ¼# Bacon, diced and cooked until crispy 4, eggs, hard boiled, sliced 1 avocado 4 oz. Fourme D’ambert or other mild molded blue cheese (Gorgonzola, Maytag Blue, Stilton) 20 black olives 1# shrimp, cleaned and deveined Dijon Sherry Vinaigrette (recipe below) Dijon Sherry Vinaigrette 2 Tbsp. shallots, diced ½ [...]

How to Make Salad Shrimp From Uncooked Shrimp

Mexican Crab Salad

  Ingredients: 1# Dungeness or Maryland Blue Crab (backfin or lump, cooked and picked) 4 fresh flour tortillas Avocado 1 corn tortilla, julienned, fried and salted for garnish Lime 1 Roma (plum) tomato, seeds removed and diced Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette (see recipe below) Black Beans (see recipe below) Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette 2 tsp. Dijon mustard 2 [...]

Fresh Herbed Shrimp Salad

14. Fresh Herbed Shrimp Salad (on a bed of herbed Israel couscous finished off with Tzatziki) 1# shrimp, peeled, deveined and cleaned 3 Tbsp. olive oil 1 Tbsp. parsley, chopped 1 Tbsp. tarragon, chopped 1 Tbsp. mint, chopped 1 tsp. thyme, chopped 4 Tbsp. pine nuts, roasted 4 Tbsp. kalamata olives 12 cherry tomatoes, roasted [...]

Fluke By the Ferry?

Islanders are rallying to collect money to install a beautiful sculpture of a whale fluke at the top of the ferry landing. Led by consummate volunteer Lori Stokes, the project needs to raise $25,000 to purchase the Micajah Bienvenu sculpture and install it on the huge rock at the corner of 1st and A, across [...]

Scoping Hearings Determine Environmental Impact Statement

Scoping hearings are now being held in our area regarding the Gateway Pacific Terminal. Earlier we wrote about the proposed project to mine coal in Montana, transport it across the country by train to Bellingham, build a terminal there to receive the coal and load it onto the world’s largest tankers that would pass through [...]

Visits From Descendants

                      In October we were honored with visits from two descendants of island pioneers. Jerry Hemphill, who we wrote about in our February 2012 Inn Newsletter, actually stayed with us in the original 1898 Tucker House, what we call the Lower Tucker House. Jerry’s father [...]

Mango & Crab Meat Salad

Ingredients Basic Aioli (recipe below) Mango – flesh sliced in wedges 1/2# Dungeness or Maryland Blue Crab (backfin or lump; cooked and picked) 1 tsp. tarragon, chopped (reserve sprig for garnish) 2 Tbsp. red pepper, diced (for garnish) English cucumber cut into 1 inch boats – seeds removed (for appetizer salad) 1 c. arugula Lemon [...]

New Restaurant in Friday Harbor

Today I was able to escape the office to try out the newest restaurant in town, Tia’s Tacos. Tiny Tia’s Tacos is tucked away in the old Ellsworth Building (sorry, I couldn’t resist the alliteration) on Blair Street, between the Post Office and the long wall off Spring St. There are a few rustic tables [...]

Island News, Fall 2012

Many of the readers of our last issue expressed concern over the issues that the island and its residents – both human and otherwise – are facing. We thought we’d give you a brief update. Coal Export Terminal: In August, Dr. Claudia Oakes, part-time Adjunct Faculty member in the Department of Sociology, Political Science, Native American [...]

Top 10 Things to Do in the Fall

  Fall is our favorite time of year. The island is less crowded, the weather is usually still gorgeous, and there are plenty of activities still going on. Here are some of our top picks, in no particular order. Art Stock – Tour the homes and studios of island artists and see them in action. [...]