Stuffed Pita Pockets and Picnics

Shortly after I moved to Seattle, the city threw me a party.

Okay, so I exaggerate just a little. It wasn’t really a party for me—it was the opening day of boating season—but if you love boats as much as I do, it might as well have been a party for me.

Betcha didn’t know that about me, but it is true. I am hopelessly and completely in love with boats. Big boats, little boats, kayaks, and rowboats. I prefer sailboats to speed boats, but even a motorboat is better than no boat. I love just walking around a marina, listening to the clanging noise made by the lines knocking against the mast. I always feel like they are calling to me.

It was the Water Rat in the children's book Wind in the Willows who said “Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing—absolutely nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Seattle is said to have the highest boat ownership rate in the country—yet another reason to love this city. It seems like everyone here has a boat, or at least has a friend with a boat. My Seattle-born sister-in-law tells stories of “boat friends,” the people she hung out with all summer long, because they had boats, but once the season was over never talked to anymore (though for the record I do not condone this behavior—if I’m lucky enough to make a boat friend I’m keeping them close for years to come).

Someday I am going to have a little sailboat of my own. Until then I kayak when I can and admire boats from afar, sometimes I even fall in love with a boat or two.

There were no shortage of boats to fall in love with on Opening Day. They started lining up along the Montlake Cut, near my house, a few days before. This is a narrow channel that connects Lake Union and Lake Washington where the parade would be held. Extending out from this channel is the log boom—a mile long area where boats line up and anchor to watch the boat races and parade. To get an idea of what this looks like, click here (photo courtesy Seattle Yacht Club, sponsors of the event).

I wasn’t on a boat that day—I don't yet have a boat of my own, and I haven’t been here long enough to have made boat friends (though I’d be more than happy if someone wanted to apply for the job). Instead, I watched the festivities from the northernmost point of the Arboretum, the tip of Foster Island (the green bit in the bottom of the photo linked above). I didn’t make it out for the early morning crew races, but I was there to watch the parade go by, this floating spectacle.

Everyone else was there too.

There were Canadians.



And there were hippies.



The Beatles were there.



And their Yellow Submarine.



There were Scandinavians.



And floating cars.



And Confederates.



And a riverboat full of gamblers and their glamourous gals.



And sailboats that made my heart sing.



Even the one that nearly toppled over.



You may not believe it, but even Elvis was there!



It was the sort of day that even those who could barely reach the paddle wanted to be in a boat, on the water, enjoying the day.



And whether you were on a boat or on land, it was a perfect day to hang out with friends, watch the parade, and eat a picnic lunch. Perhaps next year I might even be picnicking on a boat. Until then I’ll continue to dream my boat dreams—now in a city that dreams them with me.

STUFFED PITA POCKETS FOR PICNICS



Not only is it the beginning of boating season, it’s the beginning of picnic season as well. This recipe is something I invented when I was in high school. I hadn’t make them in years but recently needed to bring something to a picnic without much time or even a fully stocked kitchen to draw on. I needed something easy and fast with a minimum of ingredients. These pita pockets fit the bill—at their most basic they are simply pita bread spread with a mixture of cream cheese, salsa, and chopped cilantro (which could be omitted). As our boy Jaime Oliver would say, easy peasy.



I wasn’t going to share them with you. While I liked them way back when I didn’t think them anything special—and certainly not sophisticated or gourmet in any way (I even make them with jarred salsa). At the picnic I slipped them onto the food table on the sly, a little self-conscious of my offering, hoping no one would connect them with me. But soon everyone was talking about them and asking who had made them and I had to fess up. Surprising to me, they all loved them, even the little kids. I’ve since dressed them up a bit with the slices of cucumber and radish as well as some extra chopped cilantro (again, easy to omit for those of you who truly believe this lovely herb tastes like soap).

8 oz package cream cheese
4 tbs salsa
2 tbs chopped cilantro
12 oz package of pita—6 large pita, or 12 mini pita (I prefer whole wheat mini pita, just couldn’t find them at the market).
1-2 sliced cucumbers (English or Persian), red radishes, and extra cilantro as desired.

With a fork and spoon, mash the cream cheese and salsa together, add chopped cilantro. This makes a pale pink spread that could be used on its own with crackers, if you like.

Spread salsa cream cheese mixture on both sides of the pita bread, which has been sliced open. Stuff with sliced cucumber, radishes, and extra cilantro.



Until I get my boat, they're not a bad consolation prize.