July 2013

By Katy Wilkens, MS, RD

I don’t have luck growing big eggplants in my garden. We just don’t get enough hot days in the Northwest. Small eggplants though – those I can grow! Sometimes called fingerling or Japanese eggplants, they can ripen in two months of our lean summers. I love their light purple flowers with bright yellow centers but spotting their royal purple skin under the big furry leaves is like finding a prince’s ransom.

My favorite way to cook finger eggplants is to rub them with oil, grill them on the barbecue and serve them with barbecued lamb chops. Many recipes call for sprinkling eggplant with salt to remove bitterness, but finger eggplant is tender and not bitter, so you don’t need to use all that salt, which is so unhealthy for you. Once you factor out the salt, eggplant can be a healthy dish, especially if you grill it rather than fry it. Try the recipes below for dishes worthy of a king!

Beth’s eggplant

4-6 finger eggplants
Several cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
Fresh basil, chopped

Metro League football
2013 schedule

Friday, Sept. 6
Chief Sealth at Evergreen, 8 p.m.; West Seattle at TBA.

Friday, Sept. 13
Cleveland at Chief Sealth, 7 p.m.; West Seattle at Seattle Prep, 7 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 20
Rainier Beach at Chief Sealth, 7 p.m.; West Seattle at Franklin, 7:45 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 27
Blanchet at Chief Sealth, 7 p.m.; West Seattle at Cleveland, 5 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 4
Franklin at Chief Sealth, 7 p.m.; West Seattle at Rainier Beach, 7 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 11
Ingraham at West Seattle, 7 p.m.; Chief Sealth at Nathan Hale, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 19
Chief Sealth at West Seattle, 7 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 24
Nathan Hale at West Seattle, 7 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 25
Chief Sealth at Ingraham, 7 p.m.

Information from King County

Beginning in early August, King County’s contractor will begin work to clear the buildings from the Murray Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Control Project site, located on Beach Drive Southwest across from Lowman Beach Park.

King County will monitor air quality for the duration of the deconstruction work, which will be complete by the end of September. The existing structures must be removed before construction of the new storage facility begins in late 2013. The facility will protect Puget Sound by storing sewage and polluted stormwater during storms to prevent it from overflowing out of the regional sewer system into the water off of Lowman Beach Park.

What to expect
· Work hours will be 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. on weekdays and 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. on Saturdays.
· Access to Beach Drive Southwest will be maintained at all times.
· Lowman Beach Park will remain open.
· Project fencing will extend to the east curb of Beach Drive Southwest to maintain public safety. Pedestrians and bicyclists are urged to use Beach Drive Southwest’s western sidewalk.

From Waste Management

Following six months of competition, Waste Management has announced the winner of its Think Green Recycling Challenge, where communities throughout the Seattle area went head-to-head to see who could put the most items to reuse.

Taking home first place was the neighborhood of Greenwood/Crown Hill, located in North Seattle, which earned both bragging rights and a $40,000 check that will go toward charities and local organizations. Crown Hill Neighbors has announced that eight different grants of $5,000 will be awarded.

"Recycling has been a meaningful way for our neighborhood to come together," said Selena Carsiotis, a Crown Hill resident. "There are so many needs for our community and this donation will surely make a difference. We appreciate WM's support of this project.

In partnership with the City of Seattle, Waste Management created the competition so that neighbors could influence each other to increase recycling and composting. Launched in 2012, the competition ran for six months, during which all 10 communities serviced by Waste Management competed against each other.

The B-Town Beat Music and Art Walk happens this Thursday, August 1, 6-9 PM in downtown Burien.

Location: SW 152nd & 153rd St, 1st Avenue to 10th Ave SW.

You have a chance to do late night shopping, see live painting, hear live music, see NW Artist Exhibits and more. The venues will be located wherever you see the balloons, and also at the 153rd Place Alley Art Project.

Our Gang Racing wins race

The Our Gang Racing team that includes David Bell of Des Moines as the crew chief took first place at the Detroit APBA Gold Cup hydroplane races on Sunday, July 14.
Our Gang Racing is now with the 95 Spirit of Qatar after switching over from the Miss Red Dot boat.
The team is headed up by Nate Brown, a former Gold Cup winner and is carrying the Qatar sponsorship while last year’s winner, the 96 Spirit of Qatar, is undergoing repairs in Seattle. This year the boat is being driven by Brown's nephew, Kip. It was Kip Brown's first win on the H-1 circuit.
Our Gang Racing is based in Preston, Wash. and is getting ready for this coming weekend's Seafair races on Lake Washington.

Strayer earns GPA award

Clarissa Strayer of Burien was among the athletes who earned academic honors at St. Martin's University in Lacey after posting a 3.87 grade point average as a sophomore.
Strayer is a repeat winner who is majoring in Criminal Justice. She plays for the women's soccer team.

T-Birds hosting hockey school

$50 debt leads to groin kick

Not too many names were named, but it was clear at the 36th District Town Hall at the Phinney Neighborhood Center that legislators were disappointed -- to put it lightly -- in the actions of Senate Majority Leader Rodney Tom and the Senate Majority Coalition.

After all, it was the Senate Majority Coalition, they said, who stopped the DREAM Act, a meaningful transportation package, getting more revenue to properly fund K-12 education, closing meaningless tax loopholes and more.

"I think a lot of people don't appreciate this type of move. Changing Senate rules, blocking things, not allowing votes to come to the floor," Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-Belltown) said. She hinted that things would not look good on the campaign trail for Republicans and the turncoat Democrats. Tom will be up for re-election in 2014

Needless to say, with three democrats at the microphone -- Kohl-Welles, Rep. Reuven Carlyle (D-Queen Anne) and Rep. Gael Tarleton (D-Ballard) -- there were few things not blamed on the Republicans. Though the Democrat trio did offer that, in some areas, there was a growing tide in Republicans who are breaking away from the old values.

For its 20th anniversary, the folks at Ballard Natural Gas have decided to give back to the community. After a successful food drive for the Ballard Food Bank, they raised $900 for the Ballard Boys and Girls Club, where owner Kathleen Kappen’s son Neil Kappen was “basically raised.” “If I wanted to know where my son was, I would just have to walk down to the Boys and Girls Club,” said Kathleen, who has lived just down the road from the club for 38 years.

With the money they raised, Ballard Natural Gas bought all manner of sports equipment: basketballs, soccer balls, Frisbees, pool cues, volley balls, playground balls and more. The children were beyond enthused about the gifts, screaming and yelling in joy and excitement as they tore open the wrapping paper on Tuesday, July 22.

To view the photos, either click the main picture above or the thumbnails below.

Follow Ballard News-Tribune on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ballardnewstrib

And Twitter at http://twitter.com/ballardnewstrib

Community Picnic/Alki Fun Fest
Alki would like to thank our community by hosting a community picnic on August 9th. Join us for a BBQ style picnic from 5-7pm. We’ll enjoy great food, music, neighbors, games, prizes, cotton candy & so much more. Food is FREE games and selected treats at a small cost. We hope to see you there.

Alki Community Center
5817 SW Stevens Street
Seattle, WA 98116
(206) 684-7430

Discovery Shop
4535 California Ave. S.W.
206-937-7169