Whidbey Island

Four years ago, our family was invited to Whidbey Island, Washington to celebrate my sister's birthday and the start of a tradition was born. This is the third year that we have been invited to join my sister's family for their annual getaway to Whidbey Island. I don't know what it is about this island that is so magical. Perhaps it's the feeling of all the cares of the world dropping to the ground, where you will leave them, as you drive on the ferry. Or, perhaps it's the light, the cool breezes, fresh air and breathtakingly beautiful vistas. It's an interesting duality in that the shoreline is high-end real estate, as you can imagine, whereas the interior is rural and rustic. My dream is to have a lavender, peony, lilac farm and make goat cheese on Whidbey Island...at least this is the most current vision of my ongoing dream. For now, we are content to sit back, relax, explore the island, read, nap and, of course, EAT! My nephew, Clay, contributed wonderful photos to share with you! Thank you Clay!

My sister has been reading my blog so she thought it would be fun to make pizza on Whidbey Island and I can't think of a better place to take the time to create "passionate pizzas"! Pizza night arrived and I polled everyone to see what they would like on the pizzas. We had four balls so we were able to create something for all tastes.

First off the stone was the Margharita pizza. It started with my quick start tomato sauce, then fresh basil, fresh mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, a little salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil upon emerging from the oven.



Next up was the "man pizza". This pizza sported tomato base, onions, olives, mushrooms, pepperoni, sausage, mozzarella, parmesan and a scattering of mama lil's peppers. Mmmm, a hunk of manly goodness!



The last two pizzas have no pictures but that doesn't mean they weren't good...it just means we were so taken with the subject at hand that we passed by the photo ops! We enjoyed a pizza with tomato base, grilled chicken, goat cheese, fresh basil and mama lil's peppers with a drizzle of olive oil and the favorite, among the female persuasion, was the final pizza with a garlic spear pesto base, chicken, feta cheese and mama lil's and the drizzle. The setting, company and laid-back vacation state of mind elevated our passionate pizzas to another level.

My brother-in-law and my niece celebrated birthdays one night while we were on Whidbey and no birthday for my brother-in-law would be complete without pie! Greenbank Farms on the island has a wonderful cafe that makes amazing pies and the favorite is the loganberry pie. The crust is light and flakey and the fruit is flavorful and just the right balance of sweet and tangy.



I look forward to many more delicious experiences on Whidbey Island and who knows, maybe one day I will be writing about my lavender, peony, lilac farm with fabulous goat cheese for sale!