By Chef Julia This cookie recipe has a special place in my heart … and my kitchen. I originally taught it during my time at Le Cordon Bleu, and it never failed to win over even the most refined palates. These cookies strike a beautiful balance: the hearty chew of old-fashioned oats, the sweet creaminess…
Island Voices, July 2025, Recipes
Boat-Baked Bread
By Suzanna Leigh It was the summer of 1999, and we had just set the anchor in Longbranch, a little bay in the South Sound. We hadn’t taken the sails down yet when a gust of wind caught the mainsail and nearly sailed us into an odd collection of boats rafted together. The anchor held,…
June 2025, Poetry
Swimmers
By S. E. Reid lake-cold is its own moment,a sleeping aquifer yawning underfootinvisiblebut we can feel it; this wateris thousands of years oldand yet we—finite things—swim unaware in eternity,dragonflies dodgingin the heavy summer stillness. the dogs shake,glitter flies,fish dart away from our kicking feet, and up high,the humming planes look down on usswimming breast-stroke through…
Entertainment, July 2025
Math Puzzle
By Anne Cotter Moses Jackson and Fiona have seven pets between the two of them. Steve has twice as many pets as Jackson. Steve has five more pets than Fiona. How many pets do the three children have all together?
Entertainment, July 2025
The Observant Frog’s Log
By Alex Soriano The Observant Frog’s Log by Alex Soriano
Entertainment, July 2025, Llaughing Llamas
Llaughing Llamas Chronicles
By Daniel Hooker This joke comes from Bob at Ace Hardware: A customer is at the checkout stand, and the cashier asks, “Paper or plastic?” The customer answers, “You choose.” The cashier replies, “Baggers can’t be choosers.” ~ At the Olympics I saw a guy carrying a long stick. I asked, “Are you a pole…
July 2025, Recipes
The Island Epicure – Marj Watkins Is Retiring
By Suzanna Leigh and Marj Watkins Editors Note: We at the Loop thank Marj Watkins for her many years writing The Island Epicure and sharing recipes and her life in these pages. Best to you, Marj! Marj: Now that I am 100 years old, I think I will retire. Suzanna: Have you enjoyed writing “The…
Entertainment, Island Businesses, June 2025
Pinball on Vashon: Den of Pin
By Andy Valencia What happens when a place to digitally detox meets a museum? That would be a great description of the Den of Pin, the latest Vashon hangout. Pay a small cover charge, then step away from the relentless world of 5G, AI, and social media. In their place, enjoy playing vintage pinball machines….
Island Voices, June 2025
This Getting Old Stuff is Not for the Faint of Heart
By Pam (aka Gates) Johnson Oh yeah, everybody says it’s better than the alternative, but I’m not sure. Nobody I know has tried the alternative enough to give me a firm evaluation on the pros and cons. I’m not saying that I am ready to shuffle off this mortal coil just yet, but again, getting…