"Can I see your hard cider list please?" I guess I don't imagine that becoming the norm in restaurants any time soon. But you might be surprised at a) just how varied and interesting hard cider can be and b) how food-friendly it is. No reason quality hard cider can't find its own place on restaurant beverage lists.

Case in point, a recent dinner at Brasa restaurant. It was hosted by the Northwest Cider Society to help spread the good word about the delicious potential of ciders paired with food. Be clear that this is "hard" cider, meaning that it's been fermented into a lightly alcoholic beverage. Though some styles lean toward the slightly sweet, for the most part hard cider is far less sweet and fruity tasting than fresh cider. The sipping experience of fresh apple juice as compared to hard cider is no less distinct than is the difference between grape juice and wine (as the cider society so simply puts it on their web site).

I've been long perplexed about why Washington doesn't have more cider in its culinary heritage. Here's what I had to say about it in an article I wrote for Seattle Magazine five years ago: "You'd think that with all those apples, we'd have a slew of cider available in the region, but it's not the case yet. And it's a shame, because lightly-alcoholic, amber colored hard cider is a distinctive, compelling beverage that is perfectly suited to the gastronomic offerings of the Northwest."

In February, Brasa chef and co-owner Tamara Murphy created a really amazing dinner made with, and paired with, four different Northwest ciders. The Cider Steamed Clams with Chorizo, Apples and Roasted Green Chili was paired with Wandering Aengus Ciderworks Heirloom Blend Cider from Salem, Oregon; Pork Belly with Caramelized Endive, Lentils and Apricot Chutney (insert swoon here) matched up with Mt. Vernon's Red Barn cider; an intriguing dish of Black Cod with Squid Ink Risotto, Sweet & Picante Peppers and Cider Butter partnered with Eaglemount Cider from Port Townsend, Washington. And, yes, there was hard cider with dessert too. The Mascarpone Cheesecake with Walnuts and Poached Pears paired beautifully with the Blue Mountain Dry Cider from Milton-Freewater, Oregon.

The pre-dinner hour featured these and other ciders for sipping. A few of my favorites included Red Barn's Fire Barrel cider, that heirloom cider from Wandering Aengus, and Irvine's Vintage Cider made on Vashon Island.

If you haven't tried hard cider lately (or ever), now's a good time. Many well-stocked grocery shelves will offer at least a few hard cider options, specialty beverage shops (such as Bottleworks in Seattle) an even better bet.

By a quick glance at my training calendar, I see that it's already 6 months and counting until the 2008 Breast Cancer 3-Day. I took part in this amazing walk for the first time last year, as many of you know. What a mind-blowing weekend. I walked every one of those 60 miles, nearly 25 the first day, about 20 the second (the last couple miles of this day were the longest for me), and a glorious 15 miles on the third day. Nearing the finish line on Sunday and the fact that this leg took us through my West Seattle neighborhood--a fabulous morning to be walking Alki Beach--it combined to put a spring in my step. It's not the most flattering picture, but that's me with my sister, who showed up with yummy popsicles on Alki.

It was an incredibly grounding, moving experience on the final day of the walk, when we are each given our T-shirts at the very end: white for most of us, pink for the survivors. When we all paraded into Memorial Stadium for the closing ceremonies to see that sea of women in pink who were well enough after treatment to walk 60 miles, I'll tell you it kept me from whining about a sore calf or blistered toe. It's all about those beautiful, healthy women getting on with their lives after beating breast cancer, that's the reason I walk.

Thanks to so many generous friends and colleagues, I was able to make the goal of raising $2,200 last year, the minimum required of each walker. This year I've upped my goal a bit, and am hoping that some of you may want to pitch in (again, as the case may be) to help me reach it. You can do so by going to my personal page, where they make online donations easy. Or, you can print out a form to fill out and send in with a check, if you prefer.

If it's any indication of how full our five days in DC were, I downloaded 182 photos after getting home. And that doesn't include a couple dozen I'd been deleting along the way. I hadn't been to DC in maybe 10 years, and never really as a tourist. My nephew's been studying at George Washington for a few years, high time my husband and I drop in for a family visit. With nothing but time and an agenda focused on museums and restaurants, it was a wonderful treat. I'm able to post more photos on my blog, and will do so soon. But for now, a quick hit on some highlights of the week. Actually, quick? Maybe not. I tried.

It's a museum town, no doubt about it. We did pretty good justice to Natural History (we focused on rocks, gems, bones, and their cool live butterfly exhibit going on now), East Wing of the National Gallery of Art, the U.S. Botanic Garden (just steps from the Capitol Building), the National Museum of the American Indian (which has a surprisingly good cafeteria menu with varied Native influences; I was proud to see a copy of my friends Fernando and Marlene Divina's book Foods of the Americas: Native Recipes and Traditions

Some of the traditional DC destinations were on our agenda as well. A tour of the Library of Congress was in-depth and very interesting; now I'm dying to return with a research project so I can read and study in that amazing library space. Almost by accident, we came across an extensive Bob Hope collection in the lower level, a great array of mementos from his many years as an entertainer. You even get electronic access to thousands and thousands of his jokes; here's a little preview of his joke file.

Another day we made it to a number of memorials; the Lincoln Memorial (as grand as you might expect), the Jefferson Memorial (honestly, a little more interesting to look at from a distance), the Korean War Memorial (beautiful, simple, stirring) and the FDR Memorial (so very cool, spread out, lots to read and look at).

Food? Oh, yes, we spent some time on that, too. I think my favorite meal of the week has to be a tie between Blue Duck Tavern and Central. The former was a little more formal, lovely polished service, a menu heavy on rather rustic, full-flavored foods (mostly meat), a spare but beautiful dining room. I'd go back in a heartbeat. But I'd say the same about Central, too. More bustling-busy, a bistro-done-upscale menu that all sounds delicious. I opted for the famous 72 Hour Short Ribs (done sous-vide, truly melt in your mouth) and the equally renowned Kit Kat Bar for dessert (a very delicious crunchy-rich-nutty-chocolaty treat). Bob had a wonderful roast chicken and my nephew his first rabbit (braised, served with spaetzle). The banana split, however, was the showstopper, elegant and tasty, thankfully not done up fussy. It's still a whole banana, halved, topped with amazing whipped cream, accompanied with delicious scoops of homemade ice cream and sauces. Absolutely perfect.

We stayed at the charming and lovely Morrison Clark Hotel, which I recall reading is the only hotel in DC to be listed on the National Historic Register. We could walk most everywhere, it was quiet and cozy, great service and a wonderful dining room. My friend Janis McLean is the executive chef and we surely dined in style there our last night. I'll always be a Dungeness girl, but her Maryland style crab cakes were pretty amazing. One of the desserts we had that night is actually featured in the Washington Post this week, as a dish "worth the trip." It really was outstanding, a chocolate crumb crust, rich but light banana cream filling and a tasty sesame seed "brittle" that I adored.

Heavens, this far along and I haven't even gotten to any lunches. Can't overlook a couple of note. After our Sunday visit to the Dupont Circle Farmers Market, we had a bite at Teaism. I'm not a big cookie person, but I may just have to mail-order their Chocolate Salty Oat Cookies. Really unusual and totally addictive. Monday we joined a friend at the new Wolfgang Puck restaurant The Source. It's alongside the new (opening April 11) Newseum, which I'd have loved to check out; next trip. We lunched on To Die For (caps mine) Crispy Sucking Pig, "Tiny Dumplings" with Pork Belly, delicious Tandoori Arctic Char with Pickled Cucumbers, Tomato Chutney and Cardamom Raita. Oh so delicious. Our last meal in town was at Oyamel, one of a few José Andrés restaurants in town. Straying from his Spanish roots, this is a wonderful authentic Mexican spot. I loved every bite.

I'm usually giddy-with-springtime right about now. But spring is very slow to settle in around here. In fact, we got a few inches of snow today in my neighborhood. So rather than regaling you with morels and asparagus and other springtime treats, I'm going to offer you this more rich, filling, wintry recipe instead. Better suits my mood and what's going on outside.

This recipe comes from my cookbook, Crab, the first in the Northwest Homegrown Cookbook Series. The book's main focus is on our regional icon, Dungeness crab, with a number of recipes that require in-shell fresh Dungeness--not really suitable for smaller blue crabs or larger king crab legs. But the majority of recipes are like this one, using just crabmeat, making the preparations easily adaptable to blue or other flaked crab meats. Enjoy. And here's hoping spring actually springs soon!